Christmas Opening Times 2010

StairSteady Christmas office opening times:
21st December-open as normal (9am-5pm)
22nd December-open as normal (9am-5pm)
23rd December-closed
24th December-closed
25th December-closed
26th December-closed
27th December-closed
28th December-emergencies only (answer machine)
29th December-emergencies only (answer machine)
30th December-emergencies only (answer machine)
31st December-emergencies only (answer machine)
1st January-closed
2nd January-closed
3rd January-closed
4th January-open as normal (9am-5pm)

We are not open much over Christmas as our manufacturers and fitters have a well deserved break, however we will have the phone on and answer machine (which we will be checking from the 28th-31st). we will also be checking our emails so you can email on either info@stairsteady.net or stairsteady@hotmail.co.uk
We hope you have a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

From Ruth and the StairSteady Team

Meet Rachael (yes another Rachael!)

1. Name
Rachael Dye, although outside of work I’m mostly Rae
2. Age
Sadly 31

3. What are you doing at StairSteady?
I’m working part time 9:30 till 3:45 most days although I do get to go on exciting trips to Glasgow and Birmingham for meetings and Exhibitions! I take care of most of the day to day office jobs and StairSteady sales as well as finding new leads for Ruth to follow up, as she is fabulous at the training, presentations and trade side of things J I’m also involved in developing a press pack and advertisments at the moment.

4. Why did you want to work at StairSteady?
I worked at StairSteady on a temporary basis after Rachel Kent left, it was only supposed to be until a replacement was found but i fell in love with my job! I wanted to work for a company that didn’t just care about making money out of people. I have a background in the NHS and wanted to do something that was working with people and as corney as it sounds making a difference to peoples lives. I also love how no one day is the same here, I can be answering phones and sending emails one day then at an exhibition and researching leads the next.

5. What do you want to get out of it?
I want to be a part of a team where each person is valued for what they bring and here at StairSteady that feels like it happens each day. I also want learn new skills, I love the challenge of doing new things. Last week i designed my first ever advert for a magazine, and although there was a fair bit of cursing my computer, I could sit back at the end of the day and see what I had acheived. I also get to meet some really genuinely interesting and nice people.

6. What are your strengths?
I think probably my dedication and perseverance are probably two of my strengths, I give 101% to everything I do. I’m also good at communicating with others and dealing with people in stressful situations.


7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I have two young children at the moment so in 10 years time i hope that they will be at an age where we can do some travelling, there is so much of the world i would like to see. Career wise i’d love to be with StairSteady having watched it transform from the small company it is now to something much larger, I know though with Ruth as a Manager and Me here too it will still keep hold of all those things we both feel are so important such as the customer focus and the ethical and moral ideals with both value. Who knows maybe we might have trade partners in the
far- flung places so i can combine my two goals! J

8. How would your friends describe you?
As someone they can turn too when they need to be heard or need a hand with something, hopefully just as a good friend.

9. Describe yourself in three words
Reliable, dedicated and caring
10. Do you like to go to the gym? (queation courtesy of Eamonn Hunt)
I’d love to have the time and energy! With two young children and work I don;t get chance any more but when i get opportunity I love to go out into beauiful places and walk or climb.
11. What do you do in your spare time
Haha see above! No seriously when i get chance I love being outdoors walking and camping etc but I also love music and creative things like making my own jewelery.

12. What is your favourite thing about Sheffield?
I love the fact that there is something for everyone, whatever you are into. The botanical gardens and various parks and green spaces are beautiful. I spent some time near Endcliffe park and Eccleshall Road and just the variety of things on offer there are fabulous, I could shop have a cup of real coffe and organic food then feel virtuous by walking through the park afterwards!

13. Do you like cheese? Which ones? (queation courtesy of Eamonn Hunt)

I have to confess that cheese isn’t my favourite food but Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without Red Winsor Cheese and Stilton with apricots and cranberries.


