Archive for category: Our News

Established in September 2019, Ben’s School of Swimming offers group and private 1-1 sessions to children as little as 8 weeks old.

Run over two sites, one at our countryside location in the beautiful Cragg Vale and the other in Elland, Ben’s School of Swimming have fully qualified staff to provide your children with the best learning experience around and who are dedicated to teach individuals to swim confidently.

Open from Monday to Saturday they offer times to suit different needs ranging from 10am right through to 7pm. It has become very popular with the parents in the Calder Valley and beyond!

They have recently expanded their services and now provide training courses for members of the public, along with their own pool cleaning service to local residents with swimming pools and even offer water safety sessions to children from local schools.

For further information or to enquire regarding lessons please visit bensschoolofswimming.com or call 01422 888429.   

Equinox Kombucha, which was established in 2012,  is an award-winning, socially conscious B Corp (https://bcorporation.uk/) which produces organic kombucha at Orchard Business Park, based in Mytholmroyd.

Equinox Kombucha is an organic cultured beverage made by fermenting green tea and unrefined cane sugar with a Kombucha culture called a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeast). It’s a natural alternative to traditional fizzy drinks but generally has much less sugar.

Currently employing approximately 30 staff across two sites in Calderdale, Equinox are dedicated to brewing the best organic, sustainable artisan Kombucha you’ve ever tasted. With their unique brewing process creating an equally unique delicious taste, it’s easy to see why Kombucha is now flying off the shelves in Britain and several other countries across Europe & Scandinavia.

With a mission to make affordable, organic, healthy, sustainable soft drinks that are good for you and the planet, what’s not to love?  To place orders, please visit their website www.equinoxkombucha.com; there is free delivery on all orders over £25.

Established over 30 years ago, JVL is a leading supplier and distributor of household products in the UK.  Based at Orchard Business Park in Mytholmroyd, JVL supply products including doormats, home furnishings, laundry essentials, cleaning products and car care goods to leading high street retailers, wholesalers and independent retailers. They have now extended their range and have the facility for customers to order directly from their website, head over to their social channels, search @jvlhomeware on FB or Instagram.

Employing around  60 staff, JVL pride themselves on providing first rate customer service and products which provide excellent value for money.  To place orders, visit their website www.jvl.co.uk or telephone 01422 888555.

With everyone being encouraged to work from home where possible, we have outlined our top five tips we’ve come across and adopted for our days at work. Being in a position where you can work from home is brilliant at this time and getting your work done is important for your business. Staying healthy both mentally and physically is important for you. The tips below are what we have outlined for you to be able to get the best out of your days working from home and to remain with a healthy mind.

1.Get Dressed:

Would you believe it, something so small as getting dressed has made the list. As tempting as it is to sit in your pyjamas all day, getting washed and dressed to start your day will psychologically gear you up to be productive with your work. Ensuring you do this can have much more of an impact than you ever thought was possible.

2. Find the best work space:

Working from home can be tough as you are more prone to distractions. If there’s other people in the house, set boundaries (if possible). Set the times you can be approached and the times where you need to get your head down and work. Dedicate an office space and surround yourself with inspiration to work hard.

Ensure your home has a work free zone, none of us want to feel like the place where we work is the place we spend relaxing. Maintaining this divide can be crucial to keep a healthy work life balance.

3.Keep your routine:

Humans are creatures of habit. Having a routine is vital, whether its setting your alarm for the same time each day, going to bed at the same time to ensure you have a good nights rest or taking your lunch break at the same time you normally would at work.  Routines help us mentally and physically prepare for something. Keeping your routine the same even if you don’t physically go to work will help you gear up for the day ahead. Make the most of what would have been your commuting time and spend this doing something that will set you up to have a positive mindset instead and make this a new part of your routine for the time being.

4.Pick up the phone:

Working from home can be isolating, especially if you live alone. Where appropriate, instead of emails why not pick up the phone to a work colleague, client or customer to discuss the matter. You can always follow this up with an email detailing the topics covered in the call, but you’ve been able to have some interaction with others and they will probably benefit from this too.

