Congratulations to Veronica Stecker and Gordmans “Choose Your Outfit” app’s acceptance into the Facebook Studio Awards! In addition to managing Gordmans’ television, print, and digital marketing, Veronica maintains a blog on all things social at VeronicaStecker.com. Working with BlitzLocal, the “Choose Your Outfit” app launched on July 18th, 2011 and ran through August 19th, 2011. The interactive app allowed Facebook fans to dress a male or female avatar with Gordmans’ clothing and accessories. In order to use the “Choose Your Outfit” app, users had to fan Gordmans’ Facebook page. After a fan had chosen their outfit on the app, they received a 15% off coupon for use at any of Gordmans’ locations. Gordmans ran sponsored story Like ads and Friend of Fan ads to drive users to the “Choose Your Outfit” app. The campaign drove 10,376,388 impressions and 8,771 connections. These are great statistics, but the most telling of all was that Gordmans saw their average transaction size more than double from $32.00 to $68.00. Keep up the fantastic work Veronica! There are surely great things coming from Gordmans after the amazing “Choose Your Outfit” app and campaign.
About the Author: Travis King is Manager of Facebook Marketing at BlitzLocal.
Soles4Souls is Not Letting Your Old Shoes Go To Waste
It is dysfunctional to think that Americans discarded millions of athletic shoes over the course of this past year; worse yet, leaving most of those shoes to rot away in dangerous landfills. It has been estimated that the average American owns between 3-5 pairs of shoes today. So where do most of these shoes end up? Most of the shoes are worn, then thrown away to later rot in landfills. When surveyed by the EPA in 2007, landfills were proven to be leaking pollutants in 82% of those surveyed.(http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html). With the increasing pressure to recycle, combined with the danger of modern-day landfills, many worn sneakers should be re-used or recycled across the world today.
Surely recycling is a better option than leaving shoes to rot, contributing to the massive waste piles and hazardous material leaking out of landfills today. As the world grows more connected, better uses for our used shoes are becoming more and more clear as well. Most Americans reap the benefits of a society of abundance, while other societies around the world do not know such peace of mind. Wayne Elsey, founder of the charity Soles4Souls, is attempting to help people in need benefit from the tremendous amount of American used athletic shoes in our landfills today.
Excess. The filthy little word that illustrates over-abundance and waste. When examining the different facets of an average Americans daily life, excess is everywhere; over-sized SUVs, gaudy jewelry and twenty five pairs of shoes in our family closets! While the average American will own between 3 and 5 pairs of shoes at a time, the point in which we decide these shoes are no longer usable is the subject of this article today. These days, some people deem shoes unwearable, even if the shoes only have a single scuff! Other more patient sneaker patrons, will wait until their shoes are a little worn down before abandoning them completely. A gritty working-class person may even let their shoes go until they are worn through to the sole before deeming them unusable. In any instance, these shoes can still serve a good cause and can still be recycled, even after the original owners are done with them.
Soles4Souls is one of the organizations I recently discovered that had the fundamental aspiration to distribute used shoes to the people who need them, all over the world. Wayne Elsey, founder of Soles4Souls, apparently looked at devastation around the world, and envisioned aiding other countries with Americans used footwear. The epidemic of improper footwear runs rampant worldwide. Soles4Souls tackles this challenge by literally taking one man’s trash and turning it into another man’s treasure; quite noble to say the least. I learned that with that vision in mind, Wayne’s organization Soles4Souls has collected and distributed over 14 million pairs of gently worn shoes worldwide, in over 127 countries.
Even our earliest ancestors understood the importance of recycling what they used, and not wasting their resources. Why is it that this mantra seems to have been all but lost in regards to today’s footwear? While some may find it difficult to envision the lives of those struggling overseas, it is important to simply know that others around the world are indeed people; people with emotions, ideas, creativity, imagination, thoughts and feelings, who need shoes just like us. When Wayne envisioned supporting others with Americans’ worn-down sneakers, I imagine he was thinking of these people. The abundance of sneakers in America today is ridiculous and the footwear statistics are staggering. In my opinion, giving your sneakers to Soles4Souls is not only empathy; it’s common sense. It has been estimated that Americans purchase nearly a million pairs of sneakers per day. Instead of wasting these massive amounts of used sneakers, give them another chance. The landfills don’t need these excessive reserves of used shoes, but other people around the world do!
UpScale Plus and UpScale Princess 3890 Kipling Street (39th & Kipling)
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Phone: (303) 420.5423
Email: christine@upscaleplus.com
Contact: Christine Metzger christine@upscaleplus.com
(303) 420.5423
Websites: www.upscaleplus.com and www.upscaleprincess.com
An interview with Christine Metzer, owner of Upscale Plus and UpScale Princess, a local business in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Company name: UpScale Plus and UpScale Princess
Location: 39th & Kipling in Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. We’re a suburb of Denver.
Website: UpScale Plus (www.upscaleplus.com) for plus sizes 14w-28w and UpScale Princess (www.upscaleprincess.com) for ladies sizes 6-16.
Years in business: Since 1993
Motto: “If you can’t lose it, decorate it!”
Describe your business in 50 words or less: A nurturing atmosphere for all size women to add to their wardrobe or find the “cash in their closet” Have fun trying on clothing, jewelry, handbags, shoes in like-new condition where we sell Cherry Creek brands for Kohl’s pricing.
What are your areas of specialty? From plus to ladies sizes
What’s your competitive advantage? We are Denver’s oldest and largest plus size consignment shop. We began doing smaller sizes (6-16) in 2009 because of customer request.
