Chief Scout in the UK – Bear Grylls – has suggested that it is important to encourage children to use knives from an early age. The man behind recent reality TV survival show ‘The Island’ cause serious controversy with his comments; telling the Radio Times that children should learn ‘how to embrace and manage risk’. He also inferred that parents should assume more responsibility for educating their kids on knife safety.
Grylls has previously been seen helming the global TV success show ‘Bear Grylls: Born Survivor’; which sees him pit his wits against the most daunting elements in the world to teach audiences how to survive in extreme survival situations. The national press has taken real interest in this latest story; with The Telegraph and The Independent sharing their views on his controversial comments.
TV Superstar
The popularity Grylls commands in the UK means that any comments that he makes are analyzed to the extreme. Mixed with his laid back attitude; many have responded negatively; resulting in the received response.
One of the standout quotes from those latest comments included Grylls suggestion that handling a knife as a child could be ‘empowering’; if done under the appropriate constraints: “Sometimes in life we get cut,” he was quoted as saying. “My six-year-old recently cut himself on a knife, and came in with blood pouring everywhere, but, you know what? He’s not cut himself again. He learned how to handle a knife.”
Some of the UK media felt that this was an insensitive and ill-informed view on the situation. Grylls has also said, however, that knives must be treated with the utmost respect and that children are taught how to use them properly: “When I say to budding adventurers, ‘Listen – a blunt penknife is a dangerous knife. Make sure it’s really sharp’ – the kids’ faces light up. Like all kids, they want a mega-sharp penknife – great, but teach them to respect it and use it properly,” he said.
Swann Morton Knives
The topic is certainly up for debate; but we at Knife Point are glad to simply stick to delivering the best possible knives for both new and existing customers. As a company; we deliver both our own specifically-tailored knife blades; and also branded knives from established industry businesses such as Swann Morton.
Our experience and dedication is the key. As leaders of knife production in the industry for decades; we have worked tirelessly to deliver only the highest levels of customer satisfaction for many years. We achieve this through the application of our care and attention; ensuring that customers come to us for their knife needs time and time again.
We live and breathe knives here at Knife-Point. Manufacture of knife products – and news related to them – is of huge interest to us. We have been in the industry for over 3 decades; so our history is intertwined with knife development over time. News surrounding knife history is something we are particularly interest in; and so this story really resonated with us:
At a Canvey museum in Western Esplanade; a historical piece of WW1 memorabilia was recently stolen. The theft took place on Monday 5th May – the most recent bank holiday weekend. The item concerned is a trench knife/dagger; which was taken from a display case within the museum.
Producing Products for Our Ever-Expanding Customer Base
The knife is a great example of how knives have played their part throughout history; albeit in a different way to the ones that we have on offer at Knife-Point. Technological advances now mean that knives are now produced in a different way to the time of the First World War; but the hard work and dedication that would have been applied back then remain just as important now; and we understand that. By staying true to the factors that have enabled us to become a leader within the industry; we are able to produce fantastic products – such as our trimming knife blades – for our extensive and constantly expanding customer base.
With all this considered; it is easy to see why such value is placed on the theft of the knife in Western Esplanade. With so much history attached to the stolen knife; it is easy to understand the view of someone like Allan Reed; who is a volunteer at the museum. He was quick to play up the significance of the occurrence in the aftermath of the event.
Only the Best Service
Police are still searching for the knife; and PC Lisa-Ann Gore of Essex police told The Enquirer: “The museum would like to get the piece back as it is very important to them. It is also a weapon and we would like to get it back in safe hands. I would urge anyone with any information to contact me as soon as possible.”
That information may include knowledge of the incident itself; or someone finding themselves being offered the knife to buy. The case continues to develop.
We have a number of ideals that we adhere to here at Knife-Point during the production and delivery of a whole host of knife products – including our trimming knife blades. High quality product delivery, only the best service and competitive pricing are all factors that help us to stay ahead of the competition. You can view our products at www.knife-point.com.
Sheffield sign shop, Image Sign Studio, recently provided 3d LED signage for RS Bruce, who chose to have their office sign manufactured from brushed stainless steel. They chose this brushed stainless steel finish in order to reflect their metal business, creating a direct link between their branding and the industry that they are a part of.
The company also chose to have orange LED lights fitted into the back of the lettering in order to create a halo effect around the letters. At night, the orange LED lights created a glowing effect around the stainless steel 3D lettering, which looks almost as though there is a fire simmering behind them. The thought process behind this light was to represent the idea of a furnace, again a reflection of the metal industry.
