How To Sell It: Jewelry
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| Diane Katzman Design (asi/63988) worked with a distributor to create these sales-award bracelets for Clinique, a maker of cosmetics, skincare products and more. |
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Jewelry may not be among the first product categories that spring to mind when distributors consider what type of ad specialties will appeal to clients. But by overlooking jewelry, distributors do themselves and their customers a disservice.
For starters, jewelry can prove an excellent solution for clients in many markets. "We sell through distributors to financial services, pharmaceutical, automotive, real estate, colleges, and trade associations," says Diane Katzman, CEO of Diane Katzman Design (asi/63988), which creates custom jewelry pieces. "We cater to just about every industry. Our jewelry is given to show that the company values their employees, customers and prospects. It's gifted at special events and anniversary celebrations as well as used as travel gifts. It's also a brisk redeemer for dollars and points in online stores."
Potential applications for jewelry are vast, and what type of jewelry will be most appropriate is contingent on the intended end-use and audience, says Chris Morgan, vice president of sales at Sticky Jewelry (asi/89811). For example, schools use "Class of…" pendants, perhaps with student names, to sell as fundraisers, Morgan says. Meanwhile, medical ID jewelry – often a hot seller – appeals to pharmaceutical companies, health-care providers and medical supply firms. Additionally, planners for 5K races and marathons may want to give away bracelets with race information and runners names, while musical acts could look to invest in black-plated dog tags with band branding to sell at concerts.
Don't overlook cuff links either, says Chris Zownir. The president of Cuffwear Inc. (asi/47842) says stainless steel cufflinks etched with a logo or created in the shape of a company's logo are popular in industries that include finance, industry and corporate real estate. The list goes on.
"I'd encourage distributors to think outside the box set by our parents' jewelry armoire," Morgan says, "and open up to the possibilities of quality dog tags, survival bracelets, USB-integrated bracelets, and sports bands. That will help you set yourself apart in a highly-normalized market space."
To maximize the return from jewelry for clients, ascertain what the buyer wants the accessories to accomplish. This helps reduce the chances of a prospect not buying because of price point. By comprehensively understanding the end-use, for example, you could be able to change materials and imprint methods to meet certain budgets. "Maybe," says Morgan, "they don't need sterling silver when stainless steel will still accomplish the goal." Of course, understanding who the end-user will be is equally critical to a campaign's success. "It will help you determine what jewelry to suggest," says Morgan. "Choosing a demographically-appropriate solution will result in a successful implementation."
Indeed, if executed correctly, jewelry-driven initiatives can lead to the kind of ROI clients are after. Katzman proved that to be true on a recent job for a client in which she took the end-buyers' corporate colors and wove them into accessories that included elegant hand-beaded bracelets and enamel cufflinks. Says Katzman: "They were such a hit that they were quickly reordered." |
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Vote For The Wearables Top Decorator
You can now vote in Round 3 of the Wearables Top Decorator competition. This time, competitors were challenged to integrate a piece of stock art into a creatively stunning and technically precise design. Click here to vote for your favorites. Hurry – voting ends Friday, May 10. |
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Top Decorator Q&A: Black Duck
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| Doug (left) and Dana Bird are the co-owners of Black Duck, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. |
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Five competitors remain in our year-long Wearables Top Decorator competition. Between now and Round 3 of the competition (which will appear in the June issue), we are interviewing the remaining competitors to find out who they are and what they do. In this edition, we speak with Doug Bird, co-owner of Black Duck Inc. in Albuquerque, NM.
Q: How did Black Duck get started?
Doug Bird: My brother Dana and I started Black Duck in 1989, so next year will be our 25th anniversary. We started like most shops, in about 400 square feet with not much equipment, but we made it go. We have grown over the last 24 years and now we’re in a 25,000 square-foot facility with four automatics, four manuals, and embroidery as well. We do sublimation, simple signs and banners, that kind of stuff.
Q: How did you get into this line of work?
DB: I was a commercial artist in the advertising field, and this friend of mine was in the T-shirt business. I was doing artwork for him. It seemed interesting to me, so I got into it a little bit more and starting selling some of the orders myself. I eventually got out of the ad business and full-time into the apparel business.
Q: Black Duck does a bunch of different things, but what do you think is your strength?
DB: In New Mexico, we’re kind of known as the place to go for more difficult prints. There are a lot of shops that will refer business to us; either they don’t have a press that’s big enough or they don’t have the art capability to produce an order. They’ll either subcontract it to us or refer that customer to us.
Q: How did you get that reputation?
DB: I think we’re just concerned with always making the job look right. We were fortunate enough to hire some really great artists. I think a lot of the end result comes from where you start it from. If you’ve got great art, you can end up with a great result.
Q: How have you found the experience so far of participating in the Top Decorator competition?
