The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 33: Oct/Nov 2017 | Page 21

SWITCH ON TO SWINDON
Switch On To Swindon has created an ambassador scheme as
part of the project with the aim to unite businesses, organisations
and individuals across the area in a powerful network.
Ambassadors are bringing together the knowledge, networks
and passion of businesses, organisations and visitors, to that
everyone can benefi t from a growing economy. Ambassadors are
proud, proactive and positive about Swindon- willing to make a
difference by being advocates for the place.
One of those fi rms is Jazzbones Creative. To celebrate
Swindon and its world of opportunities the team at
Jazzbones Creative have designed a range of vintage
inspired travel posters and postcards that promote
Swindon’s ‘hidden-gems.’ One of these posters was chosen
as this edition’s cover story.
Here Jazzbones’ founder and director Nathan Sandhu
tells his tale.
Born in Swindon in 1977 - Branding in Swindon since 1995
When people talk about Swindon being a town of great
opportunities, personal experience tells me that’s a fact and
not just another marketing slogan.
I was born and raised in Swindon (the old Princess
Margaret Hospital) and it has moulded me as a person, a
professional, and over the last decade as a business owner.
One of the things I love about Swindon is that it’s such
a democratic town. Working with clients in places like
London, Oxford or Bath, I sometimes get the impression
it’s all about who you know, not what you know – which
school you went to, or where you play golf. In Swindon
by contrast, nobody gives a hoot where you come from;
people judge you by who you are and what you can offer
professionally.
When I started my career as a budding graphic designer
22 years ago, nobody in Swindon ever looked down
their nose at me because I was brought up on a council
estate (Park South then Pinehurst) or went to a ‘rough’
comprehensive. On the contrary, they judged me purely on
my passion and work ethos and what I could do for their
business. That hasn’t changed, and as a person with a mix
of English, Indian and Italian heritage, I am proud of the
way Swindon continues to embrace newcomers, whether
they’re from Poland, Portugal or Pakistan. To this day, the
town’s young entrepreneurs speak a common language –
“Let’s go for it and put Swindon on the map!”
I am also proud that my company, Jazzbones Creative,
has such strong roots in the local community and that
our business success is built on local talent. Every member
of our design team is Swindon born and bred, but that
doesn’t stop us pitching for work in competition with big
city design and branding agencies – and often winning!
Several of my team have done their time in London, Bristol
and even Spain, but at the end of the day they’ve decided
the ‘grass is not always greener’ and have returned to
Swindon because it’s such a great place to live and fulfi l
their ambitions.
Like them, I am a fi rm believer in Swindon as a
tremendous place to work, rest and play. When I went to
school, the standard of education in Swindon was, to say
the least, uneven; but as the father of teenage daughters, I
am delighted at the educational and training opportunities
now on offer. And given the amount of forward-looking
companies based here, I know my girls will have plenty
of professional opportunities if they choose to stay living
close to mum and dad. As I always tell them, we’ve got the
established multinationals and funky start-ups alike.
Like all smaller towns, Swindon has its cultural purists
who will always insist that the next big thing is to be found
somewhere else. To those people I would say this; if Lydiard
Park, Coate Water, Town Gardens, The Weighbridge,
Los Gatos, Helen Browning Chophouse, Bardolino, the
Designer Outlet, Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, The
Bohemian Balcony, Oink, RPM Records, and a very long
etcetera were in London or Brighton people would be
queuing up to sing their praises. It’s time the naysayers
‘switched on to Swindon’!
Jazzbones’ ‘Switch on to Swindon’ work has been
featured on industry leading websites Creative Review and
the Drum.
To fi nd out more about the Switch On To Swindon
campaign and to sign up as an ambassador visit:
www.switchontoswindon.com
Turn to page 33 to read our In Profi le
with Switch On To Swindon place
board chair, Jenny Groves.
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017
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