14. Favourite Film

These days its mostly Disney with the kids, but some of them are quite good! I do like a good Murder Mystery or Cop drama though. I’m really looking forward to seeing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo now its out.

15. Favourite food

I’m Vegetarian and I love berries, nearly all fruit and vegetables and things like cuos cous, brown rice, quinoa etc. I cook quite a lot so i often make stir fries, roast meditteranean vegetables and tagines etc.. as long as its fairly healthy then i’m happy!

16. Favourite Band

I love loads of different kinds of music, at the moment i’m listening to a lot of Pink, Florence and the Machine, Lady GaGa, My Chemical Romance.. but i’m also into the Beetles, Queen & Classical. All sorts really J

17. Favourite Shop

Oh hard choice.. I love Lush. For Clothes I have to go where they do a short range! I do like Top Shop, River Island and Next but you can’t beat Primark and New Look for a Bargin

18. Favourite Place

I fell in Love with Granada when i went out there for a relatives wedding, just to be able to walk on a deserted beach and snorkle before breakfast was amazing, it was also the one and only time I have seen the rainforest which I loved. Closer to home though i love the coast at places like Whitby, I like Manchester and Leeds for city life but nothing beats the peak district for the scenery and walking.

19. Favourite Sweets

Flying Saucers! Oh and a really high cocoa solids Dark Chocolate, Fair Trade though.

20. Tell us something that we would never think about you.
Ooh now what to tell when my boss will read this..! I have a little box full of earings as I only ever wear one of each set.. I also have Grade 5 Piano.

Rachael is our new StairSteady Co-ordinator so many of you may be speaking to her on the phone,

Hope everyone is keeping warm in this horrible weather,

R

Looking for a Job?

A good friend of mine Will is looking for a someone to joing his team. Could this be for you?

Community Manager Job Description

We seek a highly motivated individual with experience and fanatical-passion for blogging, micro-blogging and community participation leadership. Is building social community so ingrained you just can’t stop? Do you take pride in customer service excellence and fancy yourself as an entrepreneur?

We are a youth engagement company with a Crowd Community website launch in January. You’ll work directly with co-founder Emily Cummins, Barclays Woman of the Year, and be based in either our London or Leeds offices. This position is full time salaried with benefits, including attending mainstream and niche’ conferences. The successful candidate will hold an integral role, be a key marketeer and will contribute to corporate objectives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Take a strategic, metric based approach to achieving positive ROI.
Use data-base segmentation within your targeted strategy to grow user numbers
Interact with our customers to align unselfish service of their needs, with our corporate objectives
Be the eyes and ears of our brand as if your own reputation depended on it
Build and maintain our network by way of social media channels
Minute by minute participation in conversations that surround our content and brand, answer comments, be a mediator.
Identify threats and opportunities in user generated content surrounding our brand, report to appropriate parties.
Crisis management, extinguishing the flames of uproar
Interact with client and corporate agencies.
Create content for feeds and snippets in various social media sites.
Participate, as yourself and white hat avatars, on our behalf
Optimise tags, on our feeds, sharing sites like YouTube/Flickr and search engines through copywriting, creative & keyword optimisation.
Tag and title content, with an understanding of how the word’s chosen impact natural search traffic and rankings
Manage and track link building campaigns
Create and update daily, weekly and monthly reports


Our ideal candidate will be able to tick many of the below;
Has a degree in music, advertising, marketing, graphics, web development, communications, English, IT, theatre or anthropology.
Excel at research, possesses excellent writing skills and the ability to crank editorial and technical writing output without brooding.
Has work experience in advertising, PR, online marketing or similar
Dedicated to blogging and use of Facebook
Demonstrated creativity and documented immersion in social media
Demonstrated some ability to map out a marketing strategy and then drive that strategy proven by testing and metrics
Ability to jump from the creative side to analytical side
Ambitious
Understand organic optimization (SEO), social media optimization (SMO) and paid placement (PPC).
Understand libel, defamation and copyright infringement.
Discretion to identify threats and opportunities in user generated content
Understands social media universe including YouTube, StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Flickr, Twitter, Wikis, blogs, etc…We’re looking for a social media addict who maintains a personal mix of participatory expertise from among these channels.
Knowledge of name and tagging posts
Has excellent verbal and written communication skills and an ability to work individually on a project or in a team environment
Is eager to meet and exceed objectives and take on more responsibility
Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines
Ability to communicate results to management and in a fast paced environment

