Best New Business Awards 2014 - skignz is the Winner!

It’s the day after the Best New Business Awards Tees Valley 2014. Last night was a great night, not only as we got to meet a load of great start-up companies but that skignz was the WINNER of the Marketing Award. 

This was a fantastic achievement for the skignz team and we are still very proud today for having been selected to win this award by Cool Brand Blue Communications. 

We would also like to say well done to all runners up in the Marketing category and best luck for the future!

The whole awards event was great from start to finish.

Starting the night off we got to network with a wide variety of companies on arrival. This was a chance for everyone to meet one another and require a small insight as to what each business entails. 

Once seated that was another chance to meet and network with the company/companies on your table. Luckily for skignz we had two great companies seated with us, who we thoroughly enjoyed the whole night with and got to learn a lot about them. 

One of the companies was 12^th Man Solutions Ltd, who were also up for the Marketing award alongside skignz. They were a great bunch of people and their business was a great idea. 

We all had a good time in everyone’s company last night involving a lot of business talk and laughter.

The other company placed at the table with skignz was Earls of Ashwood Ltd. They are a cheesemonger and delicatessen company based in Stockton. 

We have got to say this was one of our favourite companies there last night. We all love cheese and by the sounds of what Earls of Ashwood provide, we are defiantly heading to their shop this weekend to taste some of their great delicacies.

Moving on in the night we had a lovely 3 course meal provided by BNBA Tees Valley. 

We all thoroughly enjoyed each part of the meal and have got to say were very full by the end of it, not to mention the free wine flowing sponsored by Big Bite Communications – a big thank you, you kept us all very hydrated throughout the night!

Then it was time for the awards. Each category had three nominees. All of the business ideas were truly great and everyone deserved their place last night.

Coming to the Marketing award there were some great other companies up for the award so we thought we had a low chance of winning it. However it is fair to say we were truly surprised when skignz got announced as the winner for the Marketing category. 

This was a proud moment for us! We only wish someone could have got a photo of us in that moment in time to see the shocked look on our faces! 

We would like to say well done to all the other winners of the night also and to the overall winner C&A Pumps and Engineering Ltd.

We would also like to say a big well done to Prince’s Trust for providing opportunities for young people to help support them and change their life for the better. 

The story we heard from their young promotional speaker was truly inspiring and it showed not just us but everyone just how exceptionally inspiring the company is. They raised an amazing £930 last night and we hope it hit the £1K as the night ended.  

Ending on a high, we had a great night and hope to be entering again next year in a different category! Well done to everyone again and a big thanks to Colin Brown for organising the whole event and proving all companies with great opportunities available last night!

If you would like to know more about The Best New Business Awards 2015 then please visit http://www.bestnewbusinessawards.com/

If you would like to know more about The Prince's Trust then please visit http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.

It's all about #RetroMonday

Throwback Thursday #TBT has been such a big hit across all social media with people looking back to their past and throwing back to old memories they have and showing them through posting an old photo to their social media sites. 

So skignz decided to see if a new trend can start #RetroMonday. This gives everyone the chance from older generation to younger generation to have a think way back to their past when everything now would seem to be ‘retro’ and share it with everyone on their social media sites. 

Throwback Thursday is lots of fun to be a part of so why not start a new trend. Last Monday saw #RetroMonday take part in everyone showing pictures of their old computers what they had back in the day. It is lots of fun to look back and retrieve a blast from the past and bring back some of those good memories that make you laugh that you ever owned one of those, or even so who still owns one to this day. 

Here are some of the tweets people posted last week regarding their old computers on #RetroMonday. 

- Cartor Designs stated: “Our 1st computer was an Acorn Electron! #retromonday #discoverskignz #skignz”

- Wells Solutions stated: “#retromonday my 1st PCwas a big heavy IBM Laptop #discoverskignz #skignz”

- Team Services Ltd stated: “@skignz @faris_int our 1st PC was similar to this tower! It wasn't branded but it was massive #retromonday #skignz”.

