THE co-owner of personalised letterbox gift company set up during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic has thanked fellow business leaders for their support as she looks forward to a busy 2021.
Natalie Bamford, together with husband, Adam, have released seven new ranges of their Colleague Box for the new year, including a Self-Care box, Veganuary Cookie Dough Delights Box and seasonal specials such as the Treat Box Easter Edition and Valentine’s Day box.
And Natalie, who is juggling the business with homeschooling daughters Lola (13) and three-year-old Poppy, has praised the owners of several Derby businesses for their encouragement when it comes to Colleague Box over the past 12 months.
The Easter edition of the Colleague Box, which is available to purchase now
“Everyone knows of the big businesses for which Derby is famous for – the likes of Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and Toyota – but there is also a wealth of small, local businesses who we have had the honour of working with,” said Natalie.
“And, for me, most of the small businesses who we have been working with have women at the helm.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve worked with Laura Parry, of graphic design company Parry Creative – who helped us with a re-brand for 2021 – Ask The Chameleon’s Rachel Hayward, who has given us invaluable advice on awards we should be entering and grants available to us, and Bev Crighton, from the University of Derby, who was brilliant great in helping us to recruit students from their Student Employment Agency.
READ MORE: Derby husband-and-wife team welcoming back furloughed workers with Colleague Box
University of Derby student Tyler Spiers is pictured at Colleague Box’s Derby headquarters with owner Natalie Bamford
“Others who have been brilliant for us include Sarah Loates at Loates HR, Kerry Ganly, at Penguin PR, Bev Wakefield at Vibrant Accountancy, Claire Twells for running supportive group Derby’s Finest, Phoenix Therapies’ Sarah Gatford, Danielle Dunn; owner of bath bomb business Divine Box, which was also set up during the pandemic, Carly Dainty from Homemade Boutique, who have helped create positivity packs for the gift boxes and for Safe and Sound Group’s Hope Box, Tracy Harrison from Safe and Sound and Mercia Image Print’s Amanda Strong.
“Where we can, we will always strive to work with and support local businesses.
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“This year has been a challenging one and, where we can, we want to support all these talented small businesses we have right here on our doorstep. We are looking forward to collaborating, supporting and working with more local businesses in the near future.”
For Mercia Image Print, the request to print 20,000 advent calendars at the end of 2020 was the biggest order the Derby company had received in its 31-year history.
Amanda Strong added: “We have followed the story of Colleague Box and were absolutely delighted to work with Natalie and Adam.
“Creating the custom-made advent calendars was an exciting challenge for our experienced and talented team but we were thrilled with the final product.”
Colleague Box offer free personalisation in all of their boxes as well as free UK shipping., whilst packages can be sent abroad for an additional cost.
Each box is ordered online and for bulk purchases, Colleague Box offer a secure mass upload option so it’s easy to buy 1 or 1000+. Packaged using sustainable and recyclable materials, the boxes arrive at the door within a few days.
To find out more, visit www.colleaguebox.co.uk or connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
ENDS
For further information, contact Kerry Ganly at Penguin PR on 07734 723951 or email [email protected]