Leeds Round Foundry Media Centre, Foundry Street, Leeds LS11 5QP
London 16 Old Town, Clapham, London SW4 0JY
Surrey Lawster House, 140 South Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 2EU

08444 774 100

Keep Smiling,
R

Inspirational Magazine

i was asked to write an article for Inspirational Magazine,

you can see it on pages 36-37 http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1oavn/InspirationalMagazin/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F185185%2FInspirational-Magazine-revised-version

and for those that cant see the link, here is the text:

You never hear a man being asked what it’s like ‘being a man in business’ and yet in interviews people always ask me what it’s like being a woman in business or engineering. I don’t mind them asking but often it’s asked as if it was a hindrance, as if because of this reason I must find everyday a struggle.
At the age of sixteen when I first started my business I found that odd. For me living with my mother, who is a true representation of all things inspiring, meant that I never experienced any sort of gender inequality. Growing up in a world where my mother could keep down a job, clean the house, cook the tea, study for a master (and then a doctorate), run us around to our various hobbies and still have time to be a pillar of the community meant that by the age of sixteen I was in no doubt that it was a woman’s world.
This all meant that when, while doing my GCSE resistant materials, I got entered into the Young Engineer For Britain competition and then won I was thrown into a world of gender stereotyping. My first experience of being treated differently came the morning after I won the award. With no sleep and a lot of adrenaline I was doing a morning of interviews (which to a sixteen year old was bizarre to say the least). My first interview was with radio5live ‘the money programme’ and as I entered the studio and realised I was not only a) the only woman, but b) the youngest by at least two decades, I should have been prepared for a little bit of gender bashing. This however did not even cross my mind, I was on a real buzz after winning the award. The question that shocked me was one of the first of my three minute interview, that went along the lines of ‘so Ruth, why engineering? You look like so many others that want to media studies’. Well! I was shocked by such blatant bit of stereotyping and after what seemed like five minutes (although when you listen back it is only a couple of seconds) I fought my corner for women in whatever field they wanted to succeed in.
After my first encounter with these opinions I encountered many more from, being too young for business banking to comments about dressing too much like a woman. However, as the years went on I learnt to embrace, as my mother had, the joys of being a women in what was perceived by outsiders and the media as a man’s world. I found I had a lot more media attention, I relished in the comment ‘you don’t look like an engineer..’ or ‘ you run your own business, at YOUR age..’
I found that in my own little way I was breaking down barriers. I make a conscious decision not to change the way I dressed to fall into step behind the men and to enjoy the fact that I was a women doing what I enjoyed. Being a women in whatever field you choose to work in does not change that fundamentally that you are a women, I find that companies run by women are often run in slightly different ways to male led organisation, and I like that, it does not mean that they are any less successful. Oh and just because I think women should embrace being women does not mean that I think we should trample and stamp out all the men, I just like it when there is a balance.
Although I am sure there will come a day when men are asked ‘How do you find it being a man in business?’.



Hope your all having a good day,
Ruth

I am a very bad blogger...

I really need to blog more... whoops

So all has been busy in the StairSteady Office:

-We have a new leaflet and logo by printing.com, read all about it

http://growyourbusinesswithprintingcom.blogspot.com/

and look how pretty it looked when we did some filming for the Manufacturing Diploma

- We have taken on another Rachael, this time on a more permanent basis, blog intro to come.

