Function and presence for Amore Patisserie: this is a patisserie in Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas that exquisitely sold wrapped pastries and handmade chocolates. Amore Patisserie wanted a package that would showcase their custom and unique cakes; and were reflective of the product the client was consuming. Amore Patisserie came to us because of our knowledge of materials, the fact that our products are always unique, and they knew we would be able to create a box that would be a timeless presence.

The design of the cake box: typically when you receive a cake box, it is a traditional white or pink tuck tab box. Amore Patisserie wanted to stay away from this type of box, for they wanted to design a box that was representative of their one of a kind sophisticated designed cakes. We created a turned edge box that had the ability to be on a platform to allow chefs and consumers to easily remove the cakes without harming the detail. An insert was created for the box to allow cakes to slide in and out of the box with ease and avoiding damage.

The design of the cupcake box: a traditional tuck tab box with a sophisticated edge was designed to allow the cupcakes to slide in and out to conserve the original shape and look. Both boxes contain a soy based custom color printing ink made from soybean oil that enabled both boxes to be food safe.

It seems that we might have a bit of a sweet tooth here at C&S Sales. For recently, we designed “save the date” bookmarks for the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago that we will be attending with Steven Roberts Original Desserts on May 5^th. The bookmark highlights some of Steven Roberts Original Desserts as well as invites clients to join them as they introduce their newest cast of desserts. The bookmark is going to make you put your book down and enjoy a savory treat; because that is all you will think about once you see the image behind the overlay.

Source: http://www.originaldesserts.com/

C&S Sales is attending Toyota’s Earth Day Fair to help educate their associates on ways to mitigate the impact we have on the Earth.  We are working together to inform people and create sustainable practices.  We have also given Sprout Watches to a few of our clients to encourage eco-friendly products.   Sprout Watches strives to produce the most eco-friendly watch they possibly can, and we admire this mission.  We admire Sprout for their products that are 80-86% eco-friendly, yet unbelievably stylish.  Just like us, they do not claim to be the greenest company around, but we are aware of this growing issue, and do whatever is possible to be green.

We have been approached by many companies to produce reusable bags since the growing concern of the use of plastic bags.  Since California’s push to try to ban all plastic bags, some cities like Santa Monica, CA, have implemented a ban on their use at supermarkets, convenience and liquor stores, as well as pharmacies. Companies like Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes have taken actions into their own hands by creating custom reusable bags for their customers.  These restaurants used these bags to help launch their green restaurant certification!  The Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants are definitely doing their part as a business to take active steps to go green.

“More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world” (Earthday.org).  Want to take part in Earth Day?  Participate by using products that are environmentally friendly.

Source: Earthday.org, sproutwatches.com, and souplantation.com

Inference Solutions is a company that provides speech recognition and voice automation applications.  The company partners with system integrators and service providers to deliver solutions for contact centers and organizations that manage high volume customer interactions and transactions.

Challenge:

We were contacted by Inference Solutions in need of quick turnaround shopping bags for a trade show they were attending.  The challenge with this request was not only time, but the fact that their logo is four color process, so it could not be screen printed on to the bags.  Normally, this type of bag could be done overseas enabling the logo to be put onto the material before it is made into the final product, but with the time crunch we had to think of a solution fast.

Solution:

We created a die cut label to be manually put on the white, matte laminated euro totes.  Production manually assembled the labels on to the bags.  The final result was 1,200 great looking bags and a very satisfied client.  The total production time was just 8 days, which goes to show you, if you need products fast we will do whatever it takes to assure a solution for you without compromising the quality.

Wynn Las Vegas has already integrated Tangerine Tango into their products.  They took this vibrant color to a new level by creating a new, custom, Tangerine Tango, patent leather material for the menus in its restaurant, Lakeside.  We have seen this energetic color appear in a few other restaurants in the Las Vegas hospitality industry as well.  Other companies, such as Toyota, are also using the color for their promotional products.  Toyota launched its Camry Effect Campaign and used a hue of orange on their mylar balloons to catch their consumers’ eyes.  Since the announcement of the Color of the Year, our team has noticed a growing presence of Tangerine Tango in the marketplace.

The second hottest color trend of the year is Pantone’s Solar Power.  This bright yellow is described as “strong, fun and commands attention.”  These colors allow you to leap into spring with a jolt of energy and hope of a brighter day for your consumers.

