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PODCAST
Wearables and Stitches Staff Writer Matt George talks with Glory Borgeson, author of Catapult Your Business to New Heights: Sure-Fire Strategies to Increase Profit, to address the best way to focus on priorities and still keep up with information by simply outsourcing the sorting out. Click here to listen.
What did you think of this podcast? Send your feedback to cmittica@asicentral.com
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| Trend Alert: Jewelry |
Jewelry is a product that’s not extremely common in the branded apparel industry, but it’s an accessory that women and men use daily to add coordination and polish to their ensembles. Jewelry is a broad product category that reaches from glow-in-the-dark bracelets and faux pearl costume jewelry to sterling silver and 24K gold fine jewelry. "We have jewelry that starts at $16 and goes all the way up to $800," says Laura Eversole, national sales manager for Insignia Medallion Awards, a division of CSI International (asi/62711).
Selling jewelry as a branded product can be challenging. Unless you’re selling Mardi Gras beads with a medallion featuring your client’s logo, most jewelry, especially fine jewelry, is not easily branded. "Our watches can be branded," says Eversole, "but our fashion jewelry cannot. Instead, it comes in a wood box that includes an acid-etched medallion where we can engrave the logo." If you are considering jewelry for a promotion, creative packaging is a great way to incorporate the branding of the client.
"The advantage to jewelry is that gifts and awards should be something that someone likes, but would not go out and buy themselves," says Eversole. But, selling jewelry does come with challenges. "The biggest challenges come with fine jewelry," Eversole says, "because the costs fluctuate in accordance with the cost of gold, silver and precious stones." This can make it tricky when putting in bids for jobs that might take a longer period of time to materialize. "Jewelry can also be challenging to sell because it can be hard to find one piece that appeals to all in a program," says Eversole. "This can be easily resolved by offering two to three pieces in the same price point to choose from."
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Disabled Artists' Studio Inspires and Empowers
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Supporting a good cause does not always come in the guise of Sunday pot-lucks and silent auctions. As Art of Possibility Studios knows only too well, great causes and quality products can go hand-in-hand in our everyday lives. Founded by award-winning blind artist Ketra Oberlander and celebrating its second birthday this February, Art of Possibility Studios is the only for-profit art publishing and licensing brand that works with and for physically disabled artists. Through their partnership with Westminster Fibers, the studio is launching a 13-piece high-end fabric collection featuring the artwork of blind painter George Mendoza. The collection, featuring vibrant colors and patterns and sold by the yard, is 100% cotton quilter and can be fashioned into virtually any product from bags to apparel. The line was first introduced at the International Quilt Market show in Houston, TX, where it inspired home sewing fans, designers, decorators, crafters and quilters alike.
 "Right now there is an incredible tug on artists and others to play it safe and to not take risks visually," says Oberlander. "Instead we find people relying on tried and true solutions and methods, which I think is the wrong way for artists to be thinking." With the support of a secure licensed brand through Art of Possibility, artists have the ability to create and fulfill their visions while maintaining their financial independence and self-sufficiency. "We offer people an opportunity to take visual risks in the promotional or retail items they provide to customers," says Oberlander. "The branding is very attractive to American consumers because it is all about the idea that you are acquiring beautiful pieces and helping disabled artists have the dignity of earning a living through a fully developed business and not just charity."
The new line of fabric joins several other products created by Art of Possibility in conjunction with other participating companies, including printed domino pendants, woven wall tapestries, bookmarks and greeting cards, which are a great item for sending holiday or product mailers to clients. The options are limitless. "We can do private label programs, or corporate gifting, and it’s something different then the usual coaster or embroidered polo," says Oberlander. Most importantly though, disabled artists are given the opportunity to share their work with a broader market base and decorators are provided with fresh ideas to revitalize their client offerings for future endeavors.
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Selco to Supply Movado Brand
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Tulsa-based Selco (asi/86230) has announced it will become the exclusive supplier of Movado Group watches in the advertising specialty market. The official launch of the deal will take place in January, coinciding with Selco's 75th anniversary. "It's very exciting for me to see how vibrant Selco is into the 21st century as we keep pace and make improvements to build new relationships with companies such as Movado," said Larry Abels, founder of the promotional productions division of Selco.
The Movado Group of watch brands includes Movado, Ebel, ESQ by Movado, Tommy Hilfiger and Lacoste. The exclusive agreement will allow Selco to customize Movado brand watches with single and multi-color logos, engrave, add a precious stone or a custom die struck medallion dial. "Movado Group Inc. is proud to partner with Selco to better service the promotional products industry," said Joe Zanone, senior vice president of the Movado Group. "I have personally worked with Selco in my career for the past 18 years, and look forward to building a stronger relationship while bringing the promotional products industry a one-stop solution for fine timepieces ranging from $10 to well over $50,000."
Adds Mark Abels, Selco president: "We are excited to represent the innovative and high quality lines of Movado to the industry. I feel confident that our expertise in customer service and in customization that we have developed over the last 75 years will make this relationship thrive."
