Author: Igor

  • Leipzig Instants

    Leipzig Instants

    Last week we travelled to Leipzig to work on a new City Guide. Leipzig Region invited us to stay in this Eastern Germany city for three days and we had an amazing time discovering its many creativity hubs and great cultural offer. Here’s a selection of images we shared on our Instagram profile during our trip – just a little preview of some of the places you will find in our city guide, which we will publish really soon!

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    City views from Panorama Tower

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    Museum der bildenden Künste

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    Design and stationery shop Das rote Paket

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    Spinnerei, a former cotton mill now home to many galleries and studios

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    Plagwitz, the most creative neighbourhood in the city

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    The interiors of Asian fusion restaurant Ping Ping

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    Café Fleischerei, an old butcher shop turned into a café and bistro

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  • How to Move Your Business to London?

    When it comes to doing business, there’s no denying London is one of the best places you can do it. Known to have the fastest internet speeds in the UK, the city is perfect for modern businesses looking to get ahead.

    However, if you want to move your business to London, there’s a lot of factors you’ll need to consider. Here, you’ll discover some of the basic things you’ll want to look into before considering a move to the capital.

    Image via Unsplash

    Choose your destination carefully

    London is a large city, and different areas provide different opportunities for businesses. This means before you make the move, you’re going to need to make sure you’re choosing the best location.

    Canary Wharfe for example, is a leading choice for financial related businesses. These once busy docks were redeveloped during Margaret Thatcher’s reign, and today many major businesses are based here. Media businesses on the other hand, would do well in the West End.

    So, think about the type of business you run and where it will be best placed in the capital. Once you’ve found your ideal location, you can use a company such as GVA to find the right premises.

    Consider the costs

    It’s crucial you consider the cost of the relocation before deciding whether or not it’s doable. London may be the business hub of the UK, but it’s also the most expensive city. It’s not uncommon for the costs of doing business to be double, if not triple what you’d pay elsewhere in the UK. Can your business afford the additional costs?

    One of the main reason’s companies moving to London fail, is because they didn’t calculate the true costs of doing business in the capital. If you don’t have any savings in place, you may need to secure a loan to fund the move.

    Employing staff

    To ensure your business becomes successful, you’re going to need to ensure you’re hiring the right staff. Will any of your current employees be able to move to London? If not, you have two main options. You can either let staff work remotely if possible, or you can look for additional staff who are already based in London.

    If you do need to find new employees, it’s worth considering freelancers. Not only do freelancers offer great value for money, but it also gives you employment flexibility. If your needs change, you can stop using the freelancer’s services at any time.

    These are some of the main things you’ll need to consider before moving a business to London. It’s going to be a costly and potentially challenging move so it’s crucial you prepare well ahead of time. The more you prepare, the more likely it is your business move will be a success.

  • Moving to a New Rental Home – Essential Tips for Saving Money

    When you’re moving to a new rental property, there’s a lot of expenses involved. As well as paying the initial deposit, you’ll also need to pay at least one month’s rent in advance. Then there’s the moving fees involved, as well as estate agent fees if you’re going through an agency. Put simply, it can be a surprisingly expensive move.

    The good news is, there are ways to save on the costs of moving to a new rental property. Below, you’ll discover some of the best money saving tips you can follow. And before changing home, make sure to have a look at this moving house check list to ensure everything goes smooth.

    Image via Unsplash

    Throw out anything you don’t need

    A great simple way to cut the costs of moving, is to ensure you eliminate any clutter. This means throwing away anything you don’t use or need. Most people have a surprising amount of clutter they’ve built up over the years. So how does eliminating it save you money?

    Throwing out anything you don’t need will reduce the amount of packaging supplies you’ll use. It can also mean you’ll need a smaller van to move with. Of course, there’s also the added benefit that you won’t be taking your clutter to your new home, saving valuable storage space.

    Don’t pay for removal services

    While removal services can be extremely useful when you’re moving, they can also be notoriously expensive. If you are on a budget, consider ditching the professionals and doing it yourself. You can easily hire a van and enlist the help of friends and family. This could save you hundreds of pounds compared to hiring a professional removals company.

    If you don’t want the hassle of doing it all yourself, you can always compare different companies to find the cheapest prices.

    Make sure you take out insurance

    One thing many tenants don’t take into account, is insurance. Would you be able to cope financially if something were to go wrong? For example, taking out tenants liability insurance from a company such as Homelet, can help protect you against deposit losses.

    Any damage caused by you to the property will be taken out of your deposit at the end of the tenancy. This can prove problematic if you need that deposit for another property. Tenants liability insurance will ensure you don’t go out of pocket if you do lose some of your deposit.

    Be sure to redirect your mail

    Finally, don’t forget to redirect your mail. If you forget, you could up missing important payments. This would result in numerous fees and potentially even a high debt amount that you can’t afford to pay back.

    As you can see, there’s lots of ways you can save money when moving to a rental property. The above are some of the simplest and most effective ways to cut the costs.

  • Creating A Work Environment To Boost Creativity

    For many of us, working in a more creative work environment would be both enriching and conducive to us getting more work done. We would be at our best and therefore likely to be more productive and efficient each day. This is gradually becoming a consideration for some businesses, you only need to look at Google’s headquarters, Googleplex, to see that large corporations are now taking this seriously. Whether you work alone, in a small office or a large company, there are things that you can either enact or suggest to create a work environment to boost creativity. 

    Many of us would love to work in a creative field, but where this is not possible for our 9-5, let’s at least bring some creativity into our workplaces. 

    Image Pixabay – Pixabay License 

    Ensure that it is visually appealing

    This is the first priority, to make the workspace visually appealing.

