Weeding the Web

Creating an impact with business cards

"Oh, you freelancers!" admonished a marketing director at the Garden Press Event several years ago. "You never have any business cards." I would have hung my head in shame, but for the fact that I was secretly cheering at the revelation that I was not alone in my lack. 

Since then, Husband has periodically pointed out my omission, and I have agreed to do something about it. 

Nada. 

So when Aura Print asked me to try out their Impakt Coloured Core Printed Business Cards, I jumped at the offer. Just two weeks before this year's Garden Press Event, it was perfect timing.  Finally, I would be able ditch the excuses - "So sorry, I've just run out," and "So silly, I completely forgot to bring any with me, " - and present one when asked with becoming alacrity.

Aura Print don't just print cards; they'll design them too, and I gave them their head. Design has been one of the stumbling blocks to my getting cards done. How large? What font? What colour? And - most important - what info?  Now, deadline looming, I was forced to find the words. The only choice I had to make on the card, though, was the core colour.

This core colour is, basically, the filling between the front and back surfaces of the card. Not having come across this idea before, its implications didn't hit me. I chose Sunflower Gold and the proposed design came back swiftly (in fact, all responses were extremely swift). 

I was pleasantly surprised. They'd obviously looked at Weeding the Web and got the flavour. Hence the green colour (which my camera hasn't picked up very well) and the rather nice subtle background design of leaves.

I asked for the font to be changed. The one suggested was fun and modern but I'm happier with something more neutral and business-like. The amendment came back almost within the hour and the design signed off. 

A business card with attitude

It's ridiculous how exciting it is to receive new business cards. Is it the laser-like focus on oneself that's so fascinating? They arrived beautifully presented in a fuchsia pink box, cushioned with matching tissue paper, the cards themselves nicely stacked in sturdy plastic boxes. All nice, though obviously not the main point. 

Now I met Business Card. Actually, not Business Card, but Super Business Card. Not only are they 85 x 55 mm, but did you clock that they're printed on 800gsm card? These are seriously thick.

I have to admit that, in past lives, I have dismissed business-card design as something of an affectation. What you need, I reasoned, is something that gives all the relevant info, as readably as possible, without looking cutesy. Hence, those I have had have been black and white, no decoration, plain font, not very stiff, but stiff enough.  

I haven't entirely given up on this idea, but gosh, these cards have presence. The first person I gave one to at the Press Event last week actually stopped to look properly at it when she felt it and said, "This is quite something." (It continued to catch the attention throughout the day - a more jocular observation was "You could knock nails in with this.") 

I really liked the design. I even rather like the Sunflower Gold core. Some would probably prefer a more definite contrast with the green (I suspect the lighter colours show up more with white surfaces) but it tones nicely with it and adds a little zing.

Things to think about with thick business cards

One thing you really need to consider is the thickness. Stack these up and you get 25 cards to the inch, compared 90 to the inch of my old bog-standard ones (or 50 at a sturdy 400gsm). You won't fit many in your wallet, or even a handbag.

I also had a surprise after retrieving a batch from my overfull handbag where they'd been stuffed in a soft-sided pocket. The 800gsm is made up of two 400gsm cards stuck together and if they are flexed too much they have a tendency to come apart. I asked James Croisdale at Aura Print to comment. He said:

With the thicker cards, when you bend them there is always going to be something that gives.  When you introduce a bend, the topside of the card is stretched further than the underside of the card, and some distortion will occur. Most cards of similar types simply crack, which can be seen both front and back. As ours have thinner faces and a thicker core (for most visual impact!) the faces refuse to crack and bend instead, and so the different layers may come apart instead.

Of course, you've got to bend it quite a way for this to happen, and we think that the visual impact, thickness and stiffness of these cards is definitely worth a couple of issues if they are severely bent.

I do see James' point about cards that crack:

The front and back crack open quite severely, rendering parts of them unreadable. At least with ours, if a card is accidentally bent and delaminates, the details can still clearly be made out

These are obviously matters to consider if you'd like an extra-thick business card (who knew?).

My only quibble is that I suspect James' and my ideas of "severely bent" differ slightly.

 

The bent side shows the angle at which delamination occurs.

But I do like them

Actually, for me, delamination isn't a disaster as the result is two differently printed 400 gsm cards with a brightly coloured, unmarked back, both of which have their uses. I agree, though, that wasn't the intention.

The answer is obviously not to bend them and, given that, there's no getting away from the fact that these have character and are a pleasure to hand out. I actually think a card like this changes your psychology. It no longer felt as if I were just handing out details which I could have jotted down on a piece of paper, I was giving something of value. (All the more true as, not carrying large numbers, I wasn't going to hand one out to just anyone!)

I also know that someone with a fistful of business cards by the end of the day would be able to pick out mine with no more than a glance.

Aura Print are based in Huddersfield, were established as a one-man operation in 2007 by director Liam Smith, and now have nine members of the team. They offer a variety of card stocks, which is good if you fancy something that takes up less room.

I'll enjoy handing out my beefy cards for some time to come and just hope that no one bends them too much, or bangs in nails with them! 

NB James has commented below. You can find more contact details there, and he says they've solved the problem with the card splitting.

 

How to buy the best garden shed for your money

Shed-buying. Seems pretty straight-forward, doesn't it? Here are the steps that you're probably thinking it involves:

1. Decide where to put shed.
2. Measure space.
3. Decide where you want door - at the end or the side.
4. Decide whether to have windows.
5. Go and buy shed to match.

However, if you want to get the most for your money, there's actually more to think about.