-Up to Christmas we are running a scheme that any new orders that we receive we will create a Shoebox for Operation Christmas Child on behalf of the customer.

-We had a very product logistics meeting (I love my flo diagrams).

-Next week we have a meeting with Handicare (formally Minivator) who do our fittings for us.

-Revenue and Customs are doing some filming....more to come I promise.

Here the link to the other videos
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1081994865&type=ONEOFFPAGE

and

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1084616829&type=CAMPAIGN

-I may have an announcement to make this week or next... so follow me on twitter to be the first to hear @RuthAmos

Short post I know but my aim is to blog more, it’s good for the soul.

Bloodhound SSC: Doncaster College

I am very proud to say that I am a Bloodhound Project ambassador, now ‘what is the project?’ I hear you say; well the Bloodhound Project is the engineering adventure for the 21st century. They are pushing the limits and inspiring young engineers and scientists by building incredible car, driven by Andy Green, capable of 1,000mph. That’s right the Bloodhound Project is about breaking the land speed record (sexy right?) and so it is a big honour to be one of their ambassadors.

Lead by Richard Noble the Project is all about celebrating British Engineering at its finest. The Project team consists of some of the world’s most revered engineering talent the individuals involved have been hand picked to ensure BLOODHOUND SSC is a global success, bringing together previous partnerships and fostering new talent in one of the most exciting engineering adventures that the world has seen for many years.

So where do I come in? Well Jonathon Ellis is the Ambassador Director and with Jo Finch was holding a two day education event at Doncaster College, and this is finally where I come in. The days are to encourage, inspire and inform and I go under the heading on inspire. We two days were full of talks, time to see how the car would look, look at the spec, have a go at driving it (in the driving simulator, I wish I could drive the real thing!). We even got a visit from the Mayor.

The BLOODHOUND SSC project is unique when compared to other ground breaking engineering ventures in that all the information about the research, design, build and testing of the car is available to teachers and students, and of course to anyone that wishes to visit the website

The website is full of information, ideas and videos please take a look http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/

Or drop them an email to request an education day for your school, college or group http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/education.cfm

So you’ve had the information and links, now for the pictures (and all my silly faces, the photographer told me after ‘your very ...er....expressive’)

Im not the only one who is 'expressive'

Jonathon explains the features of the car 'it goes very fast'

Jo talks about where Andy be sat


The Mayor tries the fantastic driving simulator

And Finally.... my expressive talk

.....Aspire.....

...er...surprise?....

... and explanation

Job Vacancy

We are looking for someone to join our small local company on a temporary, part time basis.
Working Hours/ 5days a week
Mon-Thur 10.00-15.00
Fri 10.00-13.00

Applicant needs:
· Excellent Phone Manner
· Office Skills including- Word, Excel, Basic Finance and Email
· Willing to work independently
· Confident in dealing with all age groups
Hourly Rate £6.00
Applications by the 30th September 2010

To Apply Please Send Your CV To:
StairSteady Ltd
Westthorpe Innovation Centre
Killamarsh
Sheffield
S21 1TZ

Or Email info@stairsteady.net

Any queries please call
08456528804

TEDx Sheffield

TEDxSheffield
Yesterday was my first, but I hope not my last TED event I spent the afternoon at the showroom Sheffield for an afternoon of ideas, thoughts and me trying to sit still.

I have used the TED website before so when I heard that TEDxSheffield was on a day I was free and a friend had a spare ticket I jumped at the chance to have the ‘TED experience’ first hand. Now any of you that hasn’t heard of TED or have heard but never explored (shame on you),
TED is:

‘TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader.’

The TED website http://www.ted.com/ is filled with days worth of talks on many subject, many that inspire and inform. I would highly recommend that you have a look.

TEDxSheffield is about:

‘the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)’

So how was TEDxSheffield?....thought provoking, exciting, generally fantatastic (apart from the fact that I don’t do the sitting sit thing very well).

