During February I had the opportunity accompany Marie Morice and Bruno Lebourdais on their visit to Crown manufacturing site in Lowestoft. Having worked closely with Rob Haynes for several years I was aware of the uniqueness of the Crown manufacturing processes in comparison to our other manufacturing but being present in person brought colour to the world of brush making.

Mark Brindle and Theresa Spooner provided an insightful tour of the factory, walking us through the end-to-end brush making process. This was a real education, the quality of production is clear, but I hadn’t been fully aware of the time involved in managing this production. Lead times for training are extensive but when you see the Series 7 professionals handling brush heads, the investment is clear – they make it look very easy (it really isn’t!). The team at Crown demonstrated a real dedication to their skilled craft and are a great reflection of the businesses investment in developing highly skilled people. Having had the opportunity to attempt to make a brush (achieved only through a lot of support and patience from my trainer – thank you!), it became quickly evident that both Marie and I would not be employable at Crown. We’ll have to stick to our day jobs Marie!

Great to hear the team vocalise ideas on efficiency and sustainability, reducing wastage and pursuing opportunities to maximise circular manufacturing practices. On a personal note I found this discussion particularly interesting, I’m a big believer in respecting that if you’re going to sacrifice an animal you should maximise the usage. In an industry reliant on utilising animal products to produce the highest quality brushes it’s positive that the team are thinking about how we maximise the usage of the tails and any biproducts.

Really positive discussions continued into the afternoon focussing on financial reporting, tax, audit and budgetary management matters for Crown (I’ll spare you from the exciting details on these topics!).

Many thanks to Mark, Theresa, Rob and the entire team at Crown for your hospitality and educating us on the processes in place at the site. Brush making was a memorable (if slightly stressful experience! Not quite sure if I’m smiling or grimacing in the photo below!  

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Yesterday the Group Merchandising team visited Kidderminster to check over some very important permanent POS that is due to be set up in an upcoming store in the UK.

This was the first time both Chevelle and I had been to Kidderminster and what a pleasure it was- both Francis and Sean took us around for a site tour and it was very interesting to see the set up and some of the big and small changes that they have made to make improvements to production, safety and sustainability.

A great team ethos Iin place ..and sorry I couldn’t join you all in the morning for your daily aerobics class!!.. maybe next time.

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Dunelm teamed up with influencer @islathecontentgirl (16K followers) to create a charming Instagram video showcasing a Valentine\’s-themed \’Sip and Paint\’ night with Reeves acrylic paints and friends.

In the video, Isla transforms her space with stylish Dunelm pieces, creating the perfect cozy and creative setting. With Reeves acrylics adding vibrant colour to the night, this collaboration brings a fresh, fun take on Valentine’s Day—celebrating friendship, creativity, and quality time.

Watch the full video now on Dunelm\’s official Instagram page!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGDervqNMZM/

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Following my recent post regarding launching Liquitex Basics in The Works

I visited one of the trial stores yesterday and we saw a full implementation including POS of what we had worked on with the buying team.

We saw customers move from Own Brand over to the liquitex bay and look at the array of colours we had put together.

A succesful trial is paramount to accessing the full the portfolio of stores and so far it is going great.

Let me know if you want to know where the trial stores if you want to see it for yourselves!

Thanks again to the UK Marketing Team, The DC7 team, Glenn and Caroline for ensuring we had all of the stock and to anyone who has helped.

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