West Wales welterweight Dale Evans just missed out on claiming the first Prizefighter trophy of 2013 narrowly missing out in the last stage to Sunderland’s Glenn Foot. Dale along with his competitor had both been undefeated coming into the event, but it was Foot who maintained his record after a great night of boxing at Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall.

Dale of course was wearing his newly embroidered and printed boxing shorts, courtesy of us here at GF. Evans felt unsurprisingly hard done by as his opponent got the nod on a split decision, due to his slightly higher work-rate and quality right hands. Dale felt he had done enough but I’m sure he will bounce back under the watchful eye of coach Gary ‘The Rocketman’ Lockett.

Evans had beaten the bookies favourite coming into the event Mark Thompson and youngster Sam Egginton in the previous rounds. The Welshman from St Clears thoroughly deserved to win both fights as he controlled the fights with his superior hand speed.

Many of us here at GF Europe are avid Cardiff City supporters and the news pre-season was somewhat of a shock. The new Malaysian owners decided to completely rebrand the club leaving many supporters with both red faces and red shirts. The move followed after several discussions between club directors and Malaysian investors Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Dato Chan Tien Ghee. The changes were introduced as part of "major and significant" investment by the Championship club's Malaysian owners.

The idea behind the rebranding was to exploit and maximise the ‘Cardiff City’ brand and commercial revenues in the growing Asian markets. The rebranding provoked disappointment and anger among many fans of the club. Many supporters refused to reorder season tickets; one fan even went as far as to auction off his support on ebay to any other football club. The badge was also changed from the traditional 113 year old bluebird crest to a red dragon with the phrase ’Fire and Passion’ underneath it.

The reaction from the city fans showed that despite serious financial gain they would rather keep tradition; wearing blue with the embroidered bluebird badge on the left chest. This goes to show how important a badge is to people. A lot of memories and meanings can be assigned to a badge; the Bluebird badge was worn when we won the F.A cup in 1927. The Bluebird badge was also worn when we were growing up and supporting the team as children. The Bluebird crest gave everyone a sense of belonging; it represented the history and tradition of the club. But that is no longer! 

But this season is the start of a new stronger Cardiff City team both on the pitch and financially. Although the badge has changed, we are still the same club. We have the same supporters, the same team and the same history. I’m sure the phrases ‘Cardiff City Redbirds’ or ‘Fire and Passion’ will not stick in a hurry. But a fresh start has given Cardiff City FC a new lease of life and we are currently sitting pretty at the top of the table.

At GF we supply many teams with badges; creating a sense of pride in the community. Badge making is a skill we have developed over thirty years. We produce quality computer programs which deliver high class designs using only the very best materials.  For a high quality, low cost badge making service then call GF today on 02920 755733, visit our eshop or send an email to info@goldenfinishes.com. 

In the medieval times badges were popularly worn as jewellery, and they soon developed to be a necessity for officials and servants. By the 19th century a badge became an essential part of most uniforms, whether it was for school, work or society.   People need a visible sign to show that they are involved or associated with a team. Badges could be metal, paper or fabric, and Golden Finishes Europe has been mostly concerned with the latter. We started badge making in 1989, and we are now one of the largest UK badge makers, creating all kinds of textile badges - embroidered, printed, blank (ready to be printed), and woven badges.

There was a time when embroidery was perceived as an art form, but now with advanced digital technology, you have the choice of customizing the badges to be exactly what you want at a reasonable cost.  Embroidered badges are suitable for everyone. They can be promotional to advertise a business, unique for social or sporting clubs, or smart for school and work uniforms. The list is endless. These days marketing is all about brand awareness.   Embroidery has been noted to give a better effect in publicity photographs and it lasts longer. Embroidery goes on top of the fabric with a needle and thread, which modern machines process efficiently. The badges can therefore be a cost effective way of leaving a lasting, positive impression.

Badges are also associated with pride in belonging, and this is true for all sports clubs and associations. Every team or club needs an identifiable logo so that they can stand out from all the rest.  Not only are embroidered badges used as the perfect way to promote and highlight your group, but they can also be a great way to reward achievement and make members feel that extra bit special. Badges can be sewn; velcro or ironed on (with textile adhesive attached) to most materials. 

What is the difference between embroidered badges and woven badges?

Woven badges are made from warp and weft threads to create the design within the fabric. You can produce high quantities with woven badges. Because of the weave, very fine detail can be achieved. Embroidery is done with needle and threads onto made fabric. Nowadays we use machines and computers to produce both embroidered and woven badges. Print uses inks and dyes in production. Whether it is screen printing or sublimation, images can be produced and each system has advantages and disadvantages. The new technology allows us to produce photographic quality and full colour which are long lasting and good for washing. It all comes down to personal choice.

Embroidered and printed badges have a similar cost and are suitable for everyone. They have different styles and appearances which you can customize to your own enjoyment, so it all depends on what exactly you are looking for. No matter which one you pick, you can guarantee that GF Europe will provide you with high-quality badges that you can keep forever!!

We almost jumped with joy when Flair Gymnastics asked us to put together these trampolining printed badges, but then we decided to leave the jumping to the professionals while we stuck to what we were good at: creating high-quality printed badges.

Flair Gymnastics teach both children and adults to trampoline and their whole undertaking puts a real spring in our step! Cleverly, Flair’s printed badges both promote the club to the outside world, but also encourage their members to improve.

Not only do Flair’s printed badges celebrate their member’s trampolining successes but they also serve as a reward scheme to push their members to reach new heights! The printed badges we made for Flair come in a huge range of colours to represent different levels within the club. Fortunately, all of Golden Finishes's printed and embroidered products, including our printed badges, come in a whole spectrum of colours so we could create different printed badges for every trampolining level!

If Flair Gymnastic’s members decide to add their printed badges to their trampolining gear they can bounce away, happy in the knowledge that the high quality of our printed badges means that they will last and stay looking great no matter how high they jump!

To find out more about creating printed badges to promote or inspire your club, team, school or society, take a look through our website. Our printed badges are really easy to create and put together. Just upload your text, images and instructions and we will make you a fantastic selection of printed badges!