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Return of the Traditional Sweet Shop
Chinkles is a sweet & gift shop located in The Market Place Shopping Centre in Blackwood. The shop is the second to be opened locally by owner Samantha Tomsett, the other is in Aberbargoed. Her aim is to create a unique experience for her customers including by: focusing on customer experience arranging rows of sweets in jars behind the counter displaying a mini Ferris Wheel laden with sweets in the window the Ferris Wheel stocked full of sweets is also available to hire for children’s parties. She said: Our aim is simply to make people happy! When someone chooses sweets or buys a balloon for an occasion it makes them smile. Having worked my whole life in retail I know how important it is that people enjoy coming into your shop
Ibiza meets Caerphilly – Social Enterprise of The Month
Social Enterprise GR Cleaning Services are playing hosts to two students from Ibiza as part of the Erasmus programme. Aitor Venteo Maya 23 and Ivan Verdra Jiminez 21 from the Secondary Education Institution IES Sa Blanca Dona in Ibiza are enjoying a 2 month work placement in Bedwas Caerphilly. Whilst here they will benefit from being based in a business as part of their Business Administration qualification and of course an opportunity to practice their English. GR Cleaning Services has been working with Coleg Cymoedd Nantgarw for over 6 years hosting students from Ibiza. They have also hosted work placements from other partner organisations. As a Social Enterprise – GR Cleaning Services has always been keen to offer work placements and work experience as part of social aims and objectives. GR Cleaning Services is a Caerphilly based Social Enterprise, established in 2009. Their aim is to provide a professional, high quality, valued-cleaning and facilities management service in an honest and socially responsible way. All their profits are ploughed back to ensure the continued employment of staff from within the local community. All the staff are members of the Social Enterprise so have say on how the company develops. They provide domestic, office and industrial site cleaning at outstanding affordable rates, some of their clients include Wales Co-operative, ISG and Encon. Istvan Racz Business Development Manager for GR Cleaning Services said: We are very proud of the fact that we are a Social Enterprise and invest in our staff providing them with employment and training opportunities. All our staff are members of the…
Green scheme brings community benefits
Community schemes across South Wales will be able to tap into a £50,000 funding pot every year over the next 25 years thanks to a new green partnership. Viridor, the firm working with the ‘Prosiect Gwyrdd’ council partnership, have announced the launch of a new Community Fund to support projects across Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan. The 25 year scheme represents the term of the Prosiect Gwyrdd contract, which will see Viridor handle the treatment of residual (non-recyclable) waste from the 5 council areas at Trident Park in Cardiff. Charities, and properly constituted not-for-profit groups, will be able to apply for funding (up to £3,000) to deliver projects that positively impact their local community. Funding of projects is awarded on a set of criteria based around sustainability, local need, community involvement value for money and education. A panel will meet quarterly to review eligible applications and make the final decision on how money from the fund will be distributed. Cllr Nigel George, Caerphilly Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services said, “We welcome the launch of this new funding stream and look forward to the benefits it will bring to communities across South Wales. We are also pleased to be a key partner in Prosiect Gwyrdd, a collaboration which will provide a sustainable solution to the region’s residual waste for many years to come.” Funding criteria and the application forms can be found at https://viridor.co.uk/our-operations/energy/energy-recovery-facilities/cardiff-erf/community/ Original Article
Social Media Do’s and Don’ts from Superfast Business Wales
Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. Get a head start with our social media top tips. Go where your customers are Opening up good communication channels with your customers is key. Find out what social media platforms they are using, sign up and create your online presence to actively engage with your customers. Measure results against objectives Once you’re on social media, don’t rest on your laurels, do your homework and find out if it’s actually working in terms of your business goals – doing this will also help you work out what you could be doing better. Get more followers Using social media links on your website and emails is an easy way of pointing people towards your Facebook page, Twitter account, etc., increasing your followers. Keep an eye on changes in the social world The world of social media is constantly developing, and there are more and more platforms popping up all the time. Keep up to date with the latest social media news and stay one step ahead. Accept criticism and respond positively Sometimes customers will use social media as a gateway to publically complain. The golden rules are don’t get defensive or dragged into an online argument – respond promptly, thank them for bringing it to your attention, and be positive but above all don’t ignore it or delete it. Ask your customers for feedback and act on it so they can see that you are listening. Be consistent, and don’t lie Be consistent in…
Family Business Powers Ahead
A family run electrical retailer in Blackwood town centre goes from strength to strength. Blackwood Appliance is located in Emily’s Indoor Market which is located above Wilko’s on High Street. The business was started in 2011 by Mark Jones and not only sells a full range of brand new cookers, fridges and washing machines but also offers a repairs service. From small beginnings Blackwood Appliance has grown and Mark now works alongside wife Mandy and son Craig. The repairs side of the business stocks a full range of electrical spares ranging from cooker elements and vacuum cleaner bags to fluorescent tubes. Mark said: Its really important that we are a family run business who offer a great service. I have been selling electrical appliances for 31 years and so have gained a wealth of product knowledge which I use to help our customers.
