Shred Station staff are painting for the planet.
Between now and Friday 2nd December, we’ve challenged our staff to create a masterpiece as part of our 10,000 Tree Challenge. For each member of staff who submits their canvas creation, we will plant trees.
With no brief and the creative freedom to choose any theme and use any medium, we’re expecting to see a whole range of wonderful (and possibly weird) creations. While art is subjective, we will be asking our employees to vote on the best creation, and the winner will receive a small prize for their efforts. So, without further ado, it’s time to meet our artists.
Meet our artists:
Kristian – Commercial Director
Kristian is our Commercial Director. While he has many talents, he has already told us he can’t even draw a stick man. We know this is untrue because there is a very good drawing of a stick man pride of place on his desk. Kristian has also hinted that he has a “feeling” that someone in the company will surprise us all with their hidden artistic ability. Could this be mere optimism, or could it be a subtle threat? We can’t wait to find out.
Ross – Finance Director
Ross, our Finance Director, deals with numbers all day every day. But we all have to relax somehow. With this in mind, we can’t help but wonder if Ross zones out at 5.30pm with a creative hobby. Could he perhaps be a secret paint-by-numbers pro in his free time? It’s certainly possible. An all-round smartie-pants, Ross is intelligent, strong-willed, and a natural problem solver. He is always the smartest dressed in the office and has surprised us in the past with his hidden baking talents! Because of this, we simply cannot imagine Ross not doing well at this challenge. He’s good at everything (and we aren’t just saying that because he pays us…).
Oliver – Operations Director
Oliver is Shred Station’s Operations Director and has worked at the company for almost 14 years. Originally hesitant to take part in this challenge due to a self-confessed lack of artistic ability, Oliver was convinced once he was told he could enlist the help of his niece and nephew. What he may lack in creativity, he more than makes up for in his ability to find solutions to problems. The solution to this problem is the superpower children have to create adorable drawings. Well played, Oliver.
Hollie – Operations Coordinator
Hollie is an operations coordinator at our Norwich depot and previously worked in our admin team. She is an incredibly fast learner, so even if Hollie has no experience whatsoever with art, we are quite sure she will be the next Monet by the time she’s finished her 9” x 12” canvas. Hollie is also a huge Disney fan, so we could even see Mickey Mouse-themed artwork by the end of the challenge. So far keeping her cards close to her chest, we will have to wait and see what magic she makes.
Martin – Operations Manager
Martin is our Norwich depot’s Operations Manager. He has been with Shred Station for over 11 years and he is a very busy man. Fortunately for this challenge, Martin is blessed with two young daughters who have kindly agreed to help their daddy with this very important work project. Martin has even been given an extra small canvas for this task. This may seem unfair to the other artists, but we have to take into account that a full-sized canvas might be hard work for very small hands. Favouritism, you ask? Yes. Yes, it is.
Orinta – Accounts Assistant
Orinta is an Accounts Assistant at our Norwich head office. She is very intelligent and kind, and we are convinced she is a secret superhero. As well as working full time, studying for an accounting course in the evenings and taking care of an allotment, Orinta is also the mother of two school-aged children and a French bulldog puppy. We have no idea how she will have the time to create a masterpiece on top of that; we’re tired just thinking about it! Whatever she creates, we will be impressed.
Scott – Accounts Assistant
Scott is another Accounts Assistant at our head office. He is one of Shred Station’s longest-serving employees and has been here for almost 12 years! Scott has a great sense of humour and gets along with everyone. In the spirit of being jolly, Scott’s going to create a Christmas-themed canvas. Ho ho ho!
Sarah – Accounts Assistant
Sarah, yet another member of our accounts team, has also surpassed the 10-year mark at Shred Station. As well as being a true pro at crunching numbers, she rides horses, has permanently immaculate hair and is very softly spoken. She is kind of like a real-life Disney princess. Will Sarah’s artwork match her magical mystique? We think it just might.
