Our Teams

We’re marking another Colleague Milestone! Congratulations to Marianne Bosacki who’s celebrating 10 years at Brewers! Here’s what Marianne has to say…

“I have worked in retail for most of my working life, it had always been large stores which only really treated you as a number rather than a person, which can take its toll. I had seen the advert and although I hadn’t had any experience in decorating, the job did appeal to me. The job description was for a Driver, at the time I was working as an Estimator for made-to-measure curtains.

Steve Groves, the Regional Manager at the time of my interview, talked about the new store that was opening in Exeter and offered me a job as a Showroom Sales Advisor to work with customers selling fabric, made-to-measure and wallpaper, as I had experience in this field but would also be able to learn new skills at the same time with paint and decorating products, so accepting this role was a great choice.

The 10 years working for Brewers have flown by and I cannot believe where the time has gone. I have gone on courses and picked up new skills and still, after 10 years, am finding new products and techniques. I find the job very rewarding and have worked with some amazing people who make coming to work each day a pleasure and not a chore. Jim Dunne is a brilliant manager and has really helped me to succeed to the level that I am at now.

I am now a Store Supervisor, which means I can turn my hand to a great array of jobs including ordering, customer queries and staff management. I am a fully trained first aider, mental health first aider and Together Champion Supporter which I have just started training for.

We have organised some great trade shows and events in the branch which have all gone very well.

Whilst we went through the pandemic we were one of the first branches to test reopening and that was certainly a big experience and something which I was able to learn from for the future.

I do hope that I can stay with the business until I have to retire as I do love my job and will keep giving my all to it and feel that I can still learn and develop new skills in the future.”

Thank you Marianne for your hard work over the years and enjoyable write-up about your time at Brewers!

A big congratulations to Richard Weeks on celebrating his 20 year anniversary with Brewers!

Richard is the Branch Manager for our Alton, Hampshire store and here’s what he says about his time with the business:

“Working nights at the University of Surrey was taking its toll on me so I joined Brewers as a 6 month stop gap whilst looking for other job opportunities...20 years later and I am still here!

My role as a Store Manager keeps me busy, I love a technical challenge and feel incredibly lucky to have found employment that I honestly never get that “Monday morning” feeling with. What surprised me was how I fell in love with front line sales, customer service and the diverse cross section of society that pass through the store daily. I work with an incredible bunch of people who make every day a fun and pleasurable experience.

One of my favourite aspects of working in one retail location for two decades is that you really get to know your customers and their families. I have seen their children go from infants to fully grown adults and in some cases even customers themselves. You feel integrated into the society that you work in and make many friends along the way.

Outside of work, I split my time between many interests. I restore classic 70’s Japanese motorcycles and custom build scooters, the joy coming from turning some rusty junk into beautiful looking machines. I also build and fly aerobatic Model aircraft, cycle most days, hike, and ski in the winter. Life is good.”

Thank you Richard for your fantastic commitment!

Max Carrington, Head of Creative is celebrating 10 years at Brewers! Although, it’s actually a bit longer that he’s been part of our team!

Here’s what Max has to say:

“I worked as a consultant to Brewers for 11 years, initially working on Mr Chris’ Centenary history book and working with what was then called the Reprographics Department (now Studio) in creating the centenary logo in 2004.

I went on to work on a range of projects for Brewers including the brand identity we have today. In 2013 I was asked to join the company as Head of Creative – part of the senior management team. Having already worked with the business for a long time, I knew I was joining a company that cared about its colleagues and would give me the variety of creative challenges I was looking for.

We have a great team atmosphere in Marketing and I’ve always enjoyed visiting branches and meeting the wider team. I’ve always been made welcome when I arrive.

Outside of work, I play guitar badly, walk in the hills around where I live in Sevenoaks, and paint and draw as much as I can.”

Thank you Max for all your creativity and here’s to the next 10 years!

Kelly Apps is celebrating 25 years at Brewers! That’s a quarter of a century (sorry Kelly!) What a fantastic achievement.

Here’s what she has to say:

“These past 25 years at Brewers Head Office have flown by and I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed every single minute! Working with so many amazing colleagues has made my time here wonderful.

Being creative has been my passion (ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil)! I knew from a very young age I wanted to be a designer and I’m very lucky and privileged to have worked in an environment that has made it so enjoyable.

My role as a Graphic Designer working within the Marketing Department has enabled me to work on a wide variety of jobs, creating concepts and producing designs for just about anything such as adverts, packaging, livery, promotional gifts, email design, branch celebrations and even Christmas jumpers!

A few memorable designs I created over the years include the Traditions colour card and livery, magazine adverts (one of which I froze paint to create ice lollies - not a thing you get to do every day!), produced all the graphics for the County Shows and for the London ADM Annual Sales Meeting - one of my designs was even used to wrap 10 London taxis promoting Brewers!

When I’m not working, I like baking with my daughter making cakes as we’re both fans of Mary Berry who we got to meet whilst on holiday this year. I’m also a supporter of Cannon Hall Farm located in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, where I also got to meet farmers Rob and Dave from the Channel 5 TV show. Another passion of mine is supercars and can highly recommend the driving experiences they offer - they are fantastic!”

We have another Colleague Milestone to celebrate! Ben Meagor, Store Manager of Torquay, is celebrating 20 years at Brewers!

Here’s what Ben says about his time with the business…

“When I applied for the role at Brixham it was only a 5-minute walk from home and ideal for me! I worked happily there with John King, the store manager for nearly 16 years. Then an opportunity came up for the manager position in Torquay which I went for and was successful – I’ve been here ever since. In between working, I love to spend time with my wife, children and dog and I also manage the Brixham Rugby Club Colts, so I am always very busy.”

Congratulations Ben and thank you for your many years working with us!

Huge congratulations to our dedicated Store Manager, Chris Dowers, for reaching an incredible milestone of 30 years with Brewers! Chris has primarily worked in Banbury but also supported many other stores over the years.

Chris’ career with Brewers began through an acquisition from E. Milner (Oxford) Ltd. Before joining us, he braved the cold as an inventory clerk for Iceland Frozen Foods.

Throughout the years, it’s the people (both staff and customers) and Brewers’ family values that have kept Chris committed. A highlight for him was his role as a trainer in 2012, where he visited over 50 stores and met many fantastic individuals.

One memorable moment was when a customer bought a large pair of platform steps and our rep accidentally reversed over them! Luckily, the customer saw the funny side, and we promptly replaced them!

Chris extends his gratitude to everyone he has worked with, from store colleagues to head office teams, making his time at Brewers fulfilling and enjoyable. He looks forward to possibly retiring to the seaside with his supportive partner, Maria. Here’s to more happy years ahead!