5. Take regular breaks:

Finally, you shouldn’t spend all your day glued to your screens and It’s been said to be more beneficial to take short breaks throughout your working day. If it’s safe to do so, why not sit in your garden or take a short walk adhering to the government’s guidelines. Just like any working environment, giving yourself breaks is incredibly important to let your brain and body relax and keep your mind fresh.

I’ll just finish this. This deadline is too close. A customer needs this fast. Does this sound familiar when asked if you would like to go for lunch? We all know that eating at our desks everyday is bad for us but taking a break at lunch time to step away from your desk can improve both your body and brain, keeping your muscles and mind fit.

Boosting your wellness in the workplace can all start with stepping away from your computer screens and putting down your smart phones to practice mindful eating. Many of us get distracted whilst eating and working and then we don’t recognise when we are full.

Why not make this a social thing? Take time to sit and talk to a colleague about non-work related topics and whether it’s going for a walk, sitting in communal area or visiting Craggies, give yourself that much needed break. You’ll reap the benefits in your mental state and work.

We have all been there, sometimes you’re in a slump. You might be feeling tired most of the time, or disinterested in your work. You’ve lost your motivation.

And it could be for a number of reasons, you could be stressed at work or home. It’s a change in the season, and as it gets darker earlier, you could be affected by that. And if you run your own business, it’s important to not stay in that slump too long, or it could affect your business.

In our serviced offices on our sites, we have several small businesses who are run by a very small team, and we know the importance of getting out of those dips to keep your business thriving, so we have a few tips here to help you get out of that business slump!

Get away from the computer

This can be tough, as most of our work is done on a computer, but staring at the screen too long can affect your concentration. So, leave your desk. Walk to the kitchen and make a brew. Weather permitting, go outside and have a walk. At The Craggs we are lucky to be surrounded by the beautiful Calder Valley countryside. Whether you’re up at the main site in Cragg Vale  or at The Chapel in the centre of Mytholmroyd, there’s plenty to see and do in your breaks away from the computer screen.

Mix up your routine

If you come straight into the office and work non-stop, mix up your morning routine, and get a coffee en route to the office. By doing something different, your brain doesn’t fall into your repetitive thought processes.

If you always go for lunch at 12.30 on the dot, go at 12. Or 1.

If you always bring your lunch with you, go out and buy a sandwich. (We have a local farm shop and café on site, so we’re lucky to have fantastic food right on our office doorstep!)

By changing your routine slightly, not to be disruptive, but it will stop you from falling into the same repetitive routines, which will get your brain going, and improve your mood!

If you work from home, mix it up with some co-working or desk sharing

We know that working from home is maybe financially better, you’re not paying for overheads such as rent, electricity etc. However, working form home can be lonely.

But if you can’t afford an office, then there are other options available. You can hire a desk, or a shared office.

That way, you can work from somewhere else, meet new people who might be able to help with you and your business and you will spend time with other people.

At the Craggs, we also offer co-working and shared office facilities. With high speed internet, flexibility in when you use our co-working facilities, and a community of tenants who help and encourage each other in their businesses, you’ll fit right in.

For more information on our co-working facilities, visit the page on the website or call us on 01422 888450 and we can talk about how we can help you!

Remember, it’s normal for us all to have these peaks and troughs when you’re in business, so if you find yourself in a business slump, take our advice, try these steps to change up your routine and your thinking habits will change for the better too!

I found myself  like many others this week, sat on the sofa full of the pre-Christmas cold.

I was ‘messing’ with my phone and reviewing my year in photographs.

An hour later I had made this; it is work in progress like many things but on balance to wait for it to be perfect and up to the standards of my 13 year old daughter would be pointless.  Either way it made me smile.

We have worked hard this year renovating The Chapel which now offers fabulous and impressive office space in Mytholmroyd.

I am ready for the Christmas break where we can recover our energies for the new projects in 2019.  I’m sure next year will be as fun filled as the previous ones.

If you are interested in office or industrial space at any of our sites please get in touch.  info@thecraggs.co.uk