Podcasts about thanks anna

Anna V. joined Point To Retrieve Podcast to discuss the life of a Female Upland Hunter, Her passion behind running pointers in trials, Georgia Hunting, along with trials in Wisconsin. She has a deep love for running dogs! She represents the fact that girls can do it, and do it better! Thanks Anna for your time! 

New Kong up now! @anna.caceress I talk with Anna Caceras. Anna is currently working at CNN were she also interned. We talk about manifestations, eat pray love and pitching! Thanks Anna!

First follower request done.  Thanks Anna for the pick. 

Heirloom KitchenBy Anna Francese Gass Intro: Welcome to the Cookery by the Book Podcast with Suzy Chase. She's just a home cook in New York city, sitting at her dining room table talking to cookbook authors.Anna: Hi, this is Anna Francese Gass and my cookbook is Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories from the Tables of Immigrant Women.Suzy Chase: I don't think we as Americans acknowledge enough how the cooking traditions of immigrant women have left a legacy on the American palate. Talk a bit about how you've cooked with grandmother around the country to compile this cookbook.Anna: Yeah, I mean, I think it was kind of a aha moment for me as well. I grew up in an Italian home. My mother came over from Italy. I actually was with her. I was one years old, and my mother always cooked the food of her homeland and that's what I grew up eating. I was obviously very aware of American food. I loved "American Food" but in our house it's all those staples from the Italian kitchen because that's what my mother grew up eating. That's what she knew how to cook. What happened when I did the project and when I started it, I realized, but I guess I always ... We all kind of know this unconsciously, we just don't talk or think about it, but immigrants from all over the world that come here do that exact same thing. No one is coming over from China and starting to cook meatloaf and steak. They continue to make their homeland foods, and because these women did that, starting all the way back from when immigrations really began in this country, that's how we created this amazing diverse food landscape that we call American food.Anna: I mean, if you think about meatballs, okay yes, their origin is Italian and that's where the women learned how to make them, but when you go out and you have spaghetti and meatballs, I mean you can have that at almost any restaurant. I think spaghetti and meatballs is as American as apple pie, so to speak, but the reason that is, the reason we've accepted these things into our culture is because nobody stopped making those foods the minute they came over here into the US.Suzy Chase: So let's move on to the women who immigrated to the United States that are in this cookbook. What was the process of getting introductions to these 45 women?Anna: So what happened was so nice, is that it really spread word of mouth. The way the whole project started was I just wanted to get my mom's recipes written down. I'm a recipe tester by trade. That's what I do for my living. I do it primarily out of my home and I love my job, but I realized I didn't have any of my mom's recipes written down, none of those were standardized and I really wanted to cherish and keep those recipes forever. My mom still cooks when we go over on Sunday, so there was never that need to learn, but then I realized that there's gonna be a day that my daughter wants to know how to learn ... Excuse me. Wants to know how to make those recipes, or her daughter, and you know, my mother isn't always gonna be able to cook them. So we started as a project, a family project, and I created a family cookbook, and then I had a moment that I thought, "Wow. I have all these friends from all over the world, many first generation kids. This is a service I could provide. This would be a fun blog. This is something I could do as a hobby." So this all started out with just a blog.Anna: So I sent an email to literally every friend I had with a first generation background, and the response was overwhelming. Everyone said, "Oh my goodness. I want you to cook with my mom. I want these recipes recorded." It was like a service I was providing. I was getting to learn all these authentic homeland foods, and they were getting recorded recipes. Then they were all gonna go up on the blog so I could share them. Once the project started and my blog really took off, then word of mouth created the next opportunity. So I was cooking with Iraqi woman for example, and she said to me halfway through cooking, "You really need to cook with my friend [Sheri 00:04:19]. She's Persian. She makes the most amazing Tahdig. You need to know how to make that." She made that introduction, and so on and so forth. So it started with friends and then, like the last couple of women I cooked with, I didn't even know the children. It was just that word of mouth.Suzy Chase: It's so funny, I was gonna ask you if these recipes were hard to get, but it just seems like it was just effortless and it just happened.Anna: It just happened, and you know, it's so funny because people will say, "Oh, grandma's secrets." Or, "My grandma would always tell people the wrong ingredients or the wrong measurements because she didn't want anyone to make it just like her." Or, "This was secret." I didn't encounter that once. It was, "Let me share this with you, I want you to get it perfect. We can make it again." I mean, there were times that I had to follow up, because I'm in there with a pad and paper scribbling as they're throwing things in the pot, and then when I went home and recipe tested it, it's like, "Wait a minute. Was it, did this go first? Did that go first?" So sometime I'd call and say, "I just want to make sure I'm getting this right." And everyone was more than willing to just sit on the phone with me to make sure it was absolutely perfect, and these women were with me during the cookbook process too, because then a recipe tester has a question, or a copy editor has a question, and I don't know if it was luck, but I came across the most generous women I could've ever encountered.Suzy Chase: What's one new tip that you learned from a grandma you met along the way? Maybe a life tip or a cooking tip.Anna: Wow, there's a lot. I feel like I learned so much in each kitchen. I learned first of all, I should probably take a step back. Once I went to the first home, it was a Greek woman Nelly in Long Island. We start making her pastitsio, her Greek dishes, and just by accident I said, "Hey Nelly, why did you come to the US?" And she just started telling me her immigration story, and while she was telling me this story, I'm thinking about how it's similar to my mom, or different, but the threads are the same, and I thought to myself, "This is