Ultra Board was the material of choice for Ultra Board fan and designer, Shell Thomas, who created a pop-up shop as part of this year’s London Design Festival. The ‘ShedShop’ was used to sell souvenirs from the Design Museum Shop to the public at Tent London- one of the largest design trade shows during the nine day festival which is open to trade/the public and a regular in the annual design calendar.
The quirky pop-up shed was chosen to symbolize ‘home-grown’ products created by young up-and-coming designers – but there were certainly no vegetables to be found in this one! Ultra Board’s lightweight and portable qualities made it the perfect material to create the shed, which ‘popped up’ at various locations across the capital during the festival.
Shell is a great advocate of Ultra Board, having used it to create every child’s best friend, Reggie the eco rocker! Shell said, “I loved working with the Design Museum Shop to create this temporary shop solution. Once we’d agreed on the requirements, making it out of Ultra Board was the obvious choice. It’s super-light, 100% recyclable and extremely versatile.”
Design Museum Shop Shed from Design Museum on Vimeo.
Well we have travelled 450 miles; drunk 120 litres of water; eaten 75 mars bars and suffered one broken arm – but we’ve finally made it and the Eiffel Tower has never looked so beautiful. So the celebrations begin with the popping of a few champagne corks and a toast not only to us successfully completing our epic journey but also to the memory of the man who inspired us all to do this in the first place, the late Jim Walton. I for one feel incredibly proud to have been involved and to have raised money for PCSFAP (Prostate Cancer Support Federations Awareness Programme) and the Graham Fulford Trust. Raising awareness of prostate cancer has been the driving force behind this whole exercise and it has been an amazing adventure. I can’t wait to count up all the pennies and pounds donated by all you lovely people to see if we have managed to hit our target, but in the meantime, please don’t forget that there’s still time to give generously if you haven’t already and we would appreciate you digging deep to spare whatever you can… www.justgiving.com/blackpool-paris
Thanks to everyone for all of their support and here’s to next year…… maybe!!!
After three hours sleep on the stupid (definitely not relaxing) ferry crossing, we get back on our bikes to tackle the next leg of our journey. Although completely shattered, we all are feeling super excited to finally be on French soil – especially seen as we know that at a day in Paris lies ahead.
A couple of hours later the excitement fades away, as we are all absolutely melting in the blistering heat – I don’t think we can blame Michael Fish for getting this weather forecast wrong! It’s 33 degrees and believe me us Brits are not built for doing any form of activity in a tropical climate, in the month of September. Heat just makes everything seem twice as hard and twice as long; and this leg seems to go on for miles – its hill, followed by hill, followed by hill, followed by hill…Cheers France!
So we all pedal on through the day and we finally arrive in the dark – in what feels like the middle of the night to us. We then all reach for a well deserve pint – obviously it’s purely to replenish the fluids that we have lost in today’s heatwave – followed by a belly flop into our beds…BUMP.
Wow, so now it’s finally here, the last leg of the journey is officially tomorrow. Bring it on Paris…we’re coming to get you!
You’ve guessed – its day four and the journey continues. Our muscles are aching and our legs are growing weary and even though it’s a fairly short day today – with only 67 miles to cover – we are all feeling the burn and suffering from fatigue. Every hill feels like a mountain but is it going to be worth it? Absolutely!
So as the day goes on and even amidst all the tiredness, I am proud to say that the team spirit still lives on and we are all pulling together to make sure that with a mix of stamina, strength and determination; we will finish this epic journey! Inspirational talk I know, but we really are committed to completing this ride despite the blisters. Then something monumental happens -, we reach the coastline and finally conquer England - it feels incredible and I can speak for everyone in saying that we can’t believe that we’ve cycled 305 miles and made it this far. As Gordon Ramsey would say:
“English leg of the journey. Done.”
So now we’re waiting for a ferry to take us to Caen in France and are all ready to crawl into bed. We plan to relax, put our feet up and enjoy the ride before facing tomorrow, our penultimate day – wish us luck!
Well day three is here and it really is a great start to the day for us all because the sun is shining, which provides a welcome relief from the rain and wind we’ve battled through for the last two days. So, with a smile on our faces, we rub our aching muscles and give ourselves a little pep talk; before heading south from Kidderminster. Whilst en route, everything seems to be going well as we cycle along happily for 20 or so miles, then everything changes and we have our first accident.
I won’t fill you in with all the gory details but two of our riders fell off their bike, which meant a trip to A&E and the bicycle repair shop was in order. We soon discover that the bike is salvageable but unfortunately one of the riders’ (Liz Young) arms isn’t. Always the trooper, Liz is still continuing on our trek and hopes to cycle some of the final stretch to the Eiffel Tower, even with a fractured radius (arm). What a commitment to the cause!
Whilst the bike and Liz’s arm begin their recovery, the rest of us have to carry on and head for the beautiful Cotswolds but we quickly find out that beauty can be deceiving, as we have a 1 mile 1:6 gradient hill to climb (which is STEEP) before lunch! With one last big push we manage to make it to the top and after a quick bite to eat (there’s nothing like cycling to build up an appetite), we attack another five massive hills before finally reaching the half way point – a lovely – and very welcome – B&B in Malborough.
Only another 238 miles to cover now – wish us luck!
Well it was that time again and let me say that getting up on day two was more difficult than I imagined! I managed to peel off my pyjamas, put on my lycra and after the biggest breakfast I was almost (!!) ready to start another day of cycling.
A strong combination of grit, determination and caffeine helped us get back on our bikes and we headed out of Northwich on the less busy, back roads. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side and soon we hit heavy, intermittent showers and believe me there is no room for an umbrella on a bike – we tried! Thankfully, we kept our spirits high and following 84 miles of tough thigh burning climbs, I am delighted to say that we finally reached Kidderminster at 6.30pm where we were all greeted with a pint and some decent pub grub. This cured our aching bellies but unfortunately not our legs! So that’s all for today – roll-on tomorrow and let’s hope this time it’s easier for me to roll-out of bed!
