Pantone Fall Fashion Report 2013

It's not surprising that designers are embracing — Emerald — as a staple in their collections. What's so awesome, though, is that designers are also opting for other rich, fall-friendly colors.

 

"Just as the leaves change in autumn, the consumer will enjoy the ability to change their 'look' and try a new approach to their wardrobe for brisk days ahead," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. "The fall 2013 palette allows for that versatility and experimentation."

 

Download The Fall 2013 Pantone Color Report Here.

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"In the next five years,

4 Easy Steps to Spark , Engage & Grow Your Business

It’s exciting and fresh,- and your enthusiasm can be contagious. As you educate your customer, You smile, you are focused, the positive and upbeat nature in your voice commands attention, it’s tone compelling as you explain the popularity and success with new technology mixing with promotional apparel. QR codes/ tags, laser etch visibility or the fashion appeal of applique. 

 New ideas can spark conversation. New ideas give you a reason to call that out of reach prospect, touch base with your customer- ENGAGE.  

Everyone is looking to grow their business. These 4 easy steps move you forward. 

1. Attract: Attract new prospects. 
2. Convert: Convert prospects into clients.
3. Expand: Expanding existing business.
4. Execute: Execute sales/fill orders. 

Positive, successful new trends and ideas attract attention. Giving prospects a new interactive use for promotional apparel and QR codes/tags is a great attention getting tool.

Using laser applique as a way to stand out in the call for embroidered apparel program bids is another way.  

Being the first to combine an attractive, value priced apparel product with the right decoration process and client is yet another way. You can use all of these ideas to get inspired by attending our Open House event Trends & Technology, Wed. June 15th. Drop by eu inc. between 9-11 to get informed, get inspired. 

Visit our EU Inc Open House Page for more info. Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

How to Sell Laser Applique and Make Great $$$

We have a growing number of distributors who are selling laser appliqued apparel- and their customers are loving the unique, new look . These same customers are taking healthy re-orders too and because we don’t want YOU missing out..Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Selling something something new and unique gives you a reason to start a new conversation. Pick up the phone and call that old client who may have taken his apparel program somewhere else. Chances are he hasn’t seen this process yet, and you can be the first to introduce it. 

1. Look for for new prospects. Remember when you first got in the business? Every restaurant you dined in seemed like a new sales opportunity? That is how fresh and exciting laser applique is- because most companies have never seen their logo decorated this way. You have an exclusive to sell, a new technique they have never seen. 
2. Look at logo’s all around you. Laser applique lets you use radically different textures of fabric to illustrate a logo. There are new prospects all around you that you can approach simply by showing them their logo in a way that has never been seen before. Look for these types of logo’s to get you started selling applique.  

    Logo’s with symbols. Any type of symbol, combined with lettering ( or not) can be       a good fit with laser applique. ( ie; The Mac Apple)  

    Word Art logo’s. Highly stylized lettering can be a great fit with applique. 

    Logo’s with a vintage, or retail appeal. 

    Logo’s with simple art element’s combined. 

    Logo's that communicate a cutting edge, hip, youthful or fashion type  feel.

   Complex logo’s that would typically require a large volume of embroidery stitches
   ( Because applique uses stitched down pieces of fabric pieces to cover large areas    with fewer stitches) 

    Dare to be different. Bidding on a new client? Make a statement by submitting     a sample of their logo using laser decoration. You will stand out , be memorable     and more than likely be the only distributor offering this process. 

 

 

The Business bait and switch......alive and well in today's corporate apparel market

 
The business bait and switch........is alive and well. A client came in this morning to drop off an order of a hundred shirts. The client asked if I had heard of this "new" brand. I didn't recognize it so I opened the box. Upon further inspection I commented that the label had been removed and replaced. Further inspection revealed the hang tag had been removed as had all labeling from the box. Needless to say the client was surprised. Even more so when he ran the RN # through the FTC to find the manufacturer was in North Carolina. So he calls the company to learn that they would be more than willing to sell him the garments. He establishes an account and finds that the shirts will cost him $10.99 NOT the $19.00 that he was going to pay this other sales person.