just as important as the recipe, because why she came here and how this all came about is so important to just our historical oral knowledge of all these women." So I started writing down immigration questions before I went to the next appointment, because I wanted to know exactly why each women came here, and the stories were dynamic, and incredible, and inspiring, and that ended up going up on the blog too.Anna: Just the fact, if you think about when you go on a trip today, right? You go on trip advisor, you ask you mom friends, you do all these different things before you head out, so that when you show up at your location destination, you're an expert. These women didn't have that. There was no world wide web, there was no cellphone, pictures or whatever. They just packed their bags and went. One of the women said to me, because [inaudible 00:07:31], "What made you do it? What made you get up one day and say, 'You know what? I'm leaving everything I know. I'm leaving my family, I'm leaving my friends and I'm going to this mysterious place to start a new life.'" And she said, "You know, what people from the US don't realize is the US is so enchanting. When you're not from here and you think about The United States Of America, there's a dream there. There's a dream to be had." And I just found that so special, and I think as Americans it's something that we should embrace and understand that we're so lucky to be here, and it's why other people want to come.Anna: So just that tenacity, that courage, I just found so inspiring.Suzy Chase: So in Heirloom Kitchen, it's organized with the recipe, a story, and a lesson. Talk a little bit about that.Anna: When I went in and I was pitching cookbooks to all the different editors at all the different publishers, that was very important to me. I said, "I understand I'm sitting here. I am proposing a cookbook to you, but I think the only way that this is really gonna work and is really gonna be as special as I want it to be is if we also share the women's immigration story, because I think that's half the story." I'll tell you, when I'm making the recipes, I think about the women and I think about their story. I learned a whole bunch of different cooking techniques, for example the Palestinian women taught me how to make Maqluba, and Maqluba means, in Arabic means upside down. So it's this rice dish that you make in a pot and then at the end, when it's all done, you literally flip it upside down and you take it out of the pot and you're left with this mold, and I will tell you, I made a couple of that, did not work, but phone calls back and forth, I figured out how to do it and it's so satisfying when you turn this pot upside down and this beautiful, delicious, rice dish comes out.Anna: So I just think that the book is what it is because you are getting the lessons and the stories, and the recipe all broken down for you, and obviously categorized by continent.Suzy Chase: Your mother is in this cookbook. I found it interesting that she wanted nothing to do with pre-packaged frozen dinners that were the rage when we were growing up, and they were supposed to make our mom's lives easier.Anna: Yeah. I have the chicken pot pie story in there because I think it's quintessential immigrant mother lure. I think that it's very funny and I think that a lot of people will also really relate to it. Yes, I mean, when we were kids all I wanted was a Marie Callender's chicken pot pie. I watched the commercial, it looked so delicious, and why did I have to eat this Italian food every night when I all wanted was this chicken pot pie? So she relented and bought it, and cooked it incorrectly because she didn't read the directions. She just kinda threw it in the oven and that was the end of our chicken pot pie, but I think for my mother, and especially, it's hard to make generalization, but for at least the women that cooked with, the immigrant women that I cooked with, is they value the food that they create so much that the pre-packaged ready in five minute meals, what you were saving in time, it wasn't enough.Anna: It wasn't enough for them to say, "Okay, you know what? Forget my stuff, I'm just gonna do this." And it's funny, the women from Ghana told me that there were times her daughter would say to her, "Mom, we want to take you out to eat tonight. Let's just go out. We don't want you to cook. Let's just relax." And her mom's like, "No. I'd much rather eat my food. I don't need restaurant food." And I laughed when she told me that 'cause my mom doesn't like going out to eat either.Suzy Chase: Really?Anna: So funny. I think it's a common thread because there's so much pride in what they're creating, and it does keep them tethered to their homeland, which is still so very special to them. The cover of the book is my mom making Tagliatelle, which is a hand-cut Italian pasta, and I watched my grandmother make them, and obviously my mom grew up watching her mother make them, and when my mom makes Tagliatelle, we think about my grandmother who is obviously now past, but it's just so nice to have that memory and eat food that tastes exactly like how my grandmother used to make it.Suzy Chase: The story that you told about your mom really shows that she viewed her new American identity as an extension of her Italian identity.Anna: Yes. Absolutely. I think when they came here, these women, right? They were very brave, and they learned English, and I talk about my mom getting her citizenship and going to ESL classes to become an American. That's very important to them and they're proud to be American, but they also needed to create kind of like a safe haven. You go out in the world, you have an accent, you're an immigrant, everyone knows that, so when you come home at night, what's gonna make you feel safe? What's gonna make you feel comfortable? It's your food. The minute you start cooking and the meatballs are bubbling, or you have the rice cooking, or whatever it is that you made back in the homeland that you're now making here, food transports you. I can get transported to the past just as much as it gives you energy to catapult you into the future.Suzy Chase: I think my very favorite photo is on the inside page of the cookbook. It's the one of the hands forming either ravioli or some sort of dumpling. It's fascinating how you're drawn, how I was drawn, to this woman in the photo. Is that your mom?Anna: No. So that is Tina, and she is making traditional Chinese dumplings, and she makes everything from scratch and then she just sits there and pleats all these dumplings and they all look exactly the same and they're perfect. What I love about ... But first of all, my photographer Andrew Scrivani was just a genius. He is a genius and he does a lot of work for The Times, and it's because he's so wildly talented, but his