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Bedminster is Best

Supporting our community is important to us at Minuteman Press Bristol, and we are very proud of our location in Bedminster. It was fantastic news when one of our directors, Lucie Wise, was recently elected as a director of the Bedminster Town Team.

The limited company formed last May (2012) as a result of the ‘Portas Pilots’ – whereby various neglected UK high streets were awarded grants via Mary Portas’ government initiative.

Lucie said: “The directorship is an honour and responsibility for me and Minuteman Press Bristol. I am very excited to be on board. We spend the best part of the day here in Bedminster and feel that we are local in the same way that people who live here are.

“Together with the other directors, I will be able to know what improvements are planned, express my opinion on them, and make sure that our end of Bedminster is represented and gets a fair share in the Business Improvement District”.

The main goals of the Town Team are to improve the economic health of the high street, and encourage locals to engage in more activities in the area.

Lucie says one of the first areas she will look at is improving conditions for Bedminster cyclists: “I would like more cycling furniture to be installed (eg bike locking rails on the streets), more greenery introduced and to reduce littering on the streets. That is my starting point but there are many other issues”.

Having been based in Bedminster since 2006, Lucie says she really loves the area’s character: “It may look little scruffy on the edges, but it’s a very friendly place with people who care”.

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All for One25

One25 is a Bristol charity that reaches out to women trapped in street sex work, supporting them to build new lives away from violence, poverty and addiction. One25 receives no official funding, so is entirely reliant on generous volunteers and donations to keep going.

Having worked with One25 previously, Minuteman Press Bristol had no hesitation in offering our services when the charity put out a call for businesses to help with its auction. As such, we are proud to be sponsoring One25’s tickets and programmes.

Louise Willott, One25’s fundraiser, told us: “One25’s auction extravaganza is an unforgettable night, including a bubbles reception, a delicious two course dinner, live music, a special guest speaker and of course the grand auction. We will celebrate the growing number of women that are breaking free from Bristol’s streets each year and rebuilding their lives, with all proceeds funding us to continue supporting women to find hope and freedom”.

The One25 auction will be on November 23 2013 at Woodlands Church, Clifton. The charity is still looking for luxury prizes to auction on the night, so if you’re able to help, please email Louise.

Find out more about One25 on the website: One25.

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Energy Efficiency

Furthering our commitment to being as environmentally responsible as possible, Minuteman Press Bristol recently upgraded to energy efficient lighting for our Bedminster studio.

We were pleased to work with the team at Ablectrics on nearby Gloucester Road for the project, not least because there’s nothing we like more than supporting another family-run ethical local business.

Ablectric owner Fraser Besant said: “We put in an adjustable mains track suspended from the ceiling. It’s fitted with brand new, three watt LEDs giving 50 watts of light. So that’s a big thumbs-up for the environment and for the overheads of their small business. The new lighting system will bring Minuteman’s electricity costs down by 96%”.

The collaboration came about because Minuteman Press Bristol had helped Ablectrics out on a number of design and printing jobs over the years, so Fraser explains: “I did them a good deal as they always look after me, and it’s ultimately led to more business for us both”.

Minuteman Press Bristol director Peter Wise added: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with the team at Ablectrics”.

ElectricsandLighting.co.uk.

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We’ve Got Bed Bugs!

We love working in Bristol and supporting the Bedminster community, where our studio is located. So when we heard about the Bedminster Bugs initiative, we didn’t hesitate to sign up to decorate our building with a beautiful beastie. This explains why we currently have a bright yellow Bed bug lurking on the front of our print centre frontage, and we’ve been tickled by the surprised expressions on people’s faces when they head down to Bedminster to tick off all 83 of the bugs on the trail (we’re number one, by the way!).

Jointly organised by the Upfest Gallery on North Street, and the Bedminster Town Team, we caught up with Upfest arts director Steve Hayles to find out more. He said: “The bugs project was funded by the Bedminster Town Team from the money they got through the Mary Portas scheme to rejuvenate some of Britain’s high streets.

“The bug trail has been going very well. Families and children have really enjoyed them. We’ve had people come bug spotting from all over the country, including some elderly ladies from London. I think we’ve handed out about 7,000 bug trail maps, which is a pretty good indication of how popular it’s been!”

BUG FACT: The Minuteman Press Bristol’s bug was painted by local illustrator Dom Williams, a member of the Cretin Collective.

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Life Cycle

Bristol-based insurance broker Chris Bloomfield is attempting a sub-human feat of endurance. He’s intending to cycle 66 miles a day, for 66 days, across America’s famous Route 66. Phew!

Starting in September 2013, Chris will rack up 3,500 miles on the epic journey, which will take him from New York to Los Angeles. And he’s doing this to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society and Great Ormond Street Hospital, after his grandfather died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2012.

