Thanks to everyone that came to our showroom for January’s Atlanta Gift and Home Furnishings Market. Traffic was brisk and the show was a hit! It’s always great to talk to our existing and new customers face to face too.  We hope you found everything you needed

It was still back to basics, with white and kraft shoppers the most popular products. A major hit though was our new Damask Mimosa collection with a classic pattern in a contemporary, on-trend color (in the picture shown). We also developed some new coordinating so you can affordably get your name on the bag (call me for details on those though).

I hope you’ll come by to visit the Bags & Bows showroom next time you’re in the Metro Atlanta area. You can browse our line or we can just brainstorm some ideas over a cup of coffee.  For more information regarding the showroom, give me a call at 888.395.2697 or e-mail me at kkroll@deluxe.com

Hope to see you soon, or at the next big show starting July 14th and ending July 21st!

Kathy Kroll

Showroom Manager

So while Big Box stores give us all a run for our money, think about these easy and affordable ways to stand out and get noticed. Create a “signature” look for your store. You can’t afford not to. Your customers will love it.

Laura Walker

Sr. Product Marketing Manager & Retail Advocate

Questions you should be asking yourself . . . .

• What do customers and potential customers think when they see my name?
• Is it what I want them to think?
• Am I delivering on my brand promise?
• Am I promoting it in the right way to my target audience?

How can Bags & Bows help?  Personalizing is critical to getting your brand noticed and your message communicated.  See how you can affordably personalize your products with rich foils or colorful ink printing.   Do you need to create a new logo or refresh an old one?  Here are some easy and affordable solutions to get the logo design that will best support your brand.

Finally, our Bags & Bows exclusive collections are another great way to get your name noticed and your brand remembered, from our Holiday Wish, Joy, Peace and Believe Collection to our Wisteria Collection with elegant purple flowers.  Please take a look at our latest exclusive retail packaging products.

Laura Walker

Sr. Product Marketing Manager and Retail Advocate

Small retailers are marketing side-by-side with their competitors on joint websites. And they’re helping consumers rediscover the fun in local retail shopping.

Tracy Keating is the owner of Life Is Sweet, a candy store in Keene, New Hampshire. She is one of the drivers behind www.keenelocal.com, a website that encourages consumers to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, protect the environment and preserve their community by buying local with just 10% of the money they spend. The site makes the initiative fun, with T-shirts and stickers. It also makes buying locally easy, listing businesses by name and individual website address. Several restaurants, several jewelry stores and two candy stores share the site, among others. Why would Tracy help create and support a site that welcomes her competitor?

“Competition is not an issue,” she says. “Once you elevate one business downtown, it benefits all of downtown. We tell people, if you plan to spend $100 out and about, spend $10 of it locally. That money stays in the community and actually triples, and we all benefit.”

In the nearby town of Peterborough, the restaurants and shops of Depot Square also have a cooperative website (www.depotsquarepeterborough.com). It includes a calendar of entertaining special events, a raffle and an e-newsletter along with a page for each store, restaurant and gallery in the square, plus links to individual websites. The handsome site was designed by one of the businesses in the square, C.C. Stephens & Co., making it home-grown in every sense.

In another approach to competing with the major discounters, Roger Weinrich of Good Fortune has taken a closer look at why consumers are attracted to malls and big stores. “They’re fun,” he says, “because you can walk around like you’re in an amusement park.” Roger and his staff decided they would create that same atmosphere for their customers. From the ice cream freezer at the front of the store to the ping-pong table in the alcove, Good Fortune encourages visitors to have a good time. “We charge $5 to play ping pong,” he explains, “and we donate the money to the community kitchen. It’s a great draw in winter. We also have a Diamond Mine. We fill a container with sand and put loose diamonds in it and every Saturday customers get a chance to scoop up one pile to find a diamond. We’re experimenting with promotions a month at a time. Some of what we do is risky; we don’t know what will happen. But it’s all fun.”

THE HANNAH GRIMES CENTER, LOCATED AT 25 ROXBURY STREET IN KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, PROVIDES OFFICE SPACE, WORKSHOPS AND A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH NEW AND EMERGING BUSINESSES CAN BE LAUNCHED, DEVELOPED AND GRADUATED AND OPERATES HANNAH GRIMES MARKETPLACE, AN INDEPENDENT RETAIL STORE MARKETING LOCALLY MADE AND GROWN PRODUCTS.

