Silence is golden. Unless you are watching an action film. Then it's a little spooky because soon, there will be a BOOM to make you jump out of your seat. That may be fun for two hours during the show but it's not how I want to spend my dinner time after a long day's work. It's exactly what I get when I come home to a hot stuffy house, open the doors and windows to air it out and BOOM! the door slams as the gentle, cooling breeze wafts, softly through.
Or, at least, that's how it used to be. Now, with SoftSlam installed in my offending door, I don't have to worry. I don't have to stress. I can focus on dinner, a book, a relaxing bath and not have to stay on edge waiting for the unavoidable slam and wonder if anyone got their tail caught. When was the last time you saw an advertisement for a relaxing massage, facial, pedicure, and manicure package with the crashing bang of slamming doors in the background? Half of the luxury of that package is the sound of silence. You can have that luxury in your own home for a fraction of the cost of the spa treatment. What's better, when you get home, the effects of the treatment won't be ended abruptly by the sound of a slamming door. It's been 20 years since the last trend in luxury homes swept the world - the soft close cabinetry. Now, we can make the full size doors just as luxurious. Listening to the birdsong, Elizabeth
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If you are one of the hundreds of people that stopped by our stand at the show today in Levin, we thank you. It was great meeting each and every one of you and hearing your door slamming stories. Though some of your stories were almost too heart breaking to bear.
Our day was action packed. I have to admit to leaving Nick alone to tend the booth for hours while I enjoyed the show. I watched the magician, the show jumping, the Santa Gertrudis judging, the women's' sawing, the men's' chopping, the Axeman show, visited the Greyhound pets, SPCA barn, and the alpacas. Nick took 30 minutes to wolf down some lunch. Sounds fair. We will be back tomorrow if you missed us today. There is nothing like a live demonstration of door slamming without protection and then a similar slam being suppressed by the use of a SoftSlam to make you a believer. There are still sceptics. The numbers can be improved but it will take all of us working together. Time to sleep. See you tomorrow, Elizabeth Another first for SoftSlam, well, two firsts, really.
We will be at the Horowhenua A&P Show this Saturday and Sunday in Levin. We have done shows before but never an A&P show. The foot traffic is heavy and the clientele is diverse. The people that we see at home shows are usually looking for something specific for their homes. The people we expect to see this weekend will be out with the family having a good time and they will come across some interesting products while they are at it. The second "first" is that we will have product available for sale at the show. We've never done that before. Our shows have been for education and demonstration purposes only. This time, we will have a demonstration, a fistful of facts regarding injuries and product for you to buy before you leave. As always, we are happy to assist with installation if you require. Time to get ready for the big day. See you there, Elizabeth I went away for the holidays. Nick stayed here. Most everything in New Zealand is closed for what seems like months during the Christmas break. I knew Nick wouldn't have a lot to do so I suggested that he go to the hospital, have a chat with the nurses, learn about emergency room treatment of door injuries, prevalence, whatever. He always finds a way to follow through on my recommendations. Though, admittedly, not how I envision it....
Nick decided to surprise me by finishing out our shower while I was gone. He can do these things. He is a very talented joiner / carpenter. It looks great. He even got the blood stains off the timber. He made a mistake. It happens. Even at his age with his experience, accidents can happen. He showed up at the emergency room with his index finger split open in two parallel cuts. There weren't very many people there so he had the undivided attention of most of the nurses. At least the ones that hadn't passed out while he was pouring blood all over their white lino flooring. They were more than happy to answer his questions about door injuries. 30% of all injuries admitted to the Palmerston North emergency room are caused by doors. Most of them smashed fingers. Few of them as dramatic as Nick's. Thankfully. It could have been worse, he could have gotten man-flu while I was gone. Please protect yourself, your family, your pets. I can't say it enough. There is a prevention. Call today and see if SoftSlam is right for you. Silly season is over if you are in New Zealand. Christmas has been over for a while in most other places. We are slow here. Island time, if you will. Take it easy, slow down. What's the hurry? You have 48 weeks left to get all you plan done in the new year.