whole thing was, "I want to see hands." This is food that you make with your hands. Nobody pulled out a food processor, nobody used their Kitchenaid. It was rolling pins, hands, mixing spoons. I had women using mixing spoons that they literally brought over from their country. They hold up a spoon and say, "This spoon is 45 years old." But that's the food of our grandmothers, right? They didn't have all these gadgets. They weren't sous vide, they weren't hot pot. So that was very important in the cookbook, to have a lot of hands, and I'm so happy that you were drawn to that photo because it is so tangible, right? Like you feel like you're standing right next to her while she's pleating these dumplings.Anna: She told me that, so they make Chinese dumplings every New Year, and what I love about this story is, she said that the women would get up, and they make the filling, and they make hundreds of them. So all the women in the neighborhood would come together and sit down and while they're pleating the dumplings, they gossip. So it'd just be a totally gossip day making [crosstalk 00:15:14] for dinner.Suzy Chase: I love it. On Saturday I made the recipe for tomato sauce with meatballs on page 25. Was this your grandmother's recipe?Anna: Yes. To be honest with you, it was probably my great-grandmother's recipe. My mother also spent a lot of time with her maternal and paternal grandmothers, and they all had the same techniques to make all these different dishes. So yes, the Brodo di Mama, which is mom's tomato sauce, and the Polpette, which is meatballs, come from a very long line of women. My grandmother did a couple things that were different. One, as you know, she uses some of the sauce in the meatball mixture, which we feel makes them very tender, and there's no pre-frying or pre-baking, which I know a lot of people do. These meatballs just get simmered right in the sauce, which not only does it eliminate a step, once again, we think it makes a very light and airy meatball.Suzy Chase: At the very beginning of this recipe you steep garlic, basil and olive oil. I feel like this is like the magical secret ingredient to this dish.Anna: Yes. By creating, and almost kind of liking it to a T, because you're infusing this olive oil at a very low temperature to kind of marry all of those delicious ingredients, so that once you ultimately strain the garlic and the basil out, you're left with a very aromatic olive oil, which is the base of the sauce. Now, my grandmother was obviously a trend setter in her day because now you can buy so many infused olive oils.Suzy Chase: What do you tell people who see a recipe, or who will see a recipe in this cookbook, and think, "That's not how my mother makes it."Anna: Oh, I'm so glad that you asked that question, and actually, if you read the very beginning of the book, I do address that because I think we play a lot nowadays with the word authentic, I know you probably hear that word all the time.Suzy Chase: All the time.Anna: And you know, what really is authentic? How could we really put our finger on that, right? So what I'm saying is these are my mom's meatballs. She's from Calabria, it's very similar to the way in her mom's village probably made them, but you know when you get in the kitchen, that's your recipe, and you might, your husband might not like garlic, or your son doesn't like the pinch of hot pepper flakes so you eliminate that. So I think, what I would love this book to do for people is kind of like the way I look at any cookbook or even food magazine, is use it as a jumping off point. Let it stimulate in you those memories of your grandmother. So let's say for example you're Greek and you buy this cookbook because you want to know how to make Spanakopita, and then when you get to it you said, "Wait a minute, my grandmother didn't use cottage cheese, she used ricotta." Or whatever it is, but it gets those creative juices flowing, it gets those memories flowing, and that's what I really want this to do.Anna: I do want you to try the recipes in the book. They are phenomenal, they are delicious, they're grandma's greatest hits, because everyone gave me theirs best dishes, but don't fret if it's not just like your grandmother, because your grandmother was special and she made things her way, just like these grandmothers made it their way and hopefully it just creates a new, that nostalgia for the homeland foods.Suzy Chase: Grandma's greatest hits. I love that. I think the main sentiment in this cookbook is maintaining the culture of our origin countries was not a statement, it simply created the comfort of home in a new place. I think we all deserve the comfort of home.Anna: Absolutely, and I think whether you're cooking a recipe from Poland, or literally you're just making your kids some brownies after school, I think that that's what food does for us. Food is the one thing that we all had in common. No matter who you are, how important, everyone has to eat, right? So it's this common thread amongst every single person on the planet, and it does provide comfort. When you're hungry, all you want to do, all you think about is what you're gonna eat. I know for my kids, the things that I make that they feel are very special, or when I'm eating something in mom's house in a Sunday that she made when I was a little kid and I can think about those days. It's why I think the term comfort food was created, right? Because food provides comfort.Suzy Chase: Now to my segment called my last meal. What would you eat for your last supper?Anna: I think going on what I just said, I think my last meal would have to be something that my mom cooks for me, because when I'm eating something that my mom made, I know that that bowl of food is not only just filled with nutrients and everything I need physically, there is so much there emotionally for me, and it's filled with her love and her care, and everything that she wants me to have. One of the women that I cooked with said, "A mother is full when the children have eaten." And I think about that every day because I think that's the most important gift our mother give us, is nourishment and the memories of our childhood through food.Suzy Chase: Where can we find you on the web and social media?Anna: My website is annasheirloomkitchen.com and I'm very active also on Instagram, and I'm at @annafgass. So at A-N-N-A, F as in Frank, G-A, S as in Sam, S as in Sam.Suzy Chase: Heirloom Kitchens shows us that America truly is the land of opportunity. Thanks Anna for coming on Cookery by the Book Podcast.Anna: Thanks Suzy. This was great.Outro: Follow Suzy Chase on Instagram @cookerybythebook, and subscribe at cookerybythebook.com or in Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening to Cookery by the Book Podcast, the only podcast devoted to cookbooks since 2015.