Abbie – Customer Service Team Leader
Abbie works at our Norwich head office as our Customer Service Team Leader. For this challenge, she is really thinking outside of the box – but inside of the packet. In her own words, Abbie is obsessed with crisps. We get it. A potato in any form can do no wrong. So, with a slightly unorthodox muse, her aim for this challenge is to create a self-portrait using nothing but crisps and glue. We aren’t sure if her canvas will be an epic creation worthy of the Tate Modern or a very dangerous snack. Either way, we can’t wait to see it.
Tracey – Customer Service Advisor
Tracey is one of the newest members of our customer service team. She has hit the ground running at Shred Station and is no stranger to a challenge, having previously worked as a call handler for the emergency services. Tracey is a big fan of autumn, and this is one of the most beautiful times of the year to gather leaves – a tool she will use to make her creation. She also has recently been blessed with a little baby grandson, who she is hoping will give her a tiny little helping hand. That sure sounds adorable to us!
Nicole – Customer Service Advisor
Nicole is a customer service advisor at our head office. In September, Nicole won an Employee of the Quarter award and is well-liked by all of her colleagues. She is recently engaged and has just adopted two very cute kittens, so it’s safe to say she has a lot going on in her life. With eight curious paws around, we thought it could be a challenge for Nicole to get into the zone for this challenge. However, we recently learned that she has a degree in Fine Art! This challenge should be a breeze for Nicole and we can’t wait to see her masterpiece.
Rosie – Customer Service Advisor
Rosie is part of our head office’s customer service team. With a degree in illustration, Rosie also has a little bit (a lot) of an advantage for this challenge, and we are certainly expecting great things from them! However, there is hope for the other artists. If you remember your art lessons at school, you will know that there is often a brief or a theme to follow when creating an art piece. The total lack of a theme in this challenge has caused Rosie some considerable stress. Will Rosie be able to channel these emotions into something raw, organic, and evocative? Or, will they hit melting point under pressure like Salvador Dalí’s clock? Only time will tell.
Emily – Marketing Manager
Emily is Shred Station’s Marketing Manager. Part of her everyday role includes elements of graphic design. However, will her experience in designing things on a computer screen translate well onto a real-life canvas? Emily has already restarted her canvas twice, so that remains to be seen. We aren’t 100% sure the canvas can survive another restart, so we hope Emily’s teenage years spent studying Fine Art at GCSE and A-Level will come in useful.
Richard – Business Support Administrator
Richard is a Business Support Administrator. In his free time, he is massively into coding and gaming, so it’s safe to say he has a strong focus. This is a much-needed skill for any artist. Richard also comes from a very creative family, with family members experienced in watercolour, needle felting, and much more. But is art in his DNA, or will he have to call in some familial favours to get ahead in this challenge? We’ll soon find out.
Dawn – MI Reports Administrator
Dawn is an MI Reports Administrator and is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. She previously owned and managed a children’s nursery, and everybody is her “little lovely”. We believe that if you can look after multiple children at once, you can handle pretty much anything, so this challenge should be a walk in the park for our Dawn! Her ideas so far include the use of 3D elements and paint, and we very much look forward to seeing her final work of art.
James – Maintenance
James, also known across the business as Longshanks due to his impressive height, works across the country at our depots as part of our national maintenance team. Not only does he know his way around a shredding machine, but he’s also a very creative thinker and works with different materials and tools every day. These skills will no doubt help James when it comes to creating a masterpiece. We just hope he doesn’t accidentally shred it first!
Lindsey – Internal Sales
Lindsey is a core member of our head office’s sales team. She has a vivid and curious imagination, always keeps us entertained with her many philosophical questions, and has also recently taken up the hobby of crocheting! At the time of writing, Lindsey isn’t 100% sure what to do with her canvas, but we are secretly hoping for a woolly creation! Without a doubt, whatever Lindsey comes up with will be interesting.
Stay tuned in to our social channels to see our team’s final creations!
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
*Update 05/12/2022: Our Painting for the Planet challenge resulted in 825 new trees being planted in Nicaragua’s Bosawas Biosphere Reserve.
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