DB: It’s been fun. We always like a challenge. It gives us a chance to stretch a little bit and think about the whole process and collaborate between the art and printing department. Figuring out what’s going to have the most impact or pop from start to finish – that’s the stuff that we do every day. |
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New ASI Online Learning Course
Taking part in the ASI Education Certification Program is free of cost and completely user-friendly for ASI members. Achieving your BASI or MASI designation is a great investment in yourself and your career. To get started right now, visit www.asicentral.com/onlinelearning to take this class and other great courses:
Elective Hot Niche Market Courses
ND51: Drive Big Sales: Break Into the Automotive Sector (ND51)
In this self-paced, interactive course learn how to break into the exciting, lucrative automotive sector, updated for 2013. |
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Acrylic: A manufactured fiber derived from polyacrylonitrile. Its major properties include a soft, wool-like hand, machine washablity and dryablity, and excellent color retention. Solution-dyed versions have excellent resistance to sunlight and chlorine degradation.
Ergonomics: The study of improving a garment design to enhance the wearers' comfort, performance, or health.
Merino: A high-end wool that originates from pure-bred Merino sheep. The most sought-after Merino wool comes from Italy. This fiber is used only in the best of woolen and worsted fabrics, billiard cloth, etc. |
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Ash City (asi/37143) has hired Nadia Santoli as communications manager.
Bullet (asi/42424) announced that it has implemented a new phone system to help improve its customer service offerings. The system tracks incoming calls and current call volume, and then distributes calls to employees with the applicable area of expertise and reduces customer wait times. It also allows representatives to assess order statuses.
CafePress Inc. has launched CafePress Services to provide turnkey, personalized e-commerce solutions for corporate partners. For more information, visit www.cafepressservices.com.
EMT (asi/52263) has hired Kristy Tantillo as strategic and brand marketing manager.
Floriani Commercial Products has released its new Appli-Stitch spring design collection, featuring 12 ready-to-use designs and step-by-step instructions to create professional-looking appliqué with no cutting. For more information, visit www.florianicommercial.com.
Gifts Of Distinction (asi/56795) is now selling "Watertown Police Strong" T-shirts, proceeds from which will go to the Watertown Police Foundation. Visit the site here for more information.
Graphic Solutions Group now offers the new Wilflex Epic Top Score, a series of pre-mixed athletic inks designed to print on polyester substrates that require a low curing temperature. For more information, visit www.gogsg.com.
Great Dane Graphics has added new products to its American Pride line of high-quality, pre-separated designs for use in screen printing, DTG, sublimation and heat-applied graphics printing.
Hirsch International (asi/14982) will host an open house at its Solution Studio in Charlotte, NC on June 7 and 8. Attendees will have the opportunity to view demos of a variety of decorating equipment. Register here or visit www.hic.us for more information.
Imprintables Warehouse (asi/58475) has launched The Dump at Imprintables.com, where customers can find overstocked or discontinued products at discounted prices. Visit thedumpatimprintables.com for more information.
Lands’ End Business Outfitters (asi/250566) has launched a Uniform Design Studio tool to allow organizations to create virtual uniform programs. For more information, visit www.landsend.com/business.
Leed’s (asi/66887) has redesigned its EcoSmart logo and has added updated information to its website about eco-friendly products. The company is also planning to unveil more eco-friendly items later this year. For more information, visit www.leedsworld.com/ecosmart.
Logomark (asi/67866) has hired Seth Friedman and Lisa Jacubovics as regional sales managers. Friedman is responsible for distributors in Philadelphia, NJ, DE, MD and Washington, DC, and Jacubovics for NY, MA and ME.
Proforma (asi/300094) has announced that founder Greg Muzzillo recently launched MillionDollarUniversity.com, an online resource for gaining insight into creating wealth in the print and promotional products industry. For more information, visit milliondollaruniversity.com.
Promotional Wearhouse Inc. (asi/300725) announced that it is celebrating its 35th year of operation as a distributor, importer and manufacturer of corporate apparel and promotional products.
Spector & Co. (asi/88660) announced that it has relocated to a larger distribution center for its U.S. customers. The new address, effective May 15, is 100 Walnut St., Ste. 6, Champlain, NY, 12919.
Stahls’ ID Direct (asi/88984) now offers Stahls’ Rip-Away Appliqué, a simple process that allows decorators to create designs using embroidery equipment, Stahls’ CAD-CUT Glitter Flake and a heat press. To learn more, visit www.stahlsid.com/rip-away. Additionally, Stahls’ ID Direct is currently offering free ground freight shipping with any purchase of a Hotronix or MAXX brand machine through May 31. To view the full line, visit www.stahls.com/heat-press.
Vastex International has launched VRS Lite, a small-scale, low-cost Screen Registration System that allows film positives to be registered onto screens off-press, and screens to be registered on-press more quickly than with conventional methods. Visit www.vastex.com for more information. |
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