Project OsKar - Blog

Scottish Waste and Resource Exhibition 2012

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:53:00 +0000

Last week saw the newly branded “OsKar’s” exhibit at the 2012 Scottish Waste & Resource Exhibition at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel. The annual exhibition is run by CIWM (Chartered Institute of Waste Management) and is an opportunity for companies, charities and individuals in the waste sector to meet and learn of new legislation, policy and opportunities within the waste and recycling sector.

The decision has been made within Project OsKar to drop the “Project” part of the name – known now simply as “OsKar’s”, the Social Enterprise side of the company will now be pushed more specifically towards areas such as the waste and construction industries where our type of services are very much in demand.

OsKar’s offers services such as painting and decorating, cleaning, gardening and landscaping, recycling and waste management and our market has expanded beyond domestic and private homes to now incorporate many large companies on our customer list. Many of the large waste management and construction tenders that are issued now include a “Community benefits” clause and OsKar’s is well positioned to meet the demands of this part of a tender. We will work with main contractors on new projects to ensure that the local community benefits from the developments going on around them.

OsKar’s attracted attention throughout the exhibition and our story so far was met with interest from many parties, including the CEO of WRAP/Zero Waste Scotland who is keen to use the success of OsKar’s as a case study for other Social Enterprises! All in all, a worthwhile week of networking and giving the message – OsKar is your Social Enterprise Partner!

Spreading the word about what we do...

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

We had some important visitors on Wednesday to Project OsKar!

We welcomed John Sharkey, Directorate for Housing and Regeneration for the Scottish Government, and Lesley McAleenan, Furniture Co-ordinator for CRNS.

Our Manager Gaynor Hutton gave them the full guided tour, and answered any questions they had about what we do.

Both left very impressed with Project OsKar, and John had the following to say:

“The Scottish Government is clear of the importance that access to household goods and furniture can play in helping to sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness and repeat homelessness. I was delighted, therefore, to have the opportunity to visit Project Oskar to see first hand the valuable service it provides to households in and around Renfrewshire and also to hear about the opportunities it offers for young people to gain a wide range of employability skills. The enthusiasm of Gaynor, the Project Manager and the other staff was clear to see and the creative furniture displays was an example of their commitment to giving customers a shopping experience more akin to visiting a high street furniture retailer."

Thank you to both John and Lesley for visiting, we hope to see you again sometime!

Does your garden need work? Call OsKar!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:08:00 +0000

So far, March has been trotting along nicely. Our Project OsKar team are getting ready for plenty of gardening jobs in the local area and beyond, as the spring weather finally arrives. If you have anything that needs done in your garden, please do get in touch!

OsKar's long awaited reward will be the start of his busy Polo Playing season which will begin soon. Good luck OsKar!!

Remember, if you can manage to take a picture (safely!) of any of our Project OsKar vehicles out and about, we will give you a £5.00 voucher to spend at our Emporium. Drop by and pay us a visit, you never know what you might find!

The Project OsKar fleet!

Project OsKar’s Very Own Celebrity?

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:26:00 +0000

Tune in to Pulse 98.4 on Friday 24^th February 2pm-4pm to hear one of our team leaders, Pat, who will be the ‘celebrity guest’ on the station. Hear all our stories and latest news from Team OsKar. We are delighted and overwhelmed with the public support for Project OsKar and what people are donating to our worthy charity. The feedback from the public and customers is all very positive so come on down and pay us a visit sometime.

OsKar…..Master of his own Fleet!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Here we have a before and after of the latest Oskar lorry to have a face lift! Pat and the Team completed painting the Project Oskar vehicle, and they have done a magnificent job. OsKar himself will be very proud to see his face about town with the boys! Well done Team Oskar!

And remember, if you see our new lorry out and about, or any of our other vehicles, and manage to safely take a photograph of it - send it to us, and you could win a £5 voucher to spend here at Project OsKar!!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:46:00 +0000

Happy New Year to all friends of Project OsKar, we hope you are as excited about 2012 as we are! It will be our first year at our new location - have you visited our new showrooms yet? We haven't moved far, just further along Clark Street in Paisley, to number 55. We have painted our shutters brown and white again so you can spot us easily, plus there's plenty of signage. We'd love to see you!