What is not surprising are Retailer’s top business challenges. Clearly, surviving the economic downturn is the #1 concern, followed closely by finding new customers. It makes sense. The news is filled with stories about Retailers struggling – even large, national chains that are household names are hurting and cautiously giving earnings guidance to Wall Street. If the big league retail players are hurting, you know Main Street is especially feeling the pain.

Taxes are also a top concern. This trumps concern with retaining customers. The threat of tax increases is very real at all levels of government, but should this top being concerned with retaining customers? I’m puzzled as I visit so many independent retailers and they don’t have a business card, a place to leave your information, etc i.e. a way for your to remember them and visa versa. This is such low hanging fruit for Retailers. I’ll give you an example. I recently stopped by a very cool, specialty coffee house in a trendy area of NYC. I, for once, didn’t want a cup of coffee at that moment, but was drawn into the store to look around and enjoy the atmosphere. The coffee house was located in an area I don’t visit often, so I wanted a business card so I would remember them. They didn’t have one and now the name of that coffee house is long gone from my memory.

Finding and keeping employees is not a huge concern – it didn’t even rank in the Top 5. This has traditionally been a top struggle but is probably muted by the fact that there are a large number of talented folks for hire. If you’re a smart retailer, you’re looking for good candidates now – there are a lot of experienced and mature folks out there. Hire them and reap the dividends from having a reliable employee.

So, if retailer’s top concerns are the economy, finding new customers, and taxes, what are they doing about them? I’ll give you a hint – they’re not waiting for the economy to improve – they’re taking action. Retailers understand how critical it is to get their name out there. Especially the independent retailer, who has to raise their voice above the chorus of the big box retailer. One of the top tactics retailers are increasingly doing is monitoring you, the competition. That’s right – you’re being watched by fellow retailers. They’re also increasing their visibility by leveraging signage, as well as holding periodic sales. Many are leveraging sales to keep their name top of mind with existing customers as well as giving new customers a reason to stop by.

They’re also out looking for new customers. Where are they finding them? Referrals from existing customers and vendors are top sources. More and more retailers are also embracing ecommerce and using email to connect with potential customers. Although most of them have a website, keeping it updated and search engine friendly is a concern. And a significant number of them are building a database of customers.

So, lots of action to address their concerns. What is the common thread? These tactics are all easy to implement and inexpensive.

If you’re a retailer reading this blog as we enter the holiday selling season, you know you need to get your name out there now. Think about what your competitors are doing. Ask yourself how potential customers know about your business. How are can they find you? What are you doing to retain existing customers and find that great new salesperson? The economy is on everyone’s mind, but it is by and large out of our control. What is in our control is how we proactively respond to it.

Are you facing similar business challenges? Or are you facing completely unique ones? What are you doing about them? Please share – we would enjoy hearing from you.

Want to learn more? Have comments? Contact Mike at michael.benedict@deluxe.com

Bags & Bows looks to the fashion and home furnishings/home décor industry for color cues and design trends. These areas are very reactive to their markets. Color selections come from a combination of elements: color reports, trade publications, information provided by vendors and just getting out there to shop. By actively LOOKING at what retailers, both large and small, are doing, we can put together a palette that will appeal to our customers.

Color Trends in the Fashion Industry

Twice a year, the fashion industry seizes the opportunity to introduce new fabrics, styles and colors at New York Fashion Week, one of the biggest fashion shows in the world. This event is a big part of “setting the stage” for what the fashion trends are going to be for the season and a lot of people are watching.

When it comes to the designs, the fashion designers are clearly running the show, but how do they choose their colors? Some in the industry might say their color inspiration comes from “within,” but it could be argued that there are other influencing factors that assist them when choosing their color palettes.

One influential organization is the Color Association. The Color Association has been forecasting, researching, and archiving color since 1915 and plays an integral role in consulting with industry professionals who look to leverage color in products, brands and environments.

