Aaryn NZ
New member
- May 20, 2012
- 1,930
- 0
Hello my Autogeek family. :xyxthumbs:
First off - appologies for my lack of updates on these threads & general absence on the forum of late. Life once again has thrown us some ugliness, & without going into too much detail my Mum has fallen ill to cancer & we have nearly lost her a couple of times due to medical complications but at this stage, she is somewhat stable. This along with the stresses of the new building, moving house, moving shop, staff etc has even seen me back in the A & E department with another suspected heart attack, which as it turned out was a false alarm & I must add, probably a damn good wake up call & reminder that there is a limit.
Anyhow - here we are with another update on "the goings on WAY down South" which I started back in July with these two previous posts -
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/showthread.php?t=111420&highlight=
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/showthread.php?t=115238&highlight=
As with those two threads I will post some pictures for entertainment value & I'll start with some shiny black paint -
So the shop remains busy & even the normal Spring time "lull" was fairly non-existent but as per normal, everything is picking up pace coming closer to the holiday season. I hope to have a couple of days off this year & I will do my best to say "no" so I can spend some time with family. So, since my last update we did employ the young man & how it works down here in NZ is - you can take someone on for a three month trial & if they aren't any good you can terminate their employment at any stage no questions asked. This week is his last week of his trial period & my Wife & I have some decisions to make . . . . stay tuned.
Other goings on in the shop - umm . . . My Commercial Dr ColorChip set up is still impressing me & is a valuble addition to our business. Unfortunately the New Zealand Chapter of the IDA has turned into a franchise beneficial organisation & sadly my views on raising the standards of detailing in NZ over getting as many people signed up as members has seen me kept out of the loop as a board member but to be honest - if thats the direction they are going, then I would rather not be a part of it.
A pretty cool little Plymouth Scamp. I like this car, I like the simple styling & like the Nova, the compact design.
A tidy example of a sweet C6 Corvette.
I had previously touched on our desire to have a retail section in the new shop & being a small town & aside from the normal over the counter products found at local auto parts stores nobody has tried this here before. Uncharted territory but I believe once we get the word out there we shall have some success. Early signs are good. :xyxthumbs: We have paired up with a great supplier here in NZ - United Car Care & we will run our retail store as United Car Care Blenheim under our banner "Details". We will offer a good range of products from the likes of Gyeon, Menzerna, Valet Pro, Wheel Woolies, Rupes, Solution Finish, Duragloss, MetroVac, Waxaddict . . . Its pretty exciting for us & we are looking forward to the challenge.
Kia make some pretty cool cars & this little "Hot Hatch" Ceéd is a nice car indeed. The pearl white looked incredible in the sunshine.
A sweet "Mineral Grey" Roush Stage 3 Mustang.
This Ford Galaxie was one of my favourite cars I have detailed this year. In terms of condition there wasn't anything too dramatic to deal with other than the usual swirls but I had fun with it & enjoyed every minute of the detail.
Right, so because I have been slack with my updates on the new shop progress, I'll just fire a few pictures on to catch everyone up from where we left off.
This was the next stage after my last update in August with the exterior cladding on & with the painting being done.
This one showing the columns & steel work for the cantilever roof over the wash bay & some yard work being started.
Nope, this is not my first job "rolling"in. Picture shows the roof completed over wash bay.
Exterior painting finished & car park nearing aspalting stage.
From this stage until the time we moved shop was only a fortnight & this time was hectic busy & it appears no pictures were taken during this time but really, it was only the asphalt going down, so nothing terribly exciting.
Here are a couple of photos of the inside of the building whilst the carpet tiles & vinyl flooring was being layed.
Forgive me for the fuzzy photo quality of these two. This is us putting the floor down in the workshop. Benjamin (2yrs) spent the morning running around with a mallet & floor tile helping out he said.
rops:
A picture of my sign man & Hot Rodder Brian painting the signs on our wall.
So after months of frustrating set backs & sitting back watching & not being allowed to do anything we are finally in our new shop & open for business. Its been super exciting & super hard at the same time. I have a great team behind me & a few people I cannot thank enough for getting stuck in & helping out & breathing life into our dream. Thank you to all of you here - my Autogeek Online family for the kind words shared in previous threads & the encouragement that provided the enthusiasm to keep on keeping on. Thank you!rops:
Here are some pictures of the shop finished & ready for work - Entrance, reception & to the right is our customer lounge/waiting area. Note - Ivan on our reception counter & Mike Phillips on the television. :dblthumb2:
Looking over the reception counter into the workshop & standing in the roller door entrance to the workshop looking across to our customer lounge/waiting area & retail space.
Some pictures of the first week of the new shop in action.
Mustang being washed on the wash bay. Note - more signage in progress too. :xyxthumbs:
Ange's new ride being baked after coating.rops:
I don't believe you guys get the Holden Colorado in the States? This one looking sharp in black parked outside in front of the shop.
Some promotional photos being done for local media features.
There we have it. The start of a new journey for us & our little business down here in New Zealand. Thank you all for sharing the ride & I look forward to sharing our story with you all as we move forward.