Showroom clearance - bargains galore!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:08:00 +0000

We are having a massive showroom clearance this week, due to our move from 24 Clark Street to 55 Clark Street. There is 60% off today, 80% off on Thursday, and on Friday, anything left we'll give away FOR FREE! Yes, that's free second hand furniture! We're having a very busy day today, but don't worry, there is still plenty left, so we would love to see you. We're open from 9 till 4.30, Mon-Fri.

OsKar proves that everyone loves OsKar!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:38:00 +0000

We are absolutely delighted to announce that Project OsKar has won the Best PR Campaign at the Scottish Green Awards, which took place on Thursday September 29th 2011. Gaynor Hutton, Project Manager and proud owner of the real OsKar, attended the ceremony at the Glasgow Science Centre, and is seen pictured below with both the award and Jackie Bird.

This is a particularly meaningful award to win as Project OsKar’s image and branding is so distinct. There are not many re-use and recycling companies that use a horse as their mascot! Our branding covers everything from our lorries and vans, t-shirts, flyers, business cards, our warehouse shutter doors are even painted brown with the now famous white spots – akin to the real OsKar’s colouring! We can also boast that the majority of our marketing is all done in-house, from the logo design, t-shirt printing, van painting, website design, social media – we have a very talented team behind us, many of which are our 18-24 year old participants on the KibbleWorks training and employment programme, supported by Community Jobs Scotland.

Paisley is becoming good friends with Project OsKar, with many people now instantly recognising our brand. We offer a £5 voucher to anyone who can take a snap of one of our Project OsKar vehicles, so look out for us! OsKar himself is also becoming a bit of a celebrity with local school children, who come and visit us with their class to meet OsKar in the flesh and learn all about re-use and recycling.

Well done everyone!

We're moving house!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:51:00 +0000

We are in the process of getting ready to move but don’t panic – we’re only going a couple of hundred yards along Clark Street to larger premises. So far we have cleaned and painted our new warehouse and had plumbing installed for testing washing machines and dishwashers. We want to replicate our Ikea style showroom and one of our partners A W Jenkinson has supplied timber for this purpose. I will also need to have a new stable area for my visits. It’s all coming together and we will keep you updated regarding the date of our move.

Getting our new warehouse into shape...

Working hard!

Transporting the new buiding materials

Building our new showrooms

Project OsKar wouldn't be Project OsKar without these markings!

If you've got it.... flaunt it!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:42:00 +0000

Some people think that display cabinets are a thing of the past, however, we all have prized possessions we would like to show off and also remain safe! So what better place to keep them than in one of these beautiful wooden and glass pieces of furniture. We have many designs and varieties in stock – dark and light wood, tall or small, and even some with interior lighting. If you have special keepsakes hidden away in your house why not call in and see our stock of cabinets and show the world your trophies, family photographs and glassware.

Our youngest customer... so far!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:15:00 +0000

At the end of July we had a visit from a lovely little baby called Taogh who was only 8 weeks old. He was as cute as a button and snuggled up in a baby sling in the Project Oskar colours of brown and white.

Only last week two lovely ladies popped in to see us on their way to the maternity ward at the Royal Alexandria Hospital. These customers prompted me to look around our Emporium and see what we had for newborns and young children and I was delighted to find prams, buggies, baby walkers, travel cots, and toys.

Thank goodness for that – I need to make sure I have enough interesting items for ALL my customers from 8 weeks old to 80 years young!!

Art for Art's sake

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:55:00 +0000

George Stubbs (1724-1806) is considered to be one of the best painters of horses in Britain, and I must say I agree with this. One of my favourites is 'Mares and Foals in a River Landscape' – have you seen it? Despite my love of artwork, wall space is at a premium in my stable at home and I haven’t much room to hang pictures.

At Project OsKar we don’t have any Stubbs' paintings but we do have a large selection of pictures, prints, mirrors, picture frames and canvases. Why not pop along and have a look at our stock?

Fancy a night on the tiles?

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:18:00 +0000

Brian at the Paisley Tile Centre has donated a load of tiles to us. Thanks to him we can offer a selection of wall and floor tiles in various shapes and sizes. We only hold a small amount of some tiles which could perhaps be suitable for a splashback or small floor area but we also have boxes of tiles at bargain prices. Pop in to my Emporium and have a look!

www.paisleytilecentre.com

Thanks Brian!