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Lightweight Soft-Shell Jacket (9400)
 Available from Landway International Corp. (asi/66238), this lightweight soft-shell jacket is made of 96% polyester/4% elastane. It features wind- and water-resistant functions and is available in sizes S-4XL. Also has two zipper pockets and a semi-elastic cuffs
Style Tip: The zippered left arm utility pocket can hold valuables – such as an MP3 player. Consider a bundled promotion with this jacket and an iPod to really get the attention of your clients.
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Question: I have a customer looking for cotton and poly blend garments. It can be shirts, polos and pants. Any ideas? Thanks.
Answer: There are plenty of suppliers that carry cotton/poly blend garments. Try American Apparel (asi/35297); (213) 488-0226; www.americanapparel.net; product M304. This 70% cotton/30% polyester blend T-shirt features contrast sleeves and heathered fabric. Available in 10 colors.
Or, try Staton Corporate and Casual (asi/89380); (800) 950-6611; www.statononline.com; product 625. This ladies’ polo shirt is made of 60% cotton/40% polyester and features an open collar and woodtone buttons. Available in 20 colors.
Also, try Marathon Mfg/Prestige Lines (asi/68707); (800) 521-2860; www.marathonmfg.com; product 68707-SPNP/Y. This pair of polyester/cotton blend pants are available in 18 colors.
Selling Tip: Believe it or not, many end-users are inquiring more about blended clothing than 100% cotton or polyester. Explain to your clients how they can receive the benefits of both fabrics.
Question: I was wondering if you could find a variation of scarves in different colors. The winter season is coming up and I have a few customers asking for them. Thank you.
Answer: Try BamBams (asi/38288); (866) 913-4463; www.bambams.com; product SS-201-S. This is a stadium scarf that features an enormous imprint area. Available in a wide range of colors.
Or, try Promotional Clearinghouse (asi/79958); (818) 381-4098; product JCY0339. This is a scarf with fringe that can be imprinted with any logo. Available in various colors.
Finally, try Aprons, Etc. (asi/36558); (800) 467-1996; www.apronsetc.com; product 4555. This fleece scarf comes in a solid color and has over-locked edges. Available in black, navy, red and royal.
Selling Tip: With the holiday season approaching, having any product in a variety of colors is a good idea. Whether it’s scarves, gloves or T-shirts, more options can result in more sales.
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American Embroidery Supply offers Super Strength Rayon Thread. The thread is 120 denier two-ply weight and fits an 11.75 size needle. |
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| Bodek and Rhodes (asi/40788)will include four new brands of apparel in its 2010 catalog, to be released in November. The new brands include Champion, Timberland and styles from Code V T-shirt and Rabbit Skins infant and toddler apparel. |
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| Dickies (asi/49675) announced it is relocating its New York City showroom in order to better serve the brand’s growing needs. The new space, located at 1400 Broadway provides approximately 4,000 square feet and is expected to open in mid-November. |
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Great Dane Graphics has added a variety of new sport designs to its collection of stock clip art for screen printing, digital direct-to-garment printing, transfers and graphic printing. |
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Hirsch International offers dressmaker shears – made of stainless steel with a knife edge. The Suregrip handle is covered in a soft polypropylene and is bent to make cutting smooth and comfortable. |
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| International Merchandise Concepts/IMC (asi/62820) has announced it has taken over the day-to-day operations of Ad-Tek Specialties (asi/31550). |
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Printa Systems offers the Idek d2 238 commercial heat press. It has two pedestals and two 14-inch by 17-inch platens to increase efficiency and productivity when pressing. |
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| River’s End Trading Company (asi/82588) recently held a customer-appreciation event for 500 guests, featuring exhibit booths, a fashion show and prizes. |
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| Superior Uniform Group has announced that its Q3 earnings increased 29% compared to Q3 of 2008, and an increase of 79% from the previous quarter. |
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| TSC Apparel (asi/90518) has announced the addition of a new distribution center that will open in Houston in January 2010. The company has also announced the latest winners of its Wildcard Advantage promotion. They are: 80's Tees, for July; Fantastic Fabrics (asi/191881), for August; Image Works, for September. |
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| Wolfmark (asi/98085) has announced the addition of 100% bamboo throw blankets in five colors. |
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Knowing these terms will make ad specialty distributor who just started sound like they’ve been in the business for years.
Punching: Conversion of artwork into a series of commands to be read by an embroidery machine's computer. Derived from an early method of machine embroidery where paper tapes or jacquards punched with holes representing stitches.
Scaling: Ability to enlarge or reduce a design. In expanded format, scaling should be limited 10-20% because of the fact that the stitch count will remain constant. In outline or condensed format, scale changes may be more dramatic as stitch count and density may be varied, but unlimited resizing is not practical and should be limited to 10-30%.
Steil Stitch: A type of satin stitch. Formed by closely arranged zig-zag stitches. The Steil stitch differs from the Satin stitch by how it’s created during the digitizing process. With a satin segment, the width of the segment can vary; with a steil the width is fixed. The satin is created by defining the opposing parallel sides of the segment. The steil is created by defining the center line of the segment and designating a specific segment width. When a design is resized, satin segments automatically resize in proportion to the design, whereas steil segments retain the specific width setting which was designated during the digitizing process.
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