Each season, the Association issues color reports in elegant, fabric-swatched booklet form and is the only forecasting service that selects its colors through a committee panel of eight to twelve industry professionals. The combined expertise of its committee members assures a thoughtful and innovative forecast, season after season.

The fashion world also collaborates with PANTONE, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. PANTONE is the world-renowned authority on color and for more than 45 years they have been inspiring design professionals with their products and services.

Each season, PANTONE publishes the PANTONE Fashion Color Report featuring the top 10 colors for women’s fashions along with designer sketches, quotes and headshots. The availability of the PANTONE Fashion Color Report coincides with the beginning of New York Fashion Week. The report is free and can be downloaded from PANTONE’s Web site at www.pantone.com.

Here are the top ten colors from the Fall 2009 Fashion Color Report.

American Beauty – A true red that speaks volumes. It will leave you feeling both Patriotic and proud.

Purple Heart – Creative, exciting, captivating…these are just a few words people will be saying when they see you wearing this color.

Honey Yellow – A warm, subdued color that has a calming affect. Spice it up with a pop of Purple Heart or Burnt Sienna.

Iron – They are calling it the “new black” because it is a color that can be the foundation for any wardrobe and mixes well with any other color.

Nomad – A combination of beige and light gray. Neutral but fresh.

Crème Brulee – Grayed down beige that adds softness to any wardrobe.

Majolica Blue – Feeling deep and mysterious? Then you’ll enjoy putting on this vibrant shade of teal blue that will keep people wondering.

Burnt Sienna – What says fall better than burnt sienna…and a cup of hot cider, of course? Dress it up with a shade of Nomad or Rapture Rose.

Rapture Rose – A melding of fuchsia and pink into a color that will not only rapture, but also capture your intended audience.

Warm Olive – A rich yellow-green that matches the changing leaves of autumn.

Color Trends in the Manufacturing World

For manufactured products and services, many businesses turn to the Color Marketing Group (CMG) located in Alexandria, Virginia for ideas. CMG is a leading international non-profit association of color design professionals that have been predicting color trends for more than 45 years. They forecast Color Directions® nineteen months or more in advance for manufactured products and services.

CMG’s major focus is to identify the direction of color and design trends and interpret that information into salable colors for manufactured products across all industries.

According to CMG, the top color choices are being influenced by both the concern for the economy and optimism for the future.

Here’s a look at what CMG has named the “hot” colors for 2009…

Purple – Whether it’s a grayed-out violet or a poppy plum, purple is a color that’s here to stay. It works as both an accent color and a neutral.

Blue – It’s easy being green, but it’s better to be blue…as in blue sky and ocean. These colors remind us of our natural surroundings and how we need to protect them to save Mother Earth.

Grayed-out Browns & Grays – These are classic colors that keep us grounded, but aren’t as “harsh” as black or deep brown.

White – It’s not just a color…it’s a mindset. White represents clarity. But consider texture too. Contrast a glossy, grainy, or reflective white surface with a smooth matte color surface for a crisp, refreshing look.

Bright Accents – “Orange, turquoise, and teal, Oh my.” Or how about some reds and yellows? Add any of these colors as an accent color and watch your product “pop.”

Mauve – Sounds like a flashback to the eighties, right? Wrong! Mauve is back better than ever as both an accent and a neutral color.

Yellow – Let’s get real. With this economy, we could all use a boost and what better way to do it then to add a bright shade of yellow. Just saying the color makes you want to smile.

Color is everywhere…make every color count!

Christine Landry-Briggs
Art Director & Trendspotter.

Over the past several years, the word “recycling” has become more of a household name, but there is definitely still some confusion about the topic.

Some common questions people have are…

What is a recycled product?
What is a recyclable product?
What is a biodegradable product?

Below is some basic information answering these questions that will hopefully encourage consumers to recycle and minimize their contribution to our already overflowing landfills.

What is a “recycled” product?

Recycling programs are increasing across the nation and around the world as a means of reducing the amount of landfill space needed for waste, but collecting papers and bottles is only half of the process. Consumers need to purchase products made of recycled materials to complete the cycle.

In the world of manufacturing consumer products, a “recycled” product is…
A new product made from materials that would otherwise have been waste,  broken down (melted or pulped) into a basic substance from which a new product can be formed.