Summary:  Anna Istnick, Marketing Director of Global Banking Solutions at Diebold Nixdorf discusses self-service retail banking strategies with Diebold Nixdorf’s Brand Evangelist, Scott Anderson.   Resources: ATM Solution Fitness Assessment Blog: It's Time for Your ATM Solution's Annual Checkup: Take the Assessment   Transcription:  Anna Isnick:                        00:00                     Hello, and welcome to COMMERCE NOW, your source for fintech conversations, along with emerging trends in the banking and retail industries. I'm Anna Isnick, marketing director of global banking solutions at Diebold Nixdorf. I will be discussing self-service retail banking strategies with Diebold Nixdorf's brand evangelist, Scott Anderson. Welcome, Scott, and thanks for joining me today. Scott Anderson:               00:21                     Thanks Anna. It's great to be here. Anna Isnick:                        00:24                     To begin, would you mind telling our listeners a little bit about yourself and your background please? Scott Anderson:               00:29                     Sure. My background, I actually came from a retail banking history. I spent 10 years in a large financial institution, spanning everything from branch, call center, product management, you name it, and had a lot of great experience from a banker's point of view. I kinda get where they're coming from. I've probably spent the better part of 20 years in the self-service industry and working with folks like yourself over the last handful of years and looking at ways to help banks be more relevant in their consumers' minds. Anna Isnick:                        01:00                     That's awesome. With that breadth of experience that you have looking at things, Scott, from the view of the banker, what role do you see the self-service solution, or ATM, playing in the market today in 2019? Scott Anderson:               01:12                     That's a really great question and I think there are a few different lenses that the industry and bankers in particular, or even ATM deployers in general, can really look at the ATM, or self-service channel, through. First and foremost, I think the self-service channel is becoming way more strategically important to financial institutions. In particular, as they look at ways of engaging their customers on what is probably the most frequent touch point, that the customer engages with them physically. In addition to that, there are other financial institutions and deployers out there who really look at their ATM channel as a utility. It essentially dispenses cash. It was sort of the first branch transformation, if you will, 30, 40 years ago. I think what's really important when we think about that, equally to both camps, the importance of the ATM is critical, and the availability of that ATM and that trust factor that unattended 24/7 environment is going to be able to fulfill that consumer's need. Anna Isnick:                        02:11                     Do you see it focusing more on the self-service as an experience? Or you called it a utility as an expense for a financial institution. Scott Anderson:               02:19                     I think it can be both and I think it is both depending on who you talk to and where those financial institutions or deployers are in their journey of bank transformation. My opinion is that it is a strategic asset to a bank. If we look at the world of fintechs today, they are grasping at ways to enter the physical space and the physical world of their consumers. Banks have this huge opportunity to leverage one of their best assets, which is their physical presence being the ATM. Anna Isnick:                        02:50                     So true. How do you feel like, from a security standpoint, that FIs are looking to really ensure that that experience is secure? Scott Anderson:               02:58                     This is one of those areas where banks are grappling with very limited resources to be able to do what they need to do on a day-to-day basis. Security and protection of their brand in their consumers' eyes is critical. That's why I think it's important from a self-service channel perspective that not unlike having a vehicle, we don't let that go without being serviced on a regular basis. We don't let it go without rotating the tires. Most of us aren't even driving cars that are more than five or six years old. I think the ATM channel, because of the importance that it plays as a utility to dispense media and to accept media, but also as a strategic touch point, security and being up to date with security and making sure that that channel is fundamentally trusted by the consumer is critically important. Anna Isnick:                        03:50                     I totally agree with you on that. I was reading recently about cars and how they said now the cars may slowly decline in the world today because with Lyft and Uber and everything going on that there's gonna be fewer cars. Do you see that analogy with ATMs, or do you see them more as that strategic thought? Scott Anderson:               04:08                     I think there's a little bit of both going on there. My point of view is, until that last note or dollar is out of circulation, there really is going to be an ongoing need for ATMs. The management of cash and the ability to automate some of those processes instead of having that manual intervention that we have traditionally seen in the branches, the ATM will play a critical role. I don't think it's gonna go away. The operating model may change slightly. It may be, instead of owning it outright, maybe I rent that capability. Maybe I outsource that capability. Ultimately, the importance of that channel, both to fulfill the consumers' needs for cash, but also as that critical touch point in the strategic digital engagement model is still paramount. Anna Isnick:                        04:54                     You mentioned that cash and how cash is still relevant today. Taking that channel and making it more efficient, do you feel that recycling will continue to grow across the globe and maybe get some pickup in the United States? Scott Anderson:               05:07                     Yeah. That's a really interesting place. I know you spend a lot of time thinking about this as well and talking to some of the customers that you interface with on a regular basis. If we look outside of North America, recycling has really gotten a very large foothold. Because of the fact, most of the branch optimization, most of that getting automated processes off a teller line has taken place. Therefore, the ATM does a lot of heavy lifting for cash. As that becomes more and more prevalent in a certain environment, or an area, of the world, obviously cash management, cash in transit, all of those things that go along with more transaction through put on an ATM require us to think differently about how we manage the cash and the cash cycle with self-service. Scott Anderson:               05:55                     Therefore, I think cash recycling is a critical component to that, not only to reduce operational costs and the like, but also to ensure that when a customer wants to receive cash out of the machine, it's available for them, instead of having to worry about whether or not that ATM is out of cash, it's a long weekend. Looking at the business model to drive ways to say, "Hey. Recycling makes sense in these locations, maybe not this location," I think is gonna be very important going forward. Anna Isnick:                        06:24                     Yeah. That's a great point. I feel that cash is so relevant still. I was just spending some time in Europe. You could see there was a queue at every ATM that we went to, 'cause you always need cash. There was always this queue. When you get up there, you realize that they have different ATMs, the financial institutions: one for recycling, one for dispensing Euros, one would dispense US. It was all different currencies. They had different applications for each. I'm sure that banks are going to start looking at how do we make this more efficient and make more recycling possible. Scott Anderson:               06:57                     That's a really interesting point that you make because most of the industry would look towards Western Europe and the Nordics as saying, "Hey, they're going cashless." To your point, not so fast. I'd say that's a desire, perhaps, for a lot of payments in that environment, but cash still plays a very relevant role in most consumers' day-to-day lives. Therefore, it's important that there's a vehicle that is automated, secure, available 24/7 to be able to deliver that capability. Anna Isnick:                        07:29                     Right. I know that we do a lot together as we follow what they call the dash from cash going forward. We've seen, if you agree, Sweden, Africa, India, Asia, some of them are moving fast, but then they get slowed down a little bit just because of the regulations that have to go around and implementing it. Do you think that that is something that will impact the digitization of cash moving forward? Scott Anderson:               07:52                     I think, again, my crystal ball is cash is gonna be around for a long time. Will it be the predominant payment vehicle in every geography in the future? Probably not, but I do believe that it's going to continue to play a role. We have to look for ways to optimize that so that it's A, easy for the consumer. They don't wanna have to think about how, when, and where they're going to get cash, or make deposits for that matter, which is also critically important. Also, from the deployer's perspective, they need to look at ways that say, "How do I make this a more efficient channel for me? How do I take cost out of the equation?" And turn that model around to say, "Hey, this is actually a strategic value to me because as long as that customer needs to receive cash or deposit cash, it's an opportunity for me. It's a set of eyes on my brand to talk to them and to engage with them in a different way." Anna Isnick:                        08:47                     That's so important, the ATM's role. What do you feel about the financial institutions and the branches themselves? If their branches