The Details team. :buffing:
Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:
First off - appologies for my lack of updates on these threads & general absence on the forum of late. Life once again has thrown us some ugliness, & without going into too much detail my Mum has fallen ill to cancer & we have nearly lost her a couple of times due to medical complications but at this stage, she is somewhat stable. This along with the stresses of the new building, moving house, moving shop, staff etc has even seen me back in the A & E department with another suspected heart attack, which as it turned out was a false alarm & I must add, probably a damn good wake up call & reminder that there is a limit.
Anyhow - here we are with another update on "the goings on WAY down South" which I started back in July with these two previous posts -
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/showthread.php?t=111420&highlight=
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/showthread.php?t=115238&highlight=
As with those two threads I will post some pictures for entertainment value & I'll start with some shiny black paint -
So the shop remains busy & even the normal Spring time "lull" was fairly non-existent but as per normal, everything is picking up pace coming closer to the holiday season. I hope to have a couple of days off this year & I will do my best to say "no" so I can spend some time with family. So, since my last update we did employ the young man & how it works down here in NZ is - you can take someone on for a three month trial & if they aren't any good you can terminate their employment at any stage no questions asked. This week is his last week of his trial period & my Wife & I have some decisions to make . . . . stay tuned.
Other goings on in the shop - umm . . . My Commercial Dr ColorChip set up is still impressing me & is a valuble addition to our business. Unfortunately the New Zealand Chapter of the IDA has turned into a franchise beneficial organisation & sadly my views on raising the standards of detailing in NZ over getting as many people signed up as members has seen me kept out of the loop as a board member but to be honest - if thats the direction they are going, then I would rather not be a part of it.
A pretty cool little Plymouth Scamp. I like this car, I like the simple styling & like the Nova, the compact design.
A tidy example of a sweet C6 Corvette.
I had previously touched on our desire to have a retail section in the new shop & being a small town & aside from the normal over the counter products found at local auto parts stores nobody has tried this here before. Uncharted territory but I believe once we get the word out there we shall have some success. Early signs are good. :xyxthumbs: We have paired up with a great supplier here in NZ - United Car Care & we will run our retail store as United Car Care Blenheim under our banner "Details". We will offer a good range of products from the likes of Gyeon, Menzerna, Valet Pro, Wheel Woolies, Rupes, Solution Finish, Duragloss, MetroVac, Waxaddict . . . Its pretty exciting for us & we are looking forward to the challenge.
Kia make some pretty cool cars & this little "Hot Hatch" Ceéd is a nice car indeed. The pearl white looked incredible in the sunshine.
A sweet "Mineral Grey" Roush Stage 3 Mustang.
This Ford Galaxie was one of my favourite cars I have detailed this year. In terms of condition there wasn't anything too dramatic to deal with other than the usual swirls but I had fun with it & enjoyed every minute of the detail.
Right, so because I have been slack with my updates on the new shop progress, I'll just fire a few pictures on to catch everyone up from where we left off.
This was the next stage after my last update in August with the exterior cladding on & with the painting being done.
This one showing the columns & steel work for the cantilever roof over the wash bay & some yard work being started.
Nope, this is not my first job "rolling"in. Picture shows the roof completed over wash bay.
Exterior painting finished & car park nearing aspalting stage.
From this stage until the time we moved shop was only a fortnight & this time was hectic busy & it appears no pictures were taken during this time but really, it was only the asphalt going down, so nothing terribly exciting.
Here are a couple of photos of the inside of the building whilst the carpet tiles & vinyl flooring was being layed.
Forgive me for the fuzzy photo quality of these two. This is us putting the floor down in the workshop. Benjamin (2yrs) spent the morning running around with a mallet & floor tile helping out he said.
rops:
A picture of my sign man & Hot Rodder Brian painting the signs on our wall.
So after months of frustrating set backs & sitting back watching & not being allowed to do anything we are finally in our new shop & open for business. Its been super exciting & super hard at the same time. I have a great team behind me & a few people I cannot thank enough for getting stuck in & helping out & breathing life into our dream. Thank you to all of you here - my Autogeek Online family for the kind words shared in previous threads & the encouragement that provided the enthusiasm to keep on keeping on. Thank you!
rops:Here are some pictures of the shop finished & ready for work - Entrance, reception & to the right is our customer lounge/waiting area. Note - Ivan on our reception counter & Mike Phillips on the television. :dblthumb2:
Looking over the reception counter into the workshop & standing in the roller door entrance to the workshop looking across to our customer lounge/waiting area & retail space.
Some pictures of the first week of the new shop in action.
Mustang being washed on the wash bay. Note - more signage in progress too. :xyxthumbs:
Ange's new ride being baked after coating.
rops:
I don't believe you guys get the Holden Colorado in the States? This one looking sharp in black parked outside in front of the shop.
Some promotional photos being done for local media features.
There we have it. The start of a new journey for us & our little business down here in New Zealand. Thank you all for sharing the ride & I look forward to sharing our story with you all as we move forward.
The Details team. :buffing:
Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:
