Friday 14 August 2020

A Gift and An Advert

It was my Mum's birthday on Wednesday. The weather was pretty much the same as it has been for a while now; very hot with daytime temperatures well over 30 Celsius and not really cooling off at night, making it hard to sleep and not easy to concentrate on work the next day.

However, this post is neither about the weather nor about the small but lovely birthday celebration we had - it is about one of the gifts I gave my Mum.

She had long been talking about wanting a new mousemat / mouse pad, and I knew just where to have one made specifically for her:

Good friends of mine in Yorkshire have recently started their own business, Illustrated Solutions LTD, printing whatever motive you choose on a vast range of products such as t-shirts, mugs, key rings, bags, coasters and - in my case - mousemats. They can do sublimation and 3D prints, and will print for you even if it is just one single item. Of course, they will happily print any number of items; for instance, if you run a small business and want to give your team and your best customers mugs for their tea and coffee breaks with your company logo, Nigel and Fiona are the ones to turn to.

Same is true for whatever other event or occasion you want to mark with a special memory, say a wedding or a big birthday party; you could create coasters for your guests as a take-home gift, or what about giving the members of your book or poetry club t-shirts with your club's name? The ideas are endless! If you are not sure about what to do, you can browse their designs or get in touch with them - two very nice and creative people will help you get your idea off the ground.

Have I mentioned face masks yet? All of us need them now, nobody enjoys wearing them - but you can make it more pleasant by having your own personalised mask, or give one as a small but very useful gift. Business owners can equip their staff with masks showing the logo, something I would definitely do if I were running a shop or café.

From the time I asked my friends about the possibility of having a mousemat printed for my Mum until I had the finished product in my hands took only a few days - and most of that was shipping time (they are in the Barnsley area whereas I live, as you know, in south Germany). They really offer quick and friendly service, quality products and neat packaging, all at very reasonable prices.

Here is the mousemat I gave my Mum. The picture is one you have seen a few times on my blog, the view from the area where my parents used to have their allotment, and where my Mum and I have walked often.

Find them here on Facebook and see pictures of their many products.

30 comments:

  1. That's a brilliant present but you've just put the image in my head of people walking around wearing Amazon smile facemasks!

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    1. I wouldn't be surprised if such masks already existed!

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  2. That's a nice gift. I think we have photo companies in Sweden with similar services. But of course it's always nice (and makes it extra special) if you can combine giving a present to someone with supporting another friend by buying something they produced.

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    1. My thoughts exactly, Monica! Nigel and Fiona have been friends of mine for years, and although we can not meet up in Yorkshire this year, I can at least do my small bit to suppport their business.

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  3. I shall go over and have a look - it is a lovely idea.

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    1. Thank you, Pat! I am very likely going to get one or two Christmas presents from them this year.

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    2. To clarify: Not that I mean they are going to give me a Christmas present - I am going to order presents from them, to give to my family and friends.

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  4. The gift of memories and a memorable gift. Tis lovely.

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    1. There is so much one can do with photos nowadays! I also like to have wall calendars printed for my family and friends, usually by a theme, such as Mountains or Yorkshire, or my hometown.

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  5. Happy Belated Birthday to your dear Mother! And I love that gift. It has such meaning for your family, and for your Mom. And your are helping friends, too...

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    1. Thank you, Kristi! I want to add that my friends have never asked me to write about their business, it was entirely my idea.

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  6. writing a book is an intensely creative process. Your creative juices may burn out, occupational hazard. We all need time to rejuvenate every once in a while. I try to do very boring and mundane stuff like book marketing to reignite my passion for writing. I bang on bookbub's doors to take in my book and having 100+ reviews helps, so use usbookreviews dot com

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    1. This has nothing to do with my post, 'Dora'.

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  7. I think we are all getting used to wearing masks and many of us have masks that reflect our interests in life. My wife has now made and donated over 500 of them. I am sure she never thought it would climb to this kind of number when she offered to make a few for friends and family.

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    1. 500 masks!! That is a lot. Your wife deserves a medal!

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  8. Belated Happy Birthday to your lovely Mum - I know you made her day special.

    Beautiful scenic view on her new mousepad - I know as she uses it she'll get much pleasure from the memories it will bring of your walks together in the countryside.

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    1. Thank you, Mary. I think it was a good day for my Mum altogether. So many thought of her, rang her, wrote to her, and we were able to have a little gathering in the garden with good food and drinks.

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  9. Happy Birthday to your Mom! What a nice gift you have given her especially since it will remind her of special days spent with you! Your friend's business sounds like a very good one. It is always nice when we can give and receive such personalized gifts. I hope you and O.K. have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Thank you, Bonnie!
      We have been to a BBQ yesterday, just four of us, and enjoyed good food and drinks - for me, it was already the second BBQ this week! It eas nice walking home under starry skies, still warm.

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  10. Personalised gifts are the best. I had a mousemat made with my grandson on it, which I had at work. I bet your Mum loved it. Tablemats are good too.

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    1. It is nice to have something personal at the work place, like your mousemat, or a coffee mug.

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  11. That's nice - and I shall visit your friends' website. However, and now I feel deprived, I don't actually use a mouse pad. My desk's surface smooth enough for my mouse to glide around on like a ballerina on ice. However, I could do with a new keyboard. It's disgusting (in the grooves between the keys). I feel like one of those people who trade in their Rolls Royce because the ashtray is full. And I don't even smoke.

    U

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    1. At my leisure desk where my personal/private computer lives, I do not have or need a mousepad, either. At my work desk here in my home office, I need one because it has a glass surface. An optical mouse needs a bit of structure to work properly; a normally smooth wooden desk or plastic surface like what most of my clients have is good. But with glass, the optical sensor in the mouse has nothing to refer to, it is too smooth.

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  12. Happy birthday to your mum. It looks like your friends do good things. My daughter makes items inspired by the countryside. If you want to have a look then you can find sarah's country crafts on a website or instagram. Everything is homemade and there are lots of things to look at. Hope you are still doing ok with the current situation.

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    1. Got it wrong, Sarah's country gifts.

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    2. Thank you, Pat!
      We are still doing fine with the current situation; work has not changed for me (meaning I still have plenty to do) and we're all well (meaning nobody in the family has contracted the virus so far).
      I am not on instagram but will have a look for your daughter's country gifts.

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  13. What a brilliant idea and how kind of you to publicise their work. It’s a lovely personalised present.
    Happy belated birthday greetings to your Mum and many happy returns of the day.

    When you mentioned the temperatures in Germany (I also saw them on German TV’s weather reports) I knew, without a doubt, that it would be impossible for me to live there again. We have had very hot and humid 30C+ heat here and I almost dissolved.

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    1. Thank you, Friko!
      It's been several years now that we have had this kind of summer. I don't mind the heat so much during the day, but it becomes hard to bear when the nights never cool off and you can not get any fresh air into the house, no matter how many windows you keep open all night. Working from home is definitely preferable on hot days than going to an office, where I will have to be dressed in business attire and can not hop around in a pair of shorts and spaghetti-strap top.

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  14. Such a thoughtful gift, I love it! I know she did too!!
    I well remember the posts about the alotment. For some reason, the cakes that were waiting for you when you arrived is the very first thing that comes to mind...let me know if I am remembering correctly, your Mum's homemade cakes, right?
    Happy birthday to your Mum, a bit late!! xxx

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    1. Thank you, Kay! It is never too late for good wishes!
      We often had my Mum's homemade cakes at the allotment, but sometimes we had savoury snacks like pretzels from the bakery. When my Dad was there before us and we walked over, he would lay the table on the patio and even put some flowers in a vase.

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