NKD Clothing

Well I think it's fair to say Black Friday 2010 was certainly a day to remember for not just the NKD Team! It all started pretty calm, quite peaceful to say the least. Deliveries appeared to be getting back to normal, Zander and Ray ploughed their way through the outstanding customer orders up in the NKD Warehouse, Sarah completed some design work for a client and I spent the morning working on the figures. Lisa and Steph were heading down to Peterborough on the train to see a client. Generally speaking it was business as normal...

At 12.15pm Steph texted me to tell me that they hadn't managed to get off the train at Peterborough - the train doors had failed to open and no passengers had been able to get on or off the train! With the girls heading to the next stop, which in this instance was London, we were all beginning to wonder if this was turning out to be a wasted journey! Thankfully our client managed to push the meeting back a couple of hours, Steph and Lisa arrived in London, the train doors opened and they ran to catch the next train heading north which was leaving in 6 minutes! They eventually arrived back to Peterborough and had by all accounts what was a very successful meeting.

Back in Edinburgh the remainder of the team heading up to The Living Room for our Christmas Lunch. We were joined on this occasion by our 2 friends - Belinda Roberts of Winning Entrepreneurs and Susie Lacroix of No. 1 Currency. Lunch was great and we bumped into a few of our clients including Richard Oliver of Harrison Field and the lovely Sandy and Sarah from Citidogs.

We moved onto one of our favourite bars, the gorgeous Tigerlily, where lots of NKD friends were out in full force, including my bestest chum Lady Laura! It seemed the whole of Edinburgh was out on Friday night. I can't quite remember what time we decided all to head home but I certainly made it home safely. The same can't quite be said for Belinda....at 04.57am I woke up needing a drink of water to quench my hangover induced thirst. For some reason I plugged my mobile in and went on Facebook when I was in the kitchen to see a posting from Belinda who had just checked out of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary! Poor Belinda had taken her dog out for a walk after we had all gone home and split her head open! 5 big staples in her head she was admitted home. Not nice.

Other injuries sustained on Black Friday in Edinburgh include our very own Ray who slipped and fell - his glasses jarred into the side of his head and he now has a lovely black eye which he can barely see out of! My solicitor Susanne was also a victim of the snow and ice (or was it the alcohol) - She woke up with a very sore leg from falling flat on her face and a cancelled bank card!

I can only say the streets of Edinburgh must have been very quiet on the Saturday - thank goodness Christmas comes just once a year!!! Have a good one everybody and stay safe!!!

While it may be pretty and may also be spreading some early festive cheer for children up and down the country, for those trying to work through the wintery weather this week's been a real slog.

We'd love to say it's business as normal at NKD but even our dedicated team has been halved thanks to the snow and while we're doing all we can to keep productivity and morale high, we're really up against the elements here in Edinburgh.

With blocked roads, trains suspended, airports and factories closed and our dispatches on hold at depots we're finding it difficult to fulfil orders much to our frustration! With winter comes snow, but it's arrival is always met with surprise. Worse than that, it's almost as though there's nothing else to talk about, certainly not much in the way of business. But while this usually only lasts for the first few days, it doesn't seem as though the end is in sight this December with more snow and freezing temperatures forecast for the next couple of weeks.

As the government orders an urgent audit of the countries snow-readiness in the face of severe disruption we'd love to know how (if at all) the snow is effecting your business?

NKD were delighted to feature in Company Clothing Magazine's October Showcase. The piece documents the changes in hotel uniforms over the last two decades.

We chose to show Fraser Suites Edinburgh as the front of house uniforms demonstrate just the right mix of bespoke design and stock supported corporatewear, thus offering our client a premium uniform range that is both stylish and affordable.

The classic black suiting is given a modern twist with warm grey shirts and blouses. And through the clever use of accent coloured ties and scarves the look offers not only effortless sophistication but the power to enhance the Frasers brand.

Our collaboration with Fraser Suites proved to be a winning combination with both parties being recognised by an industry accolade in the corporatewear category of the Business Manager Awards in April 2010.

We'd love to know what you think about the evolution of hotel uniforms over the years - check out the NKD news pages or to see the showcase in full click here.