After months of tough training the big day was finally here and it was an early start to the mammoth bike ride in Blackpool this morning. Following a few photos, we said goodbye to our family and friends; and then set off on the long journey ahead.
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t on our side and we commenced the ride along the famous Blackpool promenade in a light drizzle. After passing through Preston the rain stopped, just in time for us to tackle the very steep Roby Hill. After the long and very tiring climb we decided to stop for a well deserved lunch in Orrell. Refuelled and ready to start the afternoon leg of the journey, we ended up cycling past the Evolve group, one of our great customers – did you see us wave guys?!
A few miles of hard pedalling later, we took a few wrong turns in Haydock and diced with traffic in Warrington but we finally arrived in Northwich – our first overnight stay. PHEW!
70 miles down only 380miles to go…. Wish us luck!
Stealing Tony’s usual spotlight – Ashley Moscrop, Dufaylite Group Sales and Marketing Executive, sees that the Monthly Mouthpiece as his perfect opportunity to raise awareness about his Tower to Tower fantastic charity bike ride.
On 24th of September I, along with fourteen other enthusiastic cyclists, will be riding 450 miles from Blackpool Tower all the way to the (slightly more glamorous!) Eiffel Tower in Paris. Over a period of six days, we will be stopping off at locations such as Kidderminister, Portsmouth and Caen – reaching our final destination on 29th September.
Not just for the fun of it – this bike ride is to raise money for the charity PCSFAP (Prostate Cancer Support Federations Awareness Programme). Prostate cancer is the second largest killer of men, yet there are no health checks provided to detect the symptoms and early warning signs.
This is a cause which is very close to my heart, as my partner’s father died of prostate cancer six years ago, aged 58. Yet, a simple blood test could have caught this early and saved his life, which is why PCSFAP was set up in his honour, to provide men with the opportunity to have a free and potentially lifesaving PSA blood test to check for prostate cancer. These tests usually cost £20 each and the charity has arranged this bike ride to raise money, so it can continue to provide this service for free.
We are aiming to raise £10,000 for the charity – which is a pretty mean feat and so all sponsorship is greatly appreciated. I don’t mean to come cap in hand but please be generous and ‘just give’ to this great cause click here. In return, I promised to keep you updated on how far we have cycled, the number of energy drinks drunk per day and plasters distributed! And of course I’ll send you a photo of the Eiffel Tower when I get there… but just ignore the lycra – it is for charity!!
In ‘Part 2’ of our expert advice post, we outline more basic principles that all P-O-P designers and product engineers need to consider for their applications. In order to optimise the environmental performance of any one design application, a number of the principles below can be applied simultaneously.
Design for a lifetime
Think about the whole life-cycle of a product. This means taking into consideration the product’s environmental impacts at each stage of its life – such as its energy use, packaging waste, transportation and the extraction of raw materials.
Eco-preferable materials
It’s recommended that designers consider eco-preferable materials that have less impact on the environment. This means using materials that are recyclable; biodegradable, locally or sustainably-sourced, organic, have a high strength-to-weight ratio, or contain natural fibres or produce minimal waste. This is especially pertinent to suppliers in the retail industry, as most large organisations now have strict environmental policies in place.
Recycling
It seems obvious, but designing products for recycling means no landfill at the end of their life. Ultra Board can be sent to one traditional paper-recycling route at the end of its life, with no fuss or waste.
Design deconstruction
Design products or units that can have their components separated for recycling or can be dismantled at the end of their life.
Waste reduction
The production of waste through over-packaging, inefficient production and the inefficient use of materials is something to be thought through at the design stage. It’s important to create concepts that minimise waste and keep your carbon footprint low.
Minimise materials
Sorting through different materials during the recycling process can become complicated and often impedes the process. Keep different materials to a minimum.
Design for re-use
Sending materials to landfill is something to be avoided at all costs. Creating products for re-use means there’s no need to manufacture replacement parts and reduces the chance of parts being sent to landfill.
Regardless of the weather, it’s been a bright start to the summer with continued growth for Ultra Board sales in July. This trend shows no sign of slowing as retailers, sign makers and printers are abandoning foam board and rigid PVCs left, right and centre to replace them with long-term, sustainable alternatives. After a tough April and May, I’m also pleased to hear that business is now flowing again for our friends in the graphics world with lots of exhibition work pouring in.
We’ve also been flooded with orders for our most recent product developments; with our whiter face board and black edging being really well received by the market. We haven’t stopped there either, with work almost complete on further Ultra Board innovations that will open up new and exciting markets for us. We’re keeping tight lipped about these for now, but we’ll have more news at the beginning of autumn.
The design world has fast become smitten with our 100% recyclable substrate and this month we’re delighted to be supporting a great initiative with Mobile Studio – a London based architectural practice. We’re providing free material to Mobile Studio for a portable gallery project with University College London (UCL) Museums + Collections. Our board will be used to build a small, lightweight portable gallery which will travel to multiple destinations in London and help showcase pieces from the Petrie Museum of Egyptology, Gran Museum of Zoology and UCL Art Collections. There’ll be more info and plenty of photos on this to come in the near future, so watch this space.
July has also been productive for our Ultra Board exports. The position of the pound has made exporting very attractive and things have certainly been hotting up in our Portugal and Australia markets. What’s more, we’re delighted to have seen our first ever shipment of board arrive in Brazil this month. The country is making a push towards sustainability with the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics on the horizon and we’re sure our product will go down a storm.
So, it’s on to August and what we hope will be another strong month for Dufaylite and the industry as a whole.
