Posts

, , , ,

Affordable Printing Services for Small Businesses

kukastudios-paisley-print

It’s not unusual for a design agency like Kuka Studios to offer print services for clients.  What is unusual is offering print at a price that small businesses can afford, in quantities they’ll actually use!

“If you start up a business by yourself, you’ll need business cards, leaflets and maybe some posters.  You probably won’t need 1,000 of each though!  That’s why we decided that our print services will have no minimum order.  If you only need one A3 poster, or 25 folded pamphlets, that’s all you need to order.” Jill Glen, Kuka Studios

kukastudios-paisley-print

It seems such an obvious thing, offering small businesses the same high quality print and design services which are so easily accessible for big companies.  Kuka Studios’ wide range of print options are perfect for your small events or every day promotional marketing materials.

That’s not to say that the team don’t invite bigger challenges too!  From menus for bistros to door-to-door fliers and direct mail campaigns, Kuka Studios’ designers and writers can help local businesses to create print work from start to finish.

The new print room is in Kuka Studios’ HQ in Lochwinnoch where they will be serving Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Ayrshire – and beyond!

The print services include:

  • Posters & leaflets
  • Brochures & pamphlets
  • Photocopying & scanning
  • Business stationery

For more information, go to KukaStudios.com or call 01505 22 81 81.

/by
, , , , , , ,

Council leader urges firms to back the BID

paisley-bids

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Council leader urges firms to back the BID.

Renfrewshire Council’s Leader is urging Paisley firms to get behind business-led plans to help revitalise the town centre.

Plans are well advanced in the town to set up a Business Improvement District – which would see local firms work together on projects of mutual benefit.

paisley-bids

A BID is set up when all businesses within a geographical area opt to collectively invest in schemes to improve the area, paid for through a compulsory BID levy.

All firms within the BID area boundary will vote by secret ballot in October on whether to adopt the plans.

Paisley First – a group of local organisations who are leading the process – have produced a detailed business plan for how it will all work.

And Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan has thrown his support behind the proposals, saying local firms should back the BID.

He said: “Paisley town centre faces the same challenges as traditional shopping areas everywhere – but we believe there are exciting times ahead in the near future.

“The council this year unveiled ambitious plans to use Paisley’s outstanding heritage and cultural assets to drive a wide-ranging programme of regeneration over the next decade and help attract tourism.

paisley-bids

“But we can only make that happen with the support of all within the local community – and town centre businesses will be at the heart of that process.

“With that in mind, they stand to gain from having a body to represent their interests and bring people together to support projects which will help boost local trade for all.

“Business Improvement Districts are already working well in other towns and I would encourage all firms within the boundary to get on board with the proposals and back the BID.”

Councillor Macmillan recently met with former MEP Hugh McMahon and Ken MacDonald, of Houston Kiltmakers, the chair and deputy chair of the Paisley First Steering Group.

Hugh McMahon said: “Paisley First is fully supportive of Renfrewshire Council’s extremely imaginative and exciting proposals for town centre regeneration by exploiting Paisley’s historic past and iconic buildings.

“Paisley First has built on these proposals in our current business plan, designed to bring specific benefits based on dealing with issues highlighted through consulting Paisley businesses, to be circulated to all business in the proposed BID area.”

There are already 22 BIDs around Scotland, but should one be adopted in Paisley it would boast the highest number of businesses of any apart from Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

All business within the BID area will receive a copy of the business plan and a ballot paper when the 42-day ballot period kicks off on Friday 3 October.

For more information, visit www.paisleyfirst.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

/by
, , , , , , ,

Xbox Live Gamerhub Official Game Expo Partners

Xbox Live Gamerhub

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Xbox Live Gamerhub Official Game Expo Scotland Media Partners

Did you know that one of the largest gaming communities in the UK is in Paisley!

Xbox Live Gamerhub has over 20,000 followers over Facebook, twitter and YouTube, which is just under half of the population of Paisley. Backed by Xbox and the first independent Xbox community in Google under when searching for an “Xbox Community”.