Even though the word “recycled” is commonly used to mean reusing something in any way, legal definitions require the old product to be broken down into its basic material and a new product formed for it to be called “recycled.”

There are three general levels of recycled products that can all be called “recycled”.

Primary Recycling – Reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into the same product, which can then be recycled again, such as a glass container into a glass container or a steel product into a steel product.

Secondary Recycling – Reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into a different, but similar, product. For example, recycling corrugated cardboard boxes into cereal boxes.

Tertiary Recycling – Reprocessing or remanufacturing of discarded materials into a product, which is not likely to be recycled, such as recycling mixed office paper into bathroom tissue.

There is much controversy among manufacturers, distributors, regulators, and consumers over what constitutes a “real” recycled product. There are those who believe that only products made from post-consumer waste should be called “recycled.” Considering that for every pound of consumer waste there is twenty-five pounds of manufacturing waste, pre-consumer waste has its place in products called “recycled,” too. Products just need to be labeled correctly so consumers can make their own choices.

What is a “recyclable” product?

A “recyclable” product is…
A product that can be collected and made into a new recycled product.

But when considering the recyclability of a product there are two separate and distinct issues: 1) Can a product or material technically be recycled? 2) In real life, can a product or material practically be recycled?

The difference between these two definitions of “recyclable” is the subject of hot controversy in the product/packaging-labeling world. Some say that any product or material that can technically be recycled should be labeled “recyclable.” Others say that the attribute “recyclable” should only be used on a label if, in fact, it can really be recycled in the community where the product or package is sold. While recyclables such as glass or newspapers can be recycled almost everywhere, other recyclables like plastics or motor oil can only be recycled in the limited number of areas where programs have been set up.

The primary markets for recycled materials right now are aluminum and other scrap metals, glass, paper and plastic. These are easily recognizable even without the word “recyclable” on the label.

A very large portion of our waste is recyclable or otherwise reusable. If we recycled all of our paper and paperboard (40%), all of our metals (9%), all of our plastic (8%), and all our glass (7%), we would reduce our total garbage by 64 percent! If, in addition, we reclaimed our wood (4%), rubber (3%), and textiles (2%) for other uses, we would be down to only 27 percent of our current garbage. By composting yard wastes (18%) and food wastes (7%), we’re left with only two percent of our current solid waste to place in a landfill or otherwise dispose of. Recycling takes work, but it can be done.

What is a “biodegradable” product?

Of all the environmental buzzwords, “biodegradable” has perhaps been the most misused and is perhaps the most difficult to understand.

A “biodegradable” product is…
A product that has the ability to break down, safely and relatively quickly,
by biological means, into the raw materials of nature and disappears into the environment.

These products can be solids biodegrading into the soil (which we also refer to as compostable), or liquids biodegrading into water. Biodegradable plastic is intended to break up when exposed to microorganisms (a natural ingredient such as cornstarch or vegetable oil is added to achieve this result).

By the time many resources are turned into products, however, they have been altered by industry in such a way that they are unrecognizable to the microorganisms and enzymes that return natural materials to their basic building blocks. Crude oil, for example, will biodegrade in its natural state, but once it is turned into plastic; it becomes an unsustainable pollution problem. Instead of returning to the cycle of life, these products simply pollute and litter our land, air, and water.

The confusion about this issue will probably continue for some time, but as consumers, we should be vigilant about using biodegradable products to protect our environment.

Here’s how long it takes for some commonly used products to biodegrade, when they are scattered about as litter:

• Cotton rags (1-5 months)
• Paper (2-5 months)
• Rope (3-14 months)
• Orange peels (6 months)
• Wool socks (1-5 years)
• Cigarette butts (1-12 years)
• Plastic coated paper milk cartons (5 years)
• Leather shoes (25 – 40 years)
• Nylon fabric (30 – 40 years)
• Tin cans (50 – 100 years)
• Aluminum cans (80 – 100 years)
• Plastic 6-pack holder rings (450 years)
• Glass bottles (1 million years)
• Plastic bottles (forever)

For more information on choosing environmentally friendly products, please visit www.worldwise.com