Hello Dear Reader,
Strike a light, it’s been a long time since we made a blog post. Some of you may be thinking why the hell haven’t seen a post from those guys in ages? Well, maybe you aren’t, but of course my Catholic upbringing means guilt and shame courses my veins, so I’m desperate not to let people down.
So finally, I am writing. And what joy it brings me. I hope you experience half as much joy reading it. Or more than half, five eighths even!
There has been “muchos develepmentos” here at The Picture Hanger HQ over the last year.
Where do I begin?
My former employee and I’m proud to say, good friend Marty has become my business partner, which is a boon for The Picture Hanger. Marty applied for a job with us nigh on 5 years ago. I didn’t know him from Adam, but he seemed like a good fit. Who could have known he’d muscle his way in and take half the business! Boo hoo, bloody gold digger!
Jokes aside, it’s a very good thing. Over the years I often tried to imagine having a business partner but could never see how it would work. But life has a way of surprising us and Marty has consistently had great ideas for the business and has made an excellent sounding board and consigliere. We always find our way through differences of opinion. I think because we both know how to hold things lightly and not let our egos get in the way.
We’ve even written a unique conflict resolution clause into our partnership contract. Here it is. Feel free to steal it.
Dispute Resolution – Game of Darts
If the Shareholders are unable to reach unanimous agreement on a significant decision relating to the business of the Company, and the deadlock continues for more than 30 days, the matter shall be resolved as follows:
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Venue and Format: The Shareholders shall meet in person at a mutually agreed public house located in Brighton to play a standard game of darts (501) under agreed rules.
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Pre-Game Requirement: Each Shareholder shall consume exactly three (3) pints of lager, preferably Moretti or a comparable beer with an alcohol content of 4% ABV or higher, prior to commencing the game.
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Decision-Making Authority: The winner of the darts game shall have final and binding authority to determine the outcome of the disputed matter.
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Fallback Provision: If either Shareholder is unable or unwilling to participate in the game of darts (including alcohol consumption) for any reason, the dispute shall instead be resolved by a single coin toss conducted by an agreed independent third party.
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Good Faith Intent: The Shareholders enter into this clause in the spirit of mutual trust, creativity, and good humour, with the shared aim of ensuring decisive progress in the Company’s affairs.
What other news can I bring you, dear reader?
How about our (fairly) newly launched art sourcing service?
It’s for anyone with a few annoyingly empty walls. Yes, that includes me (a cobbler’s children and all that). It starts with a visit from our lovely in-house curator, Mr Eric Thorp, who has a background in curating contemporary exhibitions and years of experience hanging thousands of artworks in homes and businesses. He’ll walk through your space, chat about what you’re drawn to, and then create a personal deck of artworks. Some to buy, others to help us zero in on your taste. The initial visit and bespoke deck are £500 incl. VAT. If you’d like to go further, we’ll take care of the sourcing too, making the whole thing simple, personal, and actually enjoyable.
If it sounds like something you need, just reply and we’ll get the ball rolling.
Aaaand in other news… we’ve (finally!) launched our Commercial Works page. Over the past 15 years, we’ve done a fair few brilliant commercial jobs, hotels, offices, boutiques, you name it, but never quite found the time to show them off. Classic small business stuff: too busy doing the work to talk about it. Anyway, we’ve pulled together some favourites. Take a look and see what we’ve been up to behind the scenes.
That’s it for now dear reader. I could go on telling you about all sorts completely unrelated to the business (like Marty had his car exhaust fixed by Mik the mechanic, who should be a character in a short story by Tom Wolfe). But I sense you’re getting sick of being called dear reader. Should I lose that affectation? Do let me know by return mail.
Onwards,
Pat