Here's a cute shed, but it has Waney Edge cladding (see below). Doors and windows that touch the roof are another sign of cost-cutting, so this should all be reflected in the price.

You may, indeed, eventually end up with the cheapest shed you can find, but at least you should know why it's cheap, and what to look for to ensure you get the best value for money.

Three things to check before you buy your shed 

Garden Shed frame

The frame - i.e. what the walls are attached to. As for all frames, you want it as sturdy as possible, which means good construction, with corners properly braced and a decent thickness of wood employed. Shed manufacturers have been known to save money in this area, so take a look.  One sign of good construction is diagonal bracing on the shed door, which makes it more rigid and less likely to sag as it ages. 

 

Cross bracing on inside of a shed door helps to prevent sagging.

However good your frame, though, it needs decent support. When I asked Richard Fletcher of What Shed his advice on frames, he said:  

The main thing is the shed base. If the shed is not put on a solid - so, not soil - base, then the whole structure is likely to warp, no matter what bracing it has internally. 

Garden Shed Cladding

The walls of the shed are called the cladding. I found this is a little confusing, as the stone-wall cladding generally goes on to a solid base (say, bricks or breeze blocks). The cladding on wooden sheds is fixed straight to the frame. It is the walls of the shed and it can be divided into three types: overlap, rebated cladding and tongue-and-groove varieties. 

Overlap cladding

Most commonly you'll find overlap feather-edge cladding - narrow planks, thinner along one long edge than the the other, made to overlap. 

Feathered overlap cladding. You can see that the planks are thinner on their upper edge where they are fixed under the plank above.

This saves on material and so costs less.  You therefore tend to find it at the lower end of the market.  Not the best choice if your shed will be exposed to strong sunlight, as it tends to warp. 

A step up is square-edge overlap cladding, where the planks are the same thickness across their profile. The wall is therefore thicker, more protective, and you're likely to find this in the mid-range sheds.

A step down is Waney Edge cladding (see picture at top of page), made of boards cut directly from the tree. Looks cute and rustic, generally cheap, but more likely to warp and not stand up to the weather over time. Unless you're going to put it somewhere that never gets wet, this could well be a false economy. 

Rebated cladding

Feather-edge sometimes comes rebated, which means that the planks are cut so that they lie flat against each other, making for a slightly sturdier construction, as each plank partly rests on the one below, but you've still got the thinner upper edges of the planks. 

Shiplap cladding, again, has its planks rebated so they lie flat. 

This is shiplap and you can see the rebate on the left, in which will sit the base of the plank that will be fixed above this one.

With shiplap there's more of a self-supporting element as the planks tend to be thicker and of the same thickness across their profile. Thickness varies, though, depending on the manufacturer, so some are sturdier than others. This construction is often used where there are extremes of temperature, as the design allows movement.

The parallel grooves help water-resistance.

A signature feature of shiplap is the groove that runs parallel to the ground in each plank, and it's not just for show as it directs moisture away from the surface, improving weather-resistance.

Tongue-and-Groove cladding

The big daddy. Planks are cut with a "tongue" along their upper edge that fits into a "groove" in the plank above it. The strongest cladding and the planks won't warp, either. Would you ever, I asked Richard, choose shiplap over tongue-and-groove, if price were no object? He said: 

That's a good question. Tongue-and-groove is typically a sign of a better quality shed. This is mainly due to the timbers being interlocking. This gives the structure more natural strength, as well as providing additional security benefits.

So, 'No' I think is the answer to that. However, if your shed is going to be lashed by rain, buffeted by winds, squashed with leaves or jemmied by thieves, and you can't stretch to tongue-and-groove, it's probably worth stretching your wallet to a shiplap construction. 

Shiplap and Tongue-and-Groove combined

Curiosity piqued, I took a close look at the little shed I had installed about five years ago. As you can see on the corner, it combines shiplap with tongue-and-groove. A nice improvement on shiplap, I reckon, but it looks as if tongue-and-groove will always be slightly sturdier than this. 

Here's shiplap combined with tongue-and-groove. Aesthetics with sturdiness.

 

On the other hand, despite sturdy framing, the doors are not cross braced, so you can see what is beginning to happen. 

 

You can see the vertical planks of the door are beginning to shift downwards slightly.

I sense a degree of swings and roundabouts in shed construction.

A word of caution about cladding

And finally...

Wood Treatment

Pressure treatment ensures that wood preservative has thoroughly impregnated the wood and, says Richard, it's a "fantastic sign of quality". Dip treatment is pretty self-explanatory - yup, the preservative is only applied to the surface. The latter needs a coat of wood preservative slapped on every year, if it's to last, which is something to take into account when you consider the cost. 

 

Essentially, the strongest sheds will be sturdily framed, cross-braced, pressure-treated and clad in tongue-and-groove. They'll also cost you a hefty whack. To prevent overspending, keep in mind position and requirements. It's worth remembering that, in smaller sheds (say 5' x 6'), cladding is less important because they tend to be tucked away in corners and less affected by strong winds and rain. (Our feathered overlap shed is still standing strong after more than thirty years. It's in a sheltered corner, which is only sunny when it's already dried out in summer, and sits on a brick-built base.)  With a larger shed, and its much higher cost, it's worth considering whether saving a few pounds on cheaper cladding and other cost-cutting construction won't be spoiling the ship for a hap'orth of tar.

For a good comparison of different constructions and value for money, What Shed gives a rundown on the features of their top twenty large sheds and top twenty small sheds. 

Whatever you do, though, don't forget to put it on a decent base!

Written in association with What Shed, who have oodles of information on their website.