AUTUMN 2 0 1 5
Weathersafe Turns
THE BIG 4-0
– we saved you some
Two Toned Sail
FOR JOHN BRIKA BAR
Northbridge
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
From the Editor Happy 40th Birthday This year we celebrate 40 years in Business, so I’ll bore you with a bit of history of the Lewis family business. Yep 1975, 40 years ago my father Ray Lewis Founded Del-Ray Fabric Products and we moved into our current location on Richter Rd. I was just a whipper snapper in grade Seven when Mum and Dad dissolved the partnership they were in with Dads brother and went out on their own.
trusted name in the South West for over 35 years. I guess for me it was time for a change but a good friend and mentor of mine mentioned one day that the best name for a business is one that says exactly what you do or at least conjures up an image of what we do. He asked me what a Del-Ray was and it was obvious the name had no links to what it is we actually do. Hence over a pizza and a couple of bottles of red with a few friends we came up with the WeatherSafe concept So here we are 40 years later, 20 years for me in the driver’s seat, and those years have seen us expand into new markets and new products but we haven’t lost sight of our roots and old fashioned values. We now have a staff of 15 experts who are all passionate about their work and delivering the best possible product with the best possible service.
Winning the Small Business Award in 1995 for best business with less than 20 employees. Back in the days before there was grey in the beard! And we haven’t looked back. After a few years of schooling and university I joined the business in 1987 and took over management in 1994 when we purchased our Perth business A&B Canvas. Ray and I flipped a coin to see who would move to Perth and he lost so he moved to the big smoke and ran A&B until 2005 when my Brother Paul took over the management. In 2010 I bought Del-Ray from dad and changed the name to WeatherSafe WA. My brother bought A&B from Dad at the same time and these days we operate as two separate entities. A lot of people ask me why we changed to WeatherSafe from Del-Ray a well-known and
So even though it’s our birthday 2015 will be a year to celebrate with all our clients both past and present and I have a few surprises in store for the new year…Stay tuned. Cheers
Mark
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
Markilux Folding Arm Awnings Folding arm awnings are an excellent way to provide maximum retractable shade with no legs or props to get in the way.
the best advice and solution to all your shade requirements both around the house and at your business.
The concept is a horizontal spanning awning and we have been supplying and installing them for years.
Our first Markilux awning installation is a motorised 5010 model folding arm awning for Mostyn and Linley Fee in Applecross to extend their outdoor entertaining area. It is 4.5 metres wide and spans an amazing 3.5 metres.
The problem is we have never been real happy with the quality and strength of the folding arm awnings we have been supplying over the years. We have always been on the lookout for the best quality awning with outstanding strength and longevity. We are proud to say we have found and secured the South West agency of the Markilux company to supply us with what we reckon is the strongest and most superior range of awnings on the planet. And no we didn’t choose them because the name sounds like Mark kicking back with a beer on a summers day, but due to their outstanding German componentry, technology and stringent quality standards. To back up their awesome range of awnings the company has the most comprehensive range of innovative shade products, stunning specialized fabrics and an amazing website which is full of unbelievable shade solutions. Check it out at www.markilux.com.au Dean and Mark are off to Sydney in April for a comprehensive two days training so we can offer
We first installed a beam onto the roof with heavy duty roof rafter brackets. It was then a simple matter to fit the special folding arm brackets to the beam and slip the awning into place. The awning retracts in and out at the touch of a button and has a special vibration sensor which automatically retracts the awning if it becomes too windy. We are really excited to bring the Markilux brand to WeatherSafe. These are truly a top end product that will stand the test of time and never be out of fashion. Ask for a look at the Markilux range when next at the WeatherSafe showroom.
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
A day at the races
Kylies Gardening corner Hi everyone. It’s Autumn and the time of year to get everything organised ready for sprig coz nothing grows in winter! So ideally it is a time of cleaning up and a bit of maintenance so we can stay indoors and sip red wine when it’s raining outside. (I think I have been hanging around Mark for Far toooo long!)
Mark and WeatherSafe Receptionist the beautiful Jess who was by far the prettiest girl on track!
Many of you would know I’m a committee man for the Bunbury Turf Club, I’m useless on the punt and have part-owned a few slow horses! Well we have just had our annual Autumn Racing Carnival with the highlights being the Bunbury Cup and the Sportsmans night and Calcutta. This year was a spectacular success with the favourite winning the cup and champion ex-jockey and now media personality Simon Marshall our special guest along with a host of Australian jockeys at our sportsmans night. As one of the committee involved in the running of the event it’s very humbling when things go well and I’d like to think we can do a better job next year. So I invite all of my WeatherSafe friends to join the Turf Club members next year and support the club that puts so much back into the community and have a bit of fun at the same time!
My list of things to do over the next month or so starts with trimming up the few hedges I have around the house, raking up all the fallen leaves and cleaning out the gutters (I don’t actually do the gutter thing, I coax my son up the ladder for this chore) and giving the lawn a final mow. If you are really keen scatter some lime over the lawn to get it ready for a winter sleep. (An old lawn trick my dad told me…another job for the young bloke) Throw all your leaves and lawn clippings onto the compost heap and chuck in your kitchen scraps and keep turning it with a fork over the next few month so you have some beautiful compost ready for spring. Now I’m going to start a tradition this year and plant some poppies to commemorate ANZAC Day. The deal is you plant Poppies on ANZAC day and they will be ready to pick in spring and wear on Remembrance Day November 11. A nice way to remember our fallen heroes I reckon! The best poppy I have found is the attractive Ladybird Poppy. It has red flowers with a black dot on each petal I have found a few other plants that recognise the ANZAC spirit like the Lone Pine, Gallipoli rose and rosemary but I might just stick with the poppies for this year! Alrighty folks get your gardens all cleaned up for the cold winter months and although I said nothing grows I’m sure I’ll have a few ideas in the next Weather Report. Bye for now
The group of local and visiting Jockeys with veteran Rod Kemp and Special guest Simon
Kylie
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
Brika Bar Northbridge We have been fortunate to have the opportunity to do some nice motorised Slidetrack blind jobs in Perth recently.
the sun sank in the west the blinds either came down when the evening became chilly or stayed up to create a cavern type feeling.
