Recognizing “Sweet” Clients and Volunteers with “Heart”

 

Heart-Shaped Jar Opener

For years, corporations and organizations have followed a tradition of sending holiday cards and gifts to their clients, vendors and volunteers. The end of the year is recognized as a good time to acknowledge relationships and relect on the past year. But because so many companies honor this practice, recipients are flooded with cards and the gesture loses some of its impact.

Consequently, in recent decades, companies started sending Thanksgiving cards and gifts in lieu of Christmas or New Year greetings.  After all, Thanksgiving is a holiday devoted to giving thanks for the good things in life, and that includes our clients, vendors and volunteers.  Furthermore, the Thanksgiving holiday is not associated with any specific religious faith.  As a result, Thanksgiving now brings a  lot of client appreciation “traffic”.

Heart-Shaped Magnetized Power Clip

 Have you ever considered sending Valentine’s Day gifts to your customers and volunteers?  If you want to stand out from your competition and be recognized and remembered by the people who make your business run, this is a great time to express your affection for them.   It’s also a creative way to remind your clients that you are here for them, and bump up your “middle-of-winter” sales.

It’s the thought that counts, so Valentine gifts and goodies for customers, vendors (and even employees) do not have to be costly to make an impact; tokens of appreciation will work just fine.  Cookies, brownies, chocolate and other sweets are a timeless representation of the holiday. You can buy them in the individual boxes, attaching your business card or a branded postcard with a ribbon.   Send a card in an envelope and you can even include an extra -a small flat promotional item like a magnet with your company logo.

Heart-Shaped Sponge

 If you don’t want to send boxed chocolates or sweets, coffee mugs are a great vehicle for candies, individual packets of coffee, or gift cards.  Here’s a great idea– include a printed “coupon” for coffee with you. This gives you an opportunitiy to follow up and set coffee dates, giving you some one-on-one time with your most valued customers.

And don’t forget things that are shaped like hearts!  Did you know that A Creative Touch has more than 4,800 heart-themed promotional products?  Here are just a few of the heart-themed products we offer:  aprons, auto accessories, baggage tags, blankets, books, calculators, cameras, clipboards, coasters, coin purses, compact discs, cookie jars, dishes, flashlights, picture frames, highliters, ice scrapers, jewelry boxes, key holders, key chains, magents, heart-shaped measuring spoons, mouse pads, notepads, playing cards, salt and pepper shakers, scarves, shopping bags, soaps, spa products, sponges, stress relievers, stuffed animals, tape measures, and tote bags!

But, if I had to choose my favorite heart-inspired gift, it would be a customized book such as the one I created for my customers.  It’s called:  The Heart of a Volunteer.  Click here to read more about it.

Flag Day T-Shirt

 Happy Flag Day!  June 14th commemorates the day in 1777 when the Second Constitutional Congress adopted the thirteen-stripes-and-thirteen-stars American flag.

As the legend goes, it was George Washington and two other members of the Continental Congress who asked Betsy Ross to sew the first American flag sometime in the late spring of 1776.  The young widow was only in her early 20’s when she completed the first flag with thirteen stars arranged in a circle.  A year later, the Continental Congress officially adopted the design for the national flag, and our beloved Stars and Stripes became the most recognized symbol of the United States around the world.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 “Flag Day.”  Thirty-five years later (in1949), Congress passed legislation asking the president to issue an annual proclamation calling for the observance of the holiday.

This week, millions of Americans will observe Flag Day by waving Old Glory outside their homes and businesses. Veteran’s groups and certain communities also arrange events and special ceremonies in honor of Flag Day.  But, there is another way to show your patriotism–promotional products.

My favorite patriotic promotional products is this tie-dyed American flag T-shirt.  For me, it’s an item that puts a fresh, modern twist on the traditional Old Glory.  Available in sizes S to XL, the shirt includes your own 1-color imprint (front or back).  A client recently ordered this T-shirt with a custom imprint, and the results were fantastic!

Whether you enjoy a traditional approach to Flag Day or a modern spin on celebrating the Stars and Strips, you’re sure to enjoy these fun facts about our flag:

Who cut the American flag into pieces and was honored for doing it?

Robert Peary, who left pieces of the flag scattered at the North Pole

Is it ever appropriate to fly the flag upside down?

Yes, but only in an emergency. It means “Help Me! It’s an emergency! Call the police! I am in dire trouble and need immediate help!”

What is done with worn or outdated flags?

Flags are used until they are worn out and then they are destroyed, preferably by burning.

The American flag first flew over a foreign fort in what country?

Libya - over Fort Derne, on the shores of Tripoli.

A vexillologist is an expert in what?

The history of flags.

How to Make a Lapel Pin

Ever wonder how custom lapel pins are made?  You’ll be surprised at all of the work (much of it done by hand!) that goes into making these miniature pieces of wearable art….

Lapel Pin Diplomacy

My friend Star Sosa of Spectrum Art & Jewelry told me about a wonderful book by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.  Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box, was published in conjunction with the Museum of Arts and Design’s first major exhibition of jewelry from Ms. Albright’s personal collection.

Why should the world care about Madeleine Albright’s pins? Well, turns out they were an important factor in recent history. The story goes that Albright, the first female Secretary of State became known for wearing brooches during diplomatic meetings that purposefully conveyed her views.

It started when Albright criticized Saddam Hussein and in return, Hussein’s poet in residence called her “an unparalleled serpent.” Shortly thereafter, while preparing to meet with Iraqi officials, Albright decided to make a diplomatic statement by wearing a snake pin she happened to have in her jewelry box. From that day forward, pins became part of Albright’s diplomatic communication.

For example, when Ms. Albright thought negotiations would likely go well, she would wear a balloon pin. She also frequently wore a dove pin given to her by Leah Rabin, wife of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995 by a radical opposed to Rabin’s role in peace efforts. Later, Leah Rabin presented Albright with a matching dove necklace, and told her, “In your job one dove of peace is not going to be enough.”

As the Queen of Promotional Products, one of the things I find most interesting about Albright’s collection is that it is not particularly valuable in terms of the jewelry itself. Many of the pins owned by the former Secretary of State are mass-produced, inexpensive pieces (like the ones we sell here) that she picked up or received as token gifts during her diplomatic globe-trotting.

The Museum of Arts and Design will be holding on to Albright’s pin collection for a while; because it is a traveling exhibit, Ms. Albright will not get her pins back for at least two years. This didn’t seem to bother her. According to USA Today, the museum curator said Albright saw the long delay as an opportunity — to buy more pins.

Did You Earn Your Wings?

 Aah, the good ol’ days….I travel extensively and these days we’re lucky if the airline gives us a bag of pretzels and something to drink.  But do you remember the days when the airlines used to serve food on real china with real silverware?  Or the era when you could still get pillows and blankets and slippers without flying first class?

The airlines used to treat children well too.  As a kid it was so exciting to fly the friendly skies knowing that your reward would be a set of plastic wings “just like” the ones the pilots wore on their uniforms.  Didn’t every child dream of becoming a pilot or a flight attendant after receiving a junior wings lapel pin?

Those airline lapel wings are now pieces of nostalgia sought after by collectors.  Manufacturers started issuing lapel pins in the 1930’s.  Today there are over 900 known types of junior wings.  They have been made from cast metal, stamped tin, plastic, cloth, paper and vinyl.  Small plastic wings sell for about $1 each on the collectibles market whereas metal wings command about $25 a pair.  As for those childhood memories?  Well, they’re priceless.