About Us

Nigel Birch

Managing Director

Nigel has been the MD of Birch for 31 years and in his own words ‘he doesn’t look old enough!’. In those 31 years, Nigel has worked on many campaigns but one in particular sticks in his memory. A customer came to us for a brand label but ended up having 2 million bottles of water after we knew we could source the water, print the label and arrange delivery to their network, whilst storing them all for their ongoing requirements.

Outside of work, one of Nigel’s perfect scenarios would be sat watching Only Fools and Horses after devouring roast lamb, roast potatoes and mint sauce! Cushty!

If you didn’t know Nigel years ago, you’d never have known he used to have thick hair. Back on his wedding day he could rival Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Andrea Priestley

Sales Director

Andrea has been at Birch even longer than Nigel! She looks after our customers and seeks out new ones as well as work alongside Nigel to plan the business strategy.

Andrea loves fashion and some of her favourite projects involve the beautiful POS promotional material we produce for brands such as Eyespace’s Aspinal of London and Sunday Somewhere. She vividly remembers picking and packing Zara signage the day before Christmas Eve to land in stores ahead of the Boxing Day sale!

Andrea’s ideal day would be spent watching her two boys play football, followed by pottering in her garden and doing some Yoga.

Not many people know this but Andrea has a Grade 7 in piano and despite being scared of heights, she has recently taken flight on a Zip wire through the Welsh mountains.

Rich Johnston

Key Account Manager

Rich manages sales for some of our biggest customers and ensures each project is delivered successfully. His favourite project was for the DPD Group’s CEO’s 30th Anniversary. They wanted to hand out a staff pack that showcased their company values. It involved a bespoke premium tray with lid and slip case, gold pin badges, personalised certificates and the storage of all the goods for a monthly pick and pack.

Rich used to be a professional wrestler, but now we’re more likely to find him eating a Domino’s Meteor on a double decadence base, and watching a Disney musical with his kids!

Jenny Birch

Account Executive

Jenny processes numerous Birch customer account orders and ensures each order is booked into production and dispatched in good time. One of Jenny’s favourite projects was the DPD chocolate brownie campaign. A huge amount of delicious brownies were delivered to numerous depots (and we got to eat the leftovers!) Jenny loves Thai food and will eat anything that’s chocolate, she’s not fussy.

Jenny adores being around her family and is always inspired by her husband and kids.

Mark Jones

Warehouse Manager

Mark spends his day in our Warehouse making sure our orders are picked, packed and shipped in good time. He’s one of the longer standing members of the Birch team, having graced our warehouse floor for 17 years. The best part of his day is meeting deadlines and sitting down with a nice cuppa and custard cream.

In his earlier days, Mark was pleased to have achieved a silver medal in the National PKA Kickboxing competition but admits that he’s definitely retired from that now, preferring to spend his free days walking miles along the coast lines.

Gary Hickman

Warehouse Operative

In his own words Gary is a Logistics Legend. He’s a hard working guy who enjoys working with the Birch team. He’s also a pretty skilful goal keeper too. He saved a Wayne Rooney penalty back in the day!

Gary has fond memories of his childhood holidays in good old Skeggie (Skegness!) and will happily spend time anywhere where there is a nice view. He loves his Mum’s world famous beef stew and a cheeky glass of cognac too!

Gary is a big animal lover and if he won the lottery he’d buy a house with lots of land and rescue as many dogs as he can.

Anna Shipstone

Head of Finance

Anna works closely with Julie our Finance Manager, keeping financial tasks on track and a second eye on the purse strings. When she’s not focusing on numbers, you’ll find Anna enjoying a lovely glass of wine and spending time with her family. She loves to take in the spectacular views and ambience of the North Yorkshire coast. You’re likely to find her in Whitby’s finest steak restaurant! Anna has been struck by lightning once but is still here to tell the tale thankfully!

Anna brightens up the Birch office with her smile and is a dedicated, focused and methodical member of the team.

Holly Law

Marketing Executive

Holly’s main day to day involves managing and coordinating Birch’s marketing activity; from creating content to coordinating digital marketing projects. Holly has an eclectic history, starting with her work in BBC television production, producing videos and digital project management.

Most of Holly’s time is spent with her inquisitive toddler but if the chance arises she’ll be sat watching an absurdly unique documentary with a glass of red wine, cheese and crackers and her tabby cat, Darcy. Holly loves to walk, jog, swim and in particular loves to practice Yoga, which helps her to manage the ups and downs of life!

