Art inspired by Dorset countryside

Dorset artist Jan Dowding can't wait for longer, bright days... this 30x20" framed oil painting 'Field of Flowers' was inspired by bright yellow rapeseed fields during long, lazy walks in the Dorset countryside.

She said: "I love the contrast between strong yellow and the beautiful blue of the sky."

Oil painting 'Boulders' by Dorset artist Jan Dowding

Dorset artist Jan Dowding lives near the sea and frequently take walks (with me!) along the coast - especially if there’s the hint of a beautiful sunset.
   This seascape she painted is called ‘Boulders’ - 20”x16” oil painting on box canvas.
www.jedart.co.uk   @JanDowding

Slum kids steal the show at their school Christmas party

Well, the Child of Hope Christmas party was a huge success for all the children and the parents they invited, plus local community leaders and friends… thank you everyone who donated to make this Christmas very special for our pupils!

   Local VIPs from the Namatala slum district of eastern Uganda said lots of nice things about the school and its positive impact on the families and community. One local councillor said how very impressed he continues to be with our work and that he will continue to support us.

   But the main thing… the kids had a whale of a time! Lots of them put on special performances, there was good food and gifts for all, and loads of fun and giggles. Click here to see more pictures.
   Child of Hope is building a huge (by slum standards) school for the area's most vulnerable children, providing free education, food, clothing... plus parental support with life skills and business training with start-up grants.

Oil painting: 'Acers'

@JanDowding

One of my oil paintings on canvas… I named it ‘Acers’. 30x20” www.jedart.co.uk - pic.twitter.com/g2jyfrhjr9

Groveley Detection: Incus update

Updated photography for Groveley Detection's GDU-Incus ultrasonic/acoustic gas detectors, which instantly detect gas leaks in hazardous areas by 'hearing' the sound generated by escaping pressurised gas.

It is the only method of detection able to respond to a gas leak without the gas cloud needing to come into direct contact with the detector. The technology is impervious to wind, fog or gas dilution... and therefore very reliable in outdoor installations.

New Child of Hope video: Merry Christmas song

Children and staff at Child of Hope's slum-based school in Uganda sing their Christmas greeting... as always, it's a bit of fun. This one is short, under two minutes.

Hundreds of lives have been changed for the better again this year. The video was filmed in Uganda as a thankyou to supporters.

You can watch it on Child of Hope's video page, onYouTube (full screen) or on Vimeo (where you can download it). Enjoy!

Child of Hope school: Construction has started

It’s begun! This is the final stage of Child of Hope's primary school, which – on completion – will provide free education for around 600 children from the Namatala slum in eastern Uganda.

These workmen are carrying sand and bricks up the fire escape stairs and onto the concrete floor of the new floor (currently the roof), ready for the actual construction work to start next week. The tall wire structures will soon form the core of the concrete pillars to hold the new roof.

Small charities: communications and online PR help from Dowding2

Small charities and non-profits... want help with your communications and online PR?

If your charity needs greater supporter loyalty and donation income... or it has expanded to the point that you need help with PR and supporter communications to sustain your growth... or you realise that by telling your stories you will boost donations... we can help.

Oil painting: Crushed Berry Crackle

Jan Dowding ‏@JanDowding


Title: Crushed Berry Crackle – one of my #abstract oil paintings on box canvas, 24x18" - now sold
www.jedart.co.uk
pic.twitter.com/Yhmit1IWZz

Kirolite: Man of metal

When clients want something unique for their bespoke furniture, mirrors and staircases, Kirolite's metal finishes applied to wood can tick a lot of boxes! The result is a gorgeous antique metal look – great for features – and every finish is a one-off.
   Some buyers prefer a satin look, others like it with a high shine… or it could be anything in between. We can produce the look in aluminium, stainless steel, bronze and brass.
   How’s it done? To explain the process, who better than our lacquer shop team leader, Martin Bray...
   “We spray the finish in several coats, starting with a base coat of two parts metal filings to one part PU resin lacquer. After that, we sand it back using various grades before producing the final shine.”
   “The antique look is created by applying a patina to react with the metal before thoroughly cleaning and finishing with a coat of wax.”

Picture by Phil Dowding

Nativity play... Ugandan slum-style

Some of the older Child of Hope kids put on this slightly wacky version of the Christmas nativity. You'll need a cup of tea... it's around nine minutes long, but will give you a chuckle...

The video can also be seen on Youtube and Vimeo (from Vimeo you can download it for use in schools and churches, etc). Enjoy!

JED Art: Ceramic Christmas gifts at craft fayre tomorrow

Dorset artist Jan Dowding of JED Art has made ceramic Christmas gifts (like this tealight-holder house) for sale on her stand at the Christmas Craft Fayre tomorrow at the Lighthouse Family Church (Holton Heath, Dorset), 10am–2pm.
   Jan's ceramics will help raise funds for slum children in Uganda through Dorset-based charity Child of Hope.
   The event will feature local craft producers selling ceramics, Tupperware, hand-made cards, paintings, jewellery, books, gifts, preserves, cakes… and loads more.

