Established in 2019, The Northern Badge Company are based in Mirfield, West Yorkshire and supply enamel pin badges and promotional items to customers spanning the UK & beyond.  Graphic designers at heart they have over 20 years+ design experience in creating custom enamel badges and other promotional products for a vast variety of clients such as Charities, Sports Clubs, Designers & Illustrators, Councils, Schools, Scouts & guides, Trade events, Business Promotion & lots more!

 

The Northern Badge Company provide a first class service with very competitive prices and a variety of ranges that suit any budget. They offer a good old Yorkshire service meaning that our clients get the quality they require. With their experience with promotional items they can be relied upon to ensure they offer all the help and guidance required for creating and delivering your perfect product.

 

“I created my company after being in the industry for over 20 years and wanting to do things my way! I understand the process of how pins are created and my knowledge helps to give correct advice to my clients avoiding complications in production. I’m a graphic designer by trade and also offer freelance graphic design services and understand layout – especially in relation to my pins. I’m a people pleaser I want you to be happy with your items, I reply to emails as soon as I can and understand the frustrations of waiting for quotes – I won’t leave you hanging.”

 

“I am thrilled to be a part of the WAW network – not being a seasoned networker, I have found the whole experience so far to be incredibly welcoming and inclusive.  I have already met some great connections and am looking forward to meeting lots more at the next event!”  Louise Parkin, Founder.

 

The We are Wakey Women celebrated International Women’s Day in style with a fantastic event at Albert’s Coffee Shop & Wine Bar on Northgate, Wakefield.

 

Kindly sponsored by Affordable Accountancy Solutions, the event saw the WAW women enjoy a toast to #embraceequity, gin tasting & prosecco, accompanied by a stunning afternoon tea.

Retail therapy was provided by Ossett based, The Style Attic, Temple Spa and Uber Rooms and a wonderful evening was had by all before leaving with a complimentary goody bag to enjoy at home.

 

Photo’s from the event can now be viewed on the WAW website here:

We Are Wakefield · Representing diverse sectors around Wakefield and Five Towns

 

Eitex, based in Castleford, provides IT support and services throughout the UK. With Eitex you will receive honest advice from a trusted IT Microsoft Gold Partner. Many of our clients have been with us since the beginning of 1997. They tell us it is because we care about their business, and they trust us to give unbiased guidance and support that’s right for them.

Eitex Managing Director Dean Spencer says, “It’s our aim to be the go-to IT services provider in the area. But we care, and we want to show we’re about more than computer systems. IT is our bread and butter, but we never forget that communities and businesses are people driven, and without the people, we’d be nowhere.”

We’re IT experts so you don’t need to be. We offer support and advice on all aspects of IT including managed helpdesk, Microsoft 365 licensing, Hardware supply, SharePoint design, Microsoft Teams/Voice, leased lines, IT training, and all-important cyber security.

Not every company needs or wants the same level of support, so at Eitex we don’t take a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Rather, we’ll tailor our level of IT support to your needs.

IT Support Webinars

Eitex regularly does online webinar events where anyone can join. Whether you’re wanting to get more out of Microsoft Teams, learn more about building a SharePoint, or train your team to protect your business from cyber threats there will be workshops available to you. Check out our upcoming events here IT Training, Events, Webinars and Workshops from Eitex

Joining the We Are Wakefield Community

It’s a good feeling when local communities work together. Our business at Eitex ranges across the country, but we never forget that our roots are here along with our main base of operations. We appreciate all our valued local clients and enjoy giving back when the opportunity arises. When local people come together, anything is possible for the greater good.

“Eitex was delighted to be given the opportunity to become a member of We Are Wakefield. We look forward to the new local connections we will make in this thriving community.” Jordan Williams, Sales Manager, Eitex

Pictured (L to R) are Sales Manager, Jordan Williams and Operations Manager, Mark Harris.  Look out for them on their pop-up at the WAW event on Friday 3rd March at Wakefield Cathedral.

