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The Cutting Edge of Conference and Events Technology - Tapestry AV
As audio-visual supplier to the 2007 CIS Excellence Awards and one of Scotland's leading resources for AV equipment and expertise, Tapestry provide the events and hospitality industries with every conceivable service and product to ensure that your event runs according to plan. Using the leading brands and the latest technology, Tapestry's team of experienced technicians provide clients throughout the UK with an overall AV solutions package that takes the stress out of event-planning.
Catering in Scotland meets the Tapestry team, and discovers it's not all about sound & vision…
TRUST is a word that Alex McLaren takes very seriously indeed. As Tapestry's MD he is on the front line of each and every contract they undertake, and he is eager to instil and nurture confidence on both sides in order to execute events with the precision and style that clients expect.
"We specialise in providing a complete service to hotels, industry and conference venues throughout the UK, from corporate events to the private and public sector, and our business ethos is based around the concept of trust," says Alex. "Because we take care of everything from sound, lighting, staging, music choice and graphics production – even stage design - clients can rely on us to produce the whole package from scratch."
Indeed, the 'full service' is what makes Tapestry special, with in-depth planning from start to finish regardless of the venue, number of guests or size of budget.
"We have nearly 40 years' experience in audio-visual work, so we can offer the best advice on bespoke solutions to meet any requirement," he continues. "With our team of 15 dedicated staff and a comprehensive range of the latest conference, presentation and multimedia equipment available from stock, it allows us to work with each client on a one-to-one basis, and we can customise the kit to suit a particular venue or theme. We offer music services, entertainment, props and bands - even voting systems for live debates – so any request can be taken care of through one point of contact."
Centrally based in Falkirk with a complete inventory of equipment on site and a fleet of delivery vehicles, Tapestry are ideally located to serve the entire UK, from Aberdeen to Andover and Benbecula to Bournemouth.
"We have a very diverse customer base, with clients in financial services, engineering, electronics and hospitality, and we are happy to travel anywhere to cater for any type of event," says Alex. "Last year we went as far as Tenerife and Norway which, while they aren't our typical destinations, demonstrated our 'pick-up-and-go' ability."
Much of this flexibility and independence centres on the dependability of the tools of their trade, and the firm are proud of their investment in this area: "Every penny we make from this business gets ploughed straight back into new technology," says Alan Jeffress, Tapestry's Director of Operations. "Each year we replace and upgrade our equipment to enable us to keep up to date with the latest requirements of our ever-evolving and imaginative client base. One year we can introduce a brand-new system and the next it will be obsolete, having been superseded by a better model in a matter of months. In 2006 alone we invested more than £200,000 to update our stock from the previous year, and we have to keep up with that trend in order to offer our customers the very latest technology on a consistent basis."
One such development is Super-Widescreen, an advanced system that represents exactly what its name suggests: the projection of high-resolution static and video images across a massive widescreen area, measuring up to 12 x 3.2 metres.
"With Super-Widescreen, multiple input sources are seamlessly combined and blended to give a previously unachievable visual area, with images that are vivid, bright and pin-sharp," continues Alan. "Powerpoint presentations can be seamlessly integrated and our graphics studio can create stunning widescreen images to use in presentations and to theme entire events - the creative possibilities of the system are endless. It's perfect for the 'wow factor' that event-managers are looking for to differentiate one conference, presentation or awards ceremony from another."
However, it is Tapestry's custom-built stage sets that really allow an event's true colours to shine through, as Alex explains: "Although we specialise in audio-visual equipment and expertise, we also have a digital-art department that can create bespoke backdrops of any size or style to suit a client's corporate colours or event theme. We provide customised signage, stages and digital print, as well as designing 3D visualisations of future concepts in advance of an event, so the client can see what it will look like before we have even begun to build the stage."
Given Tapestry's position in the marketplace, it is evident that the firm are taking event- projection to a whole new level. With everything taken care of in-house through a single point of contact, it simplifies the event-management process to a point where the old adage of 'too many cooks' is no longer relevant.
From conferences and concerts to parties, award ceremonies, launch events and presentations, Tapestry provide the full production service from start to finish.
Talk about a one-stop shop.
This article has been edited from its original version. For the complete feature and to view pictures, please see Catering in Scotland magazine July/August 2007.
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