#RetroMonday would be a great trend to get going, so have a think ready for next Monday and wait for the new retro topic for that day to be released and get yourselves and others involved! 

Make sure you get yourselves on Twitter next Monday and start hash tagging your #RetroMonday old memories! 

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.

Festival Hack Day - BBC6 Music

Summary of the Event...

Friday 20th February 2015, 9:30am till 4pm the next day!!! 

Located at The Core, Newcastle University, Newcastle, Students and local tech based SME's attended and partners included BBC 6 Music, Generator, Newcastle University.

AIM: To produce an app that would develop their festival ideas into web and mobile apps to trial at the event. From creating personal line ups, to finding friends, learning more about the bands performing live and sharing unique festival stories – the creators at Festival Hack Day will have an open brief to look at all elements of the live music experience.team

So where do skignz fit in?

We decided to take part as one of the regions Tech based SME's, but we felt as the skignz technology platform which we have been developing over the last few years. 

skignz provides any festival with a significantly enhanced user experience, introduces fresh new tech and helps in areas where problems have only been present in the past.

  

We felt it would be unfair to 'enter skignz' so what we did was provide the 'hackers' with some code that they could include in their own app ideas that would launch the skignz tech. So we developed an onsite demo for each of the hackers to access, giving them an understand of what skignz is capable of then we encouraged them to set up their own accounts, so when they launched the skignz browser from their apps they would have meaningful content.

              

Many congratulations must go to the awesome OrangeBus team as they were overall winners with the best Hack!

Check out the story of the hack on their storify feed:
https://storify.com/orangebus/orange-bus-follow-the-music-and-win?utm_source=orangebus.co.uk&utm_content=storify-pingback&utm_campaign=&awesm=sfy.co_i0KTL&utm_medium=sfy.co-twitter

What did some of the participants say?:

Take a look at the below links all connected with the event. Lots of feedback, insight and musing about the whole event:

Hugh Rawlinsons Blog Post:

http://blog.soundwave.com/bbc-6-music-festival-hack-day/

Newcastle University:

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/hour-festival-hack-day-announced-as-part-of-the-6-music-festival-on-tyneside

M Magazine:
http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/6-music-festival-host-hack-day/

OrangeBus:
http://www.orangebus.co.uk/en/blog/orange-bus-follow-the-music

If you would like to know more about Generator NE

http://www.generator.org.uk/

For more information on BBC Radio 6 Music festival then please take a look here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e8qbj5

Check out the Gallery below for some further images through the eyes of skignz:

 

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.

Are you the right person for skignz? We are hiring for varying positions.

Are you coming out of University and need that experience? Or are you ready to move on to that next step? Then skignz are pleased to announce that opportunities have opened up within the business for a wide variety of roles. 

skignz welcomes anyone to the company and considers all applicants. 

So if you or anyone you know is looking for a job or is looking for a new job, then don’t hesitate in checking out these roles and get applying as in some cases some positions have an almost immediate start.


Available Roles:


1. Graphic / UX  / Digital Designer

The ideal candidate will be:-

• Proficient in the use of Photoshop/Illustrator
• Knowledge of HTML5, CSS would be a huge advantage
• Experience to show working with websites / Apps
• Knowledge of Responsive design

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree subjects required: Graphic, 3D, industrial, product, UX, web design or other relevant digital design subject.

Location: Stockton-on-Tees.

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive Salary

Method of application: Email CV and Covering Letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site:     http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015

2. Programmer/App Developer in Objective C

Skills:
Essential:-
• Proficient in the use of Objective C

Desirable:-
• Ability to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows and Google

Desirable Additional Skills:-
• HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML, XHTML

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree subjects required: Computing or Similar

Location: Stockton-on-Tees.

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive Salary

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role / company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015

3. Programmer/App Developer in Java

Skills:
Essential:-
• Proficient in the use of Java

Desirable:-
• Ability to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows and Google

Desirable Additional Skills:-
• HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML, XHTML

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree subjects required: Computing or Similar

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive Salary

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015

4. Programmer/App Developer in C/C++

Skills:
Essential:-
• Proficient in the use of C/C++

Desirable:-
• Ability to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows and Google

Desirable Additional Skills:-

• HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS, XML, XHTML

Number of vacancies: 1

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time

Salary Details: Competitive salary.

