Salt Lake City-based SnugZ USA introduced a line of handcrafted and classic greeting cards through its subsidiary line ImpressionZ in October 2007. The artful, scrapbook-style cards feature a personal touch through combining unique papers with metal, ribbon and stitching. The concept was greeted within the industry with so much success that the line was additionally translated into Spanish and French in early 2008. Effective April 2008, the company is taking the ImpressionZ greeting cards concept one step further by introducing a series of “ImpressionZ InspirationZ” message cards aimed at the workplace market. The goal of the new line is to inspire and motivate while
Read MorePrime Line Expands Service in Canada and Australia
Prime Line, headquartered in Bridgeport, Conn., proudly announced it has expanded its services in Canada, with a new F.O.B. point located in Toronto. The company has also extended its efforts in Australia with their global rebranding strategy. “Our continued focus on domestically offering the highest levels of service and also working internationally further distinguishes Prime and our knowledge of the global marketplace,” said Jeff Lederer, executive vice president. “We plan to continue to expand our reach internationally and tap into markets with further opportunities,” he added. Prime Line is currently the largest and only North American supplier for IPPAG (International Partnership for
Read MoreTRG Group Announces New Midwest Region Manager
St. Louis-based TRG Group, an international leader in the travel gear industry, announced the hiring of Brian Porter to the position of Midwest region manager for the corporate markets division. Based in Kansas City, Brian will directly oversee 14 states in the Midwestern region including Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Michigan. “Brian is a great asset to TRG Group,” said vice president of sales, corporate markets, Andrew Spellman. “He brings with him over 15 years of experience that will provide direct value to our key accounts and will further evolve TRG’s business continuity in the key regions he manages. We’re extremely pleased to have him
Read MoreInternational Merchandise Concepts Announces UK/Ireland Representation
Barry Fogel, president of Agoura Hills, California-based International Merchandise Concepts (IMC), announced the appointment of Purple Zebra Products LTD to exclusively represent IMC and MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) Collections in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. This exciting new venture is part of IMC’s global distribution plan and reflects the company’s aggressive, overall growth strategy. “The design-driven IMC and MoMA Collections are perfectly suited for the discerning tastes of UK, Irish and European distributors and end-users who appreciate and demand creative product design,” said Fogel. Under the company’s new ownership, IMC has doubled its domestic sales force with dual representation
Read MoreCrystal D Sponsors Two Athletes for Special Olympics
St. Paul, Minnesota-based Crystal D, a supplier of crystal awards, plaques, trophies and corporate gifts, announced it is sponsoring two athletes for the 2008 Kanto Plain Special Olympics at Yokota Air Base,Japan on May 17 and 18. Crystal D is sponsoring two male athletes participating in basketball, bowling, 200-meter run, 400-meter run, 100-meter dash, and softball throw. This sponsorship allows the athletes to participate and contributes to the athlete’s uniform costs. The Kanto Plain Special Olympics became a private organization in 1980 and remains the only program in Japan sanctioned by Special Olympics International in Washington D.C. “Crystal D wanted to sponsor
Read MoreBisconti Joins Sourcery as New COO
Former Home Shopping Network (HSN) executive Frank Bisconti joined New York-based Sourcery as its new chief operating officer. Bisconti brings to Sourcery career experience that includes having been senior vice president and division head at HSN, CFO of Pierce Distribution Services Co., and most recently, COO and CFO of Imagemark Inc., a major promotional products company. Sourcery was launched in 2002 by co-founders and co-presidents Noah Ross and Scott Milstein who quickly grew the start-up into a multimillion dollar supplier of branded technology products and custom design services. With offices and manufacturing capabilities in China and corporate offices in New York, Sourcery
Read MoreAdvance Corporation Wins Governor’s Safety Award
The Cottage Grove, Minnesota-based Advance Corporation—makers of the Advance Award Line—was awarded a 2008 Meritorious Achievement Award for excellence in workplace safety and health. This award is part of Minnesota’s Governor’s Safety Awards program, which is administered by the Minnesota Safety Council, and recognizes companies with better-than-average performance in incident rates, depending on type of industry. The award will be presented at the 74th Minnesota Safety & Health Conference this spring at the Minneapolis Convention Center. For more information on the Advance Corporation, visit www.advanceawardline.com Do you have a press release for PromoMarketing.com or Promo Marketing magazine? We are continually looking for the latest
Read MoreCrimes and Misdemeanors
So, Woody Allen is suing American Apparel. Huh.
It’s funny … give our industry one celeb and people go crazy. (And by crazy, I mean that in the entire history of our e-newsletter, that item had pretty much the highest click-through rate, well, ever).
I’m finding it increasingly hilarious that no one can seem to decide which of the involved parties is more distasteful: Woody Allen, for well-publicized reasons, or a company founded by a guy with, shall we say, a less-than-savory reputation.
My coworkers make fun of me because I have “views” about American Apparel. Yes, I cover the
Music to My Ears
The other day, at one of our staff meetings, our editorial director (Nikki Stella) was cheerfully humming several tunes from one of her favorite recording artists, none other than Mr. Lou Rawls. At that point, I couldn’t help but chime in with details of my recent purchase of a CD containing all the classic hits of the late, great Nat King Cole! Wooo-wee!
Admittedly, most people in my personal circle look at me kinda weird every time I talk about the CD. But, for those of you out there who really appreciate good music, you can understand why I like Nat King Cole: Consider
Extreme Makeover Office Edition
After one very raucous editorial meeting (including some very spicy Indian food) we’ve decided to jump on the reality bandwagon and have the first-ever Extreme Office Make Over in the June edition of the magazine. While we won’t be rebuilding an entire house while a deserving family enjoys a Disney vacation, we will be doing our best to put together an office that will put make everyone else in the building jealous.
After only one day, the response to requests for participation has been amazing. I want to thank the folks over at Leed’s, Prime Line, Journalbooks, SnugZ, Senator, Dart, PictureFrames.net, the