Well it's coming to the end of 2019 and what a year it's been. I started at DCTUK back in March earlier this year, it's only been 9 months but I feel like i've known this team for years.
We're only a small team of 11 but each person plays a vital role in this company and they're the most hard working group of people i've ever met. I love my job but the people you're surrounded with at work make it that extra bit special. Now enough of the soppy sh!t (Kerry I know you're shedding a tear behind your computer screen) let's get down to the best bits.
Going down to London in May for Clerkenwell Design Week was definitely a highlight of 2019. Only 2 months into the job, I was still pretty new to the whole flooring business so this was a good chance to see all the manufacturers flooring displayed in their showrooms and stalls. It made me realise how much effort and creativity goes into designing carpet tiles and floor plans.
The office makeover was definitely a highlight for DCTUK. We went from a standard warehouse office to an Ikea showroom in a matter of months! I'm a true believer of the atmosphere you work in has an effect on productivity, and this office has transformed into such a cosy, homely atmosphere.
September was filled with cakes and sweet treats because we held a Macmillian Coffee Morning, and what a success that was! We got our whole Business Park involved and raised over £200, what a success.
In October we supplied 90m2 of carpet tiles to a fantastic Charity and Church, City Hearts and Hope City Church. City Hearts is a charity that houses and helps women with life controlling issues and victims of trafficking across the UK. It was set up by Hope City Church founder Jenny Gilpin in 2005, as a way to offer support and accommodation for vulnerable women, and since then, it has expanded all over the country. I got the chance to interview Steve Watson, the North West Regional Manager of City Hearts and Hannah Allward, the Student & Youth Pastor of City Hope Church. Listening to how passionate they were about about their jobs and organisation was so inspiring. You can read the full blog post here.
Milliken's factory tour was an interesting visit because we got to see first hand how their carpet tiles/ planks are made. Sounds pretty boring to any normal person I know, but when you're selling/talking about carpet tiles day in day out, it's nice to hear the history of Milliken and shown how their manufactured from start to finish. To quote Heather, "our minds were blown".
We were kindly invited to the launch of Interface's Look Both Ways collection where Interface's innovation partner, Jon Khoo, gave a talk about sustainability and the future of design. You can read my blog post on it here.
One of my favourite highlights from this year has to be our Christmas video. The making of it was such a laugh, watching everyone gracefully tumble down the slopes at the Chill Factore was my favourite part of the video.
And to top the year off, we've teamed up with the Sumatran Orangutan Society, so for every order a customer has placed with us, we're planting a tree in the customer's name! The Sumatran orangutan relies on forests, it's their home, but the forests of Sumatra are under immense and mounting threat. If you'd like to read more about what the S.O.S do, click here.
Oh, and make sure you watch our 2019 blooper reel created by Adam, it's a funny one!
It's been a great year for me, I hope the next one is even better!
Have a good one everyone, Naomi x
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