Article published on 2 April 2020
Anne Parkin, Proludic’s Key Account Manager gives us a nostalgic view of being in the play industry over the last three decades.
I have used this gift of time, while working from home, to pause and reflect on my career in the play industry. Spanning three companies over 28 years I can honestly say I have never regretted responding to that newspaper ad in 1992 advertising a position as a ‘play consultant’. How would I know then how my working life would evolve, the knowledge I would gain in this field and the experience that comes with investing time and commitment to be the very best you can be in this unique industry?
As with life, fashions have changed over the years, this is no less true with regards to standards, surfacing and play equipment design.
The greatest stand-out is technology. Presentations used cutouts from technical brochures, catalogues that were laminated. For large projects, an artist represented the design with watercolours, how I wish I had kept one of those. Record keeping involved a plastic box with cards arranged alphabetically, communication was your home phone, or a quick stop off at a public phone box whilst on the road. Most shocking of all to the younger members of our sales team was to discover my working life was pre-World Wide Web!
Much has changed, but one thing that has remained steadfast is my commitment to designing the very best play areas for children and their families. My background as a teacher means my natural default is always to ensure I am designing to support the whole development of the child investing in their health and well-being regardless of age or ability.
This is my 13th year at Proludic and it is my absolute privilege to work for a company that is family-owned and holds strong values around its employees, product, customers and most of all children. Sometimes having the time to reflect brings back great memories of all the amazing play spaces we have built for children and I look forward to life returning to normal when we can once again do what we do best, build inspiring play spaces.
Get in touch with me, Anne, regarding your potential play project, including themed and bespoke designs.
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