The idea of Groomers Gallery came about during a team meeting at Simpsons, when staff were discussing new ways in which we could support the industry. As a family business we’ve been supplying products and accessories to UK groomers for over 50 years. In fact, it was my Grandfather that started the company, having designed and built his very own stand dryer (the first of its kind) to assist in his other favourite pastime breeding Poodles. As the year’s have past we’ve constantly looked for ways in which we can raise the profile of the industry, including being proactive and instrumental in encouraging magazine publishers to launch Pro Groomer and Total Grooming. More recently, the emergence of smart phones and tablets was encouraging us to look at ways in which we could help groomers over the web.
From talking to groomers we knew that everyone loved to see photos of other people’s work. While Facebook gave people the opportunity to discuss photos that had been uploaded but that they were quickly replaced by other discussions as days passed. And so we started to wonder if we could get a photo website built that groomers could use to store and share photos of their work.
We discussed the idea with friends at The English Groomers Group and the idea blossomed. We all felt that the website could be expanded and could cover style guides, hints and tips and business advice. Without the support of the English Groomers Group the project would never have got off the ground and I am so grateful for their help and proud that the website is now, in turn, supporting their work.
Our aims
As a team we want to support the grooming industry and provide a resource that groomers can use to compare styles and techniques and equally to benefit from advice that may help them to grow and enhance their businesses. Here’s what we’re setting out to achieve:
- Encourage groomers to share examples of their work
- Offer expert commentary on grooming styles and techniques
- Provide a growing resource of expert advice on a wide range of topics which effect groomers – everything from animal health to expert business advice
- Offer access to training courses, seminars and workshops
- Feature exclusive offers for tools and supplies
- Support the work of The English Groomers Group
Raising funds for future development
Of course, we are hoping that you will take out a membership for the Groomers Gallery website. We need to raise funds to support future events and to help fund the future development of the website and so we are all agreed that it was fair to charge a small membership fee. I want to make it clear that this is not a profit making exercise and that I will personally ensure that the funds we raise will be used for the benefit of members.
Your chance to get involved
Ultimately the website is about it’s members and we actively encourage everyone to get involved. Please send in photos of your work and keep us posted if you have an idea for an article. If you’d like to write an article yourself then please let us know. We will be actively looking for people who run, or want to run, training seminars and courses. The website features the technology to sell tickets and manage attendee lists – so if you want to run an event that you believe will benefit the industry please let us know.
Thanks
On a final note, thanks for looking at the website and I hope you’ve decided to join up and become a member. I believe the site has a bright future and once again I want to thank my friends at the English Groomers Group who are working with us to make sure the site’s a big success
Best wishes
Kevin Simpson
Simpsons