Interior Designed Office with 3D Sign
Here at Image Sign Studio, we recently had the pleasure of producing this sign for R.S. Bruce Metals, whose head quarters are in the city of Sheffield. The Bruce Group encompasses R.S Bruce Metals and Machinery, who pride themselves on playing a key role in the innovation of the techniques used for the removal and recovery of oxidised Platinum Group Metals, from components within working nitric acid plants.
The sign was manufactured for a previously derelict building that R.S. Bruce decided to redevelop into an office block. Because of the derelict condition of the building and the standard to which the company wished to bring the officer block up to, R.S Bruce employed interior designers to help. The development was, therefore, completed to a high standard, creating a fantastic place to work for their staff.
Such a fantastic office block obviously needed a really great sign to reflect the quality of the business and the services that they provide. Here at Image Sign Studio, we have lots of experience designing and manufacturing industrial signs, shop signs, and signs for office buildings such as this, so we were an obvious choice!
Stainless Steel Cut with CNC Machine
The sign was manufactured using stainless steel cut on a CNC machine, which uses computer software to control the mechanical movement of the machine while it cuts the letters. The letters were then hand fabricated to create a return on the sides of each one, and welded to create a 3D look.
If you are looking for a Sheffield based sign maker to design and manufacture your office sign or shop sign, Image Sign Studio can help. Call our friendly team on 0114 261 7617 for more information.
We love this morning’s doodle, which celebrates the 63rd birthday of thePeak District and Britain’s first national park.
The doodle features the sun rising behind a gritstone tor called the Salt Cellar, which has been formed over the centuries by years of erosion from the elements. The sun forms the second ‘o’ in Google, and the colourful illustration of the rolling hills features two walkers exploring the rugged landscape.
It goes without saying that we are massive fans of the Peak District, Sheffield is a fantastic city and it’s great to have such a beautiful national park right on our doorstep. Nice job Google!
One of our fastest expanding services we provide at Seven Creative, here in Sheffield, is SEO, and there is one thing that nearly all our new SEO enquiries have in common – they’re nervous about the idea of embarking on an SEO campaign!
So, why is this? Firstly, not many people truly understand what SEO actually is. To me, it’s simply about making sure a site is of high quality meaning that it can effectively communicate with Google about its subject and purpose (which is a win-win for everyone). It’s certainly not about creating a million inbound links from poor quality sites to manipulate the search results! Secondly, the results seem to intangible. This was something we noticed early on so we made sure that an activity report was available to everyone – regardless of their budget – on a monthly basis. Thirdly, many people have been ripped off in the past. Even now, knowing what we know about how Google evaluates websites, poor quality companies with unethical sales people are still conning trusting people out of their cash by providing poor quality SEO that somewhere between little and no effect to how a site indexes – in fact, poor quality SEO will often have a negative effect on rankings; so don’t underestimate Google’s increasing ability to spot a cheap link!
It’s perfectly understandable why Google doesn’t like the current SEO industry – Google wants to be the one evaluating websites; historically, SEO has been about manipulating results to make a site appear more relevant and important that it would normally appear – so everything the search giant is doing in terms of regularly updating its algorithm is pushing site owners towards best practice and high quality content; and away from link building.
So, to refer back to the initial question, it depends. Of course I would say you should call us but if you don’t here are my top tips to make sure you pick a good company:
Avoid companies that outsource – it’s probably a sign that it’s going to be poor quality SEO
Ask to see examples of reports – this won’t give you an idea of the results you’re likely to achieve but you’ll be able to see the way those results are presented.
Speak to their current customers – happy customers are happy to recommend.
Avoid pay-on-results agreements – this incentives the SEO company to provide poor quality SEO for an immediate boost that wears of very quickly when you stop paying.
Go local – we all know how nice knowing that the person you’re relying on is available when you need them!
Having a good shop sign Sheffield is a must if you want to attract customers and make more money. Shop signs are great for attracting passing trade as they inform passers-by quickly and effectively exactly what you do and who you are. They also reflect the type of business that you would like to be perceived as, therefore, projecting a great image of your business onto customers.
Choosing a good shop sign in Sheffield is also a must for leaving a good impression of your business on passers-by. If you are looking for a custom sign maker in Sheffield, you may want to have a browse to see what people can offer you and at what price. A good sign maker in Sheffield will talk through all your options with you, helping you to decide exactly what you want to achieve with your Sheffield shop sign.
There are several types of sign that you should consider before making your decision about your Sheffield shop sign, and talking to an expert sign maker in Sheffield is probably a good idea. There are a number of different signs on the market today, and choosing the right one can be a difficult option.
LED signs are perfect if you really want to make an impact with your shop sign Sheffield. The great thing about illuminated shop signs is that they look brilliant at night as well as in the day time. That means that you can still attract passers-by in the evening as their eyes will be drawn to your shop sign. LED illuminated signs can be manufactured and installed from reputable sign makers in Sheffield and are great for making an impact.