New… rabbit husbandry for slum school in Uganda

If you’re a bit squeamish… please don’t read on! In a new attempt to help its pupils understand about looking after animals – and to provide meat for its school dinners – Child of Hope school in Mbale is trialling a project to breed rabbits.

   In Uganda as in many countries (and rural England, of course) eating rabbits is culturally acceptable and simply plain good sense. For the school in the slum, it will mean our pupils will have the rare treat of eating meat a few more times during the year. Poverty prevents that from happening much (if ever) at home.    But… trying to stop the kids from holding the poor rabbits by their ears… well, that was nigh impossible!
   Child of Hope is also based in Dorset, UK.
 

Meet Santa at his grotto – or join him for breakfast!

Children can meet Santa in his grotto or even have breakfast with him at Cadnam Garden Centre this weekend, Dec 14 and 15.
   Santa will visit the centre on Saturday and Sunday to give children presents in his grotto. On Sunday children can have breakfast with him! Each activity costs £5 per child.
   All the events will raise funds for charity Honeypot, which enhances the lives of vulnerable children and young carers by providing respite breaks and on-going support.
   Breakfast with Santa times are 8.30–9.30am. Santa’s grotto times are 10am–1pm and 1.30–4pm.
   The local Salvation Army brass band will also appear on Saturday December 14, 11am–1pm.

Picture by Phil Dowding

Unique kitchen provides sales edge for luxury apartments

A bespoke kitchen designed and manufactured by Kirolite is helping provide a sales advantage in a developer’s conversion of an office block to luxury apartments.
   And it enabled the Dorset high-end furniture producer to win a contract to produce 40 high-end kitchens for the project.
   The developer's construction team wanted a unique kitchen design to boost its sales edge in a very busy property market, so we designed a unique image to a specific colour and requirements. It involved a handle-less system with a contemporary look and a bespoke colour that will last.
   Cupboard fronts are in an ivory colour, while formed metal sections are introduced in the kicker plates and special door-opening mechanism. All MDF is water-resistant and the solid-surface tops have a seamless finish.
Pictures to follow soon.

Your own inhouse, part-time marketing or PR manager

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I'm Phil Dowding – not a consultant suggesting what you do – I would handle it for you, providing you with skills that you may not be able to afford with a full-time employee.

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Oil painting: 'Sails'

Jan Dowding      ‏@JanDowding

Dorset artist Jan Dowding - one of my abstract oil paintings on canvas... I named it 'Sails'. 30x20" pic.twitter.com/rzhv8G3eIF

You can make a slum kids Christmas – for just £3.50

It's true.

UK charity Child of Hope is planning a special Christmas party for all its school pupils from the Namatala slum in Uganda. They will have a great meal – probably the only one this year with real meat – and each receive a gift, some clothing and sweets. Best of all, they get to have fun! It's a terrific event that brings a lot of happiness to the children – and they can bring a parent and brother/sister along too.

It all costs around £3.50 per child – so would you like to join the party by helping fund it? You could buy it for yourself, or pay for a friend! Any donations would be helpful, small or large, and we'll e-mail you a ‘Thank you’ card to print out and pop on your mantlepiece with all your other Christmas cards!

Here's how... www.childofhopeuganda.org/donation-shop/slum-kids-christmas/

Social media tips for charities

Phil Dowding ‏@PhilGDowding

Charities - great tips on managing your #socialmedia - http://abt.cm/1grFz6f

Seeing Double

Jan Dowding    @JanDowding

'Seeing Double' 30x24" acrylic painting on canvas... - - I love daisies... http://www.jedart.co.uk - pic.twitter.com/CZkHPJRK15

Festive ceramics gifts

Ceramics made by Jan Dowding of JED Art will soon help raise funds for slum children in Uganda through Dorset-based charity Child of Hope (she's a trustee!), which is building schools for slum kids in Uganda.

These tealight Christmas trees and other yuletide gifts she has made will be for sale on her stand at the Christmas Craft Fayre at the Lighthouse Family Church (Holton Heath, Dorset) on Dec 7, 10am–2pm.

The event will feature local craft producers selling ceramics, Tupperware, hand-made cards, paintings, jewellery, books, gifts, preserves, cakes… and loads more.

Sunseeker award for outstanding performance

Luxury wood machinist/joiner Kirolite is celebrating after winning a prestigious award from luxury boat builder Sunseeker International – for our 'outstanding' work on its top-of-the-range Sea Raider V craft.

The Dorset-based company provided one-off interior furniture for the 40 metre yacht, ranging from a bar, television cabinets and air conditioning units to chest of drawers and bedside cupboards.