 Check out the website for more information:
Microsoft 365 (Office 365) IT Support Yorkshire – Modern Workplace – Eitex

 

In our very first We Are Wakefield Podcast, in episode 1, we’re joined by two of our valued members and Board Members, Helen McDonald, General Manager at Solupak Ltd and Ben Dews, Managing Director at Stada Media. In this episode, we hear more about each business and its journey to where it is today; we also talk more personally about Helen and Ben’s journey to where they are today. Plus, they collaborated on a fascinating project by joining We Are Wakefield!

Many of you know WAW member Alan Thompson for his work as a Business Adviser for Ad:Venture originally in Leeds and more recently in Wakefield. You may also be aware that he’s recently left Ad:Venture for a new adventure! 😊

Alan is now working in the Business Engagement Team for the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). This is an initiative run by the Dept for Education who’ve contracted Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce to develop the LSIP.

In order to develop the plan they need to engage with as many employers as possible to understand the challenges and successes in recruiting employees with the right technical skills as well as upskilling existing staff.

They have a short questionnaire which will take 2 minutes to complete, the link is here: https://www.wnychamber.co.uk/local-skills-improvement-plan/

If you want to discuss this, Alan will be at the We Are Wakefield event at Wakefield Cathedral on Friday 3^rd March. Please say hello!

Good Fundraising Co. Ltd, based in Horbury, provides affordable and effective fundraising support to charities and not for profit clients throughout the UK. They are a friendly and approachable consultancy who can be flexible and responsive to their client’s needs, using their knowledge of fundraising in various fields.

The team have a have a proven track record in all forms of fundraising. Working closely with trustees, leadership teams, volunteers, and beneficiaries alike, they have worked with their clients to develop the right strategies and approach to ensure that goals are achieved. With successes ranging from securing the salary of a member of staff, the refurbishment of a community centre to a multi-million-pound capital build, no project is too big or too small.

“We’re delighted to join the We are Wakefield community; we attended the event in February and were warmly welcomed by everyone. It was great to see so many people coming together supporting each other to grow their businesses and as a company we wanted to be part of that and contribute what we can” Cath Longley, Owner and Lead Consultant, Good Fundraising Ltd.

 

Recent Beans are proud to announce the opening of their second speciality coffee roastery. A brand-new, customer facing coffee roastery in the heart of the district, in Wakefield city centre. After opening our doors in The Queen’s Mill, Castleford for the first time in December 2020, Recent Beans is proud to now be a key part of the local coffee culture, working with both customers and local businesses to improve the quality of coffee brewed in our area. During this time, we’ve created some fantastic partnerships, and friendships, with our regular customers and other local businesses, including a partnership with local Rugby League team, the Castleford Tigers, with the launch of ‘Tiger Blend’.

 

Recent Beans brand motto is that freshly roasted coffee is just better. We’ve never understood when the biggest selling coffees in supermarkets or big-chain coffee shops are coffees that have been stored for months, or years, on a shelf. Coffee tastes completely different in the first two weeks after it is roasted. Fresh coffee has flavour notes that will disappear if stored too long and the coffee extracts so much better fresh. Once you’ve tasted really fresh coffee, you never return to old beans.

 

We wanted to really showcase freshly roasted coffee so we decided we would do it the hard way, we would roast all our coffees daily, on small-batch speciality coffee roasters. Many roasters will roast beans once or twice a week in a large capacity roaster and send out from stock. While this is obviously better than supermarket beans, you can lose those amazing first few days after the roast, we won’t do that. Small batches roasted daily.

 

Recent Beans strays from the mould of other coffee roasters by operating out of working roasteries, open to the public, as both a retail stores and espresso bars. For too long, the magic of coffee roasting has been kept away, behind lock and key, with roasters going above and beyond to keep their secrets. The sights, sounds and smells of a working coffee roastery are magical and deserve to be enjoyed by all coffee lovers. We actively make our roasteries inviting and welcoming places to visit, with a retail store, espresso bar and demonstration areas.

 

We want all our customers to experience the fresh coffee revolution. Whether that be by visiting our roasteries and sampling coffee at our espresso bar, ordering through our website or visiting one of our hospitality partners in the district. We look forward to further ingraining ourselves into the local coffee culture with the opening of our new roastery on Westgate and are excited to welcome new regular customers & work alongside cafes and bars in the city.

