Sam Isaacson, founder of Gemline, passed away on Jan. 27 after a short illness. He was 89. Always the entrepreneur, in 1957 he left his family’s business and founded Gem Giftwares. Beginning as a distributor, he sold promotional items to school photographers until the mid-1960s, when he started selling gas station premiums. He was one…
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Finally, a Face Mask With Built-In Bluetooth Earbuds
We’re not sure how it took so long to figure out, but finally someone thought of putting Bluetooth earbuds into a face mask. MaskFone, a face mask that not only features a Bluetooth headset and earbuds, but a five-layer filtration system. In short, it’s stylish and extremely functional…
Read MorePhiladelphia Man Charged With Failing to Deliver on PPE Order Worth $7M
Another person is being charged with fraud after failing to deliver on a large PPE order. This time, it’s a Philadelphia man accused of scamming more than $700,000 from two New York companies. Guaravjit Singh reportedly said that his business had connections to a Chinese medical gown manufacturer, and agreed to sell 1.5 medical gowns totaling about $7.125 million…
Read MorePCNA Appoints Holly Brown as Chief Revenue Officer
Polyconcept North America, Pittsburgh, announced that Holly Brown has been appointed to the position of chief revenue officer, a new position responsible for leading the company’s sales and marketing operations across North America. In addition to decades of global experiences building and leading world class commercial teams…
Read MoreBernie Sanders Turned the Chair Meme Into a Branded Sweatshirt for Charity (and It’s Already Sold Out)
The Bernie Sanders chair meme is everywhere. But it’s still a little surprising to see Sen. Sanders and his team embrace the meme status to make a new line of merchandise (even if it’s for a good cause). The official Bernie Sanders store launched the “Chairman Sanders” crewneck sweatshirt for $45, with all proceeds going to Meals on Wheels Vermont…
Read MoreThe Rolling Stones Are Now Selling Branded Chocolate Bars Inspired by Their Songs
After opening their own brick-and-mortar merchandise store in London last year, the Rolling Stones have moved on to their next merch-centered project: a line of branded chocolate bars inspired by song titles and lyrics (“Brown Sugar” and “Cherry Red”). The products went on sale yesterday at the band’s online store…
Read MoreTowel Specialties Promotes Shawn Kanak to President
Towel Specialties, Baltimore, announced the promotion of Shawn Kanak to president. As both president of Towel Specialties and an integral member of the executive team, Kanak will oversee national sales efforts for all three divisions—Towel Specialties, Cobblestone Mills Blanket Company and Xpress Towels…
Read MoreShipping Delays Feared as California’s Two Largest Ports Face COVID Outbreaks
The Los Angeles Times reported that nearly 700 dockworkers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have contracted COVID-19, and hundreds more have had to take virus-related leave, creating the potential for a debilitating slowdown. As of Jan. 20, a total of 45 ships were waiting to unload—the largest bottleneck in six years…
Read MoreThis Packaging Design Uses Fast Food Tricks to Make You Want Vegetables
Getting kids to eat their vegetables is an age-old challenge for adults. Heck, sometimes convincing ourselves to eat our greens can take work. That’s a problem one food producer is trying to tackle through branding and design. By tricking the customer’s brain into thinking a package of spinach is fast food, it might just be enough to accept or, dare we say, crave vegetables…
Read MoreHow One City Is Using Branded Trash Bags to Limit Waste
The city of Columbia, Mo., has passed legislation that only trash bags with official city branding on them will be accepted by sanitation workers in an effort to minimize excess waste and improve safety conditions for workers. Columbia had previously issued bags with the city’s logo on them. But, starting Feb. 1, the logoed bags will be the only ones sanitation workers accept…
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