What’s the most unusual thing that ever happened to you at your business? An ex-Denver Bronco wife came in and sold all of her Bronco paraphenalia.
What’s the biggest misconception about consignment? That its the same as thrift. Items are accepted here according to our guidelines which means we got a whole lotta good stuff – not someone’s unwanted items.
What do you do when not running your business? Taking care of other businesses, or reading my Nook.
Where can we get more information? Call me (303) 420-5423. Email me: christine@upscaleplus.com
Facebook me: UpScale Plus
Come by and pick up a brochure.
Visit our web sites: www.upscaleplus.com or www.upscaleprincess.com.
Is there anything you’d like to add? We love new consignors and are very helpful if you’ve never consigned anywhere before. If you consign here, you can consign anywhere.
DESIGN AT NOON (Main Office) 10 Cleveland Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 621.4922
Fax: (415) 621.4923
Email: info@designatnoon.com
Contact: Craig Woodgate
craig@designatnoon.com
(415) 621.4922 / ext 207
Website: www.designatnoon.com
DESIGN AT NOON is an award-winning creative communications company. We specialize in branding and design in all their manifestations, including:
Brand strategy & positioning
Corporate identity
Film titles / motion graphics
Packaging
Print collateral
Marketing communications
Naming / Nomenclature / Taglines
Retail environments
Website design
With a philosophy based on distinction, wit and charisma, we look at the messaging experience from all angles. Blue chips, start-ups and non-profits have benefitted from our tailored and flexible approach to delivering definitive solutions.
That work has been recognized by numerous publications and organizations, including AIGA, Communication Arts, Creative Review, Addy Awards and the Type Director’s Club. And a few pieces are housed in the Permanent Architecture and Design Collection at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Company name: Design Matters Home
Hometown: Louisville, Colo. (Old Town)
Website: Design Matters Home (http://www.designmattershome.com)
Years in business: We opened our office in Old Town Louisville in 2008.
Motto: “Your design matters, our expertise, results you want!”
Describe your business in 50 words or less: Design Matters believes that design is important, if not critical, to everything in the world, natural and manmade. We have broken design matters into six main components that we feel encompass all the pieces that are important to customers in interior design projects – Aesthetics, Functionality, Health, The Earth, Saving Money, and Future Investment.
What are your areas of specialty: Interior design, home staging for real estate
What’s your competitive advantage? We feel we have a very good ability to take a client’s vision, wants, and needs and use our expertise to come up with a solution that will work for their budget. Tim Gunn on Project Runway is famous for saying “make it happen!” We make it happen for our clients! We really want customers to embrace us as part of their project team. We are in it for them first and foremost and I think this vibe, and our attitude toward design, resonates with many people in our area.
We are the only full service Interior Design and Home Staging company in the Boulder, Broomfield, Longmont area providing services that enhance all the phases of home ownership: Kitchen and Bath Design, Real Estate Home Staging, Settle-In Design, Redesign and Interior Styling, Home Office Design, Home Entertainment Design, Outdoor Kitchen Design, Green Design, Universal Design, Color Consultations, Lighting Plans, Window Coverings, Project Management, Space Planning, Furniture Layout, Flooring, Upholstery, Feng Shui, Accessorizing, Built-in Design, Party and Holiday Styling.
What’s the most unusual thing that ever happened to you at your business? We are in a unique place as a business because when we go into a person’s home, we are seeing an aspect of their personal life that few people outside family and friend circles get to see. Sometimes we come across some real strange accessories and situations. One time we encountered a bunch of baby chicks in a bathtub while doing a consultation, and we love this kind of experience. We love to meet all kinds of people with all kinds of aesthetics and needs.
What’s the biggest misconception in interior design? There is no one-size-fits-all level of importance for any of our six design principles, or any project. Different customers will rank each design matter differently and that is cool. We pride ourselves on our flexibility and true desire to make the client’s interior design or home staging project succeed no matter what design issue is most important to them.
People frequently apologize about the state of their home. It is all good from our perspective, we have seen it all, and we need to see it all to get the driving force behind the life of our clients. Well done interior design is as much about a person’s lifestyle as it is colors on a wall. This is the spice of life and the lifeblood of our business. People should be proud of their homes. When you are proud that means you are comfortable and at peace in your home. This is super important. We all have enough challenges and stressors in our lives and our home should be our retreat. It should function how we want and it should calm or excite our senses as we want. We really do take this to heart and give everything we can to help clients feel this way and be as happy as possible inside their homes
What do you do when not running your business? We are part of the community where we do business. We live very similar lives as our clients and are able to have a strong rapport with them. My husband and I are both athletes. He races bicycles and I run marathons. We have kids in the BVSD school system, we participate in many countywide activities, and we support many local causes and local businesses. We are out there engaging in our surroundings. We know the market very well. Every member of the Design Matters Home team loves being around people. We are one of the guys or gals. We are here for our clients and are dedicated to the success of every project we take on. We know that when you are going through an interior design project or need a home stage that you are going through a big change. We are there with you during that change to make it go as fast as possible ending up in the desired results.
Where can we get more information? We have a blog on our website where we share our thoughts on various interior design, home staging, and market topics. We also conduct monthly workshops to help educate and inspire you with design. Questions about interior design and staging are always welcome, and we offer a free initial design consultation. We can meet you, preview your space, and see how we can help you transform your space to suit you perfectly.