Xbox Live Gamerhub

 

They have supporters all round the UK from the Gadget Shows Jason Bradbury to our very own Councillor Mark Macmillan.

jason bradbury

 

Xbox Live Gamerhub is an online magazine producing news, reviews & video entertainment and a social network in one. “we want to give tool to gamers to express themselves, on the site you can pretty much do the exact same as you can on Facebook but you can also write up your own reviews on games.” said the owner and founder Gavin Divers, 30 from Glenburn. “It’s been a bit of a journey, the site will be five years old this month and it has been hard work through out, It took me over two years to achieve the Google spots alone” Gavin added.

 

gavin divers

Xbox Live Gamerhub are also official media partners for the very first gaming exhibition in Scotland, Game Expo Scotland. Which will see developers round the globe bringing up and coming game titles to allow consumers hands on experience before the games are available in shops.

me-sIxV9_400x400

The future is looking bright for this online magazine/social network. “Yeah we always have something in the works to push the company forward. Right now we are currently working with UWS to look into how to develop the site further. It is a tough process sometimes, trying to keep gamers happy but also pushing to be taken seriously as a company”.

You can follow XBLG on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and there main site XBLGamerhub.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_separator icon=”gamepad”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

/by
, , , ,

South Barber

South Barber.

South Barber aims to provide a service whereby you can escape, relax and enjoy proper male grooming. We are new male only upscale traditional Barbers shop with a classical theme within the local Paisley South community, offering old school services to the modern man. Our services include traditional & classic styling, real hot towel shaves along with a head and shoulder massage and real open razor shaves using a pure badger hair brush.

We also only use products which come highly recommended and approved with the male grooming world. We feel it has become increasingly hard to find Barbers that concentrate on services to the extent and quality of male grooming. We want to bring back the personal touch and hope that clients find both the treatments and our decor inviting, relaxing and a little bit different!

Address:-
31 Lochfield Road, Paisley, PA2 7RG, Tel. 07807 836273
Facebook //SouthBarberPaisley
Twitter @SouthBarberPA2
southbarber@outlook.com

/by
, , , , ,

THE world famous Paisley Pattern keeps the town’s name at the forefront of fashion

THE world famous Paisley Pattern keeps the town’s name at the forefront of fashion.

Now two businessmen who recently opened a retail unit in The Piazza shopping centre have joined the campaign to promote the town by adopting the slogan – ‘Paisley is…always in style’.

Buddies Gary Kerr and Tommy McGrory have set up a new company, Paisley From Paisley, selling only fashion items featuring the famous Paisley Pattern.
The ‘Paisley is…’ marketing initiative uses the letters ‘i’ and ‘s’ in the word Paisley to tee-up different positive messages about the town.

Gary Kerr, who runs the engineering asset management company EPM Solutions said: “The idea to sell only products that feature the Paisley Pattern stemmed from a conversation I had with the late Ellen Farmer, of the Old Paisley Society, a few years ago. “She had said there was no one place you could go to get Paisley Pattern products.
“The idea came up again recently when I was talking to Tommy about the town and he had similar thoughts. So, we decided to launch the retail unit selling only Paisley Pattern products.“

At the moment we’ve sourced ties, ladies and gents scarves, shawls and pashminas from some of the biggest names in traditional clothing accessories like Tootal and Michelsons.
“We’re planning to source more items that feature the Paisley Pattern like jewellery, shirts, bags and wallets. And we’re planning to also sell our products online – taking Paisley to the rest of the world!”

Gary added: “We’ve started the retailing side, but we also want to see Paisley Pattern products being manufactured in the town that we can sell. Hopefully our venture could even maybe spark a cottage industry in the area with people making products we can take to the public.”

Tommy, who runs the Loud ‘n’ Proud Music School added: “Despite what people may say, Paisley does have a lot going for it. “We have a great heritage that we can exploit to start new businesses – just like Gary and I have done.“We’re just one of several new businesses to start up in the town recently and there’s no doubt there a new-found optimism that we can successfully revitalise the town in many different ways.