Chris explains: “I have decided to cycle Route 66 due to the magnitude of the task, along with the hope of creating a parallel between my vulnerability and those who have suffer with dementia. The route is fairly deserted and this means I will need the help of many people along the way. This help is similar to those who have no choice but to receive help when suffering with dementia.”

He adds: “I’m completing the trip entirely solo! Some of my family are worried about me but I have a pretty determined mindset, therefore I will get
through the pain and struggles to complete the trip.”

With a sponsorship goal of £20,000 to meet, Minuteman Press Bristol didn’t think twice about not only sponsoring a brick in Chris’s virtual fundraising wall, but also subsidising the costs of his printed materials.

Chris explains: “Minuteman has provided me with some fantastic business cards that I have been passing to potential sponsors, and these will also be used when I am in America to generate extra donations. Also I will be
using Minuteman for some flyer and poster printing for a couple of events that are coming up in the next few months.”

Just Do It For Charity

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Drawn to Perfection

If you have visited the Minuteman Press Bristol studios recently, you’ll have noticed the beautiful artwork in our windows.

These pictures of hares, birds and other wildlife are the work of Bristol artist Dru Marland.

Having the pictures in our windows has opened Dru’s work up to a whole new audience, as she explains: “It’s like putting on an exhibition for the sort of people who don’t tend to go to galleries! Some people have gone in to Minuteman to ask about the pictures having seen them from the bus, which I think is rather cool!”

Dru grew up on a farm in South Wales, which was where her love of nature stems from. However, she also illustrates all manner of other things, and is currently creating a series of illustrations about important women in Bristol’s history. “I’ve started with St Werburgh, who wasn’t really Bristolian but there’s an area of Bristol named after her,” Dru explains. “It struck me there weren’t many streets in Bristol named after women, and there are very few pictures of them. So it’s ripe for catching up with”.

Find out more about Dru on her website Upside Down In Cloud.

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All’s Fair in Trade

Minuteman Press Bristol was delighted to win a Bronze Award at the South West Fairtrade Business Awards in spring 2013.

Director Peter Wise and Senior Graphic Designer Ryan Smith were presented with the award by celebrity chef Levi Roots at a grand ceremony at Bristol’s Colston Hall.

Jenny Foster, Bristol and South West Fairtrade Co-ordinator, said: “South West Fairtrade congratulates Minuteman Press Bristol on achieving a Bronze Fairtrade Business Award. It is wonderful to see a local business that believes in working in a fair and ethical way and supporting Fairtrade locally”.

In order to qualify as a Fairtrade business, Minuteman Press Bristol had to reach a certain standard on a number of criteria. These ranged from stocking Fairtrade refreshments for staff and visitors in our kitchen, to supporting Fairtrade at community events, and promoting the benefits of Fairtrade within the office environment.

Image by Jon Craig.

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New Recruit

We welcomed a new member of staff recently to the Minuteman Press Bristol studio, in the shape of Spanish graphic designer Leticia Campoy Vega.

Leticia joined the team in January 2013… and not only was she new to Minuteman but she was also new to Bristol, because she is originally from Almeria, Spain.

Having a Spanish and Italian-speaking team member has been very useful in our Bristol studio, as Leticia explains: “We have Spanish and Italian regular customers, so I can speak to them in their own language. There are much more Spaniards now than when I first came to England ten years ago, and many of them are relieved that they can communicate in their own language at Minuteman”.

Leticia has a degree in Visual Communications from a Spanish university, and later studied graphic design at the Metropolitan College in Birmingham. “I was lucky because I had the best tutor in the world and the level of the HND was extremely high,” she says. “Plus we had the chance to meet our designer superheroes every now and then!”

Although she has only lived in Bristol for eight months, Leticia says the time has flown by and she loves the city. “What I like about Bristol is how lively it is and the fact that I have so many favourite places, from Gloucester Road to Park Street. And I love riding my bike by the riverside.”

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Tweet, Tweet

 If you’re not doing business on Twitter, then you’re not doing business as well as you could be. At Minuteman Press Bristol, we’ve made our mark on the micro-blogging platform.

We signed up to Twitter soon after it launched in 2006 and have enjoyed watching our followers surge in recent years – and were thrilled to recently pass the 5,000 followers mark.

But Twitter is about more than just gaining followers, it’s also about giving good tweet! So all our full-time staff in the Minuteman Press Bristol studio help with running our Twitter feed. We pride ourselves on not just tweeting about the services we offer, but also commenting on local news stories, offering a thought for the day and so much more. We love nothing more than chatting on Twitter with the fascinating people who populate the Twittersphere.

Director Peter Wise says: “Twitter allows us to talk to people informally, plus it gives us access to people and organisations we might not otherwise have been able to reach.”

If you’re not following us yet, you can find us at @MinutemanPress.