OsKar helps Yorkhill Hospital with Ronald MacDonald

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:21:00 +0000

As Project OsKar has developed we have been asked to become involved in a lot of diverse activities which we have been glad to turn our hand to. Last month we carried out some work in the gardens of Ronald MacDonald House at Yorkhill Hospital. Ronald MacDonald House offers accommodation to over 600 families from all over Scotland each year. We were glad to help. Do you know all the things that Project OsKar can do - along with selling good quality 2nd hand furniture at low cost, we offer the following services: gardening, painting and decorating, carpeting, tiling, and house cleaning. IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO FOR YOU? Let me know!

Our team's new shirts!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:26:00 +0000

This week has been a busy one at Project OsKar, with three new boys joining the team, and the release of our new line of OsKar shirts advertising all the new services that we offer, including tilling, gardening, carpet fitting and much more! If you have a job that needs doing, give us a call on 0141 842 8020 and we'll see if we can help.

I love to ride my bicycle....!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:31:00 +0000

I have a wide range of bikes at my emporium suitable for all ages! Our team leaders and young people have been getting fit in time for the summer by riding our donated bikes to work. Contact my assistants to come in for a test drive in time for the better weather!

From Junk to Funk!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:06:00 +0000

Project OsKar entered the Junk to Funk Fashion Show at Kibble Education and Care on June 23rd. Chelsie, our admin assistant, looked resplendent in her Super Hero themed costume ‘Ice Queen’. With help from our friends Liz and Alison at Impact Arts the costume was made out of plastic bottles with tops and bottoms cut off and then ironed flat, a wallpaper skirt and Kibble bags for the cape. The flat bottles were held together with cable ties. To complete the look Chelsie added some blue make up to her face. The result was fantastic.

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:09:00 +0000

As part of our remit we uplift waste paper from the main campus at Kibble. We received an email last week which asked “What does Project Oskar do with the shredded paper it collects?” The email continued “I have someone with horses asking as they use it for bedding for a very old horse called Emma.”

We have since found out from the contact that the vet school actually recommend paper, rather than shavings for the bedding, because often the shavings get wet and the whole bed gets a bit damp whereas it is easy to see what paper is wet and what is dry.

We got in touch and offered to donate as much shredded paper as was needed for Emma. In return some photos were sent of the horses (all girls) Emma, Indi and Holly who is a rescue horse and needs lots of TLC.

I was delighted to help such lovely ladies and think I may keep in touch with them!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:15:00 +0000

We shared a marquee last Saturday with Environmental Services Renfrewshire Council when we attended the Barshaw Park Gala Day. It rained for most of the day but that didn’t deter people coming out to enjoy the fun. Two of my helpers made themselves available to assist other stallholders to set up and the ladies in the Rowan Tree Café have promised them a discount when they next pop in, to thank them for brushing up and gritting their decking. It wasn’t all hard work though as the boys managed to meet Gina McKie from Clyde 1 which put a smile on their faces!

OsKar's Offer!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:02:00 +0000

Our Sofa Bike!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:46:00 +0000

Before we left for the Gala Day, we took delivery of a sofa bike, which we took along - it proved a great success with lots of people wanting to try it out. My helpers had a ride on it to check that it was working !!

Fountain Gardens Gala Day

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:44:00 +0000

We had a great time at Fountain Gardens Gala Day on Saturday. Lots of people came to our stall including some of our customers. We gave out quite a few leaflets and car stickers to those who hadn’t heard of us yet. We also sold some small items that we had taken with us. The sun was shining in the morning and the park looked beautiful however by early afternoon the rain had started – thankfully we had a stall under a marquee!

OsKar's Offer! June 13 - 17

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:29:00 +0000

OsKar's Offer!! Every Monday we'll be bringing you a limited week-long offer on a particular item in Project OsKar, this week it's a pretty Conservatory Sofa, for only £30! If you're interested, give us a call on 0141 842 8020. There is only ONE, so it's first come, first served, offer ends Friday 17th June! Good luck!

OsKar's Offer!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:11:00 +0000

Our new van!

noreply@blogger.com (OsKar) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:06:00 +0000

We have added a transit van to the ever growing fleet of Project Oskar vehicles! My helpers were busy preparing, priming and painting last weekend. REMEMBER there is a prize for anyone spotting a Project OsKar vehicle in Renfrewshire and your chances have now increased with two of them on the road! Get your cameras at the ready!

This is the vehicle being prepared for painting

More preparation before the painting

The van is spray painted in Oskar's colour

The transit van is now fully branded and "Oskarised"!