Chris Anderson welcomed us and introduced us to our first speaker Cennydd Bowles who talked about the beauty of the web, or lack of beauty in the web, the potential that was there for art and beauty and how functionality doesn’t create beauty. The fact that trying to please everyone often pleases no one. Very Thought provoking and he used a gorgeous font for his text.

The next talk was a TED Talk introduced by Jonny Douglas of Jonny Douglas Design (http://www.jonnydouglas.com/) or @JonnyDouglas on twitter. This was a talk about gross national happiness, another talk to make you think.

Then on to our second live speaker Richard St John, now this guy was a professional, but not in a *yawn* he does this talk times a day, he was lively and talked on ‘success’ he had talked to over 500 successful people and he talked about the values of success (he has a book too, 8ways to be successful). The main thing about Richards talk was his obvious love to push himself and he had climbed many mountains and ran many marathons (I may wish to follow in his footsteps after seeing the photos). Here is a small extract of his talk http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html

Then it was time for a break to stretch our legs, then on with the afternoon’s entertainment.
To get us back into the swing of things they showed us ‘Terrible Terry Tate, Office Linebacker’ if you have never seen it please google it, its a good giggle.

Our next talk was from Alex Graham, CEO of Wall to Wall, a media company responsible for creating shows like, Who do you think you are, The 1900’s house and Man on Wire.
I found him interesting, it’s obviously not his day job, but he had some good stories and the pretence of, “5 ways to kill creativity” was a good framework. Being a fan of the 1900 house as a child I was very excited to hear the man who had produced one of the first TV series I remember watching as a family.

Then was my favourite speaker, Tom Scott (although his time slot was a shorter one) with his amusing and thought provoking take on social media. He was very good, funny, I was taking notes. It was more of a show than a talk and after an afternoon of trying to find it you can see a recording of his talk
http://www.tomscott.com/mob/

Then we saw a famous TED talk about not being a leader, be the first follower a short but neverless entertaining talk by Derek Sivers titled’ hoe to start a movement’
Then we went onto the penultimate speaker Andy Hanselman, who as a friend of mine was one of the main reasons I wanted to support. Having heard Andy speak before he always keeps motivating me and today was no different.

And so onto the last speaker of the day Doug Richard and with an open letter to Mr Cameron, I found it thought provoking, sensible and ...funny. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting the humour, but I found that he made me think, question things and smile.

So as the afternoon drew to a close, I was sad it was over, looking forward to next time, loved the constant tweeting...oh and knew that I would be spending most of my free time finding other inspiring talks on the TED website.

oh an a shameless twitter plug follow me @ruthamos

Meet Rachel!

This summer we took on our first Intern, so we thought we would give her a grilling so you could all learn more about her.

1. Name
Rachel Kent

2. Age
20

3. What are you doing at StairSteady?
Im on a summer internship with StairSteady. I started at the end of June and Im working until September (taking full advantage of nice long university holidays!) I met Ruth whilst taking part in a competition at the University of Sheffield called ‘The Intern’. Basically it was similar to The Apprentice but on a much smaller scale! Ruth was one of the judges in the penultimate round.

4. Why did you want to do an internship at StairSteady?
Because StairSteady is a small company I knew that I would not just be making cups of tea(!) and that I would be taking an active role in helping the company progress. Also, unlike with larger companies and their internships, I knew I would be able to discover all the different elements and challenges that a business faces rather than staying in a particular department. This has definately happened already! In my first week I went from meeting potential customers to actually being in the factory heping make the product!

5. What do you want to get out of it?
My main aim is to increase my knowledge of how a business runs on a daily basis and their future projections. I am also keen to work on my own project within StairSteady, focussing on fixed/variable costs and the impact on StairSteady while hopefully helping Ruth and the team!

6. What are your strengths?
I would say that my strengths lie in my social skills! I would like to think that I am easy to get along with and truelly believe that ‘two heads are better than one’. I am also very hard working and do not like to leave a job unfinished (this might also be incase I forget the task the following day!).