The timeframe from concept through to actual fitting out was just 16 weeks, described by Sunseeker as an "outstanding performance in meeting our most demanding requirements."

The award is a huge feather in Kirolite's cap from one of the world's most prestigious brands. The company has worked with Sunseeker for 35 years and feels very proud that its role in meeting the most exacting of requirements has been recognised in this way.

The five cabin Sea Raider V can accommodate up to 12 guests and seven crew members and is capable of a top speed of 24 knots. She is the largest Sunseeker to be built ahead of the launch of the 155 yacht next year. Sea Raider V was displayed at this year's Cannes and Monaco yacht shows following delivery to her owner in the Mediterranean earlier this summer.

The special award was officially presented to Kirolite at the 2013 Sunseeker Supplier of the Year Awards. In the picture: Bonnie Randall, Kirolite's managing director (second right); Nigel Crabbe, sales manager (right) and shareholders John and Margaret Randall join staff to celebrate the special award from Sunseeker.

Antique metal look is just stunning

Bespoke furniture producer Kirolite's latest one-off project for a 115 Sunseeker yacht has been installed – a bar mirror in distressed bronze finish, complete with two shelves in gloss traditional walnut burr veneers with a modern twist of stainless steel polished rails.

We love the amazing new antique-metal-look finishes... perfect for on board a luxury yacht or in a beautiful home or hotel.

The requirement: An old-fashioned-style saloon mirror to be positioned above a small bar cupboard.

The effect: We overlaid a bronze antique effect on an original hardwood and MDF frame. This was sprayed with the finish of metal filings, with the top layer burnished off to expose the metal, a ragged process with acid to obtain a suitably-mottled effect, polished, left to tarnish, then sealed with top coat… all done in-house.

The result: A gorgeous finish… and one that can be used to make many wood products look like they’re made of distressed metal. The finishes are limitless!

Charlotte Richards, a new-generation grower

Charlotte Richards has been appointed a director of her family’s horticultural business – Golden Acres – which her father Paul started in 1980.

   Charlotte (19) is currently working her way through every department of the business to gain experience.

   The company is a large specialist grower of bedding plants – three million plants each year – and also owns five garden centres in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Warwickshire.

   Formerly at Bournemouth School for Girls, Charlotte said: “I’m learning the business from the bottom up and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

   “I love plants especially bedding, which are so varied and colourful. That’s entirely what we focus on in our growing nurseries in Hampshire and Dorset. Then we sell the plants through our own centres and also supply to other garden centres around the south.”

www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk  
Picture by Phil Dowding

Groveley Detection wins its largest orders for ultrasonic gas leak detection

Groveley Detection reports it has won its two largest order for ultrasonic gas leak detectors.
   For commercial reasons the company cannot yet divulge the client’s details, but two new Australian contracts will mean the supply of 224 of Groveley’s GDU-Incus detectors for an offshore installation and 149 Incus units for an onshore facility. The combined order value is in excess of $3.5 million.
   Delivery will be completed by June 2013, and Groveley is employing eight new staff members and expanding its factory to boost production.
   Managing director Robert Bennet said: “The technology is still relatively new and we believe this is the world’s largest order for UGLDs. It has focused us clearly on further growth.
   “Our Incus detector uses piezo technology rather than microphones, so it is extremely stable. It’s an all-British patented product; developed and manufactured at our Dorset factory.”
   The GDU-Incus offers a coverage area of up to 40m (pressure, leak size and background noise level dependent), a detection range between 25kHz to 100kHz and an instantaneous speed of response. The IP66/67-rated detector provides protection from the harshest of weather with a -55°C to +85°C operating temperature range.
   Each GDU-Incus is factory-set and requires no field calibration. It needs minimal maintenance and reliable operation is ensured using a continuous electronic self test.
www.groveley.com    Photography by Phil Dowding

Groveley Detection announces record year with 18% turnover boost

Hazard detection company Groveley Detection has announced a record year with an 18 per cent increase in turnover to £4.7 million for its latest financial year, which ended in May.

   It reports that profits in the period more than doubled, due to a higher proportion of its sales being own-build products than equipment it distributes.

   Managing director Robert Bennet said: “We have maintained sales of gas detection systems we sell in the UK as a distributor, and at the same time we have hugely increased sales of our own products, mainly to export markets. The main cause of that is our new Incus ultrasonic gas leak detector, which has allowed us to expand widely into world markets.

   He said: “We have made our name as problem-solvers; companies around the globe approach us with situations they need a solution for. Most locations we install equipment in are extremely hazardous – no two sites or facilities are exactly the same.”

   The growth meant the leasing of further premises adjacent to its factory in January, allowing Groveley to double its production capacity.

www.groveley.com      Picture by Phil Dowding