Ever conscious of each touchpoint at an event, we know we have your full attention when you’ve been excused - the perfect spot to communicate key messages when you are…err… away from the action. You’ll also find Forgather sprucing with our favourite spritzes (think Jo Malone Basil and Verbena or Creed Irish Tweed) and do look out for our most creative wordcraft on your next visit…
On our travels around London and beyond, nature sometimes calls – and it’s common knowledge that inspiration can strike at the most unlikely of moments. Here’s our ode to the loo doors that have caught our attention.
The practical one
How to sit on the loo may seem a no-brainer for us, but in many other cultures, the raised commode supposedly created by Thomas Crapper in 1836 presents more of an inconvenience to their habitual position. I learnt this working with international students who would hover or balance awkwardly to avoid sitting royally. Faced with what I thought was a dirty rebellion against rising tuition fees, I did my research only to find I wasn’t alone – cultural differences in bathroom etiquette are a widespread cause of stereotyping, poor hygiene and importantly comfort. The solution: this handy guide from a well-known bank.
The sad one
Mental health is a hot topic and a matter close to our hearts. Read one of our favourite blogs here. Sadly, toilets are typically the place people seek solace in their moment of pain or need – so what better place for some gentle signposting to ease you back on the right track. Monzo makes mental health a part of everyday life by encouraging their staff to talk about it and placing mental health first aid kits around the office. Inside you’ll find - colouring books, walking routes outside, calming playlists, gratitude cards and office dogs (although they don’t actually live in the box).
The ethical one
Seen one of these before? Next time you’re dropping the kids off take a moment to appreciate your loo as 2.3 billion people (roughly 40% of the global population) don’t have a safe place to go to the toilet. Why does this matter? Around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation.
So make like Forgather client and HR analytics expert Peakon and adopt Toilet Twinning which helps flush away poverty by funding projects in poor communities. Who said you can’t make a difference by just sitting there?
And to make for even better office chat, the toilet paper I use is called Who Gives a Crap. It is made from recycled paper (no trees involved) and donates 50% of its profits to fund toilets and wipe away unnecessary deaths and illness caused by poor hygiene.
The beautiful one
And to end on something more tasteful - we’ve all seen our fair share of love notes, life epiphanies and frankly sh*t lines scrawled on the back of loo doors, but these beauties at Tara Arts made us want to sit and stay a while. Stepping into a world of colour at this multicultural theatre in London, where they’ve bled their culture into every orifice and helped brighten those places the light normally don’t shine.