You can choose from a variety of options when it comes to illuminated signs in Sheffield. There are many different types including internal illumination, external illumination, backlit signs and the effective halo effect. All of these great options ensure that you will get noticed on the high street, both at night and in the day time. Halo lit LED signs create a very modern and contemporary shop sign, and look really effective especially in the dark.
Another option is choosing a 3D sign in Sheffield for your business. Sheffield sign makers are able to manufacture 3D signs from a variety of materials including metal, plastic and even wood.
Read our latest case study on Taylor Taylor hairdressers in Sheffield, shop signs Sheffield >>
If you use Outlook to send and receive emails, you’re probably also using the ’email signature’ facility that allows you to create a custom bit of text and images that appears at the end of the emails you write.
The problem is, the in-built email signature editor in Outlook is very basic! If you want to create something a bit more complex, sometimes the only option is to do it manually.
Each email signature is made up of three files – signature.rft, signature.html, and signature.txt. These are three different versions of the same signature but used for different types of emails, for example, plain text or rich text. (Note: where I’ve used the word ‘signature’ in the file names in this paragraph, for your email signature, it will be whatever you have named it e.g. ‘My Email Sig.txt’)
Together with these three files there is usually also a directory (aka folder) which contains the corresponding images.
If you can find these files, edit them manually, and save them as they are, you’ll be able to do a lot more in terms of layout and functionality than if you’re just editing these through the Outlook email signature editor.
Firstly, create the files (the signatures folder is created when the first email signature is saved):
Open Outlook, click the ‘tools’ option from the top row of options, then click ‘options’ from the drop-down menu
From the ‘Options’ dialogue box that pops up, click the ‘mail format’ tab then click ‘signatures’
from within the ‘Signatures and stationery’ dialogue box, click ‘new’, give it a name, then press OK then save.
from within the ‘Signatures and stationery’ dialogue box, click ‘new’, give it a name, then press OK then save.
Now to edit the files:
To find these files we’ve just created:
Go to file explorer – either press ‘Windows key’ + E or go to my computer
Type ‘%APPDATA%’ (without the quotes) into the address bar at the top and press enter or from My Computer navigate from C: to ‘Users’, ‘Your user name’, ‘appdata’
from ‘appdata’ click on ‘Microsoft’ then ‘signatures’ (please note this folder won’t exists until you’ve created your first email signature through Outlook)
Open the file explorer, and type ‘%APPDATA%’ (without the quotes) into the address bar at the top then press enterGo to file explorer – either press ‘Windows key’ + E or go to my computer
The text file can be easily edited using Notepad or similar. This is the signature that is included when the mail format is ‘plain text’ meaning you can’t have any pictures included and you have limited control over formatting and fonts.
The HTML file can be edited using Notepad if you know HTML, or alternatively, you may need a visual HTML editor to make changes.
The RTF file can be edited using MS Word or similar. The RTF anf HTML files are included when you send your email in rich text format
Don’t forget to stick to the hyperlink format and include any images you include in the respective folder within the signatures folder
We are proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Digital Communications Award at the 2013 Sheffield Business Awards!
Sheffield marketing agency
As a full service digital marketing agency in Sheffield, we decided to enter the competition for a chance to be recognised as excellent for our key services, web design, search engine optimisation, social media management and copywriting.
It’s been a great year for us here at Seven Creative, we have worked with some fantastic businesses and launched our brand new website. From Cathedrals to accountancy practices, kennels to hairdressers, we’ve worked with a variety of clients from various sectors on some great projects.
Managing Director Chris Day said: “We are thrilled to have been shortlisted for the award. As a small company it’s fantastic to be recognised for the quality of our services.”
Social media management services
“We work really hard to help our customers to implement wider marketing strategies and use social media to promote their business in order to gain an advantage in their marketplace,” said Chris.
2013 – Google has just announced its ‘Hummingbird’ algorithm change, which is the latest overhaul of its search engine formulas aimed at better answering internet users’ complex queries and affecting many website’s search engine optimisation
Searches based on meaning
The new algorithm is set to return better search results when users make more complicated requests, therefore keeping up with longer, more advanced search queries. Instead of the search engine returning pages that match a few words, Hummingbird is set to take into account the sentence as a whole and return searches based on its overall meaning. As people’s reliance on Google grows, users enter more complex questions into the search box, not just a few words that are related to a specific topic.
Google’s Senior VP, Amit Singal has confirmed that the new algorithm has been in place for about a month already, although Google only announced it officially yesterday.
‘Entirely new algorithm’
Unlike Panda and Penguin, which were changes to parts of the old algorithm, Hummingbird is an entirely new algorithm. Singal has confirmed that it is the most dramatic alteration in 3 years, when Google switched to ‘Caffiene’ in 2010.