We have lots of plans. It's been 4 weeks since we did anything at all. It's time to get a move on. The weather is perfect. The breeze is gently swaying in the trees. The doors are slamming. Yeah! Slamming doors. Only because it offers us the opportunity to prove that it doesn't have to be that way. But you know that already because you have seen all my previous posts. Starting tomorrow, we have a full schedule. First stop, visiting one of our fine manufacturers in Whanganui. Later in the week, we will be stopping in at some of our local distributors, discussing installation and checking on inventory. Before the end of the week, we will be meeting with the NZ PTA association. Hoping we can get some SoftSlams in the schools and reduce the hand in door injuries that occur there. Over the weekend, we will be conducting live presentations at the Horowhenua A&P show. Next week, we are off to Auckland and Whangarei. The next week, it'll be Tauranga. Contact us if you want us to stop by your area. We would be happy to hear from you and get you in our schedule. Have a great year. Elizabeth Noise is a fact of life. Noise is something that city dwellers learn to live with. Then, they go to the country to get some peace and quiet only to find out that the birds chirp, the wind howls, the trees creak, the cows low, the dogs bark, they coyotes yip and the doors slam.
Slamming doors is the most incongruous noise of all. Just when you least expect it WHAM! The door has your attention, front and centre, and it’s not singing wake me up before you gogo. Slamming doors are an issue in nearly every setting. Open your doors to catch that summer breeze and soon enough, they have all closed themselves with a fright. Go to a hotel and the heavy fire doors slam closed, causing you to have disturbed sleep. Life in a multi-family building can pose both problems at the same time and bring in a whole host of new issues. More people live in multi-family units today than ever in history. We now chose a place to live, in conjunction with dozens of people that we have never met, and hope for the best. When we don’t get along with our neighbours, life can be hard on us as an individual, a family, and even affect us at work. There are a lot of reasons that you may not get along with your neighbour but a shocking article from The Guardian states 10 million Brits have had issues with their neighbour: (They) found that noise tops the list of neighbour complaints, with about three in five people annoyed by loud voices or arguments, blaring music and TVs. A quarter of those affected are irritated by door slamming, a similar percentage have been disturbed by their neighbours' noisy pets (that could be me – I have a cat that can miaow for Britain), and one in five by regular parties. Then there is the 5% who can hear their neighbours having sex. Eew! https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2011/jun/16/neighbours-problems-noise-complaints We have heard it time and again in office buildings, hotels, schools, … wherever there are doors, there are doors slamming. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s time to take the bull by the horns and stop the slamming doors before they start damaging your relationships with your neighbour, your family, and your employer. Starting a business is not easy. I didn’t know how hard it would be. I told Nick that I didn’t want to do it because it wouldn’t be easy. I gave in. I did it. It’s not easy. If anyone ever tells you that it is, roll your eyes and move on.
Is it worth it? I think it will be. This year was probably the hardest. We had a lot of hurdles to jump. We got tangled in a few but I think we finished the race and now, we have a lot of things to be grateful for.
