A former advertising executive is using a unique creative concept to help businesses to focus on their goals.
Lorna Watkinson set up Rainbow Pottery Painting in 2012 after 17 years working in the media-advertising department of Procter and Gamble. The mobile pottery painting business has focused on events for children and schools, but Lorna now aims to fire-up the corporate world.
Lorna, who is based in Warkworth, said: “We’re organising pottery workshops for SME’s and corporate executives to help them keep their vision for their business in sight, and remember what they’re working towards.
“By asking people to visualise where they want to be in five and 10 years time, and then putting these ambitions down on items they see every day, they are reinforcing the idea and reminding themselves what they are working towards.
“Our half-day workshops are ideal for any size of business as they can be custom made to suit start ups, SME’s, executives or for companies to do corporate team-building exercises. And Because Rainbow Pottery Painting is a mobile business, we can bring the event to companies’ own premises or whichever venue they chose.”
During the sessions, delegates are asked to think about their career or business Vision statements. They draw their designs on to a tile and a mug, which Lorna fires-up in the kiln to provide permanent visual reminders.
She said: “It’s a fresh way to inspire you and help you to remember your goals while you are doing your daily work. It helps to focus the mind, keeps you on track and make decisions to help you reach those goals. It’s appropriate for businesses of all sizes and executives who want to focus on their career development.
Lorna held an introductory workshop for businesses in Northumberland to pilot the concept, involving a travel counsellor, a PR company, a marketer, health nutritionist and a bed & breakfast owner. Each delegate was asked to think about their achievements and aims, and to create a design to represent them.
Avril Scott, who runs Alnmouth-based Avril Scott Marketing, said: “This course gave us a lot of clarity, enabled us to focus on where our business is going and gave us the tools in a unique way to get us there.
“It was very enjoyable and we learnt a lot. I’ll be using the tile and the cup I made all the time to remind me of what my business direction is.”
Colin Brown, a travel counsellor from Amble, said: “This was a really different way of thinking about things.
“It was a fun experience, but more importantly, it really helps to concentrate your mind on where you are going and why. Every time I look at my mug and tile, it will put that focus back into the forefront of my mind and help me to work towards my business goals.”
To find out more or book a business workshop, please contact Rainbow Pottery Painting at www. rainbowpotterypainting.co.uk