CBF Group's blog

This week is it time for us to take a #CloserLook at a local business called Iconoclast.

Over to you Miriam…

Hi, I’m Miriam Pethania and I run Iconoclast – a bespoke art printing company, and it is something that I’m very passionate about.

Iconoclast started in 2006 – we specialize in digital imaging and work with designers, photographers and artists across the spectrum. We found our clients were wanting to create something beautiful and unique in print, so Iconoclast spun off from there. Our clients have a particular vision in their minds and come to us to bring it to life.

It can be different every day – from a fresh-faced art graduate who’s just starting out, or someone with a vintage family photograph that they want share with others – to designers and corporate clients looking for fresh design solutions, or something stunning and personal for weddings and parties.

We started off with photographic printing, then took on fine art materials like watercolour papers and pure cotton canvases. Now we’re fully bespoke and source the material that suits the project. We’ve worked with everything from aluminium sheets and vinyl banners, to pure silk drapes and wall clings – as well as the more traditional media – ranging from the size of a postcard, to the size of a house!

A bespoke print from Iconoclast is really a work of art in itself, because it’s hand-crafted, all the way. We look at each drop of colour and make sure it says what you want it to say. Having the privilege of working with some of the finest artists in history, including Turner, Whistler and Van Gogh – was an incredibly humbling experience, to literally get under the skin of a genius.

It’s exciting to work with contemporary artists and photographers – from the more well-established, to up-and-coming newcomers. Our photographic background also comes in handy to restore historic images – a recent highlight was reviving some vintage glass plate photographs and putting them onto silk for a couple’s diamond anniversary – the first time we’ve brought tears to someone’s eyes!

If you would like to be the next person we take a #CloserLook at them please send a short blurb to me (no longer than 350 words) at alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!

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Today we are taking a #CloserLook at Suzie Goodman, also known as @KarmaKarsCots.

Over to you Suzie.

Hi, I’m Suzie Goodman from Cheltenham and I’m the very proud owner of Karma Kars Cotswold. We are a wedding car hire company operating across the Cotswolds as far as Oxford, Bristol and Birmingham.  Karma Kars started in London in 2000 with four Ambassadors imported direct from Calcutta. These iconic Indian cars, based on the 1950s British classic the Morris Oxford are classic looking, similar to a Morris Minor only bigger and with a boot! What makes a Karma Kar so special is the painstaking time & attention to detail spent on transforming each car into a veritable work of art. Both bumpers are festooned with exotic flowers and every inch of their interiors are decorated with sequins & beads.

Riding in a Karma Kar is a truly enchanting experience, guaranteed to make every bride’s special day jaw-droppingly stylish.  Karma Kars are practically celebrities in their own right, we’ve been in the music videos of Lily Allen and Keane, booked by Bloombergs and Selfridges and have driven many a celebrity client including Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and the Jaggers.  One of our cars even appeared in a Coronation Street wedding! (Dev & Sunita – fact fans).

After having a Karma Kar at her own wedding in London in 2005, Suzie brought the concept to the Cotswolds in 2010 offering a girly chauffeur experience quite like nothing else. She wanted to buck the trend of a traditional wedding car company so she dresses to impress and certainly doesn’t wear a chauffeur’s cap!  Her first year saw a bumper crop of twelve weddings, this year is already looking busy when you consider that this time last year when she launched she had zero bookings!

Outside of weddings and beautiful cars, Suzie enjoys her 2 gorgeous children, ridiculously high-heeled shoes and cheese of any persuasion.

If you would like to be the Gloucestershire business we are taking a #CloserLook at then please drop me a blurb about yourslef and your business (no more than 350 words to alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!

 

Welcome to our first #CloserLook segment of the #TuesdayCatchUp blog. This is going to be an ongoing project where you will have a chance to have a closer look at local Gloucestershire businesses and what makes them tick.

The first person we are having a #CloserLook at is Rachel Davis also known at @GlosOx on Twitter.

Over to you Rachel:

My name is Rachel Davis (aka “Dizzie”), and I am a community fundraiser for the British Heart Foundation(BHF). I cover all of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire –and quite frankly, I love my job!

I grew up in Gloucester (love the Cherry & Whites), but I now live with my boyfriend and our two dogs in Droitwich (handily situated on the motorway between the two Counties that I cover!)

I spent 8 years as a Trading Standards Officer, before being made redundant in August 2010. I started work for BHF in January 2011. It’s a charity very close to my heart (all puns intended) – and if you want me to tell you why, I will do – without obligation!

I have been a volunteer before, and I am fully aware that charities large and small could not do the job they do, or raise the money they do without volunteers – I am extremely grateful to everyone who gives time or expertise to charity (whether it’s BHF or another charity).

I am so inspired by the work of BHF, which is why I can do my job with so much enthusiasm. I meet many people who have benefitted from the work of BHF, but also some people who have lost loved ones to heart disease – these are the people that I work for.

I am always looking for new ideas to raise money – it’s tough out there – there are so many charities wanting money, and everyone believes that BHF is a rich charity (it’s not!). It’s my aim to tell as many people as possible that Heart Disease kills more people in the UK than anything else. (also women are 3 times more likely to die of Heart Disease than breast cancer).But I won’t nag about your eating habits….I will look disapprovingly when you sneak outside for a fag tho!

Come and chat to me at #TuesdayCatchUp – I’m a fundraiser, not a mugger!

Next week we will be have a #CloserLook at Suzie Goodman of @KarmaKarsCots

If you would like to be one of the Gloucestershire businesses we take a #CloserLook at then drop me a tweet to @CBFprinters or email me at alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!