Another sales rep playing fast with the facts. Doesn't happen too often but then when it does...  

Recently, on my blog small business 101, I wrote about the " trust" factor.. interesting connection. 

 

Easy Online Image Sharing and Bonus Celebrity Interview..

 

In this business, we move a lot of image files- in and out- to be digitized, approved, processed and even just to show off our work to friends and clients. Here are a couple top tech tools you can utilize, to make it even easier..

The most obvious- yet often overlooked; Facebook. Simply upload your photos or videos to Facebook.com and they will be available to everyone. Each photo can be shared with it's own url you can email, bookmark or post elsewhere. Look for this feature on the photo page. You can download high-res images , there is no storage limitation and the facebook app is widely used on smartphones. Check out our sample album , by clicking the button above. 

For easy viewing of your digitized design, see this free software tool you can download. 

To edit your images online, try Picnik.com. This free site has awesome simple tools for fixing , editing and resizing your pics. And now for that bonus celebrity interview.. Click here to see video by star reporter, daughter Olivia - all about EU Inc, a recent Fun Friday post to our Facebook Page. 

Think smart. For more ideas on being a thought leader, social media and business 101, click here to visit Bruce's Business 101 Blog..

Creativity and The Corporate Logo

Inc. Magazine just released an awesome slideshow featuring the evolution of some of the most famous corporate logo's in today's culture- along with the images come details behind the creative minds, the creations and what the icon's were meant to represent. 

Today's decorating trends are represented as well- there is the monochromatic famous apple, which reminds us of the tone on tone , popular metallic thread look used often for tech companies on black garments. There are tags, icon's and streamlined symbols accompanied by little or no text. In general the look is clean and streamlined, simple yet strong. Yet still, that does not mean the decorating must be sparse, instead it could be creatively well planned. 

If your client has a logo that translates well to applique, try this new look utilizing lettering or a symbol or icon present in their corporate image. If your client likes the look of embroidery, and the logo has multiple parts, add secondary or third locations with each design simply done, a tag on the nape of the neck, a small line of text on the sleeve, a symbol on the chest. 

Consider your client's corporate logo creatively and what decorating techniques are well suited. Left, we have been able to etch the clients' entire logo, name, symbol and tag, in a jacket back location.Etching can be done with subtle small locations, down the sleeve , left chest vertically , across the back... - the options are endless and the tone on tone look is flattering on a bright colored garment. 

Most importantly, make sure you know your client's corporate logo well. Use this Download Classic_Conversion_Pantone_A4_PDF to appropriately match PMS colors to thread, and make sure you match the client's corporate style to the right decorating technique. Your options are endless.. and to get your creative juices stirring.. check out our album of recent swatch samples. 

Think smart. For more ideas on being a thought leader, social media and business 101, click here to visit Bruce's Business 101 Blog..

 

 

 

Make It Easy, A Cool Tech Tool You Can Use

We want you to work smart.. It will save you time and money. We also want to be able to discuss your designs with you, in detail- and we want you to be able to view and discuss your digitized designs with your client.

Here is a cool tool you can use- and if you use a smart phone- you can be even cooler. Read on..

Imagine if you were having lunch with a client , and you were able to pull up his design exactly how it was embroidered last time. You could discuss color changes, and specifics with the image on screen as it was sewn. With Ambassador software you can save it as a jpeg, and view it on your smart phone over lunch, just try not to spill any salsa on the screen.. those smart phones are expensive.

At EU Inc. we are committed to tech tools and use the latest embroidery technology. The maker of our software, Pulse Microsystems offers Ambassador, an easy to use, free software just for you. Ambassador will allow you to view the digitized files, change colors, even resize and more.. ( if you really want to get more technical..) 

A great cool tool you can use. Think smart. For more ideas on being a thought leader, social media and business 101, click here to visit Bruce's Business 101 Blog..