    Where possible, allow for plenty of natural light to flood in, and if not, then look to create the illusion with cleverly positioned lighting and light and airy colours.

    Add splashes of colour with either decor like office pods, pictures or flowers and plants. Studies have shown that working near plants can actually improve productivity and employees happiness levels, so add some in and see what difference it makes in your office.

    Throw in boards that people can scribble, doodle and draw on around the walls to channel that creativity.

    Make it comfortable

    All workstations need to be ergonomically designed and assessed to ensure that people are comfortable working at them. In addition to them being comfortable, you will need to create an environment where people are encouraged to move around regularly.

    Look to add comfortable breakout areas and ensure that the temperature is at the right level.

    Click  why you need a good office chair for more information.

    Focus on the aroma

    Now we don’t all like the same smells, it is true, but there are probably many that we all dislike.

    Whilst we all want a clean environment, chemical smells can be off putting so seek to mask these with gentler scents such as flowers or plugin fresheners. Breakfast brought into the office is bound to lend a wonderful aroma to the room or simply throw open the windows for a blast of fresh air.

    If you work from home, you can burn your favourite candle as you work or brew up some coffee if that’s your thing.

    Think about the noise

    This is something that is often overlooked. Many people work hard on the visual and then completely forget to address the noise.

    Think about your own mood when you work. Do you work better in a silent room, a room with lots of shouting and noise or perhaps a room with music playing? For many of us, it will be the latter. Music can put us in a better mood and provide a great background soundtrack to your working day.

    For your work environment, look into DAB radio deals and get yourself set up with a radio. If you work alone, choosing the station that you listen to will be a breeze. If you are in a bigger group, then there might have to be a vote for this one, or you might choose to keep it calm with a classical station.

  • Purchasing the Right Arcade Cabinet to Play Arcade Games

    The right gaming experience makes life a lot more fun-filled. Arcade games offer the perfect gaming experience for many people across various age groups. Adults love these games as it brings back fond memories of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

    Teenagers and kids as well do not feel left out as arcade games are very entertaining and challenging. This is why it is not unusual to see some of them frequent game parlors, shopping malls, amusement arcades, and other places where these games can be played.

    But how about bringing the fun to your basement or any other part of your home? Fortunately, this is possible as arcade cabinets for such purposes are sold. However, the right one has to guarantee optimal gaming experience and value for money spent purchasing it. To this end, this article will discuss how to purchase the right arcade cabinet for home use.

    Picking the Right Arcade Cabinet for Home Gaming

    For the record, these games can be played across various platforms. However, some people insist on playing them on a traditional arcade cabinet and this is quite understandable. It is about the amazing feel of playing this way, among other reasons.

    As a result, it is of utmost importance that something that delivers to expectation is purchased. To this end, here are some tips for picking the right one for an optimal home gaming experience:

    Work with Your Budget

    There is a wide margin between the cheapest and most expensive arcade cabinets. For example, the least expensive option found on a very reputable platform was a few hundred short of a thousand dollars. Conversely, the most expensive option on the same platform went for close to 9000 dollars.

    Of course, it is only logical that the more expensive option has more to offer. For this reason, it is highly suggested that you commit a reasonable amount to getting this gaming equipment.

    However, you do not have to break the bank to do this. Just have a reasonable amount set as your budget and get something that fits right into your budget.

    Game Selection

    This is conveniently one of the most important considerations (if not the most important one). There are various games and you are not likely to have a cabinet that allows you to play every one of them. This is especially because of the huge differences between some of these games.

    As a result, you need to come to terms with the games that you want. Then, this information should influence your choice. By the way, some of the arcade games that you may be considering could include:

    • Fighting – Such as Street Fighter II, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat
    • Racing – Daytona USA, OutRun, Cruis’n USA, and Initial D
    • Classic Arcade – Donkey Kong, Galaga, Centipede, Frogger, and Pac-Man
    • Puzzle – Puzzle Bobble, Puyo Puyo, Tetris, and Columns
    • Music & Rhythm – Guitar Hero, Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution, and Pump It Up
    • Sports – Virtua Tennis, NBA Jam, Foosball, and NFL Blitz
    • Beat ‘em Up – Area 51, Time Crisis, and Metal Slug
    • Redemption – Claw Machines, Skee-Ball, and Coin Pushers

    These are just a few as we can go on mentioning others. For more information on arcade games, you can visit: https://en.wikipedia.org.

    Get the Right Size

    Some arcade cabinets can be quite massive. This is why you need to consider available space when making your choice. You do not want to get something that would not fit into the room that it is supposed to be stationed in.

    Durability

    Getting something durable is a necessity. Your purchase cannot be considered worth it if you end up with something that will get damaged too soon. Checking out the materials used to make the arcade cabinet is important for this reason.

    Control Panel

    The games are usually played using a control mechanism. For example, this could be a trackball or a joystick, depending on the kind that you get and the games offered. You should get something with a befitting control panel. It should also have the right amount of control buttons.

    Multi-Player Possibility

    It is strongly advised that you opt for gaming equipment that enables a multiplayer experience. This makes it easier for people to bond and increasingly have a great time playing together.

    For example, racing games such as Initial D do not have to be against the system. It could be two or more players competing.

    Warranty

    The right purchase must offer a reasonable warranty. This is to be certain that the seller has your best interest at heart. You can read this article for more on the need to get something that has a warranty.

    Conclusion

    Arcade games offer optimal gaming experiences for a high level of competition and entertainment. This is particularly true when they are played via an arcade cabinet. Fortunately, you can have one for yourself and enjoy the numerous benefits.

    However, you need to get the right one. Tips on how to do this have been shared here and should influence your decision when you choose to get one.