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015

5.  Marketing Executive / Marketing Manager

Essential:

• Marketing or related qualification
• Understanding of PR & Blogging
• Proficient in the use of Social Media
• Customer Service Experience
• Responsible, show initiative, enthusiasm & dedication
• Excellent attention to detail and deliver work of the very highest standard
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously

Desirable:

• Knowledge of of Mobile technology & App development would be a huge advantage
• An eye for good design, understanding & identifying trends is very helpful
• A second language is desired but not essential
• Experience is desired but not essential

Number of vacancies: 1

Degree Subjects required: Marketing, Business, Design Marketing

Location: Stockton-on-Tees

Type: Permanent

Basis: Full Time


Salary Details: Competitive salary

Method of application: Email CV and covering letter

Include 2 references in your CV. In you covering letter include which role/ company you are applying for, a short paragraph as to why you would be the ideal candidate for the role and why you would like to work for the company. Please ensure the job title is the title of your email.

Contact name for applications: Si Brown

E-mail: uk@skignz.com

Web Site: http://www.skignz.com

Closing Date: 20th March 2015

The roles above are also available via Teesside University website on the careers search site. 

If you know of anyone who is looking to start their career or further advance in any of the above roles then please don't hesitate to let them know and share this post. 

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.

skignz on Stag Parties

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Placement Opportunities

Each year current students and graduates start looking for placement opportunities to gain themselves some essential experience or even to hopefully start their new career path. And some people can find this stressful, but it doesn't have to be as hard as it seems.

There are a lot of companies out there that do start to hire at the beginning of the year, and while some may be hard to get into as they already require experience and good education, there are some that are always open to offering placement opportunities to graduates, students and the younger generation.

That is where skignz comes along.

All year round skignz is always offering placement opportunities to students and graduates. That is one of the most important aspects about skignz itself as a company. skignz believes that everyone should be treated equally and that by allowing the opportunity to be available to everyone, we are providing that equality.

skignz is currently actively looking at the moment to hire. So any graduates or students who are currently looking for work experience please feel free to contact skignz.

skignz vacancies are advertised through Teesside University as that is where our focus is. We currently through Teesside University provide the opportunity for a graduate to come and do a 3 month placement through skignz as part of their degree, hopefully with the intention of leading onto full time work.

Jeff Bramfitt came to join the skignz team this year on a 3 month placement with the possibility of keeping on as full time employment. Here is a little brief on himself:

“I trained initially as a Graphic Designer then spent over 20 years as a computer graphics artist at legendary games company Psygnosis/Sony Studio Liverpool, until recession hit and Sony started downsizing drastically.  Sadly, the studio ultimately closed as a result.  In my time there I had the pleasure of contributing as a 2D and 3D Artist on over 30 titles, including classic Playstation franchises Wipeout and Formula 1.

More recently, I decided to update my skills and improve my career options by doing a Degree in Web & Multimedia Design, graduating with a 2:1 in 2014.  I hope my unique combination of recent Web Design development combined with my C.G. production experience will help me move forward in a rapidly changing landscape.

I have an unhealthy habit of purchasing large dilapidated old houses and lovingly restoring them, which is the closest I come to having a hobby. At the moment (the last 4 years) all my spare time is spent bringing an early Victorian town house on Hartlepool's historic seafront back to it's former glory.”

skignz will be looking at expanding the team as the year goes on as you can read about our 2015 plans in skignz year ahead blog post. So do feel free to apply if you are interested or contact us personally to see what vacancies are available.

If you would like to know more on skignz current vacancies then please visit http://bit.ly/1myDwzK 

If you would like to know more about skignz then please visit our website at http://www.skignz.com and don't forget to check us out on a range of the popular Social Media Channels.