“We’re happy to support the Paisley is… campaign because a great way to get a positive message out about the town.”

Local businesses, organisations and community groups are being given the chance to get involved in promoting Paisley by using the ‘Paisley is…’ logo with the strapline that’s most relevant to what they are doing on their letterheads and publicity material.

Paisley Vision Board, who is running the marketing campaign, will provide the artwork free of charge to anyone willing to use it. Chairman of the Paisley Vision Board, Renfrewshire Council leader Mark Macmillan said: “Gary and Tommy should be congratulated in seeing a gap in the ‘Paisley’ market and utilising our town’s great heritage to launch a new business venture in the town centre. “It shows that with the right idea to attract customers, you can set up a successful business in Paisley town centre.”

For ‘Paisley is…’ branding artwork, contact Amanda Moulson, of Renfrewshire Council by emailing her at amanda.moulson@renfrewshire.gov.uk .

/by
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Support Paisley on the Web

advertise

Support Paisley on the Web.

As you know we at Paisley on the Web support every community organisation and try our best to promote every event before both before and after via photos and video. Did you know we do this voluntarily and are not supported financially by any organisation? We rely on the goodwill of our volunteers and team to get out in their free time and do all this.

We need to keep the website going and there are always bills to be paid either for hosting or for equipment, we need financial support not only to stay online but also to do our best to promote the town of Paisley.

How can you support Paisley on the web? Well we have placement for adverts throughout the website, we will put your logo on every post we publish and once a month we will push your business or organisation to all our social media channels which have on average around 30,000 daily impressions.

You can also donate to the website but we would much rather work with you to promote what you do too. We can showcase the best in Renfrewshire and Paisley!

Buy Now:

[product_category category=”advertising-2″ per_page=”12″ columns=”4″ orderby=”date” order=”desc”]

/by
, , , , ,

Paisley First for Business

Paisley First for Business

I was at the launch of the Paisley Business Improvement District (Paisley BID) last week. Here are some of my thoughts on the BID and what it really means to Paisley.

BIDs are well established in Scotland and from the map on www.bids-scotland.com, local BIDs such as Clarkston and also Falkirk, Bathgate & Inverness are seen to be a success. Certainly Falkirk seems to be making all the right noises and actions from an outsider’s perspective, for instance unlike Paisley, actually has some leaflets in Glasgow Airport explaining what is on in Falkirk and where to go to eat, drink, sleep etc which is a far cry from Paisley’s external self promotion, or lack of it should I say.

The following definition is from the Paisley BID website:

What is a Business Improvement District?

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a business-led collaboration initiative which originated in Canada and is widespread throughout the UK. A “BID” is governed by legislation whereby businesses within a defined area work together and invest collectively in those priority issues they believe will benefit them, whilst contributing to the sustainable economic growth of the local economy. source..

paisley-firstNow what will the BID bring to Paisley? Well from what I can see it has already managed to get local traders and business owners in the same room and talking.  Did you know there has not been a local traders’ organisation for some years which just makes you realise why the town has had problems… In harsh economic times we need to pull together and come up with a way to turn around the decline.

So, good on the people behind the BID as they are doing something to help and at least coming up with solutions and not more problems. Yes there is a long way to go but this is certainly a start and knowing most of the businesses behind the BID I really hope it succeeds.

I have heard questions about the amount of levy that will be charged to businesses when it goes live, before that there has to be a vote consisting of one question, ‘Do you want the BID – Yes/No’.  The vote will be some time towards the end of 2014.

They have cross party political support and also the backing of lots of local businesses, including Houston Kilts, Hamishes Hoose, Ashtree House, Marks & Spencers and also the support of the two major educational facilities in town, the University of the West of Scotland and West College Scotland (formerly Reid Kerr).

A question raised at the meeting was:  ‘Are the BIDs basically doing the work that the local authority should be doing?’ I would like to think not, as in the last few years and through various administrations the council has been doing a lot to help improve the town. They have also been applying for essential grant money for major improvements such as the Causeyside Street improvements which look fantastic.

