Being part of our Lion Rock Press Pride, we wanted to share with you lots of (good!) changes going on at HQ at the moment. We know you love a bit of behind-the-scenes, so thought it would be fun to share, and maybe even give some sneak peeks of, what's been going on this summer!
NEW PREMISES!
After moving from the co-working space we'd spent over 6 years at in January this year, we made a little showroom in our new office space in Sheung Wan. It was small, but perfectly formed... unfortunately it also had to double up as our conference room, design hub and hot desking space! Although we loved inviting customers in to see, feel and enjoy almost 700 products in our range.... well frankly it was a bit of a squash and a squeeze, as my daughter would say! The rest of our office space served as a warehouse as well as the packing area for all of the online orders coming in... and with those orders coming in thicker and faster we realised we needed to expand our space already! In an incredible piece of serendipity, I managed to secure a second unit on our floor which we have now made making into our fulfilment centre. This is where we will keep any orders that you buy online and choose to pick up from the Sheung Wan HQ, and it's where we will be dispatching everything that you order online and send it off on it's travels around the world. The original unit, which many of you will have visited since we set up here in January, is now being turned into a proper showroom where you will be able to browse all our online products- and offline exclusives- in a lovely (we hope!) space without having to squeeze past the team meetings and friends popping in for tea!
NEW STAFF (& SAY HELLO TO THE REST OF THE TEAM TOO!)
As the business grows so too does our team... and I'm delighted to introduce you to Team LRP who you will bump into if you come and see us at our Sheung Wan HQ! Of course this does not include our lovely freelancers and treasured suppliers... but these people are the day-to-day BEATING HEART of our business. Some have been putting up with me for years, and some- including five new women who we welcomed us over the last couple of months- are shiny and new!
Marston - Mr cool, calm and collected!
Over five years ago my "main man" Marston started as a summer intern and has been with LRP ever since. I used to call him my right-hand man, but now I think it might be the other way round! He's absolutely essential in the operational side of the business, and has single handedly kept LRP running smoothly all the times I have been travelling (notably the 6 weeks I spent in Europe every summer). He's seen the business grow from a part-time hot desk and a locker, to where it is today and he embraces each change in a very zen like manner! I couldn't have got to where I am without him, and he is extremely patient with my relentless high-octane method of working/living! I'm very grateful for his dedication and commitment to me and the brand.
Lettie - illustrator extraordinaire!
Give Lettie a design brief and prepare to be astonished at what she comes up with. She is the crowned Queen of the iPad Pro and Adobe Illustrator, and has already designed some of our most iconic products. The Hong Kong Bucket List, a whole host of gorgeous cards, A Year Like No Other puzzle and the soon to be launched HK ❤️ Rescue Dogs Puzzle, she makes my sketches and concepts come alive. We know you'll love the next set of projects she is currently working on with me just as much! She also came to me as an intern and I've absolutely loved having her, but Lettie will be heading to Arts University Bournemouth to do a BA in Design next year- we will miss her very much around HQ!
Jennifer - marketing maestro
Spending ten years running her own online business in the UK means Jennifer definitely knows how many hats are needed to work at The Lion Rock Press! She has definitely worn many of them particularly in marketing, so isn't afraid to get stuck in- which we LOVE! She's also a master storyteller and has a passion for for making films and taking photos, so her myriad skills are being put to lots of use as she shares the tales of the products, people and places at the heart of LRP. I've drawn on her retail experience to help me with this new stage in the business as we navigate the showroom concept and her flair for visual merchandising is evident... her happy place is "froofing" the stock, which we still aren't sure exactly what that is.
Anushree - social media magician
Anushree has worked in marketing her whole career, and spent a number of years working for a family-run business in India so knows exactly what it's like to work somewhere like LRP. She most recently retrained in Digital Marketing and loves working with brands that have a purpose and a passion. We hope that The Lion Rock Press fits that bill! Thanks to her hard work and dedication, you may have noticed more of a presence on our social media platforms... not to mention curated, regular content! Definitely a huge step up from my woeful ad-hoc efforts of old!
Sheryl - inventory and operations officianado
With more than 20 years experience in retail with both global multi-nationals and small businesses, Sheryl is the Queen of Ethical Sourcing and a consummate do-er! Having manned many a fair with me over the last 8 years, Sheryl is more than familiar with the LRP and - more crucially - MY idiosyncrasies! Now, having finally been persuaded to go "official", she will be helping take on processes, inventory and operations alongside Simon and Marston. Lists, spreadsheets and organised stockrooms here we come!
Irene - product development perfectionist
With a background in product design and sourcing at Marks and Spencers, Irene knows many things about working with factories, packaging companies, and designers. She can crack out an unbelievable mood board when ideas need to be visualised and brought to life! She will be working with our in-house team and production partners to get lots of new products out to you all this year. Her invaluable insights will be integral in getting us to the next level, and I'm so grateful for her taking a punt on my little business!
Natasha - she's all about the numbers
Ex-HongKonger Natasha has a passion for retail! After spending many years working in finance for some of the biggest retailers in the UK, she turned her hand to working with smaller sized businesses, so she definitely knows how a business like LRP works. She'll be managing our accounts, payroll, HR and inventory. We are sure she is going to help make finance fun! Well, it will keep Simon happy at least! ;)
NEW PRODUCTION PARTNERS
With new products (plenty of which are in the offing for later on this year) often comes new production partners. Sometimes factories we already use can help us with new ideas, other times we need to start from scratch and find somewhere else that can help us. But, as I'm sure you will know by know by now, the fact that we are able to produce what we want in a new factory isn't enough. We also pride ourselves on ensuring that the factory meets our ethical standards - we only work with family-run factories and we only work with people who pay fair wages and are able to provide materials that meet EU standards for safety and environmental factors.
And, wherever possible, of course we love to support female owned businesses - something we've been able to do on two occasions this year with our 2021 baubles and updated range of hanging decorations!
NEW PRODUCTS
If you can imagine, we start thinking about Christmas in January! So it will be of no surprise to you that we have a number of new product ideas up our sleeve (with many already in production!). A few will launch soon, others more likely to be ready during the autumn time, some are at very early inception, others much further down the line. We wanted to give you a sneak peak of ones that are starting to get close to being ready... woo hoo!! This year look out for lots of newness - think more family board games (Hong Kong Habitat Ludo anyone?) 'HK ❤️ Rescue Dogs' pet puzzle featuring 190 lovely rescued pups, a very exciting new collection of decorations which will make brilliant family gifts, stunning new Turkish Towel designs, some new and beautiful keepsake hand-painted Christmas baubles created using an ancient Chinese painting technique, an expanded range of personalised products and so much more. We can't wait to share them properly with you soon- watch this space!