Work experience of a lifetime awaits two hairdressing apprentices in Cyprus
Two hairdressing apprentices from Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach are preparing for a work experience opportunity of a lifetime. Hannah Voisey, 21, from Cracked Actors, Caerphilly and Luca Sparey, 19, from Spirit Hair Team, Ystrad Mynach, will fly out to Cyprus on April 9 where they will divide their 16-day visit between working in Cypriot salons and attending cutting, hair up and colouring workshops at The Hair and Beauty Academy in Paphos. To prepare them for the experience they have been taking Greek lessons to help them converse with their hosts. It’s the most ambitious work experience placement to date arranged by award-winning ISA Training, based in Bridgend, who are the largest independent hair and beauty training provider in Wales. A total of 15 apprentices from South Wales and Gloucestershire and two staff members are involved in the visit, which is being arranged as part of the company’s Oyster Project, which is based on the saying ‘The world is your oyster’. The project aims to enhance the learning experience of apprentices, increase their confidence and broaden their career horizons. Funding support is being provided by Erasmus+, the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport, which offers exciting opportunities for UK leaners to study, work, volunteer, teach and train abroad in Europe. ISA Training, which has arranged previous visits to Spain, Cyprus, Poland, Turkey and New York, is now seeking funding support for future trips to Spain, London and Finland. Last year, the company welcomed learners from Poland, Spain and Turkey as part of an exchange programme. This is the…
New Art Exhibition Flies into Bargoed
A ‘pop up’ art gallery in Bargoed town centre has unveiled its final exhibition “I let myself be bird” which runs from 4th – 22nd April and comprises of photos taken by Stanka Koleva, a Bulgarian born photographer currently living and working in Berlin, Germany. Stanka began taking photographs after inheriting her first camera from her grandfather and learning the printing techniques she uses now from the owner of the last commercial darkroom in Bourgas. “I let myself be bird” is the 7th and last exhibition by the Kickplate Project which has used ‘pop up’ gallery in Hanbury Road since August 2015. The project has been financially supported of the Arts Council of Wales (Welsh Government and Lottery Funding), Caerphilly Arts Development and Bargoed Town Council. Project Director Dafydd Williams said: This is our final exhibition in Bargoed and we’re very happy to be showing Stanka’s beautiful and ethereal work as a farewell show. We’d like to thank everyone who has been coming to visit us in the past 8 months, we found the community in Bargoed very warm and welcoming and we wish we could stay longer. We’d also like to remind everyone they can still bring their old photographs and negatives to the gallery if they’d like to have them scanned
New Business Provides Turkish Delight
A new traditional Turkish barber has opened on Market Street in Caerphilly town centre. Male grooming is currently emerging as a growth area in the retail sector and Turkish barbers are proving particularly popular. Visiting a Turkish barber can include not only a haircut, but also a hot shave, beard trim, eyebrow threading as well as other male grooming services. The emphasis is on offering the customer a complete experience which is more than just a quick haircut. The business is run by brothers Hakan and Yayo Salak. Owner Hakan Salak said: We were located in Trethomas but wanted to make the move to Caerphilly town centre, we managed to find a great property overlooking the castle and look forward to bringing something new to the people of Caerphilly.
Caerphilly Print & Display business expands
A Caerphilly business which specialises in the manufacturing and fitting of a range of signs, displays and vehicle graphics is celebrating its ongoing expansion. Print Sauce Ltd was set up in January 2010 by Gary Bagstaff and his business partner Matthew Bullough, after they were both made redundant from their previous jobs. The business, formed during the height of the recession and with no capital investment or existing equipment, initially began trading from a friend’s garage in Newport. The business soon began to grow, and within a few months they had moved to a new premises in Capital Business Park, Cardiff, where they shared the premises with another company. After four years sharing this unit, they once more outgrew the facility and decided to take their own unit within Caerphilly Business Park. Year on year, the business has steadily grown, but the last year in particular has seen Print Sauce Ltd really develop. The business, which actively looks to work with larger companies and has customers including Warner Bros, Peters Foods, Tenovus, Ty Hafan, Wales Air Ambulance, Cardiff University, Cardiff Met and University of South Wales, now has seven staff members and has seen its turnover rise by a huge 75%. In the latest development, Print Sauce Ltd has now taken on a second unit on the same estate, giving them three times the available space. Gary Bagstaff says: We pride ourselves on the range of products we offer, the quality control process we have in place and the fact that we are constantly looking for new materials and…