Halloween's a Coming

I love fall, the leaves are festive, the air reminds me of a summer day at the beach (that's the beach on the Oregon north coast, where 80 degrees is a heat wave), and the kids are back in school. We're busy churning out new designs, both custom ones and others that go well with the Simply Words category. We've also got a new Boo! promotion that is sure to add a little fun and whimsy tucked in with each order (now until Oct 25th).

Our designs have been spotted on a new site, where site users can create a mashup of several images and create their own digital expressions. Check out one of the family designs and then give it a go. It's a quick and fun way to start designing at http://www.polyvore.com/.

Rethinking Our Website

Where there’s a website, there’s a way to improve it. We’ve been thinking about our website a lot lately, and we’re slowly realizing that we need some significant overhaul. The designs are difficult to find, the shopping cart options aren’t standardized, and shipping options and discounts are cumbersome. On the other hand, it has a great look and feel to the design that really resonates with our customers.

We’re looking at updating the the custom quote options, which will let customers really get a chance to play with their design, font choices, and colors up front. We want that to be a seamless transition to either purchase directly without intervention. We also want to keep the ability to transfer the work in progress to the next step where one of our designers can make it truly special with a mix of fonts, colors, embellishments, layout options, and everything else they do to make the custom quotes a work of art.

Here’s hoping this redesign is a positive experience. Generally when you get creative types and technology types together they can’t seem to communicate. You end up with visually stimulating designs that don’t have the features or functionality that is actually something someone can use. Maybe that business degree in computer information systems will come in handy–not that I’m ever planning on admitting that it was worth it to suffer through statistics!

New Colors Are Coming!

The nagging, whining, and constant cajoling has finally paid off! Hot off the presses (or cutters, in our case) are 14 new colors from our supplier, Oracal. We haven’t seen them yet, but we anticipate a sage green, an olive, a teal, persimmon, a few more flavors of pink/magenta and more. We’ll get them available just as soon as they arrive, so keep watch on the color sample page for the latest update. 62 colors–Whew!

So for those that really can’t find the perfect color in the mix of 62 choices, we have the ability to cut most of the designs in a ‘reverse weed’ order. What this means to the design perfectionist (and you know you are!) is that you can use the design as the perfect single use stencil for a precise color match. Of course the beauty of the vinyl medium is that it is quicker and easier than paint, but the reverse technique is prefect for that hand painted look.

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Why yes, wall decals ARE removable!

We often get questions about how easy vinyl wall decals are to remove. Our designs are made of a type of thin vinyl that is removable without leaving a residue behind. These peel and stick designs are easy to put up, and look great until you're ready to take them down. The removable designs are a great alternative to paint or stencils, which can only be covered rather than removed.

The decals work well in apartments, dorm rooms, as seasonal or holiday decor. They are also an elegant touch for weddings and events. Cover an ancient tile back-splash with some of our tile cover-ups for a fresh take on an old space. Our beautiful matte finish means that the design mimics the look of paint, and an entire design can be installed faster than stenciling on a single word--no mess, no fumes, and no brushes to clean. When you're ready to remove the design, a little heat from a hairdryer loosens the adhesive, and then it's a matter of gently picking at a corner until you get a solid piece to peel off. We can even provide a sample of the vinyl for a quick surface (or color) test.

Vinyl decals are inexpensive, easy to install, and make a fun personal statement. What do your walls have to say about you?

We'd Like to Thank...

This has been one of those crazy months. We’re training a bunch of new people, getting even more administrivia handled, and are generally trying to remember what we used to do when we had free time. I thought that a little round of thank you’s were in order.

Clatsop Spit and Thundermuck coffee from Columbia River Coffee Roasters–you rock! :: USPS and your delightful pick up service :: Watching UPS trying to navigate the driveway with their trucks :: The Obama Beer Summit — thank goodness nothing else newsworthy is going on in the world :: RAIN, RAIN, and MORE RAIN proving once again that Columbus gets more rainfall than Seattle :: Pancake dinners :: Kitty mascots :: Wired Magazine — once a geek, always a geek! :: ADP Payroll Processing — keeping us out of IRS hell :: Michael Jackson :: The Apple Store and the shiny new toys that we’re only mildly afraid of :: The evil Roland vinyl cutter that is out to get Sami :: Armchair traveler books to Italy :: HD Radio :: Wood fired pizza, and the man that lights our fire :: Fireflies making us smile during late run nights :: The DYMO label printer — Is it wrong to love a machine? :: Harry Potter at midnight (and bring on more Snape, please!) :: IKEA and the Pottery Barn Outlet — two good reasons we’ll always need a truck :: Starting a new batch of wine with Mike and Tim :: Chalkboard vinyl — new medium to play with!

Top 10 reasons to work here

10. You get all the miscut, mis-colored, returned, and otherwise unsellable vinyl your walls can hold.

9. Working space without a cubicle in sight.

8. Every time a design gets miscut or messed up, an angel gets their wings!

7. Flexible hours–work when there are orders, go home when they’re done

6. You get to make up your own title (i.e. Designer Extraordinaire, Production Master, Inventory Diva, the list goes on…)

5. The employee lounge doubles as a wine cellar with at least one batch of wine being made at any given time. Bottling may be part of the job description, we’re not sure yet.

4. The wood-fired pizza oven is a fun way to make your lunch. Smelling like a campfire for the rest of the afternoon is an added bonus.

3. You get to meet fun and interesting people, like the UPS, FedEx, and Mail Carriers

2. Twittering, Blogging, FaceBooking, MySpacing (are those even words?) are part of the daily duties.

And the number one reason we’re fun to work for:

1. Championship sword fighting with pointy little weeding tools!

Site Updates!

We’ve recently changed hosting providers. While that doesn’t sound very exciting, it has given us a few features that we hope are a big hit with everybody. We’ve got a new Quote Request Form for customers to get started on a personal masterpiece. We’ve also got a fun Font Previewer for 25 of our more popular fonts.

We made requesting sample colors easier than ever with a Color Request Form, now updated with all 48 of the available Oracal 631 colors. Choices, choices, choices!



While we’re excited about the changes to the website, we’re also still running into a few hurdles in the change over, namely we’re having difficulty replying to email. Seriously, Outlook is not playing nice with our new hosting provider—any great IT techs out there with a knack for taming Outlook, let me know! I pay in vinyl!

Cheers!
Morgan