Wishing everyone celebrating, a Happy Diwali for this weekend!

Diwali, or Deepavali, is one of India’s most cherished festivals, celebrated across religions and cultures. Known as the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali symbolises the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. Traditionally, it honours the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating the demon Ravana, as well as Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth, whose blessings are sought for prosperity.

Homes are decorated with rangoli and divas (lamps) to invite positivity and prosperity, while fireworks symbolise the drive away from darkness. Most importantly for me, Diwali is a time for family bonding and amazing food 😊. Though deeply rooted in Indian culture, Diwali is celebrated by communities worldwide, spreading happiness, unity, and the spirit of new beginnings.

Its going to be a busy few days in the UK with Halloween, Guy Fawkes and Diwali celebrations all happening at the same time! Have fun everyone!

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Throughout 2024, Winsor and Newton have been running a press partnership with the forward thinking media platform ‘Positive News’. As the name suggests, they only run good news stories.

We’ve featured in a series of articles so far this year (including B Corp and our partnership with Hospital Rooms), and the focus this month was shining a spotlight on Crown Brush factory, and the incredible craftsmanship and skills that are being preserved. 

A huge thank you to Mark Brindle, Amanda Thrower, and Clara Marques for giving up their time to be interviewed and contribute to the article.

Positive News was also featured on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme yesterday so it was a great week for our article to be published!

The full article is published here (and if you scroll down yo can also read the previous features: The value of craftsmanship: how traditional skills are enduring in the modern world – Positive News

Happy reading!

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Happy Halloween from a very excited Harlow 👻🎃🧙‍♀️

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CTAM passed the ISO annual audit

To enhance the company’s operational management and ensure compliance and efficiency in our business activities, CTAM successfully passed the annual audit of BSI’s ISO Quality, Environment, and Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification (ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001). This audit took place over three intensive days in the fourth week of October. The audit aimed to evaluate our compliance with laws and regulations, the quality management system, risk management, and other related areas, while also providing targeted suggestions for improvement.

The auditors sampled and collected evidences throughout the audit process and confirmed that our current operational management system aligns with the company’s strategic direction and expected policies. They found that our management system effectively supports the company’s strategy, operates continuously and efficiently, and complies with ISO standards.

Nonetheless, there are opportunities for improvement. The audit identified one minor non-conformity that must be addressed in future efforts. Additionally, verbal suggestions were provided, offering guidance to help us continually enhance our work and management standards.

Despite significant changes in the company’s organizational structure, personnel, and office space this year — which posed substantial challenges for the external audit — each department and our internal auditors conducted thorough reviews and updates of their respective system documents, objectives, and processes prior to the audit. Thanks to everyone’s collaborative efforts, our documents and processes related to the three management systems were timely updated and improved, accurately reflecting our current operational status and ensuring the audit’s successful completion.

A heartfelt thanks to each department for their contributions to this audit. This achievement exemplifies outstanding team collaboration!

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CTAM 2024 3rd Think Tank idea Upgrade Review Meeting has just been held this afternoon. After the staff‘’s presentation explaining the implementation of the ideas and the reviewers’ scoring, two ideas were upgraded for their contribution to cost saving and inventory improvement.

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