Merry Christmas, Elizabeth When we first started developing SoftSlam, we thought there were two kinds of doors:
1. Home doors 2. All the other We believed that the first category would be the bulk of our customer base. It's a huge customer base. SoftSlams aren't for everyone but they are for enough home owners that it was worth going through the pain for. Our goal was to protect the fingers of children everywhere. Safety starts in the home. When we started marketing SoftSlam, we quickly realized that there were two kinds of doors: 1. Those with door closers 2. All the others We had so many requests for SoftSlam in businesses and commercial buildings that we realized our first assumption was incorrect. We thought only of the safety aspect of SoftSlam and not the quieting of the doors in particular and buildings in general. We assumed that if a door was fitted with a door closer, there would be no need for SoftSlam, so our customer base was increased to the second set of doors - all the others. As it turns out, many doors with closers on them close with a loud bang. Some owners tell us that they don't need SoftSlam because they have door closers. With further discussions, they mention that their doors with door closers are quite loud. Our current list of installations include 100% on doors with door closers. We have re-evaluated our second assumption. There seem to be two kinds of doors in the world: 1. Fire Doors 2. All the others Both of these categories apply to us. Fire doors pose a special problem. They have to be tested per the building code and all of the hardware must also be tested while installed in the door. As mentioned in a previous blog, this means that SoftSlam has to go to a testing laboratory to be burned. Navigating the fire test requirements for SoftSlam has been a huge learning opportunity. We are finally on top of it. Once we got a handle on how it works, it made perfect sense. There are a minimum of 4 players in every fire test. 1. The door manufacturer. This player has special IP that makes their door unique. This IP must be protected. 2. The hardware manufacturer. This covers all latches, peep holes, SoftSlams, hinges, and door closers. This could involve one manufacturer or five. In each case, the player has special IP that makes their hardware unique. This IP must be protected. 3. The testing laboratory. This is the place that is certified to carry out the test per the specifications in the fire code or the building code or whatever code the above mentioned people are working toward being certified for. 4. The validator. This is the person who is authorized to read and interpret the results of the test and determine if the door and all hardware have passed the test. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one validator and one testing laboratory in all of New Zealand. Now, for any of you that have ever attempted to schedule a meeting, you will under stand this. All of the above people must have their duck in a row, the non-disclosures signed and agree to the appropriate date for the test. Not an easy task. We are getting there. We have a special thanks to the mentors that have led us down this path and helped us understand what the next step is and what needs to be done. I am going to list them here by first name only. They know who they are and if they want their last names and contact details known, they can add them in the comments: Nick David Jasin Jason Aaron Ed Paul and a special thanks to Richard. We don't know who Richard is but whenever we start talking about the fire testing, the name Richard sticks in my mind. He may be my imaginary friend or a forgotten link in the chain. I don't know. Cheers, Elizabeth Things are looking great. Our website is getting more traffic every day. Interested people are talking about us. Our three current sample installations are speaking for themselves. Mothers, children, child care managers, hoteliers, door manufacturers are all reaching out to us to learn more, put their name on the list for the up coming production run, urge us to move f...a...s...t...e...r..
And then we get the following note "your phone number is incorrect on your business card." Talk about letting the wind out of your sails. We were crushed. Here's your warning. If you are a proud owner of one of Nick's current business cards, you have a collector's item. Kind of like that wall calendar I bought a few years back with 31 days in February. Sometimes, I wish we could get 31 days in February. I could use more days in the year. In the meantime, we have finally approved our logo and will be receiving new business cards with our smart new logo soon. You can download our new flyer wit the new logo from the landing page of this website for your own enjoyment and distribution, today! That brings us to that faster thing. I'm moving as fast as I can. I don't think a match or a bull whip can speed my suppliers up. This has been the longest 7 weeks of my life and I'm only 4 weeks in. 3 weeks left until I see our first QA check on that snazzy new tool. Keeping you in the loop, Elizabeth As summer slips into Autumn and the rains fall heavy and hard, Nick has hit the road to introduce this fabulous new product to those who need it. Among our current success stories are hotels, door manufacturers, architects, and child care centres.
For these early evangelists, as they are calling in marketing parlance, Nick has made a super special offer. He is offering the installation costs free in return for word of mouth advertising. It's working, too! Yesterday, he called on a potential customer who'd already heard of us and was waiting to place an order for 4 SoftSlams to quieten her child care centre and keep the children safe. If you want in on this deal, call us ASAP. We are quickly running out of prototypes. We are still, oh so impatiently, waiting for our time in the sun - when our production run hits the floor. Until then, all we can do is wait for the scheduled run. And wait. And wait. June can't come quick enough this year. I do wish that it would leave winter behind when it comes... We seem to have all of our ducks in a row. These long, wet days make for great productive work days. If you haven't had a sales call from us yet, don't be shy, call us and request one. Next on this list is Christchurch. Keep your eyes open for the announcement of our completed run. Order yours fast so that we don't run out. Staying warm and dry, Elizabeth |
AuthorElizabeth James: Archives
May 2020
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HoursM-F: 8am - 5pm
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Name
Nicolas Hopkins
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+64 21 230 3218
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