 

Our new roastery will be officially opened on Friday 17th February at 10am by Councillor Denise Jeffery, in line with the Rhubarb Festival. To celebrate opening during the festival, we are launching an exclusive Kenyan Peaberry coffee, which has natural taste notes of Rhubarb with a deep chocolate body and fruity acidity. This coffee will only be available in our Wakefield roastery, while stocks last. We’ll also be serving a menu of rhubarb spiked coffees through our espresso bar. We look forward to welcoming everybody to our new roastery and are excited to add to the Recent Beans family.

Recent Beans

97-99 Westgate

Wakefield

WF1 1EL

help@recentbeans.com

01977 526972

We are proud to announce Quest Waste Management as We Are Wakefield Ambassadors.

Combining over 100 years’ experience, Quest Waste Management are specialists in the utilities industry. Boasting a diverse state of the art fleet, we provide tankers, sewer inspections, high-pressure jetting, drain unblocking and cleaning to commercial and domestic customers nationwide

We have a proven approach to offering a cost-effective solutions tailored to our customers’ requirements

Operating from a head office in Ossett, we have recently opened depots across the country to meet customer demand for our services.

Quest maintains the highest standards in quality, environment and health and safety management in accordance with national accreditations, enabling us to demonstrate our exceptional operational output without compromising safety or impact on the environment.

“As Quest continues to grow, collaboration with We Are Wakefield as an Ambassador will enable us to strengthen our position in the community, develop better supply chains and benefit the Wakefield Area.

Having won the Large Business Growth Success Award at the 2022 Wakefield Business Awards we are excited to be able to actively support the Wakefield Business District as we expand our customer base. Our relationships are built on confidence and fairness, delivered as a partnership.” Ivan Smyth, Quest’s Chief Executive.

Quest Waste Management, Trident House, Milner Way, Ossett WF5 9JE

Meet Caroline Wherritt, Founder & Chief Executive of Re:Work Office Furniture.

Re:Work are a new and used office furniture supplier who do things differently. As a social enterprise they have a wider focus on helping the environment, as well as providing great products and services to their customers.

“I’m a Wakefield born and bred business owner, running two companies, Re:Work Office Furniture and Workspace Furniture & Design, (although based in South Leeds) we cover everything from Interior design and planning for offices, to Supply and Installing the furniture, as well as supplying pre-loved office furniture. We have Yorkshires’ largest independent showroom, where people can come, feel, look and be inspired… we do the whole sch-bang!

I’m looking to support other businesses within the WAW network, through any useful contacts and experience I may have, as well as, hopefully, a friendly face!

For those that don’t know, I won the Christmas Jumper competition at the event in December – something I am both proud of, and completely embarrassed by because it really wasn’t all that special!!!”

Make sure you say hello to Caroline at the next We Are Wakefield event!

We are proud to announce RV2 Power Ltd as We Are Wakefield Ambassadors.

RV2 Power are the experts in the renewable energy sector.  They provide Solar PV design and installation, backup battery storage and nationwide EV charging installations as core services. All with the ability to support other green tech, such as Air Source Heat Pumps, Wind Turbines, Solar Farms and more. They offer full turn-key solutions across all electrical, solar PV and EV Charging sectors for both residential and commercial. Whatever your power requirements, RV2 can help.

Following on from their success at The Wakefield Business Awards, Tony Simmonds, Director of RV2 Power Ltd said, “RV2 are delighted to become Ambassadors for We Are Wakefield. Claire has created a group of local businesses who share our ethic for trying to keep services local and for doing great work for the people of Wakefield. The group is different from the traditional networking events that we have previously attended. This feels like a natural coming together of like-minded people from across all sectors, whether that be commercial, charitable, or cultural. Nothing is forced it just feels right, something we want to be a part of. We have no expectations of increasing our business, only that we build relationships within the district and hopefully help others along the way. We’re looking forward to see what we can achieve together. I hope we can contribute to assisting We Are Wakefield and the wider WAW community.”

RV2 Power, 5 Nano Park Kelly Way, Wakefield WF2 9FW