AE Sewing Machines 2021 Review!
Happy New Year!
It’s hard to believe that it’s 2022 already! The team are feeling energised after the Christmas break and are ready to face whatever new challenges this year brings! We have already had a busy start to the year working on big projects and fulfilling orders for our lovely customers. Before we get ahead of ourselves thinking about 2022, in this post we run through some of the highlights of last year!
New showroom
We decided it was time for a change this year, and so we were happy to reveal our snazzy new showroom! We worked hard to expand our range with new and innovative machines and needed to create a space to showcase them. We can’t wait until lockdown eases so we can start welcoming people back here to see what we’ve been working on!
Build a balloon
This year we were privileged be part of Nightingale House’s “Build a Balloon” fundraising campaign! They launched this initiative with their supporters from the local community. The balloon celebrates 25 years of their care services and was covered with team pictures of their corporate sponsors (that’s us!), and images sent in by members of the public. Nightingale House provides excellent personalised and compassionate care for those living with a life-limiting illness in our community and gives support to their families and other loved ones. They improve quality of life with physical, emotional, spiritual, and social care for their patients. We can’t wait to be a part of their next fundraising project!
Community tea mornings
This year we hosted some community gatherings in our local area to try to bring some feeling of community back after such a tough and difficult time for everyone during the worst of the Covid-19 lockdown. Social restrictions left many people of all ages feeling isolated, so we set up these tea mornings to bring people in the local area back together! The idea was to create an inclusive community environment where people could interact in a safe space. It was overseen by the community agent and we made sure the highest hygiene standards were met to keep everyone Covid safe. We had some great positive feedback from people who really enjoyed these events!
Sewbotics
We launched Sewbotics! This new branch of the company was created to provide bespoke machines integrating Universal Robots UR3 collaborative robot arms with our range of industrial sewing equipment. By developing effective production solutions which are tailored to each customer’s individual requirements, our goal is to make automation a reality for businesses across the UK!
Fay and John 30th
Fay and John celebrated their 30th anniversary! They are the heart and soul of the company and always make sure the whole team are looked after. They’ve been going strong for years and it’s no wonder that the business they built together is going strong along with them!
Fay 50th
This year we wished a very happy 50th birthday to Fay AKA the Team Mama! Fay keeps the work family in order and makes sure we’re all looked after. Her family organised a big surprise birthday party and the team went along to celebrate with her!
Team meal
During the brief Covid-19 respite in the summer we were able to go out for our first team night out for a long time! Fay and John kindly took us out to the Siam Thai & Teppan-Yaki for lots of food (and drink!). The chefs kept us entertained by playing jokes and throwing potatoes for us to catch. It was beginners’ luck with the newest members of staff getting it first time! We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed having a chance to unwind and spend some time together outside of work.
Efan
New member of the AE family, Efan Gerrard was born on the 26th of October at 8.25pm. He’s grown so much in a short space of time and his loving family are incredibly proud! We’re lucky to work with so many incredible makers of clothing for babies and children who have helped to fill his wardrobe! It’s lovely to be able to support their businesses as they’ve supported ours.
Wrexham sponsors
We’re big on supporting local sports teams and this year we added Wrexham AFC to that list! With so many supporters in the office, we thought it was about time we became sponsors of our town’s team. Wrexham AFC is the oldest football club in Wales and the fourth oldest professional association football team in the world. It has a prestigious history but has recently found fame on the world stage thanks to the new owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. It’s great to be able to support our local team as they try to gain promotion back into the football league. We wish them the best of luck for the rest of the season and will be there to cheer them on (some more loudly than others!) every step of the way as soon as Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed in Wales again!
CMYUK creatives in residence
CMYUK started their Creatives in Residence Live project and worldwide design competition to provide unique internships and exciting opportunities for young creatives. The initiative follows four design and media graduates over the course of a 6-month placement at CMYUK’s advanced digital training and demonstration facility in Shrewsbury. CMYUK asked us to get involved and we were happy to provide industrial sewing machines to help the young designers learn more about this aspect of the industry!
https://www.cmyuk.com/creatives-in-residence-live
Fepatex
This year we were delighted to announce a new brand collaboration with Fepatex. We are now the exclusive UK agents for their range of semi-automated and automated eyelet machines. With their extensive international experience, know-how and passion for the business, they always strive to give their customers the best possible performance from their machines. We have teamed up with them to provide a specialized range of eyelet machines which adapt in line with our customer’s needs. Eyelet machines are popular in many textile processing industries as they simplify a laborious manual process, and this partnership means we can deliver excellent quality machines at reasonable prices!
Competition
In December we ran a Christmas machine giveaway, the main prize was brand-new Juki DDL-8100e, fully assembled and set up (just like all the machines we supply)! The response was incredible and we had over 1,000 names entered into the draw. The entries were amazing, with everything from funny (and some terrible) jokes to wholesome Christmas stories and a showcasing of some incredible sewing projects. Two members of our team dressed up in festive costumes (Santa and his elf!) to deliver the machine to the winner, Sarah Blake. We received such incredible feedback from this giveaway that we’ll be running more like it in the future, so keep an eye out on our social media feeds!
A mention for our existing partners
As well as starting exciting relationships with new manufacturers this year, we have continued our successful partnerships with other brands such as Juki, Pathfinder, Oshima, and Rexel, to name but a few. Even with all the shipping delays brought about by the pandemic and Brexit we have together been able to supply our customers with machines and parts, and we look forward to another year of working alongside them!
So, in summary, 2021 was another challenging year, but we will focus on the positives and look forward to whatever 2022 has to offer! We’d like to say another huge thank you to all of our amazing customers who have supported us through this year. From single part orders to lorries full of machines, we truly appreciate every single one.