From the Editor
Food for thought
» ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS how much I love food – cooking it , eating it , buying it , reading about it , and watching television programmes about it . Obviously , I can eat while I ’ m working but aside from that my life as editor of The Locksmith Journal and my passion for food rarely cross over . So , imagine my surprise when ‘ Locksmith ’ – that ’ s DJ Locksmith – popped up on Celebrity Masterchef recently ( one of my favourite food programmes ). Now I don ’ t think ‘ Locky ’ is an actual locksmith , but it made me think that maybe there is some overlap between when I ’ m ‘ on the clock ’ and deciding what to cook …
Putting together a magazine is like planning the perfect menu . We need enough variety to satisfy all the tastes of our readers . We need the crowd pleasers and the seasonal specials . We need the big , meaty articles you can really get your teeth into and the tasty snacks to tease your tastebuds in between each course . Finally , we always want to leave room for dessert – in this case the next issue – the sweet feeling when the new magazine lands on your desk or doormat .
But , the best part is , we are constantly tasting the recipe as we go along and changing it . Adding more seasoning , trying new flavours . We welcome ‘ guest chefs ’ and ‘ pop up restaurants ’, and we want your feedback .
Now you may be getting sick of this metaphor and I know locksmiths have a lot on their plate already , but we seriously do love your input . You ’ ll see from the changes we ’ ve already made to the – now monthly – magazine we are always hungry for new ideas and what our readers really have an appetite for .
So , answers on a postcard please ( or send me an email ), what do you want to see in this magazine ? Do you have the starter of an idea that can be made into something really special ? Have you seen something here before that ’ s whetted your appetite and you want to see more of it ? Can you provide your own hints and tips or do you have an interesting story outside of locksmithing – a hobby or passion or unusual career path that led you to the industry ? More importantly do you know why he ’ s called DJ Locksmith ? Get in touch at gemma @ cvgroup . co . uk
See you next month ( if I don ’ t hear from you first ), Gemma
Keeping it real
If you haven ’ t noticed yet , there ’ s been some changes at The Locksmith Journal recently . Most notably , we ( and you ) now have one magazine every month and August marks the second ever monthly magazine publication . In this issue , we have another exciting announcement , which is that we are very happy to announce that Amy Morrison has joined the team as our correspondent for locksmith news , interviews , exclusive articles and editorials .
» ONE OF THE REASONS WE switched to 12 magazines a year ( instead of six ) is that we want to stay in better contact with our readers and get to know you better . This is exactly what Amy will be doing ( or may already have done ) when she gets in touch with you .
First , let ’ s get to know Amy better …
Amy Morrison has worked in PR , communications and marketing for 13 years , and luckily for us she has bags of experience working on prominent brands in the security space – ASSA , Abloy and Mul-T-Lock .
More importantly , she ’ s worked closely with a range of locksmiths over the years to understand what it is that makes them tick , as well as digging deeper into some of the challenges they face in a modern world where remote access and smart locks are becoming the norm .
In Amy ’ s words : “ To an outsider , it would seem this is a dry industry , and a skill that is taken for granted - but when you get a little closer and start to pay attention , you realise it is full of characters that are super passionate about what they do .”
And that ’ s what she ’ ll be doing every month .
This month , Amy interviewed Natasha Pugh from APECS UK and goes ‘ behind the scenes ’ on Natasha ’ s ten-year career in the industry . Amy also caught up with Andy Perrin of Brighton & Hove Locksmiths who went from ‘ odd jobs ’ to successful locksmith , trainer and YouTuber ( and still finds time to pick locks for fun ). Last but by no means least , we often hear of the father and son businesses but what about the mother and daughter partnerships ? Find out more as Amy catches up with Lucy Locksmith .
Then find out even more next month with Amy ’ s next batch of real-life locksmith interviews …
If you have a story to tell , some wisdom to share or would like to speak to Amy about your life as a locksmith , get in touch with amy @ cvgroup . co . uk or gemma @ cvgroup . co . uk
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AUGUST 2023
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