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years time I will (hopefully!) have completed a degree and be well underway in my career. I am not sure what I want to go into yet, but ideally I would like to work for a charity. In 10 years time I would also like to be on my way to owning a house and possibly have a family.

8. How would your friends describe you?
I would like to think that they would describe me as caring and considerate and generally just a good friend!


9. Describe yourself in three words
Honest, Lively, Inquisitive

10. Do you like to go to the gym? (queation courtesy of Eamonn Hunt)
I would like to say yes but, no! Although my house for my 3rd and final year at university is very close to the gym and so I have no excuse not to join up in September!

11. What do you do in your spare time
I love spending time with my friends, whatever we are doing. Particularly like meeting up with my friends from home in the holidays as I dont get to see them as much as I would like in the term time. Im a member of Sheffield badminton club and like to play regularly (despite being pretty appauling!). I also like to go clubbing and to watch bands. Oh and of course, shopping!

12. What is your favourite thing about Sheffield?
Coming from a village, I love the variety of people in Sheffield and the ‘buzz’ of a city but also Sheffield seems to have the friendliness of a town or village. In my second year I lived very close to the centre of Sheffield and I enjoyed having so many things to go and see 2 minutes from my doorstep.

13. Do you like cheese? Which ones? (queation courtesy of Eamonn Hunt)
Haha! I like most ‘normal’ cheeses but I stay well clear of any blue cheese! My favourite is mature cheddar; melted cheese makes a meal!

14. Favourite Film
That’s a tough one! It would have to be between The Holiday, Pride and Prejudice and (embarrassingly) Save The Last Dance.

15. Favourite food
King prawns!

16. Favourite Band
I like a few, and it often changes but I would have to say Kings of Leon. I saw them play last year at a festival in Ireland called ‘Oxegen’ and they were unbelievable. Despite terrential rain and strong winds they still made the atmosphere amazing.

17. Favourite Shop
Topshop! Or if my bank balance is a little tight, New Look and Primark.

18. Favourite place
Edinburgh. Id really like to live there for a while when I’m older.

19. Favourite Sweets
Skittles

20. Tell us something that we would never think about you.
Another tough one! You would probably never think that I would be the only person in the whole of Sheffield university doing my course, Economics and Social Policy. Despite common questioning, this doesn’t mean that I have one-to-one lecturing as it’s dual honours, meaning i sit in Economic and then Social Policy/Sociology lectures.

Please follow me on twitter @rach_kent and hopefully we will meet soon :)

Naidex 2010- Ruth Diary

Day 1- Monday- set up
Today starts early with a trip to TNT to send off this week’s StairSteadys, then on to Birmingham, the car piled high with the stand. We arrive to a mass on half built stands and tools and machinery everywhere. After a sandwich the lads get to building the stand.







Video- before we start

Picture- making a start
Picture- starting to take shape
Picture- and were done
Video- how big the show is!







We leave at 6.30 ready for some food. I’m almost asleep into my rice.
Its a long day and I’m asleep by 8.30 as its going to be a long week!
Day 2- Tuesday
The day begins at 6.15 with a shower and a cup of coffee for mum breakfast at 7.00
Picture- mum and Phil enjoy breakfast
Picture- my Wheatabix
.... and were all ready to meet Matt at 8.30. We arrive at the show at 8.45 and the finishing touches are made (leaflets are put out, caffeine is pumped into the body) and at 10.00am the show opens and the people pour in (literally). We have a busy day demonstrating and handing out leaflets.
1300
Huntleigh’s demonstrations break up the day nicely and its fascinating seeing their bariatric equipment. Putnam’s vibrating pillows are selling like hot cakes and the contacts we are getting are fantastic. The guys next door let me stand on there AMAZING gel when me feet hurts...

