We love quality materials, and quality workmanship, and we have the deepest respect for the people behind them. I remember our first visit to the French tannery that supplies our Contemporary leathers – being awestruck by the sheer number of colourful hides hanging in the rafters, all the one gorgeous shade, and all destined for Hermès. So when we came across the Hermès travelling Festival des Metiers (Festival of Crafts) we spared a moment to touch the leather hides and watch the leather craftsman at work. What blew us away, though, was the silk-screening demonstration. As I'm sure it does To View More >>

One of the things I love most about our newest product update, is how tidy and streamlined it appears on our site. If you haven't looked already, have a browse of our new product pages and you'll see our new categories (Pressbooks, Flushmount, Overlay Matted, Classic Matted, Duo, Musee) and within each one we have a breakdown of all the options for that product: pages, sizes, cover styles, cover materials and accessories. Not only do I like it because I think it keeps things simple and tidy for photographers to look at, but I also think it can be a powerful tool for getting your clients (and potential To View More >>

We're constantly reinventing Queensberry to make things better, simpler, faster and more creative. In the mid-1990s we threw away the rule book and started making our albums to order. Computer-driven mat-cutters meant our clients could design books to suit their photography, rather than making their photographs fit the books. It had never been done before. In 2000 we cut out the middle-man and began developing the world’s only worldwide door-to-door service to professional photographers. In 2001 we released Photojunction. In 2003 we were pioneers in the album printing business. (We’re still To View More >>

Three things I try not to do: write about our competitors, jump to their defence, and risk offending people who could be our customers; but today I’m going to do all three. I want to write about the huge outpouring against Smugmug over their price increase – and suggest a few things you should think about before you jump ship, if you’re with them. I must admit I find these outbursts upsetting, no matter the justification. When I started to use the Net back in the 90s, it was all about support, helping each other and respect. In the world I want to live in, you respect the businesses that To View More >>

Last night we removed the data limits on our Workspace Pro Plus plan and took some of the restrictions off our Free Plan. We've had a lot of requests for this, so here's the deal… 1. Under the Workspace Pro+ Plan, data storage is now unlimited. 2. The Workspace Free Plan now offers 750MB of storage, but access is no longer restricted, and you can use it indefinitely. We do reserve the right to cancel inactive accounts (where there have been no new uploads or sales for twelve months). Please read the details on our website. So why the change of mind? One thing concerned us when we launched Workspace. To View More >>

I don't know how you'll feel about this, but a few days ago I unsubscribed from a customer's Facebook page. I just got sick of the bad taste in my mouth from a stream of quite unpleasant political comments and links in my newsfeed. I personally don't think anyone in business should mix business and politics. Or religion for that matter. Not just because it's unwise to turn off people who might be your customers, but because it's wrong to judge people by their ideology or faith, or the lack of either. I don't care whether they're of the left or the right, in my experience if you can get past people's To View More >>

Hello all, I'm just dropping in to give you a heads up to mark this date down in your diary: Wednesday 15 August. If you're living in Auckland, New Zealand (or can make it to Auckland) you won't want to miss out on our event: a free Workspace seminar and workshop. Workspace is our cloud application which you can use for designing albums, proofing, website building and more. This seminar is your chance to learn the ins and outs of the software, how you can make the most of it and how it can benefit your business. We'll also have plenty of time for questions and if there's anything specific you'd To View More >>

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks. The marketing team obviously thought we were getting a bit lethargic under our winter coats, so threw a special in your direction. The result is that Mid-Winter Christmas feeling going on and our departments all humming – the lab, the press people, the design team and the bindery going "gang busters". The tech support team certainly had the cobwebs blown out by all the questions from customers old and new. It's great to see so many people having a go at Workspace. Thanks for your business! I hope you'll be experiencing that Christmas feeling in a few days when To View More >>

We've had a lot of enquiries asking about the deadline for our half-price special. Thanks for making it a great success. So we're giving you a bit of leeway. The deadline falls over this weekend, so as long as we have your order by the START OF BUSINESS ON MONDAY New Zealand time we'll allow the discount. But you will need to confirm the album order and pay within two days of us getting back to you. We have been absolutely swamped with DESIGN ORDERS. These are no charge as part of the promotion if ordered through Workspace (thanks for trying the feature, people really like it!). It may take a To View More >>

In the context of professional people photography here are a few things that surprise and puzzle us. How often the images are released from the studio before the sale is finalised. How the album planning/sales process can take months, sometimes years. How there's often no attempt to up-sell after the event. How the album is treated as a cost, not a marketing tool. How album planning is treated as an obligation not an opportunity. How studios go with the crowd, instead of standing out from it. None of those maximise your opportunities, and there are probably less of those to go round right now. To View More >>