December 2021 - A message from the CEO

Adam King, CEO

For myself and the entire team at Harvey Maps, it has been a fun and incredibly rewarding year.

That's not to say it has been straightforward, far from it. The extraordinary circumstances of 2020 and the pandemic have persisted in playing a major part this past twelve months - but we have continued to work hard at what we do best.

When I reflect on the challenges we have faced as a business this past year, such as further lockdowns, restricted access to the outdoors, global supply issues and more, I remind myself of the industry we operate in and how fortunate we are to be plying our trade in the outdoors and creating products that allow people the opportunity to escape and explore the world around them.

This concept played a major part in my introduction to working with maps some years ago, and ever since, a map has always been something to be cherished. It can be read like a book, or admired like a picture. Both fascinating and factual, maps have always been the starting point to another adventure and often tell a tale or two.

Throughout the past year I have been fortunate enough to meet with many people from all walks of life, and I am always delighted by the feedback we receive on our products. In challenging times, it is often the positivity of our customers that inspire us to work hard, and as a team we enjoy seeing how and where our maps have been used.

This idea of journey was summed up perfectly by one of our customers, Lizzie Buchanan, whose tale of her lost and subsequently found Knoydart British Mountain Map over a nine-month period or so in 2021, is a beautiful microcosm of many of the success stories I think of when looking back at the year.

It is clear from Lizzie's story that the outdoors is her passion and her escape, something we can all relate to when we think of how COVID-19 has impacted our lives. She, like myself, cherishes her map and relies on it for guidance, safety, but also to connect her to the world around her. That it was found by someone she had never met, who contacted her so she could be reunited with her treasured possession, illustrates more than ever why we need people to connect to, and is another wonderful metaphor of that which was celebrated when lockdowns and social restrictions were lifted earlier in the year.

And so, thinking ahead to 2022 and beyond, it feels once again potentially perilous to look too far ahead. But as we plan our business for the next twelve months, we can look back on 2021 as an example of what can be achieved under difficult circumstances and as evidence of our strengths as a team and the common values our staff enjoy - the great outdoors, creativity and a desire to explore.

Next year, I plan to set foot outdoors in the same vein as I did in this one, and it is my hope that our customers will join me and continue to impress us with their personality, achievements and appreciation of the work and art we all love to create.

With best wishes for 2022,

Adam King
CEO




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