... and cosy feet are doing a roaring trade.
1600
People have started heading home and the show is starting to get quiet.
1700
The show ends and the quiet StairSteady team decide to give the post show drinks a miss as we are all on our last legs.
1830
A debate about where to eat is taking place, we have ended up just driving around looking for food.....we have found an Ikea! Meatballs it is. (I know not the most normal thing to have, but very yummy)
1930
After getting very lost trying to find out way out, we decide to join the coach trips in the bar... one drink later and were all ready for bed!
2100
I’ve done well, managed to stay up an extra 30min J night all.
Day3- Wednesday
It’s a frantic rush this morning as the hotels electricity runs out. So they guys beat us to the NEC. (Dad bringing my supply of frozen juice- I’m mostly drinking liquids because of having my wisdom tooth out so it was a careful plan of who was bringing me up my homemade juice so it stayed fresh- it seemed a good idea at the time)Today we have got so much help on the stand! Mum, Dad, Peter, Phil, Matt and Reg are all there to help me. We have our new black StairSteady Shirts and they all look very smart.
It’s busy again and I leave the team in the afternoon for a meeting with Mike Lord (Minivator). Mike spends a few hours with me looking at how we are going to be moving forward. It’s a very thoughtful meeting, but hopefully the outcomes will help StairSteady go from strength to strength.

1830
After another long day Mum, Reg and Phil head back to Sheffield and Matt, Dad, Peter and me all hit the Chinese (I know my second Chinese in a week)
1930
By now we are running low on leaflets so in true StairSteady style I spend a couple of hours printing off and folding a couple of hundred leaflets.
Day 4- Thursday
Last day and the guys all look very smart in there suits. The show is not quite so busy today and Russ (Matt’s Dad) joins us at lunch before taking Matt home to do some revision. Today we get to visit some of the other exhibitor’s stands; I am always amazed with how many brilliant ideas are out there!
Mike joins us for a bit in the afternoon and quizzes the OTs on how we can get the StairSteady into more council. Minivator even let me have a go on one of there Stair Lifts!
The day ends at 1600, but the work is only just beginning as after a quick change its time to take down the stand.
I learn how to use the power tools and Dad, Peter and me get the stand down in record time.
Were on our way home by 1930
2100
I arrive home and collapse onto the sofa while Phil makes me a cup of tea, my Mum brings me my tea (they look after me well) and I can barely keep my eyes open.
Day 5-Friday- unpacking and sorting out
Friday is usually spent unpacking the stand and storing it, sorting out leaflets and lists and working out where ‘this thing’ used to live.
Suitcases fill the house and someone always manages to fall over a bit of a StairSteady. It chaotic, but it’s a team effort and that’s what I love. The StairSteady team all pulling together and working hard.
Thanks Team
Ruth x

Naidex 2010

I cannot believe it was a year since the last Naidex; it’s the night before the week of..... Well sleep deprivation, madness, excitement, tired feet and fun.
Naidex is big on the StairSteady calendar, however tiring it is it will always have a special place in my heart. It was the place that I launched the StairSteady, where I first met Mike Lord and the Minivator team, it’s also a week I get to spend with my family, they take time off to help man the stand and the time we spend together is fantastic!

Don't get me wrong it’s a lot of preparation and (as I’m still not finished working at 8.50 on a Sunday night having worked a lot of the day) its hard work, but I LOVE IT! Naidex is a chance for everyone to get together, trade, the public and healthcare professionals. It the biggest show of its kind within the UK, and although it’s not cheap, it is worth every penny.

Now I’m saying all these fantastic things, and I’m not even there yet (I may be blogging with a different tone tomorrow) but this is my past experience.

Tomorrow (Monday) is set up day and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the doors are open and we take down Friday. It’s a full week.