are going down are they right sizing and then the role of self-service in that? Scott Anderson:               09:00                     Yeah. You and I have talked at length about this and the importance of self-service as a transformative strategy for financial institutions. If we think about what's happened in other geographies that are, perhaps, a little bit more advanced than North America with transformation, such as Europe, the ATM is a bit of a utility in the sense that it's predominant factor is to manage media, so cash, both in and out. When we look at the opportunities are in front of the financial institutions in North America, we are still very much grappling with cost of the footprint, whether or not there's financial viability for a branch in a certain location or certain town. I think the ATM plays in a critical role, because it can be a part of that transformative branch footprint while that branch is operational. Therefore, it's part of being in the branch as part of the cash mechanism and engagement model. When that branch is either right sized, optimized, maybe even closed, it's a great leave behind strategy where the ATM can actually be the branch. With the connectivity that the ATM now offers with middleware capabilities and transaction engine-like capabilities, the API world, we can now connect into various parts of the bank without being bogged down by that legacy of having just a standard protocol to a switch. Anna Isnick:                        10:29                     Wow. You said that beautifully. That's a lot of things that we feel really strongly about, is the ATM in the branch or does it serve as the branch? Serving as the branch, do you feel that with the open APIs it's gonna make automating of more transactions, not just focusing on cash, but really migrating other services and interactions to that self-service device as a more cost efficient way for the FI to operate? Scott Anderson:               10:52                     Absolutely. I think this is where it becomes that strategic touch point, because if it is the leave behind strategy, or if it is the market entry strategy for some FIs who are looking to expand their footprint, it can't just be about cash and dash. It needs to be about an engagement model that says, "Allow me to interact with this physical presence as I would in my digital world with the bank, or even, perhaps, with a face-to-face person in the branch." It needs to have that connectivity to all aspects of the financial services organization. I'd take it one step further. It's more than omni channel in this sense, because we need to start thinking about that consumer may wanna do other things with other third parties, or other apps. The ATM can then be that vehicle that ties it all together and allows them to interact with their financial institution and peripheral or support services and offerings that may be outside of the four walls of the bank. Anna Isnick:                        11:50                     You mentioned something interesting there. You mentioned face-to-face. As our consumers are out there engaging with their financial institutions, they want a lot of different things at a lot of different points. What are your feelings about the video interaction with the ATM and face-to-face? Scott Anderson:               12:06                     Yeah. Look, I think video has a role to play in certain, very specific, use cases and very specific deployment models. I don't think it's a solving equation for mass movement of transactions out of a branch that are card-less. There are other, better ways of doing that, and frankly speaking, more cost effective ways of doing that. Video plays a great role if it's an advisory capacity, if it's an onboarding capacity, or if there were very specific use cases where having that human presence to handle exceptions, to do things such as provide overrides, or even to onboard a customer and validate identity. That's where I think video can play a role. I don't think it has to be a long term strategy for a financial institution to roll that out on mass. Scott Anderson:               12:55                     I think it can be quite prescriptive to say, "Hey. Here's a business challenge that I have and in the short term, video will fill the need while I build out infrastructure in the back to support a more programmatic way of engaging customers who may or may not have a card and PIN to process with, who may be onboarding with my bank or who may just wanna have some of that more human touch as they interact with the self-service terminal." Anna Isnick:                        13:19                     Looking at all that from FIs perspective to get that strategy down and think about all those different points that you made, do you feel like there's still a lot of possibilities to be unleashed? Do you feel that FIs today are leveraging these and are they doing it in a modern way? Because sometimes the life cycle of an ATM can be out there longer than is needed to meet requirements and security as things evolve. Do you think banks are ready to look at that and make decisions? Scott Anderson:               13:47                     Yeah. This is probably the catch 22, because I think a lot of business minded people in the banks, a lot of business owners in the banks, would like to move forward much faster and be able to deliver on some of those journeys and some of those capabilities that we just talked about. The challenge, the dichotomy, that we have here is there's a lot of legacy mired into the channel, mostly from a connectivity perspective and how the ATM is managed for transaction processing. Scott Anderson:               14:16                     I think what's also critical important is hey, if we wanna do some of these strategically important things and engage our customers in more meaningful ways, I need to have an infrastructure in a physical box that is up to snuff, that can actually handle some of this heavy lifting, that I can rely on, and that I don't have to worry about the age of the terminal or security layers on that terminal or the processing capabilities of that device to be able to support consumer demanded engagement, which is much more robust, much more like mobile or online banking environments versus that traditional, easy flow, pick an account, pick an amount, pick a receipt option and get your cash. We need to take it to the next level. I think financial institutions need to think about that and re-examine their investment methodology in the self-service channel and think about it less as that utility and more as that strategic touch point, especially as we look at branch transformation and engaging our consumers in different ways. Anna Isnick:                        15:20                     As you say that, do you even envision that bigger, not just the ATM as the strategic ... part of the strategic channel, but also the back end of their systems and their software systems that are tying together everything? Does that need a refresh also? Scott Anderson:               15:33                     Likely, yes. If we pick on the American marketplace a little bit for a moment, most of the financial institutions are somewhat handcuffed by the processing environment where it is what it is. That's how I process my transactions. If we think about ways that, whether they do it themselves or they look at partnering with others to help them build out that middle layer, that infrastructure, there are so many better ways for us to connect into other aspects of the bank, or outside of the four walls of the bank as I had mentioned, and bring more meaning to an interaction at the ATM than simply cash and dash. Anna Isnick:                        16:10                     Awesome. Well, is there anything else that you'd like to add as we close that you think it's very important for financial institutions to consider as they look at their technology from an ATM self-service standpoint? Scott Anderson:               16:21                     I think if I were to have a leaving thought, it's always a good time to do a look in the mirror and say, "Hey. Am I at the best optimal operating model for my self-service channel, or are there things I could do to improve that?" I think there's no harm in investigating options and opportunities to say, "How could I be better? How could I optimize this environment? How could I make it more cost effective, or perhaps even a better revenue generator for my financial institution?" All of this ties back to, "What's in it for my end customer?" At the end of the day, it's making sure that the self-service channel is part of that strategy to remain relevant with your consumer. My parting thought is, don't just look at this as the odd time the customer comes and touches me to get cash. It is eyes on your brand every time they visit the ATM. We should be treating it as such and involving that in the overall end to end customer journey, regardless of what transaction it is they're processing. Anna Isnick:                        17:24                     That is great information to think about as they look at their entire strategy. It sounds like you're recommending financial institutions to do an ATM health check or fitness check on their self-service network. Scott Anderson:               17:33                     Yeah. Absolutely. I think there's a great, easy tool that we have that people can go through very quickly and share their results internally and build a plan around acting on some of those opportunities to enhance and improve. Anna Isnick:                        17:46                     Yes. For our friends tuning into the podcast, if you'd like to go to www.dieboldnixdorf.com/ATMfitness, you can learn more about your self-service strategy status. Well, thank you so much for joining us today at Commerce Now, Scott. Scott Anderson:               18:02                     Thank you, Anna. It was great chatting with you. Anna Isnick:                        18:04                     Likewise. Thank you to all our listeners for tuning into this episode of COMMERCE NOW. To find out more about self-service in retail banking, go to www.dieboldnixdorf.com/ATMfitness, or click on the link in the podcast show notes. Until next time, keep checking back on iTunes for new topics on COMMERCE NOW.    