If you are looking for more information on the Paisley BID process which is now officially called Paisley First then please visit their website by following this link. www.paisleyfirst.com Lets hope it is Paisley First for Business..

Blog by Brian McGuire.

/by
, , , , , , , , ,

Vision of the future as Arnotts images revealed

Vision of the future as Arnotts images revealed

Paisley residents have been given a vision of the town’s future as artist’s impressions of proposed development on the Arnotts site were publicly unveiled.

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan revealed new hoardings on the frontage of the former department store showing how the development will look.

The council has brought together a plan involving public and private sector partners for 31 new-build flats on Lawn Street.

Cllr Macmillan outside Arnotts new hoardings

Plans are also well advanced for a second phase of development which will transform the iconic listed building on Gauze Street into nine luxury apartments plus retail units.

And Councillor Macmillan believes the development could kickstart a series of wider benefits for the town.

He said: “I am delighted to be able to unveil these images, which will give residents a look at how this important development will shape up.

“Bringing more people into the town centre to live can only be a good thing for the town centre, as the spending power of the new residents will boost local traders.

“When added to the development across the road at The Cloisters, and the recent investment in new student housing by UWS, we can see real progress in this area.

Cllr Macmillan outside Arnotts new hoardings

“Of course, the Arnotts development is only one of several projects which are boosting the appeal of the town centre.

“These include the work to preserve Paisley’s outstanding architectural heritage through the Townscape Heritage Initiative, and the £2.4m revamp of the town hall.

“Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has also confirmed it will be making a £1.8m investment in improved bus infrastructure in the town centre.

“We are also hoping to inject new life into the town’s night-time economy by taking forward plans to allow traffic to return to the High Street in the evenings.

“Added to this, October will see the town firmly in the national spotlight when we welcome thousands of visitors for Royal National Mod and The Spree festivals.

“The Arnotts development is proof that Paisley remains an attractive place for firms to invest, and we hope it will be a catalyst for even more development in the future.”

Construction of the new flats will be carried out for Link Group by Westpoint Homes, who have already completed the flats at The Cloisters on Cotton Street.

Construction on the first phase of the Arnotts development is expected to start next year and be completed by spring 2015.

/by
, , , , , , , , ,

Salon tells Apprentice: ‘You’re hired’

paisley-abbey-logos

Salon tells Apprentice: ‘You’re hired’

Bosses at a Paisley salon ran their own talent search to find a hairdressing star of the future.

Napier Hair and Beauty, in Neilston Road, staged their own apprenticeship challenge, with a modern apprenticeship place on offer for the winner.

Teenage entrants competed through a series of crimping challenges – including presentations to salon owner Elaine Napier – before the winner was announced at a special ceremony.

Cllr Mark Macmillan with Ryan Healy and Elaine Napier

Successful candidate Ryan Healy, 17, of Paisley, will now receive on-the-job training from experienced colleagues, while being supported through a formal SVQ qualification.

The salon was supported to run the contest by staff from the council-run Renfrewshire Youth Employability Hub, in Gauze Street, Paisley.

Council staff provided help and advice, and attended the contest’s open evening, where advisors talked to youngsters and parents about their career options.

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan popped by the salon to congratulate Ryan on his success and to find out more about the scheme from bosses.

Councillor Macmillan said: “I was impressed by the commitment shown by Elaine and her staff at the salon to providing quality training for young people.

“I would like to congratulate Ryan on his success and am sure he will have a great career ahead of him here.

“Napier Hair and Beauty is one of more than 300 local companies to have signed up to Invest in Renfrewshire – the council’s £7m programme to support the local economy and tackle youth unemployment.

“The aim of the scheme is for the council to build partnerships with local firms who want to make an investment in young people and in themselves.

“We have a range of funding packages available, including wage subsidies, graduate internships and business development grants, which can help them do so.”

Cllr Mark Macmillan with Ryan Healy and Elaine Napier

Salon owner Elaine Napier was moved to run the contest through her belief that high-quality salon-based training gives aspiring stylists the best start to their careers.

