BreezeBlog

From time to time we are pleased to mention some of the companies that help us build our business. Sleepbreeze is well known for using local sourcing (where we can) for its goods and services, with a bias towards family owned businesses and UK manufacture.

This week two firms have been helping us get ready for a number of exhibitions and tradeshows, including this week's Surrey SATRO's Festival of Science and Engineering.

First up was Positive Branding, based in North London, who have done a superb job on our company-branded polo shirts. Positive Branding personal service was both excellent and speedy. We'd recommend them to anyone.

Next up was Stafford-based "Displays-2-go" who have provided us with a marvellous pop up banner that will help us get our message across at both the Surrey SATRO festival and the British Festival of Science in Guildford this September. Displays-2-go service was excellent and although they easily beat their 5 day timescale - the banner was with us in about 2 days. Displays-2-go pride themselves on their in-house printing and we'd have to say that the quality of their work is fantastic.

Thanks to both companies - we look forward to working with you in the future.

We were sorry to hear of the passing of former colleague, Air Vice Marshall John Ernsting. "JE", as he was affectionately known, was a tremendous inspiration for younger researchers in the field of Aviation Medicine. Many of us who worked at the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine at Farnborough have much to thank JE for. No surprise to hear that he was working to the very end! Our condolances go to his family and friends around the world.

As ever we're keen to mention companies that have been helpful. Earlier this week it was a pleasure to acknowledge Positive Branding and Displays-2-go.

It's now the turn of the Sleepbreeze spotlight to turn on MediaPlanet, who produced the "Embrace the Change" supplement in The Sunday Telegraph, to receive some praise. Well done to Rosie and her colleagues at Mediaplanet for working with us so professionally. We're already shipping the Sleepbreeze personal cooler out to ladies who need some relief from hot flushes and night sweats as a result of the supplement.

Mediaplanet's "Embrace the Change" supplement will also be going out with the British Menopausal Society newsletter and will appear on their website.

Well, I figured a good result would be if the students who visited the Working World marquee at Surrey SATRO's Festival of Science and Engeineering asked some questions. A great result would be if they asked some difficult questions. I wasn't dissappointed. Questions came thick and fast, ranging from questions about patents and marketing to fluid dynamics of manifolds.

Yesterday's event hosted by the Brooklands museum and opened by TV Brainiac's Jon Tickle was thoroughly worthwhile for us here at Sleepbreeze.co.uk, as I suspect it was for all the other companies and organisations who took part.

Sleepbreeze had on display its latest product which is used to cool people using military camp beds. Developed for the Event Medicine Company - a privately operated field hospital that caters for mass participation events in the UK - the cooler straps to the side of a camp bed and provides cooling for those who have collapsed in the heat, or who are suffering receiving treatment for other conditions of which heat-related illness compounds their medical situation.

More photos are on the Sleepbreeze page on facebook.

Schools across Surrey and Hampshire were competiting for prizes and showing off their inventions which ranged from an Olympic bridge to renewable energy projects and a CO2-based air con system for night clubs (Farnborough 6th form college).

Having seen the degree of innovation and ingenuity by the students at the festival I came away much inspired by what they had achieved. Britain has, traditionally, earnt a reputation for innovation and inventiveness. Talking to the students yesterday this reputation will be around for a long time to come.

Roll on Surrey SATRO's 2010 festival!

If you'd like to read more about this event then check out Emma Duggan's blogspot. Nice photos. Oh, and thanks, Emma. Hope you liked your purchase! Have a cool one.
Andy

With the Met Office predicting temperatures to soar during the coming week we're set for a busy week at Sleepbreeze.co.uk, despatching our personal coolers to customers around Britain and beyond.

One of the most common questions we get asked is: "What is the best temperature to sleep at?" Although there's no clear cut answer, what is important is that we lose some body heat before sleeping. Obviously in hot weather this takes a lot longer, or doesn't happen at all. That's why the Sleepbreeze is such a great product to have tucked away at home. It cools you sufficiently to get good quality sleep even in a heatwave.

Experts reckon that once the night time temperature reaches 17-18 Celsius then sleep becomes difficult to achieve and is also disturbed. Of course if it's been a sunny day then the temperature in your bedroom is going to be a lot warmer, heatwave or no heatwave.

For anyone living in built up areas, like London, ambient temperatures can be several degrees warmer than outlying country areas, simply because of the amount of buildings, people, and vehicles etc all of which generate heat.

Whilst we applaud some of the green advice on keeping cool, such as planting a tree outside your home to provide shade, that won't pay off quickly enough to benefit you this week. They do say, however, that planting a tree whose shade you'll never sit in is the ultimate mark of civilisation. That'll be something to think on as you lie in bed this week.

Equally purchasing a portable air conditioner (typically around £200-500) isn't necessarily a cost effective solution once you've thrown in the amount of electricity it will use. It was interesting to hear some of the school kids at the Surrey SATRO festival this week telling me how much energy a unit like this uses. "Too much!" was possibly the best answer. But about 2000 watts (or ~25 lightbulbs worth) would be a good figure. So, where does that leave us all?

Well for our customers who bought our product over the last year they'll be breaking out their Sleepbreezes over the coming day or so. And for anyone interested in purchasing our product - subject to stock - we'll be posting them out daily in time for you to beat the heat with them.