Welcome to The Crochet Circle Podcast. Here are the Show Notes from Episode Six - Shore to Shore.   In this episode we continue with our crochet journeys, including helpful hints on blocking; Yay Crochet or Nay Crochet; Yarn Review of Daughter of a Shepherd Hebridean/Zwartbles yarn; Magazine Round-up; a review of two fibre festivals on either side of the pond – Woolfest and Houston Fibre Fest; WIP Wall and FOs, Feeding the Habit, a fab giveaway from Anna Nikipirowicz and finishing with What's Good.   This podcast is sponsored by my online crafting company, Provenance Craft Co. and Lynne Rowe Knitting and Crochet Thanks to everyone who tunes into the podcast whether it is through Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, iTunes or the YouTube Channel. Your support and engagement are really appreciated and makes running a podcast very special and worthwhile.    If you would like to support the podcast, you can do that through Patreon:   1. Yay Crochet or Nay Crochet (at 2.55 mins) It's a Nay Crochet from Fay due to the lack of crochet content at fibre festivals and in general. When we visited Woolfest, we noticed that most of the stalls were aimed at knitters and even on most of the yarn stalls the samples that were on show were also knitted. This seems at odds with the increasing rise in the popularity of crochet and may be off-putting to new crocheters who perhaps don't realise that you can crochet with any yarn. We know that at Yarndale we'll see a lot more crochet-related vendors and Lynne and I will also be there waving the flag for crochet.   It's a Yay Crochet from Lynne for all the lovely things that people are crocheting up and the inspiration that they give to others. I’ve really been enjoying The Crochet Circle Podcast Ravelry forum – especially seeing all of the lovely finished objects that people are sharing. In particular, it’s also made me realise how adaptable crochet is, even if you’re not hugely experienced with crochet. It seems easier for people to take parts of a pattern and make something else altogether, or tweak patterns to suit their individual taste.   Here's the link to our Ravelry FO's board: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/the-crochet-circle-podcast/3400722/51-75#71   2. Yarn review (at 9 mins)   Daughter of a Shepherd: 75% Hebridean and 25% Zwartbles DK weight 233m/255 yards per 100g Recommended needles/hook:3.5-4.5mm hook/needles Cool hand wash only and leave flat to dry  Completely UK produced (sourced, scoured and spun in UK)  RRP: £18 for 100g.  Website: www.daughterofashepherd.com Rachel's blog: http://mylifeinknitwear.com/ We had 10g each to test and crochet up.  The characteristics of Hebridean wool are very similar to the Zwartbles that is has been blended with as both are very dark brown/near black in colour, durable and dense.  This yarn is spun at John Arbon Textiles and John says that the longer staple length of the Zwartbles helps with the processing of the Hebridean because it gives the Heb staples something more to align and grip to.        Fay – I tried this with a 3.5mm, 4mm, 4.5mm and 5mm hook and found that the 4.5mm gave the nicest effect, so using a 4.5mm hook I created a tiny little bowl to put my measuring tape in because I am always losing it!  It is hard to see the stitch definition because of the natural yarn colour (which is very dark), but it is good.  I still had a little bit leftover and so made some leaves with the remainder and also made some using some Jacob wool that I had to create a cup holder for when I am out and about (I usually have them in my different handbags so that I don’t need the cardboard sleeve).   The wool is soft and nice to work with and becomes softer when washed and blocked. I would use this again for crochet and could easily take it up against my skin.  It would make a beautiful crocheted shawl with an open lacy structure that really makes the most of the stitch definition.  I would also use it with other natural wools to bring out the depth of colour that it has.  It would be great at the dark end of a gradient project or mixed with a really vibrant blue or burnt orange.   Lynne: I really enjoyed working with this yarn – as soon as I wound it off the skein I could smell the sheep and it made me feel happy to be working with a natural fibre that can be fully traced back to its source.  I love the natural colour of the wool– it’s a very deep brown, almost like treacle, and there are a few light coloured fibres running through. I have really sensitive skin, but for the time that I was using the yarn, I was absolutely fine. I don’t think I could stretch to wearing it directly around my neck (but that’s just me) but I could mix it with something else and just keep the Hebridean/Zwartbles away from the neck edge. I made two things also with my mini skein – a bookmark, which I’ve already been using, and a small mandala that I’ve made a pincushion from. Both have great stitch definition and are firm in structure. I made my pincushion using wool fabric from Eliza Conway (a Yarndale purchase) and I’m delighted with both of my mini-projects.   On Ravelry in Rachel’s group, there are lots of projects on the go with this yarn – often it’s mixed with something else, but it’s a great place to go and visit if you want inspiration.   