WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS AS USUAL

BJUM is an independent artist-run design and fabrication studio. That means all the priority equipment and resources needed are in-house and suppliers are still hooked up. Nobody is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. The owner, Ben, can and does operate from home on a regular basis due to occupational health requirements. Despite the private office in Lewes being closed by the government mandate, it’s business as usual and the studio/workshop is open. Supplies are incoming and orders are being processed. It could be said BJUM have been set up for this situation for the long haul before it happened. We have always been acutely aware of the limitations presented by relying on a traditional premises. Most of our customers interact directly online. We use numerous sign and garment supply distributors in London, the midlands and as far as Scotland, holding millions of units in stock that is typically available within 24hrs, but there may be a delay in the circumstances. What does take time is physical making up of items here; in that respect, not much has really changed.

Standard lead time is 10 working days from cleared invoice although there may be delays due to courier logistics. We do use a next day service for both incoming supplies and despatching items. We have always subsidised the heavy costs of next day couriering of materials so that orders can be processed in a reasonable time. We also offer priority and rush deliveries (there may be an additional charge, or a waiver depending on the individual circumstances). As you can imagine business has slowed across the sector and so there is time available to process orders on a priority basis should there be need.

We ship via Royal Mail Tracked or UPS in this situation. The government has determined Post Offices as an essential service and so they remain open: https://www.postoffice.co.uk/coronavirus

UPS are still operating their pick-up locations of which there are several at convenience and grocery stores that remain open to serve their regular customers every day. We will do everything in our power to get items to customers who are expecting them.

It should be noted that COVID-19 does not survive for long on objects and is an airborne and human-transmitted disease. Therefore it is possible to operate a business remotely where the provisions are already in place and items are shipped out. This is in keeping with all other areas of e-commerce that continue as normal wherever possible. We have been observing the social distancing and limited travel measures. All work is being completed remotely via digital communications. We have an online support system where you can check the status of jobs, upload files and add comments at any time – this is available 24/7 – that is also optional; whether you choose to use this or prefer to email it is completely up to you, it will all arrive in the same place. We are also implementing a cutting edge IP phone switchboard to direct queries from office phone to mobile, and direct voicemails to email to ensure they are received. Please always advise us of your e-mail address so that we can sustain communications. We have vulnerable family members so are compelled to observe the social distancing and remote working measures. It is the right thing to do to protect our NHS and save lives.

BJUM has always had the ability to work without a facility that will have been determined as non-essential due to completely different factors in the design of the business operations. There are many setups that depend on external processing, large numbers of floor staff, managers and sales teams, third parties or off-site equipment/leases and engineers that will simply not be available in this situation to deal with demand. That is because they have not actually invested in their own means to produce items, their staff are not equipped to cope with this situation, and they are not able to operate remotely.

BJUM own and maintain all necessary equipment to process for example T-shirt prints and small scale signage.

We can be reached via tel or e-mail or social media. All major debit/credit cards are accepted securely online or BACS. Thank you for your support at this unusual time. Please take care of your families and loved ones. Any queries at all, please do not hesitate to contact preferably via e-mail at hello@bjum.uk.