There is an importance for the right choice in color when it comes to design and creation of products and promotion; color can change a mood or attitude of a customer.  This year’s colors are sophisticated, but dramatic and seductive.  Want to be bold?  Feel like a splash of color?  Add a little energy boost with Tangerine Tango or Solar Power into your products.

We created 225 of these custom cases. They were all packaged in custom corrugated boxes, each holding two cases. These boxes were palletized and shrink wrapped with bumper/corner protectors. The presentation cases were for a special event introducing the new Stolichnaya Black Vodka to the market place. The total production time from start to finish took four weeks. All in a month’s work for C&S Sales!

1. Workers, don’t have too few and don’t have too many.
   The parables “you can never have too many” and “less is more” do not hold true when it comes to how many workers your business has.  Whatever the nature of your business may be, there does exist a minimum and maximum amount of workers to have; if those polarities are breached then your result can be unsuccessful business performance.  Too few workers leads to poor labor distribution, stressed workers, and fault ridden production.  Too many workers leads to difficult communication, poor coordination, and ultimately to a business that is stretched in too many directions.
2. Trust and Morale
   The term “business is business” is indeed a true statement, but that statement does not define what a business is.  Our business is full of members who trust eachother and who each do their part with joy.  The trustworthiness and positive attitude among us radiates outside our company walls, making us a business that clients can not only trust, but that they can also rely on.  When there is trust, accountability, and joy among your workers, your clients will percieve your business as a trustworthy, reliable and motivating one.
3. Keep Everyone on the Same Page
   Needless to say, this practice requires the two afformentioned practices to be habitually excercised.  Keeping all of your workers up to speed on company projects, deadlines, inventory and other kinds of domestic information is vital in that it ensures that coordination is executed at top calibur.  Don’t get us wrong, each worker will have her/his specialized knowledge and skill; it shouldn’t be expected that each worker knows and does what every other worker knows and does.  However it is important that general knowledge is spread to each and every individual so that no worker is doing something that goes against the tide of the company’s current activities.  Remember that knowledge is power and that your business is only as powerful as its least knowledgeable member.

Needless to say, the early days of the web were not as appealing as they are now.  There was no social networking (beyond email), very little multimedia capabilities outside of images (no youtube or interactive games) and the visual design and display of webpages were just plain awful.  Given such a tough and environment to work with, the web wasn’t so popular in its early days.  Very few would trust it to make transactions and purchases, people prefered calling eachother as opposed to using email, and business meetings were done face to face.  Not anymore though!

The web has grown so powerful that it almost seems to have leaped out of the computer screens and extend into the physical affairs of human beings.  So what does this have to do with production?  Well as stated, the web was once an unpractical way of doing things, including meeting together to discuss product design, concept, and construction.  Now however, the web has grown so powerful that it has become a host of creative mediums and activity.  Individuals can now have business meetings, where each individual is in a different location.  Products can be shared, discussed, and molded as each meeting attendant’s computer screen displays the same virtual rendering of the product that is being discussed among them.  And as shown in the 3D Printing post, products can now be made straight from a virtual rendering to an identical and functional physical object.  Given such a new environment of getting together to discuss products, can face to face meetings fade away through time?  We think not.

Yes, the web is now an extremely convenient way of allowing individuals to communicate and share ideas; whether those individuals be in different rooms or in different countries!  However there are still things the web can’t do.  For instance, screens are still flat.  Therefore when individuals share product ideas, those products that once existed in four-dimensions (the environment that we live in) now are flattened into two-dimentsions to be displayed on a flat screen.  And take it from us, sometimes four-dimensional qualities such as product texture and a product’s mechanics movement in space and time need to be seen in actuality and not on screen.  The web has come a long way, but it is not the end of face to face meetings, nor is it the ultimate in sharing products concepts.

The video above is from National Geographic uploaded by the YouTube user life4nothing.

If one owns something that is of value to her/him, then she/he cares for it to the best of their ability. If it breaks or malfunctions do you seek the manufacturer or a third party service?  In today’s globalized world, these are important questions especially to a consumer.  In most cases seeking the manufacturer of a product for its repair is the best route.  Purchasing parts or seeking repair from third parties may at times save money, but is the quality of the repair long lasting and worth while? Logically speaking, OEM services can offer more for a product, a product’s part, or a product’s accessory than a third party can.  This is due to the simple fact that the OEM designed the product.  In the end whether tending to electronics, fabrications, or even custom packages, seeking the original equipment manufacturer is usually the best way to go.