Spring where have you gone?

It's now the 22nd of March and we're still looking for Spring. It snowed again last night and I have to say to the people who eat, pray love snow - STOP Please! :)
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

First Day of Spring

It is officially the first day of Spring today. Not the 20th  of March,  the 21st. I don't know why some media reported it as yesterday?  Very confusing.

However...what does the season Spring mean to you? To me - it's Spring Cleaning time and hearing the amazing sound of running water. The painting above is one of my watercolors. We have a cottage near Magnetewan and there is a very small waterfall on the road leading in. This is what I've always dreamt the falls would look like. Sadly they are but a trickle.

Back to spring cleaning...Elite is doing it too!  We're dusting off old stock and having more sales than I've ever seen before. We're clearing out the cobwebs so stay tuned for more closeout announcements.

Marble Bookends Closeout

Marble Bookends
Closeout Sale! Reg $25.00 Pair
SALE PRICED $10.00 PAIR!! - Engraved $15.00 a pair.  A $30.00 artwork setup charge applies to all engraving orders.


Quantities left;

Black - 8 pairs
White - 2 pairs
Sand - 4 pairs

As you can see, we have VERY limited quantities available. Contact beverly@eliteawards.com and buy a set a these beautiful bookends today.

Sales

We have some fantastic sales on right now as we clear-out old stock to make way for the new.
One very interesting ECO item is our 100% recycled glass TV from British Columbia.  It is approximately 4" x 4" x 1" thick.

I only have 174 of these and when they're gone - they're gone. It would be the perfect promotional item for anyone in the television industry or perhaps a movie recognition award. Rock bottom priced. Email beverly@eliteawards.com and I'll send you the flyer with the pricing.

Did you know?

How many of us have heard of FSC products, wood, paper etc, without truly knowing what it means? I for one did not know until we started selling and adhering to the protocols necessary to selling FSC certified bamboo and Medite (MDF). So for my newest blog, I thought I would pass on some of this valuable information to you.

FSC stands for, Forest Stewardship Council. In Canada over 50 Million Hectares are FSC-Certified forests, over one-third of all FSC certified forests in the world, are in our country! Very impressive. By supporting FSC products you also support a system that protects rare and endangered forests and wildlife. "FSC is the only forest certification system that requires consultation with local Aboriginal Peoples with the intention of protecting their rights, on both public and private lands. FSC forest management requirements include an entire section dedicated to the rights of Aboriginal peoples. (Principle 3), and are widely recognized as most extensively and specifically addressing the needs of Aboriginal Peoples. "   Reprinted from the https://ca.fsc.org website.  

Elite Awards began selling FSC certified Bamboo and White Arries MDF (medite sprayed white with low VOC white paint which allows the product to stay FSC certified) a few years ago now and ship our products all over the world. Bamboo is an amazing product which completely self renewing in a maximum of five years. Have you ever seen a bamboo forest? This is what it looks like. Amazing isn't it! Because of Global warming, a sight never seen before in our lifetimes is taking place - caring about the environment and our own footprints. At first recycling seemed unimportant and now we green-cycle our food waste! We are becoming better stewards for our planet and it is grateful.

Our bamboo plaques are one of our fastest selling products. They look like wood, feel like wood and laser like wood.  (Pictured: amber bamboo plq lasered)

Glory Days

I was listening to Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" on the way to work this morning. What a great way to start my day. Even better is the fact that once I get to work the sun is rising and what a beautiful rise it was. Diffusing shades of pink and purple. I had to stop and snap a picture of it with my Iphone. Glory Days indeed.

PAPER STONE - THE NEWEST IN SUSTAINABLE SURFACES

What is PaperStone? 

It is being marketed as the affordable Countertop with a Conscience and we're going to use it to make new Eco friendly promotional items. 

It is so exciting to see so many companies coming out with new remarkable products while leaving a soft footprint behind upon the earth.

The properties of this material are amazing!  It is heat resistant to 350 degrees fahrenheit, scratch resistant, stain resistant, durable and sanitary. Stay tuned!

Four-Sided Weather Station

Introducing our new Solid Walnut four-sided weather station with Clock, Barometer, Hygrometer and Thermometer. With its nautical feel, it is a great item to purchase for your favorite mariner. Boating season will be upon us before you know it. Consider this gem when deciding on your future boat themed awards.

How do we compare?

We did a little comparison shopping today!  It is so hard for manufacturers to stay viable, to stay in business  in today's economic climate. Everyone wants it for less. The thing is, because of this "must have it cheaper than last year" scenario, the off-shore manufacturers have increasingly taken over our business, putting many companies, "out of" business.

We have been manufacturing wood plaques, shields, trophies and custom awards for 52 years. We love what we do and it shows in our products and our service to our customers, old and new. So today we decided to see how we compare to the prices of our competitors who are in Canada but choose to sell all off-shore solid wood products similar as close as possible to what we sell instead of volume purchasing from us. I was fair and if they had sizes we didn't have I listed them anyway and showed that we didn't sell it. I also made note of the sizes we did sell that others didn't. What we have above other companies who sell Eastern and South American wood products is that we make it here, in Canada, from start to finish. Our wood is purchased from managed forests and we care about our environment and all those who affected by the footprints we make.  We can make any size plaque in any quantity with no minimum orders. Putting out this information has already sparked some feedback but conversation is good. We should be talking to one another about our futures. We did this more for info on our pricing, we wanted to see how we stacked up against those selling the same products as we do, and to remind our trophy companies that we're still here and our prices are good so lets work together to make our businesses stronger.