Most importantly, Google’s advice with regard to search engine optimisation remains the same, focus on original, high quality content. Which is exactly what we do here at Seven Creative!
All it takes is one disgruntled customer and before you know it they’re shouting to the world about how terrible you are! All-of-a-sudden you don’t care about your customers, you do a terrible job, and your main business activity is simply ripping people off. Forget the years of hard work you spent making sure that your customers receive excellent service and value for money – you’re now the worst-of-the-worst!
Maybe it was simply a misunderstanding, or a miscommunication, or a genuine mistake – but the fact is that unless you act quickly, your reputation could be seriously damaged!
Therefore, to help you avoid this happening, here are 5 tips to help you protect your on-line reputation:
1. If you have a business Facebook account, make sure you use it.
For many businesses, this is the route many of their disgruntled customers use to vent their spleen these days. Maybe they didn’t get the result the wanted using the proper complaints procedures or perhaps they just want to teach the company a lesson, the fact is, unless you act quickly, many people will see their side of the disagreement without ever getting yours.
So how do you deal with this potential problem? You need to be there when it happens. If you’ve got a Facebook Page, it’s no good visiting once a month to see what’s going on. You need to be there, replying to comments, deleting anything that isn’t in your interest and blocking potential trouble causers. If someone has a complaint, call them or email them and get it resolved in private.
More importantly than this, one of the best ways as a business to establish credibility and engender trust is to open up clear communication channels – and Facebook provides an excellent way to do this!
If you’re customers are going to say something about you publicly on Facebook, make sure it’s something nice. If they have a complaint, make sure it never reaches Facebook.
2. Monitor review sites
In the old days, you’d lean over the garden fence and ask your neighbour if they know a good plumber. Or you’d ask your friend for the name of that decorator they used last year.
Suddenly, in the internet age, we’re doing it differently. I don’t ask my auntie if that hotel she used in Barcelona was any good, I go to Trip Advisor. I’m looking for a local plumber; I’ll go to My Builder. How about a nice restaurant? I’ll go to Yelp. A holiday cottage? Let me have a quick look on Reevoo.
If you run a business you need to know which sites you’re likely to be reviewed on and monitor them. And, if you find an unfair review, complain and get it removed. It’s also not a daft idea to ask your customers to write a review for you on these sites!
3. Open clear communication channels
One of the biggest issues that can cause a small problem to blow out of all proportion is to do with poor communication. We’ve already spoken about Facebook helping to open up clear communication channels but there are also many other ways to provide a way for your customers to get in touch with you.
Why not send a feedback questionnaire after every job? How about following up each completed job with a phone call a month later? Do you have a clear support channel?
Letting your customers know you’re available and want to hear back from them means that they’re more likely to talk to you directly if they have a problem. Making it difficult for them to get in touch means you might not get the opportunity to discuss the problem if something is perceived to have gone wrong.
4. Keep your business persona and your private life separate
Brilliant solicitor by day, ‘techno-freak’ by night. The two don’t really tally too well, do they? …I think I’ll have a look for a different solicitor. There is nothing wrong with ‘techno’ music (whatever that is) but it might not fit too well with the day job.
If your hobby, or your friends, or your political opinions, or your religion, or whatever it might be is could be controversial or contradictory or not ‘fit’ with your day job, keep it separate and private. This isn’t to say that there is anything wrong with any of these things or you have anything to be ashamed about, it’s more the point that you need to keep the focus on what you do.
Of course, there’s no reason for customers not to become friends – and friendship is all about shared interests – but you need to make sure that someone picks you or your company based on your merit, good work and excellent reputation and doesn’t make their decision not to work with you because you have, for example, different political opinions.
If you have a personal Facebook account (or other personal social media account for that matter), you should consider keeping it private. This way you’ll help make sure you’re only be associated with your professional services.
5. Expect the worst
We’re all busy. We all have a ‘to do’ list as long as our arm. We all have to prioritise sometimes at the expense of the softer side of customer service. But, just because you don’t hear from someone, doesn’t mean that everything is fine and they’re happy.
Good restaurants have learnt this lesson well – the waiter will ask you if everything is OK with your meal shortly after you’ve started eating. And you also need to assume that your customers will not pro-actively mention anything to you if there is a problem. It’s probably a cultural thing in this country – people often won’t complain; they don’t like to be seen to be causing a fuss. It is, however, much easier to fix a problem as it appears than to deal with the aftermath when it grows out of all proportion – and the way to do this is to ask the question… at the right time!
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If you would like to discuss Seven Creative’s Social Media Management packages including online reputation management, call us today on 0114 383 0711 or get in touch through our contact page
As a digital marketing agency offering 
LED signs