Link to Rachel's Ravelry group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/daughter-of-a-shepherd   3. Magazine round-up (at 22.15 mins) Fay's overall favourite: Cowslip Parsley Garland from Simply Crochet issue 47, designed by Emma Mitchell. It's a free pattern download from Emma's blog: www.silverpebble.net Lynne's overall favourite: Lace Shirt from Love to Knit and Crochet issue 4. It's a button-down shirt with a scalloped edge on the cuffs and hem. A clamshell pattern creates a light and airy effect which is perfect for Summer. Simply Crochet – issue 47 Ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/simply-crochet-issue-47 Website Link: http://www.simplycrochetmag.co.uk/2016/07/21/simply-crochet-issue-47/ Fay's favourite: Cow Parsley Garland,  designer Emma Mitchell, pg 98 Lynne's favourite: Freeform Floral Cowl,  designer Jennifer May, page 83 Let’s Get Crafting – issue 83 Ravelry Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/lets-get-crafting-knitting--crochet-83 Website Link: http://www.letsgetcrafting.com/ Fay's favourite: Mouse toys (knitted), designer Sachiyo Ishii,  I have a pregnant friend that woudl love these for her daughter and new baby! Lynne's favourite: Hearts Garland, designer Kath Webber, pg 48  Crochet Now - issue 4 Website link: http://www.crochetnow.co.uk/ Fay's favourite: Flower Bedspread, designer Mrs. Moon, page 36 - this is beautifukl yarn to work with. Lynne's favourite: Candy amigurumi Deer, designer Irene Strange, pg 62    Love to Knit and Crochet - issue 4 Website Link: https://www.theknittingnetwork.co.uk/ Fay's favourite: Silky Vest Top, pg 33 Lynne's favourite: Lace Shirt, pg 34 4. A Crochet Journey - some tips on blocking your garment (at 26.30 mins) Like everything with crochet (and knitting), there are some aspects of blocking that are just a personal preference.  Fay - in the main I wet-block by immersing my finished object in cold water with a small amount of soaking product, gently washing then very gently squeeze out excess water and roll in a towel before pinning out to required dimensions.  You can see from the below photo that this can help to take out any residual (unexhausted dye).     Lynne - in the main, I spritz (or spray) my work to the point that it’s wet but not saturated. I use a plastic spray gun (the type that you can buy for the garden - usually around £1), then I gently press the water into the fibres with my hands. I then pin out carefully, according to the dimensions of the pattern, and leave to dry. Sometimes I repeat this process if I feel it necessary.   Even when a project is already the size you want it to be (pre-blocking), I'd still recommend blocking as it greatly improves your stitch definition and "sets" the stitches. I mainly steam block for cotton (I cover my project with a cotton cloth and hold the iron above and steam  - do not touch the fabric with the iron). I also steam block fair isle items because it really sets the stitches nicely. After steam blocking, I pin out because it’s damp and leave to dry.   What if I’m desperate? Sometimes I may be on a close call with a deadline – it could be 2pm in the afternoon and I’m still working on a project that needs posting that day – by 4.30pm – so I will always steam block just to make sure that the stitches look good for photography. If necessary I will use a hairdryer to dry it off before posting.   A lot of people say don’t block acrylic as it’s not wool and therefore has no stitch memory – but I do block acrylic projects, just because it improves the overall appearance and stitch definition. I would mainly spray block acrylic but have been known to steam block (very carefully) when desperate. There is more risk with steam blocking as you can relax the fibres too much and your work can become very droopy and much bigger than originally made. I always sew my ends in first and then block, whereas Fay doesn't sew in her ends before blocking because she found that if she sewed her ends in first and then blocked, the tail ends sometimes shift and she would have little bits of yarn poking out which then just create more work to neaten them up again.  When pinning out it is essential that you get your measurements right because if you overstretch the yarn then it’s ruined forever – yarn has a memory so once it’s set then it will spring back to that shape after washing. So be really careful when blocking, especially if using an iron. It really is a case of trying the method that suits you best given the yarn and project that you have made, but it is definitely worth it - see below!     5. Woolfest and Houston Fiberfest (at 48.50 mins) As you know we went off to Woolfest at the end of June.  Whilst we were there, Tamara, one of the listeners to the podcast was at a yarn festival in Houston, Texas.  Tamara kindly recorded some audio for us on the festival that she attended and we have some photos too.  Woolfest: Houston Fibrefest: We have started a thread in Ravelry for you to add details on any yarn festivals that you have been to. Kerry listens in Australia and has just added details of the large Wool and Sheep Festival that she has been at in Bendigo, Australia.  Feel free to add details of any yarn festivals that you have been to so that others can see what is available throughout the world.  I have added some standard questions that you can answer if you need something to crib from. Tamara is on the left - thanks for doing the review! Here's Tamara's round-up from Houston Fiber Fest: Link to website: http://www.houstonfiberfest.com/ New companies that Tamara hadn’t come across before: Independence Farmstead Fiber Mill, an artisan mill service for the independent fiber producer: http://www.independencefarmsteadfibers.com/ Windmill Crest Farms near San Antonio: http://www.windmillcrestfarms.com/ There was a gentleman there had an industrial needle felting machine: http://www.feltcrafts.com/ Lucky Ewe Yarn in New Braunfels dye their own yarn which is called Wool Tree Yarn using natural ingredients: http://www.luckyeweyarn.com/ Things that Tamara bought: Brazen Stitchery Harmony Sock in colourway Team Gayle semi-solid in tonal shades of dark green: http://www.brazenstitchery.com/ Lazy cat yarns 2 x 50-gram skeins of Endurance - semi-solid – in shades of gorgeous teal: http://www.lazycatyarn.com/ Western Sky Knits, 2 variegated 100g skeins: http://www.westernskyknits.com/ Hedgehog Fibers is an Irish indie dyer. I was surprised to find Irish yarn in Houston. This festival was their launch at Park Avenue Yarns (a loyal yarn store): http://shop.hedgehogfibres.com/ http://www.parkavenueyarns.com/ Blind date project from In Skein Yarns, one of the local yarn stores. So fun! They were clear plastic bags with a label on the outside describing the project - The craft (I chose crochet), yarn weight, fiber content, the difficulty of pattern and type of project:  https://inskeinyarns.com/ Shawl pin – from the Muddy Knitter: https://squareup.com/store/themuddyknitter Two mini Loomes spelt L-O-O-M-E and you can make pom poms, cords, tassels and weavings: