In our Kidderminster Reeves boardroom, we have a dusty old display housing some very old Reeves memorabilia.  Reeves was established by William Reeves (1739–1803) in 1766 and in 1974, the company was acquired by Reckitt and Colman, and then merged with Winsor and Newton, following Reckitt and Colman’s acquisition in 1976. 1n 1991 Reeves was purchased by Colart and staff still working in Kidderminster can remember when the painting by numbers were assembled  on our site.   Reeves is still available from our Elephant Kiosk in the UK and  other retail outlets.  Our display cabinet has been sitting under a film of dust so I gave it a Spring clean and was enthralled by what I found: some handwritten price increases from 03.04.1914 slipped into an old price list; artist Stanhope Forbes describing the Reeves “Lawrence Phillips” palette as “admirably contrived” and most poignantly, how our Reeves art sets helped the soldiers during the First World War.  Art has a way of connecting down the ages and communicates in a universal language and I’m sure Colart’s broad range of products are helping those currently suffering to tell their own stories or find some peace away from their troubles.

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Today, a new experience is starting at Colart

Jean-Marc and François, two employees from Le Mans, told me they wanted to improve their English and the idea came to me to put them in contact with other colleagues in the Group to be able to chat.

I then contacted my counterpart at Piscataway, Torkel, who immediately liked the idea and discussed it with the staff on site. April and Amanda responded favorably to the invitation and a joint meeting was held by Teams this afternoon.

This was the time to get to know each other, to define the objectives and also to remember the wish of our two Americans to be able to learn a few words in French.

Appointments have already been made between Amanda and Jean-Marc, then April and François. They will contact one hour every 15 days and after several months they will be able to exchange their partners.

This great experience is fully in line with the Colart Academy and we hope that it can be carried out everywhere through the Colart Group.

Aujourd’hui, c’est une nouvelle expérience qui démarre chez Colart

Jean-Marc et François, deux salariés du Mans, m’ont fait part de leur souhait d’améliorer leur anglais et l’idée m’est venue de les mettre en relation avec d’autres collègues du Groupe pour pouvoir converser.

J’ai alors pris contact avec mon homologue à Piscataway, Torkel, qui a aussitôt aimé l’idée et en a parlé avec le personnel sur place. April et Amanda ont répondu favorablement à l’invitation et une réunion commune a eu lieu par Teams cet après-midi.

Cela a été le moment de se connaître, de définir les objectifs et également de retenir le souhait de nos deux américaines de pouvoir apprendre quelques mots en français.

Des rendez-vous ont déjà été pris entre Amanda et Jean-Marc puis April et François. Ils se contacteront une heure tous les 15 jours et après plusieurs mois ils pourront échanger leurs partenaires.

Cette belle expérience s’inscrit pleinement dans la Colart Academy et on espère que cela pourra être conduit partout à travers le Groupe Colart.

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