Press Release from Business Matters magazine
Sew what's new!?
Malcolm Bassett-Smith looks in on Yorkshire ladies - Pam and Michelle Cockshott - who have met the challenge of starting their own business.
Picture the situation
Pam's sewing machine is on it's last legs. It has seen happier days and it no longer offers 100% satisfaction it's time for a trade in. Pam sets a budget for it's successor and takes daughter Michelle along for the ride, quicker than a tacking stitch, the plan soon falls apart.
Michelle wasn't happy with the sturdy replacemnt selected by mum.
No she wanted the model with all the bells, whistles, knobs and dials. and as an aside cost twice as much. This was to be mum's opportunity to teach young Michelle's rundimentary lesson in business. You prove it will pay for itself and we will buy it, you fail and you carry the excess cost!
The gauntlet had been dropped and picked up.
The game was on, Pam and husband Michael owned and operated a small consul cafe in an idilic spot near Fiely, the perfect shop front for Michelle's efforts.
Young Michelle bought a few plain white t-shirts and embroideried a simple logo and name. Customers bought them and soon they were demanding something a little more adventurous, and a little more daring, Michelle, with mum's help pushed the new sewing machine to it's limits, but soon decided that it might be worth taking the next step.
A better and more professional machine was purchased, lcoal trade and craft shows were visited, orders started to materialise - this was now truely a business rather than a challenge to a teenager.
Quality results made with a high level of satisfaction from the customer base, added to which, Michelle and Pam had a unique twist, a quantity of ONE.
Pete the plumber and Joe the joiner could order a single piece sweatshirt to promote their business without incurring huge cost penalties and 6 months down the line they could phone through for another in the knowledge that the design and text had been saved on computer disk.
In the short years that Identity the chosen corporate name has been going, business has continued to blossom. Larger customers include BBC television (ready steady cook) and local and Regional governments
Take in a yacht race in Jersy and the t-shirts and sweats are embroidered here. Look at the host of specialist clubs and societies - their image has been created by Identity. Most every school carries items of uniform created by Identity.
The days of reliying on one machine are well and truely past. Michelle now has the capability of using over 2.25 million stitches in one day. They have done it!
The immediate image that hits you on visiting their workshop in Muston, North Yorkshire is the true Yorkshireness of it all, all are polite to the extreme, all the genuinely happy in their work and all are eager to deal with visitors as long lost friends. If they know you are visiting, then it is cream cakes and you get first choice!
This isn't the last of the summer wine mentality, it's more all creatures great and small where quality of life matters
Pam and Michelle have ambition and together they would like to see Identity grow but, neither would be happy to see it take on proportions where that family feel was lost and people took on numbers rather than retain names
Pam in particular, has invested heavily in learning about the internet and is the first to acknowledge the importance email has had on their business. Technolodgy does not frighten these people and if the truth be known Pam is secretly 'chuffed' with her progress into the world of IT.
Many large companies could learn a lot from this outfit!
I need not wish Pam and Michelle sucess, as it is theirs - they have grafted for it, they have paid their dues, they are worthy!
|
|
|
 |
| Categories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Information |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customer Comments |
 |
|
Pam, thanks for the great job you made of our new kit, players and parents alike are made up and currently raising money for matching waterproofs.
Again thanks a lot
Just a short note to say thank you very much for your flexibility around the recent order for Colchester Athletic youth team - They got their kits last night and their faces were a picture - I appreciate you did not have to change things around for our order but you kindly did so.
Can you please pass on my thanks to you and the team at Identity, my Boys are very pleased with their sportswear, saying Xmas has come early.
I got the aylestonians kit u have made for us and would like to thank u for your hard work we are looking forward to playing in it on Saturday
I just wanted to say a big thank you for the fabulous turnaround in the supply and delivery of our 7 navy blue sweatshirts. They arrived yesterday and the girls at my netball club were absolutely delighted with them when I took them to training last night.
Sports Foundation - many thanks from all at Seldon Netball Club. The new sweatshirts will be worn this Saturday for our games.
Garments have been much admired. I have passed your details on to several companies!
Thank you so much for a super job!!
Sorry you had so much running around to do it was really appreciated
Dear Identity on behalf of all the stables and indeed the riding for the disabled many many thanks
Thanks they are brilliant!
Pam they are wonderful and I will keep all of your details for the future, thank you for all your help
Thank you very much for the two tabbads I received a few days ago for which I am highly satisfied with.
Dear Pam & Michelle
Many thanks for doing the sweatshirt; we all wore the shirts for our annual YFC county rally and looked brilliant as a team in them many thanks again
Thank you for supplying the badges for North Yorkshire cub scouts event - Cub Maroorers. the day was a great success and the badges proved very popular
Pam, Michele fantastic quality service, well done they are excellent
Many thanks for an excellent job
Dear Michelle, thank you for making such an excellent job of embroidering my smock it now gives me great pleasure in wearing it.
Dear all of you, they are lovely thank you once again the stitching looks really nice
Thanks for the quick service hope to send some more business your way soon
Thank you for the delightful little jade green bird sweatshirt.
Thanks for delivery of my order. good service nice job!!
Thank you once again for your help and service
Dear Pam, thank you for sending the CPRE design and thanks to Michelle for dealing so promptly with it and producing a good badge
May I take this opportunity in saying a very big thank you on behalf of the league. the shirts really do look nice could you also pass on my thanks to Chris who was very helpful and kind
May I take this opportunity to say how very pleased we all are with the quality of the shirts and logo
I am really delighted with the design and the children's names thank you once again for the splendid service
Dear both, thanks for your help, we're delighted with the tabards and t/shirts
Thank you! the badges were super
Dear Pam and team, thank you so much for sorting out our t-shirts - they got here by 3pm this afternoon! they were great and went down well with everyone
Can I just give a big thank you to yourself and Michelle and anybody else who was involved, it has given a new dimension to the equestrian centre seeing all the polo shirts being worn they do look brilliant.
Thank you for your work which I found to be of an excellent standard.
Many thanks for the towels arrived today they are beautiful
We are very pleased with the end product and we will wear them with pride
Thank you very much for sending the towel for my grandson in time for his 8th birthday on the 28th I am sure he will be delighted with it he loves his name on everything and the little "Dino" is just perfect once again thanks
|
|
Contact Us |
 |
|
|
Send your logo to us |
 |
|
If you have placed an order and have not sent us your team logo you can send it via email, simply click the link below, attach it & click send! We will confirm the arrival of your image.
embroidery@identity.co.uk
|
|
Delivery |
 |
|
Delivered to your door!
All parcels are sent to the address that has been supplied with the order.
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
|