https://www.theloome.com/ A funky necklace from Fiesty Fenn Fibers: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FeistyFennFibers Some tea from Independence Fiber Mill: http://www.independencefarmsteadfibers.com/     Didn’t buy but have ear-marked: Suzoo’s Wool Works: http://www.suzooswoolworks.com/ Inner Loop Dyeworks: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/InnerLoopDyeworks – I will definitely buy some more of her yarn – we stock her yarn at the store where I work which is very lucky but tempting at the same time http://www.nimblefingerstx.com Podcaster Suburban Stitcher’s project bags. http://suburbanstitcher.com/ I might buy a mini loom for weaving from Purl and Loop www.purlandloop.com All of Tamara's photos of Houston Fiber Fest can be found here:  https://uk.pinterest.com/craftyescapism/  and you can also view her blog here: http://www.craftyescapism.com/ 6. Finished Objects (at 71.45 mins) Fay - Missed Kingfisher shawl was completed whilst in France with Jenny.    Cowls for the book – testing more colours because I am thinking about doing them as a kit for Yarndale.  Also, the items for the yarn review. One sock firmly in the HO pile!   Lynne: Pincushion and bookmark from Daughter of a Shepherd (so pleased with both); mandala coaster for hubby (at his request) to put his mobile phone on at night; lots of commission projects, including a hot water bottle cover, a pair of fingerless mittens, a teddy, a lampshade cover, a set of crochet frames, a cushion, a pair of slippers, another pincushion and another couple of bookmarks - phew.   7. WIPs (at 79 mins) Fay - Simply Crochet wrap-over, Henslowe shawl, Nut-Hap (Kingfisher colours), Tardis cushion, Shorelines blanket, Baby Bird scarf, blanket for the booklet, John Arbon socks for a study on adding stripes to socks. I'm still at eight but there are so many things that I want to start! Lynne – I'm still at 14, but have started (and finished a few) so they didn't even make onto the list (which is good) and I probably won't be able to make a dent in this until after Yarndale.     8. Feeding the habit (at 91 mins) Fay – I thought I was really good this month and so, I bought some extra Rowan Felted Tweed to be able to do a Kingfisher based Nut-Hap.  I also realised that I needed to get another skein of the Kalinka linen because it would look great with a contrast colour. Then I remembered that I had been to Woolfest... At Woolfest, I bought yarn from John Arbon and Ripples Crafts, some amazing Art Deco buttons and some woven fabric. It was also my Birthday so I am book rich – Fleece and Fiber, Erika Knight’s latest, a book on dyeing yarn, British Sheep Breeds and an old book of my Dad’s.  Very lucky to have so many nice wool related books to go through in the next few months and enhance my reference library with.     Lynne - At Woolfest I bought some John Arbon skeins (I love their mini skeins too),  a couple of squares of handwoven fabric which is really lovely, some buttons for my cowl from Textile Gardens, and Emily Foulds kindly gave me a ball of WYS Signature 4ply from the cocktail range for my knitting book which I can’t wait to use. I have bought lots of yarn for kits and to test colours, but I don’t count work-related purchases as they go through the business.     9. Competition Time - Odeletta Shawl Give-away     This month we have a give-away, kindly sent to us by Anna Nikipirowicz for her Odeletta Shawl Kit which contains everything you need to create your own shawl, including two balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, patterns, beads and a crochet hook. Plus a lovely teabag so you can enjoy a nice cuppa whilst you crochet. Thanks Anna!   Anna's website is here: https://moochka.co.uk/ Find all the details for the giveaway here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/the-crochet-circle-podcast/topics/3468941     10. What’s Good (at 105 mins)               Fay:  This was meant to be my What's Good but I was so excited about it that I covered it off early!  I just mentioned that my Dad gave me one of his books.  It is a very special book that was my absolute favourite book when I was little. It is the Observer’s book of Farm Animals.  I was born in 1977 and the book came out in 1976 and was given to my Dad by friends when we moved from Wiltshire to Caithness in the North of Scotland in early 1978.  It used to fit in the pocket of my pinafore and I would spend ages pawing through the different breed photos and memorising them.  I even wrote in the front of the book to amend it to say “Fay - it is to Fay” so that I could lay claim to it.  Needless to say, the book is battered and the spine is being held together with masking tape and love. It is delightful to have something in my possession that brings back nice memories and until recently I had completely forgotten about.  It clearly influenced and shaped the person I have become.   So my What's Good became the excitement for going to interview John Arbon down in Devon - it really was good!   Lynne: Really enjoying natural fibres at the moment – you can definitely feel the difference and there are lots of affordable natural yarns out there that are well worth a try. I’ve been using Wendy Ramsdale which is about £3.50 a ball for 50g and the colours are lovely as well as the texture and feel of the yarn. I’ve used if for hats (only takes 1 ball to make a child’s hat) and also for my cushion (6 balls, so less than £24) for the yarn. Also Erika Knight British Blue is £4.20 for a 25g ball – a bit more expensive but well worth it when you can make a nice cowl with just three balls - so that's £13 for a cowl made with British yarn - where every step is traceable. Remember cotton is also a natural fibre and you can buy Rico Cotton Aran for less than £2 for 50g. I’m not saying I don’t use acrylic as I do because some projects have to be really affordable but there are some lovely yarns out there that may cost less than you would expect.   Happy listening and crocheting.   Lynne and Fay x   Instagram: Crochet_Circle_Podcast  Instagram: provenance.craft.co   Instagram: FayDHDesigns YouTube: The Crochet Circle Podcast Crochet Clan on Mighty Network: Invite