ChemArt Blog

I attended the CASE District 1 conference at the end of January at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts. The conference helps schools in the New England states find creative ways to engage donors. Some would say the name sounds like a future spin off to a CSI television show. Picture this….

CASE District 1-Boston features actor David Caruso as the Alumni Director of a small New England liberal arts school. He searches for members of the class of 1949 on Facebook. In the distance you can here Pete Townsend of the rock group The Who thinking about a new rock opera with only music from Case District 1 episodes. I know what you thinking — after reading this blog I should call a pharmacy. ChemArt has the number on speed dial.

Due to budget concerns (and Mr. Caruso’s availability) it might not be feasible this year for this show. The CASE District 1 conference was attended by many New England schools and universities that learned ways to “Renew Reinvest and Reengage” former and current students.

The mission of CASE District 1 is to provide educational professionals in alumni relations, communications, and development with information, tools, and networking opportunities to advance both their careers and institutions.

The one thing that was not in the CASE mission statement was the word “INSPIRE” which many attendees felt after listening to the keynote speaker John Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs founded a t-shirt company in 1994 with his brother with $78.00 in the bank (now is a $100 million dollar company). He shared his struggles of getting his now famous t-shirt “Life is good®” brand to the market place and the $3 million the company gives for the Life is good Kids Foundation. His words of wisdom that we all took from the conference: “Optimism can take you anywhere”

If you need to get inspired about ornaments like Mr. Jacobs did with T-shirts make sure you join us as we spotlight Troy Newbraugh, Director of Development at the Timber Ridge School, for a how-to demonstration of his school’s annual ornament program, which has raised over $500,000 for the school in a special webinar February 11^th.

Title: Successful Fundraising with an annual Christmas Ornament Program
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:                  
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/443007203

I was asked to report on some trends that I noticed at the recent markets, and while they are far from being over, I can report on what might be the most under-reported story of all – retailer optimism.   But I digress, so indulge me for a minute, while I live up to the task and address the trends:

                Frosty elements – white, glittery, icy; silver accents with hints of subdued colors

                Return of opulence – regal colors of the Renaissance – deep rich color, antique golds and velvety textures

                Initials/Personalization – continued to see new entrants (ChemArt included) that offer fun and youthful designs to appeal to the diva, teen-tween markets.

                And lastly, Celebrity.  It was everywhere from Marie Osmond, to Tony Curtis, Jane Seymour and even Chef Tyler Florence.            

It seems these trends will be the watchword for 2010. I expect we’ll see additional iterations as the year progresses.  As some stores told me, they can’t get enough of some of these trends; especially initials and frosty elements

But back to what really stuck out as the major news event of the Atlanta International Gift Market in January 2010!  I was surprised by the outpouring of customers.  It was early, it was icy, it was crowded and most importantly the traffic was consistent from day to day, and the conversations positive. 

Like all vendors, we love to hear the good things, and it’s those good things that keep us going when a year like 2009 occurs.  Beyond the focus on white/icy/glitter; beyond the additional entrants into the personalization craze; beyond everything above, the real trend was optimism.  Real optimism – not a wish with a string tied around your finger or your fingers crossed behind you back, or even just the wish, the hope, the need to be bright and cheery. 

We hear a lot about Wall St and Main St, well I’m here to tell you Main St was ready.  The psychology of ending the year – having been one of those that made it through – pointed to the resilience of the retailer and the consumer.  Retailers wouldn’t be planning on making purchases unless the consumer actually showed up. 

That consumer is pickier, fussier, and less likely to just spend on anything.  But the important thing is that they ARE spending.  So as economies go that should translate to additional need for employees, less people without a job, more money being fed into the economy and eventually more jobs for many sectors. 

Believe me, I’ not anything close to being an economist, but I can connect the dots.  Dots that today need to be connected.  And not one news station in Atlanta or across the nation told this story.  They were all busy covering the electronics show because gadgets are sexy, next generation and aspirational. 

I’d love to hear from you!  What did you find at the show that is really here to stay?

A Day in the Life of a Major Gifts Officer

Five keys to successful blogger outreach

How to Find Your Writing Niche – Even in a Saturated Market

5 Trends in Digital Marketing

Organizing Your Donors

Simple Steps to Creating Custom Social Landing Pages and Social Emails

A New Model for Nonprofit Journalism

1,000 Posts in The Thicket – women in state legislatures

(for those who don’t know, that’s the Council for Advancement and Support of Education/National Association of Independent Schools)?  Whew, that was a mouthful….

First of all the show couldn’t have been in a better place, NYC!  We were in the heart of the theater district at the Marriot Marquis NYC.  By day I was talking to development/advancement directors and by night I was trying to get a role in a Broadway play.  Who knew that you had to prepare for such a thing?!

Although I didn’t make it on stage to act out my lifelong dream of staring in a Broadway musical, I did get to see one.  I saw HAIR at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and it was almost as amazing as the free continental breakfast at the CASE NAIS Conference!  Just think endless tables of coffee, juice, danish, breads and last but not least, miniature bagels.  YUM! 

Our product definitely stood out amongst the sea of database management companies, marketing firms, etc.   All the people that I paid to stop by our booth did and to my surprise they brought some friends.   In the famous words of Murdock from the A-Team, “I love it when a good plan comes together”.    

Here’s the problem I heard at the Conference from Independent Schools:  They are going through some of the same challenges that many organizations are facing like budget cuts, decreased private/corporate donations and limited resources.   With all that going on, developing a unique way to increase donor retention, bring on new donors and raise funds is more important than ever. 

The solution:  An annual collectible program!  It’s a unique way to get donors, employees and the general public invested to the point where they can’t live without the next collectible in the series.  Trust me, we’ve seen it happen but if you want to read about it check out the Timber Ridge School  case study on our website, www.chemart.com.  Their ornaments have reached the point where they are selling on E-Bay for millions…ok not millions but definitely in the hundreds…   

The long and short of my trip to NYC is that I am NOT going to star on Broadway, however I was able to reach out to many Independent Schools and offer a solution to some of the challenges they are facing this year! 

Enough about what I got out of my trip.  I am calling out to all Independent Schools who attended…  Besides the breakfast, which I already mentioned above, what was your highlight and what did you learn from the fabulous sessions this year?

Where do all those beautiful ornaments come from? Undoubtedly, from the talented artists at the ChemArt Company. We not only have a large group of artists, we have a very versatile group. Collectively this makes for a perfect recipe for a great department.

There are people from Texas, to Pennsylvania, to Massachusetts, to little Rhode Island. We have humorous personalities and very serious personalities. It makes for a well-rounded department. It also makes for a group of people with very different styles and strengths. You could say each artist has their own creative niche, just as ChemArt has it’s own niche.

There are artists that excel in 3 dimensional designs. They generally are very detailed, meticulous, and patient. There are artists who excel in production art. They are generally detail-oriented, and not so patient. But they are very good at time management. We have artists who excel in manipulating the way we use our screen print capabilities. They are generally creative in their thinking, patient, and always challenging the rules of our standards.

While each artist can have his or her own niche, we all benefit from everyone’s niche! We all like to be challenged and grow as artist. Having certain talents all combined in one department benefits us as individuals as well as benefits ChemArt as a leader in custom and retail collectibles.