Debra Yates

Studio Technician

As the Birch team’s in-house Studio Technician, Deb lends her creativity and design expertise to every print project in our studio. She has a keen eye for detail and enjoys preparing artwork ready for print.

Outside of work, Deb’s claim to fame is appearing in the first series of The Bidding Room, selling an Art Deco enamel cigarette box. According to Deb, Nigel Havers is as smooth as he appears onscreen!

Deb is a bit of a motorhead and one of her favourite holidays was watching the MotoGP whizz by in Aragon, Spain, in 2016. Deb is a savoury girl at heart, preferring to munch on a packet of crisps or a bag of chips, but if she had to choose a biccie, she’d go for the classic ginger!

Ollie Wheway

Estimator

Ollie prepares quotes for our primary accounts and oversees some of our key projects. He’s the cheery voice at the end of the phone for many of our customers and suppliers. Ollie is inspired by the team he works with and enjoys it when the team get together to celebrate the wins!

Ollie loves the atmospheric vibes of NYC, sipping on a glass (or bottle) of vino, and enjoying a hearty Rib-Eye Steak! In his spare time Ollie can be spotted down the driving range honing his skills, or on a rainy day he might be inside watching House of Cards with a packet of chocolate Hobnobs.

Natasha Bowen

Account Executive

Tash loves a good old chit chat so working as an Account Executive is her ideal job! Talking to clients and suppliers is what she enjoys most about her role. We work with some luxurious fashion clients and Tash particularly loves working on William Morris’ eyewear projects because of their beautiful artwork.

Tash has fond memories of her childhood holidays in Devon and loves spending time with her family and friends. It’s fair to say Tash must have tingling tastebuds. From sour sweeties to a classic Prawn Cocktail, Tash loves a range of tastes.

Becky Douglas

Account Executive

Becky handles enquiries and requests from various clients to ensure orders are delivered on time and to a high standard. Becky enjoys the creative side of her role, working with a wide range of artwork passing through production. Becky worked on the Clogau Jewellery store window vinyls and loved working with such beautiful artwork.

Becky is a stickler for good manners and has a cool, calm and collected approach to any challenges that come her way. She’s a home bird and loves to spend time down in Essex with her family and friends. If she could only eat one thing for the rest of her days it would be Macaroni Cheese with a chocolate digestive probably chucked in for dessert!

Ellie Teague

Assistant to Sales Director

Ellie loves the variation and fast pace at Birch and enjoys supporting Andrea by helping to coordinate an elective mix of print projects. When Ellie’s not in the office you’re most likely to find her munching away on a McDonald’s Chicken Nugget meal watching her favourite soap – Emmerdale.

Ellie’s little daughter is the apple of her eye and inspires Ellie every day, but every now and again Ellie craves a bit of peace and quiet with a nice cuppa and a Foxes Cream Crunch or two.

Bright and bubbly by nature, Ellie is more than meets the eye. She’s a black stripe in Tae Kwon do!

Jade Mitchell

Customer Service & Production Support

Jade is great with customers and supports our fulfilment team to ensure products are diligently picked, packed and dispatched on time. She considers fulfilment to be a project in itself and works hard to make the process as efficient as possible for our customers.

Outside of work Jade loves getting creative with the paint brush in between juggling busy family life. Jade loves to go on family holidays, especially to Wales and loves nothing more than a cup of tea and a freshly baked cookie after a busy day in the office.

Rachael Thompson

Production Support

Rachael is part of our friendly production team, helping to pick and pack items and dispatch goods to where they need to be. She enjoys the down-to-earth atmosphere at Birch and working with a lovely bunch of people.

Rachael is a massive beach fan and although Hawaii is her favourite holiday destination it’s probably a bit too far to live. The coastal delights of Devon is her home from home and her goal is to eventually reside by the sea. She loves simple comfort food like Nachos and a good old chocolate hobnob. Let’s hope she’s able to eat those quietly though, because her biggest pet peeve is people who eat loudly!

Nicola Beer

Production Support

Nic brings her cheery personality to the Fulfilments & Logistics team helping with the daily picking and packing of our customer’s online orders.

Nic is a massive music fan and admits to playing it far too loudly, but none of that matters when she’s at her favourite place, Glastonbury Festival!

When she’s not listening to music very loudly, she’s probably at home with her family enjoying a Sunday Roast, in fact Nic would eat a Sunday Roast everyday of her life!

Despite being held up by an armed robber in a previous role, Nic likes to find something good in every day and that’s usually a bit of shortbread with a cuppa.