She said: “If I take a young person on, it’s my job to train them and nurture them and complete their apprenticeship.

“If you don’t invest in people, you have no business at the end of it. If you take a youngster on, you can enrich them.

“The provision of quality training is a big issue for the industry. This is a full modern apprenticeship, and there will be a job at the end of it.”

Invest in Renfrewshire provides support for businesses and job opportunities for Renfrewshire young people aged between 16 and 24.

For more information about what the scheme could offer you, call 0300 3000 144, visit www.investinrenfrewshire.com, or email invest@renfrewshire.gov.uk

/by
, , , , ,

Paisley’s Future!!

Paisley’s Future!!

The other day I posted a picture of Paisley High Street. It was immediately met with negative comments about how empty the High Street looked, however in reality the hustle and bustle of shoppers and people out enjoying a rare sunny day in town was much more the case. It got me thinking, we look back at days gone by when in our memories the High Street was a bustling shopping heaven, so what has changed and how can we get back to that happy place again?

Renfrewshires provost charity abseil

Well things will never be the same as they were, there are various reasons for this; the financial climate is probably the biggest one overshadowing not only Paisley but every shopping heartland in the country. With the banks restricting lending to small business and new start up traders what hope is there for changing the shops from ‘To Let’ to ‘Shop Here’?  In addition, so called private landlords with empty properties not being renovated or marketed properly is another challenge, some of the landlords and developers really should hang their heads in shame. Something should be done to make them lease the shops at a fair price and be fully supported financially by local government. Pop up shops, seasonal shops etc could temporarily fill the void.

We all have our own thoughts on what has gone wrong; bad town planning, out of town shopping centres and a change of trends, i.e. more internet shopping.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great when people show passion for the town although sometimes it can come across negatively, but in the vast majority of comments and posts I see so many people with a soft spot for the town and want to see it thrive again, and why not?

Paisley has so much to give. Any outsider coming to the town can see we have some amazing looking buildings. We have a community based SPL Football team who this year brought Paisley to a standstill with thousands lining the streets to see them lift the Scottish League Cup. We also have the Royal National MoD coming to town this year as well as the many events staged in and around Paisley every single week. We have so much to actually be proud of, we don’t have to start from scratch and build on nothing. We need political will, not political point scoring, so much good is done, but why in the West of Scotland do we not celebrate success rather than focus on the negative, there should be focus on the positive.

So where do we begin to get the town back on track? Can the trend of decline be bucked and a potential niche market rise from the ashes of the blight that is the empty shop, like rotting teeth on our once proud High Street. I firmly believe we can buck the trend.

Individuals who have the town at heart are thinking and acting positively but it seems to be the same old faces. Once more there are plans to bring a cinema or leisure based complex to the site of the former Arnott’s store. Included is a possible bus station with the idea of Paisley becoming a first class transport hub, and with it the foresight for us to be a destination town or outlet town. (These are just ideas at this moment)

The big question is, are we prepared to promote Paisley and not put it down at the first chance we get? I don’t have the answers but I know that there is a growing number of people who are getting behind the town.

The Paisley BID (Business Improvement District) is a concept used by the likes of Falkirk and which has worked well, but this may be a few months or a good year away from happening and it still has to be voted through. Websites like paisley.org.uk who have been promoting the town positively for more than 13 years, as well as groups like the Paisley Development Trust and the Creative Renfrewshire Network are trying their hardest to bring groups and organisations together so we have some joined up thinking to move the town forward. All these things take time, but they also require commitment and dedication, and we are under no illusion that it is an uphill battle, but not impossible.

Get behind the town, don’t knock it, memories are great but the future is far more important…

Please let us know your opinions and thoughts on what we have said either by commenting below or on our Paisley Facebook Group or Paisley Active Forum.

(Photograph of Paisley Abbey above part of the set of Paisley Photographs for the Renfrewshire Provost Abseil, taken by Alex Kyle for www.paisley.org.uk )

 

/by