Bespoke Chalkboards Service

As an independently minded and managed company, Chalkboards UK is able to offer a great degree of flexibility and support when dealing with customers’ projects.

We were recently approached by Oxfam to see if we could assist with the revamping of their pavement boards.

They wanted an A1 Poster Holder that also doubled-up as a chalkboard, but it had to be highly personalised to the Oxfam brand.

This meant we had to spray-paint and varnish the board’s legs in the rather eye-catching ‘Oxfam Green’.

The board also had to be printed with Oxfam’s trademark logo.

After several prototypes were made and mulled over, a price was agreed and a specification confirmed. The work was then carried out in our Stourbridge workshops.

When they were completed the boards were then individually packed and bulk delivered to Oxfam’s distribution centre.

If you have a bespoke project you would like to discuss with one of our account managers, then please do not hesitate to pick up the phone and ask for Matthew Branch on 01384 445844.

Spring Into Action With Our Products!

Spring is almost here, the Easter holidays are just around the corner and the Chalkboards UK Spring mailer, packed with lots of ideas and offers is on its way.

Useful Spring Products
As Spring is nearly here, there's a focus on useful products for your business at this time of year; such as the WC981 Condiments Holder, WC942 Condiments Square and WC988 Menu Holder - all of which can enhance your table displays and are all best sellers.

New Products
We also showcase some of our new products; like our Silver-Effect Framed Chalkboards that were featured in a previous blog; our new rustic crates which look great as POS, especially when they're used with our chalkboard products; and coming soon - the shorter and thinner 'Tall-Thin' A Board, which is ideal for businesses with limited space on your frontage.

Best Sellers
One of best selling lines is the WC156 Quality A1 Square-Frame 'A' Board. They're only £99.95 each and have recently been improved with our new 'EasyToClean' surface - ideal for use with another of our best sellers, liquid chalk pens.

FREE Bottle of Wine and Cool Bag
There's also a great offer for this Spring - a FREE bottle of wine with a cool bag and corkscrew with every order over £150 (terms and conditions apply - click here for more details).

Haven't Received a Mailer?
If you haven't had your copy of the mailer, you can download it by clicking here, or we'll send you one out in the post if you call 01384 445844 or e-mail sales@porterandwoodman.co.uk

FREE Hamper with orders over £150

For a limited period, you can receive a FREE hamper with every order over £150.00 from Chalkboards UK!!!

These lovely hamper gifts, proved very popular in the lead-up to Valentine's Day - so don't forget, it's Mother's Day on Sunday 10th March!!!

The hampers are only available for a limited time, so please visit our Terms and Conditions page to find out more.

We have also just launched our stunning new -silver-effect framed chalkboards - click here for more information.

Chalkboards UK - our products promote your products!

All That Glitters Is Not Gold!

For some years now, Chalkboards UK has offered a very popular range of high quality gold-effect framing for its wall-mounted chalkboards - and now there's silver too!

The chunky, silver-effect frames are made with 60mm, mitred solid wood and surround our new 6mm 'EasytoClean' chalkboard panels.

Prices start from as little as £49.95 + VAT for an A3 chalkboard - click here to find out more.


COMING SOON!!!
New pics for the WC153 and WC350 chalkboards, a feature on the WC954 Tall Thin A Board (ready for the upcoming holidays), and many more new products!

 

Chalkboards UK - Our Products Promote Your Products

Volunteering with the VSO in Zambia!

Every now and again, someone at Porter and Woodman does something extraordinary, so we get the chance to report on something other than new products and special offers – this is one of those times!

Since finishing his degree in Criminology at Southampton University, Sam Williams (the son of our Operations Director, Ian and Accounts Manager, Ann) has been working at Porter and Woodman in various roles, saving up and filling in time for a very important time in his life – he’ll be volunteering for the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in Zambia.

Here’s his story:

“On Saturday 16th February I am climbing Mount Snowdon to raise funds for VSO which will help them to continue the fantastic work which they currently carry out. VSO, like myself, are committed to overcoming poverty and hopefully with your assistance, this fight will only become stronger.

“I have been given a fantastic opportunity to volunteer in Zambia for 12 weeks through VSO. When in Zambia, fellow volunteers and I both from the UK and Zambia will address and tackle the issue of HIV/AIDS. This is an issue I feel very strongly about so I am delighted to be given this chance to try and make a positive impact towards those communities who need some assistance in tackling this issue.

“Through volunteers working together as a group, VSO aims to improve the lives of others by finding and achieving long-term, sustainable and positive solutions to four key development areas. These are health, participation and governance, secure livelihoods and education. By donating, you will help VSO to send more volunteers like myself to some of the least developed countries in the world through the VSO ICS programme.

“This programme, which I have been accepted onto, sends 18-25 year olds to volunteer for three months in countries in Africa and Asia. By donating, you are actively assisting other individuals like myself to go abroad and volunteer and make a real positive contribution to those communities who are most in need of support.”

We’re all very proud of Sam and his selfless attitude to those less fortunate than us. We wish him all the best in his adventure and hope that he manages to help as many people as possible during his time in Zambia.

If you’d like any more information about the VSO, then please visit their website at www.vso.org.uk

Sam's Just Giving page is at www.justgiving.com/Sam-Williams0991 if you'd like to help with a donation.

Bespoke Chalkboards

We're often asked to design bespoke chalkboards to perform specific tasks. As we manufacture and print all of our wooden chalkboards at our Stourbridge base, this is a relatively easy task for us - providing the request isn't too unusual!

The National Trust's Moseley Old Hall, near Wolverhampton, required an A2 reversible 'A' frame chalkboard, with a different function on all four sides and had to be made using 'easy to clean' material.

The main function would be to indicate the time of the next tour of their beautiful Knot Garden, so we designed a clock with moveable hands using the pattern of the garden as a surround. The reverse of this side is a writable panel using the same pattern and shows visitors 'what to look out for today'. The other panel has an A2 poster holder (we even printed the posters for this) on one side and a simple noticeboard panel on the reverse with the National Trust logo in the top left corner.

The chalkboard is a classic example of the Chalkboards UK and Print Services departments working together to provide a unique service and the customer with a perfect product to suite their requirements.

If you would like to know more about our bespoke chalkboard design services, then please give us a call on 01384 445844

Cleaning your chalkboard

Here at Chalkboards UK we constantly get asked what's the best way to clean a chalkboard? Sounds simple but in reality it's not always the case.

A dry cloth like teachers used in classrooms no longer does the trick, mainly due to the invention of liquid chalk pens. Nowadays, there are a few ways to get that refreshing black surface looking as good as new.

The easiest way to clean a blackboard is by using a bowl of water and a smooth cloth. Wet the cloth to begin with and start taking the excess chalk off the surface - the wetter the better, rinsing the cloth out as much as possible. Continue this process until most of the chalk has gone. Then, to remove the final 'shadows' of chalk, use a window cleaner or our chalkboard cleaner with the cloth. This process will vary depending on how long the chalk has been on the blackboard.

If using our Easy to Clean Chalkboards then you only need to do each step above once, as the liquid chalk wipes off easily. If using our standard painted boards however, you may find after a number of uses the blackboard paint may start to come off (it's paint at the end of the day), therefore a quick re-coat may be needed.

There's a quick video on the steps to clean a chalkboard on our Youtube page...

http://youtu.be/xcFi8iyx8Tg

Chalkboards UK are your One-Stop-Shop for Blackboards, Menu Holders, A-Boards, Easels,Poster Displays, Home Chalkboards and much, much more!

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact CUK on 01384 445844 or e-mail sales@chalkboardsuk.com