WeatherSafe’s ability to find solutions to some of the trickier applications of our products, jobs which our opposition have put into the ‘too hard basket’, has seen our products in some of the trendier parts of Perth.
The results were better than what we even expected. On the outside we printed the Brika Bar Logo on 4 of the blinds so when the clears were up they offered great signage.
In addition to Bob’s Bar on the Terrace and Duende Café in Leederville, we have recently supplied and installed 9 motorised Slidetrack blinds, with removable posts at the new up market ‘Brika Bar’ in Northbridge. The owners brief was to the point. He wanted clear PVC blinds to keep out the weather and also wanted to keep out the afternoon sun. We tried to talk him into shademesh fabric but he insisted on the clear as he wanted passer-by’s to see the people in the café and entice them to come in. So our solution was to make the blinds in clear and weld a solid black PVC fabric to table height at the base. This 750mm of black fabric became a sun shield in the afternoon as we raised the blinds to block out the sun. It worked perfectly. As soon as
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
I heard this little story the other day and I thought there was a lesson here for all of us…
Joyces ANZAC biscuits
There is an old Cherokee tale tells of a grandfather teaching life principles to his grandson.
I was just reading Kylies gardening tips and she reminded me about ANZAC day so what better recipe for Autumn than ANZAC biscuits.
The wise old Cherokee said, “Son, on the inside of every person the battle is raging between two wolves. One wolf is evil. It’s angry, jealous, unforgiving, proud, and lazy. The other wolf is good. It is filled with love, kindness, humility, and encouragement. These two wolves are constantly fighting.”
Hi everyone.
These biscuits are an Aussie classic and I prefer the crunchy ones better than the soft chewy biscuit so here is my recipe for the best ANZAC bikkies!
Sift flour into a bowl. Add oats, coconut, sugar and lemon rind and stir to combine. Make a well in centre. Place butter and golden syrup in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high (100%) for 30 seconds or until butter has melted. Stir well. Mix bicarbonate of soda and boiling water in a bowl then
The little boy thought about it and said, “Grandfather, which wolf is going to win?” The grandfather smiled and said, “Which ever one you feed.”
Ingredients 1 cup plain flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup desiccated coconut 3/4 cup caster sugar 125 g butter 2 tablespoons golden syrup 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 1 tablespoon boiling water Method Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C if your oven is fan-forced. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. Pour into the well you made in the flour mixture and stir. Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. You should get about 24. Place balls, 3cm apart, flatten slightly, on the prepared trays. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, swapping trays halfway during cooking, or until golden. Stand on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with a cuppa on ANZAC Day and enjoy.
Joyce
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
Two Toned Sail For John
We love it when a client wants to push the boundaries and try something different. This is the Case with John Ingham who decided he would like a two toned sail when he built his new pool area recently. John has actually won an award through his local pool supplier for the new area he has created. This is not the first time we have made a two toned sail, the most recent was the playground sails we made for the Shire of Cue. You can see the blue and green two toned sail in the foreground. Like we have always said at WeatherSafe‌don’t be afaid to add some colour and design into your sails!
weathersafe wa | The Weather Report
This year we welcome Peter Cracknell to the WeatherSafe Team. I dropped into Joes Pizza on Saturday night as I do every Saturday as it is our family Pizza, Movie and chocolate night!
Pete has been running his own canvas business in Perth since working for many years with ABC blinds. Along with his partner Mary they were thinking about a sea change and jumped at the chance to move to Bunbury and take on the Operations Manager role at WeatherSafe WA.
We always get the same pizzas… Family sized half Hawaiian/ half meat lovers and our favourite a vegetarian with bacon. They still look at us strange when we come in to pick up our order! Seriously these are the best pizzas on the planet and we always have a few slices left for munchies the next day when they taste even better! Anyway this week I was given a huge handful of pizza vouchers from the girls we have given away to our customers for their valued referrals. We love referrals. It’s the best advertising any company can get when someone recommends our services to family or friends. We love them so much we want more! So don’t forget we give everyone who refers us a free Joes pizza. And no I don’t have a patent on the vegetarian with bacon pizza but they might look at you a bit strange if you order one!
Pete and Mary are hoping to keep moving on in a couple of years time on an around Australia adventure but for now it’s great to have him on board to take the day to day running of the factory to the next level. Star Sign: Sagittarius Favourite Band: Pink Floyd Favourite Movie: Fast and Furious Favourite TV program: Top Gear Favourite Food: Scampi Favourite drink: Beer with lime Three guests you would invite to dinner? John Howard, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Princess Kate. Dream Holiday destination? Zimbabwe
1 Richter Road, Bunbury, Western Australia Just off Robinson Drive bypass behind Bunbury Nissan
Phone: (08) 9725 4433 Fax: (08) 9725 4951 Email: reception@weathersafewa.com.au Web: www.weathersafewa.com.au © Copyright WeatherSafe WA. No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. This newsletter is distributed with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering any legal or professional advice of any kind. The publisher disclaims any personal liability for the information, advice, recommendations and/or strategies presented within. It is up to the reader to comply with any local, state or federal laws.