I find tomorrow a really interesting day- I think it’s the engineer in me- three big empty halls get turned into a miniature village, for three days halls and the NEC, Birmingham become the mobility and healthcare centre of the UK. Filled with members of the public wanting to find out how to solve there everyday problems, healthcare professionals wanting to find out the newest developments in the marketplace and the trade looking for the next big thing.

It’s one of the most organised shows I have ever done, visitors badges are colour coordinated, online manuals are available for exhibitors, and the accessibility is second to none.

I would urge you, if you want to know more about what is to offer, how to solve a problem or just to see how a StairSteady works, then come to Naidex. More details can be found at www.naidex.co.uk including information on the workshops and demonstrations that are lead each day.

And remember, if you are visiting, come visit us at stand A52, we would love to see you!
Ruth x

Where have i been?

I have been so busy with talks, a meal at James Caans and a trip to Downing Street to name a few (selection of pictures to follow).

A Celebration of Womens Contribution to BritainMr Brown welcomes all the Ladies
Sarah Brown talks Duffy
I have also been talking a lot as well as judging at the Big Bang Fair (very fun and exciting) where I made new friends and caught up with old. I was very privileged to sit on a fantastic panel of judges, catching up with some old friends (Kate Bellingham) and made new friends (Jim Al Khalili and Liz Bonnin). Incidentally Kate and Liz are on the Museum of Life programme on the BBC- it is FANTASTIC, so well shot and Liz and Kate are as fantastic as ever. Kate BellinghamLiz Bonnin
Jim Al Khalili
I also got to meet the rest of the ‘Bang Goes the Theory’ crew, very talented people. The Big Bang was hold in Manchester and was a fantastic 3days and they let me talk at the sponsors dinner, a real privilege.
The Bang Goes the Theory Team
Young Engineers will always have a special place in my heart, without them StairSteady would not have taken off as it did and for that I will be forever grateful.

So as well as these amazing opportunities I have been working harder than ever, we have been spending a lot of time trying to get the StairSteady to be the perfect product. We have a possible new powder coaters ‘Apple Aluminium’ a local company in Sheffield, they have been fantastic and I had a meeting with Adam who runs it and its seems like it will be a fantastic working relationship (there turnaround time seems to be unbelievable) but only time will tell.

We have been looking into new packaging, TNT seem to like to play Basketball with our StairSteadys and so we have been trying a lot of new packaging and it seems promising.
I will try and blog more, next week we are at Naidex, so I will try and get some picture, video and possibly blog (depending on time). However, please follow my tweets @RuthAmos

More to come sooner.....
Keep Moving.......
Ruth x

New Price List

Prices as at 1st April 2010


Standard rail (fitted) £500.00 +VAT

Total (without survey) £587.50

Survey £50+VAT

Total (with survey) £646.25

....

Dog Leg rails (fitted) £650.00 +VAT
(Includes a Standard rail and a smaller one for the Dog Leg)

Total (without survey) £763.75

Survey £50+VAT

Total (with survey) £822.50
....

Extra handle £30+VAT

....
Survey is on the property (not the user) and can be done by the purchaser. However, should we not be able to fit due to any inaccurate information given or an inaccurate wall survey, then an aborted fit cost will be charged at £50+VAT.
Price quoted is for an individual order of a standard powder coated steel rail and handle in cream colour. A range of handles, alternative colours and bespoke hardware are available at additional cost

Fitting is compulsory
There is an aborted fitting fee cost of £50+VAT

There may be additional discounts available for multiple orders
Grab rails are not supplied with the product although we can recommend suppliers.

Prices are per fitting of a standard StairSteady within most mainland areas of the country, there is a supplementary cost for some outlying areas.
For the cost of multiple fittings at one site please contact Ruth Amos

Easter Opening Times 2010

29th March 09.00-17.00
30th March 09.00-17.00
31st March 09.00-17.00
1st April 09.00-17.00
Good Friday Closed
3rd April Closed
Easter Sunday Closed
Easter Monday Closed
6th April Normal Hours Resume

Hope you all have a Happy Easter!