Tag: Business

The End of Norman Rockwell

Staff Writer

» Americans have discovered the fragility of life, that ominous fragility that the rest of the world either already experienced or is experiencing now with terrible intensity. « JOSÉ SARAMAGO

Our lives as Americans are changing. I remember vividly, as a child, visiting the Norman Rockwell Museum. I was enthralled with the “charmed” lives of the people in his artwork, the simplicity, the joy. His work captured the innocence and mores of post-WWII America.
But even as a child, I knew these pieces of work did not depict my America. Twenty-five years later, I can say with great certainty, there will be

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$10 Million Lead Paint Fine and Other Industry News

Staff Writer

Though the topic has been out of the news spotlight, we shouldn’t forget about the lead paint issue that effects the promotional products industry. While no one knows how wide-spread the problem is, it is nice to see companies are beginning to be held responsible for their actions.

Producer of Give-Away Lunchboxes Ordered to Pay $10 Million

L.A.-based lunchbox maker sold 100,000 lead-tainted lunchboxes to the state.
Oakland, CA -In San Francisco Superior Court yesterday, Judge Richard A. Kramer ordered L.A.-based T A Creations to pay $10,071,500 for the company’s violation of California law when it sold lead-tainted lunchboxes to

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The Folly of E-mail

Staff Writer

If you’ve never taken anything I’ve blogged about to heart these three months or so, please don’t let this entry fall on deaf ears.
There is a small project I’ve been working on in the evenings, and, like most things these days, much of the correspondence with those involved has been through e-mail. Almost a month ago, I’d e-mailed the project’s financier with some specific questions related to the work. After the first week passed without receiving a response from him, I grew uneasy, but did not take action. An obvious next-step would have been to make a follow-up call, right?
It’s

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Can Accessories Make Bank?

Staff Writer

I was checking out the Women’s Wear Daily Web site http://www.wwd.com/monday today and something caught my eye. According to writer Caroline Tell’s assessmentx of the most recent rash of Fashion Weeks around the globe, “the runways from New York to Paris were as much about the handbags and other accessories as they were about the clothes.” Now, I’m not a WWD subscriber, so I can’t read the rest of the article (oh technology, must you mock me so?), but it did get me thinking.
A lot of the promotional wearables news I’ve reported on in the past year has pointed to our industry taking

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