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| Hello from Steubenville!
Kevin Nelles here. I wanted to bring you up to date on a few things going on here at Nelson's this month and in the near future. I have ten announcements for you today.
If you ask my opinion, all of these are very exciting developments, but I'm sure everyone will agree that #10 is their favorite ;)
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1. OL Perpetual Help (gold) is expanding
Our gold Perpetual Help image, NW-838 (in contrast to our non-gold image, NW-17), has been a surprisingly strong performer for several years. This particular framed print regularly outsold other pieces of art that were far more promoted despite its being available only in 8x10 size.
But that has happily changed! NW-838 is now available in standard sizes up to 18x24 as framed print and even a gallery-wrapped canvas.
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| 2. Manufacturing change: Aluminum to ACM
After many years of selling stations of the cross images printed on thin aluminum plates, we will soon be rolling out a new process for these products. An outdoor signage material called ACM will now be used that is thicker, longer lasting, more color accurate, and offers more options. With ACM, we will no longer be limited to only three sizes (4x6, 6x9, 8x12) as we previously were, but can do bigger sizes and new shapes, such as arches or ovals!
This change is coming down the pike, so look for it in the near future. In the meantime, we're still producing on thin aluminum until our current stock is out. |
| 3. Manufacturing change: Ornaments, Visor Clips, and Cutout Magnets
These wood-cutout items are receiving a quality upgrade. Previous items were truly beautiful but the color accuracy was not 100% and the amount of detail was not what we would prefer when compared to giclee framed art. Granted, these were little gift items we were talking about, not art per se, so no one ever really complained, but we always felt we could do better.
Now, we've done better.
The ornaments, visor clips, and cutout magnets you will soon be receiving are almost 100% in terms of color accuracy and consistency, and when you compare the old and new side-by-side, the difference is shocking. It's like hearing a song on CD for the first time when you'd only ever heard it on tape or the radio--the difference in fidelity is almost shocking. The old ornament colors will look dull and possibly greenish in comparison.
The finish has also seen an improvement. The new surface, while still glossy and smooth, has improved texture and depth. This finish produces less glare overall, which makes the items look better when hanging on a tree, on a fridge, or on your visor, and easier to see when they're hanging from store walls and displays.
The least important part of these items, the non-printed backing, has also been improved, albeit in a way that isn't so obvious. The old exteriors were smooth and had a tendency to chip easily--this is not something that any store would necessarily notice, but something the end user could sometimes experience when packing ornaments away for the season, dropping magnets on the floor, etc.. The new black backing on these items has a textured appearance, still black, and is heavily reinforced to prevent the chipping that could happen before.
Gold and silver flourishes are now a possibility. We're still figuring out how this works, but essentially we have the ability to put shiny/metallic overcoating on any gold or silver areas of the ornament, magnet, or visor clip, resulting in a foil-like shine to those parts. Look for this improvement to first be implemented on select Christmas ornaments by next season.
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| 4. STC-C4 is back ... sort of
Remember when we announced that STC-C4 was discontinued? That still is true (meaning the cards are officially out of print), but we do have some leftover stock of this particular card set, enough for me to make some buyout offers.
1 dozen STC-C4 was normally $7.48 cost, or $0.62 cost per card.
My offer: 1 dozen STC-C4 is now $5 cost, or $0.42 cost per card
Also, if you would like to buy out our entire stock of 1300 cards, the price goes down to $2.40 per dozen, or $0.20 per card.
Any takers? Send me an e-mail and make your offer! kevin@nelsongifts.com |
| 5. 100 Years of Our Lady of Fatima--don't worry, we didn't forget!
The year 2017 marks 100 years since Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three shepherd children over a series of several months, culminating in the dramatic and widely witnessed "miracle of the sun" in October of 1917.
We are in the midst of perparing our commemorative Fatima product line at this time and will make our debut before the end of February, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, if you are looking to stock your store, we already have an extensive Fatima product line available that is non-commemorative in nature, but very impressive nonetheless. The Our Lady of Fatima Faith-Explained posters in particular would be an excellent addition to any store looking to sell to Catholic educators--both those who work in the home and outside of the home. :)
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| 6. Classic Holy Spirit with Fire on red now as a hoodie!
One of our perrenial bestselling designs when printed on a red t-shirt, this flaming Holy Spirit dove with the dramatic words "Let the Fire Fall" and the traditional Holy Spirit Prayer on the back would make an excellent red hoodie, too, don't you think?
We do, too. Really, we should have done this years ago.
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7. The Resurrection by Coypel, now a poster
The Resurrection of Christ by 18th century master painter Noel Coypel is one of our most popular pieces every Easter season. Every year, we end up printing a good deal of custom posters with this image for various customers on a request-basis, but in 2017 and from now on, we are offering this inspiring piece of art as an unframed (or framed, if you'd like that, too) poster.
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| 8. Military Branch Holy Cards: a no-brainer
Generations Religious Gifts in Columbus, Ohio made a request for Catholic and non-Catholic prayer cards for each military branch several weeks ago and we were happy to oblige. It only made sense, after all, since we already produce so many military-themed religious items, why not holy cards as well?
All five branches of the U.S. military now have a Nelson-produced holy card featuring the branch seal and St. Michael or just the branch seal itselt, along with a general Christian prayer for those who serve in that particular branch.
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| 9. Now even prettier, sacramental greeting cards are getting a makeover
While we have spent the past year continually adding more and more sacramental greeting cards and certificates, we have also sought to improve our printing process to add more visual impact.
What does this look like? Gold and silver flourishes with a shine that mimics the look of traditional foil cards, but in a more subtle and less gaudy way, have been added to our entire sacramental greeting card line. These gold and silver flourishes are an extra special touch that work hand-in-hand with beautiful graphic designs to make this greeting card line stand out in a wonderfully surprising contrast to what is usually made available.
Father will be impressed. Are these enough to get him to cancel his standing order with the folks in Baltimore and buy from you, instead? We think so.
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| And now, without further ado ...
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| | | Welcome to Free Freight Week
Yes, this is the first time in at least 6 years that we haven't called it "Free Freight Friday," but let's be honest here: once Free Freight Friday is announced, do we ever really make you wait until Friday to place your order? Of course not. So why not just call it Free Freight Week? Why, not, indeed.
Here are the rules:
1. Orders can be placed via fax, email, phone, or online!
For online: must use coupon code FREEFREIGHTWEEK at NelsonGiftsWholesale.com
For e-mail: must include "Free Freight Week" or "FFW" in subject line or in e-mail body
For phone: inform the Nelson representative that you want the "Free Freight Week" shipping special when you place your order.
For fax: write "Free Freight Week" or "FFW" on your purchase order before sending.
And don't worry--if you write Free Freight Friday out of habit, we'll still give it to you :)
2. Delayed shipping dates and shipping deadlines are not applicable to any free freight week order.
3. Order minimum is $500 wholesale ($1000 retail value).
4. Shipping method and carrier will be determined by Nelson's shipping department.
5. Free Freight Week ends at 11:59PM EST on Friday, January 27th, 2017. |
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| Order by Phone 1-800-895-6267 |
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| Order by E-mail wholesale@nelsongifts.com |
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| Fax Your Order 740-282-5450 |
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So there you have it: 10 announcements from Nelson Fine Art & Gifts. Was I right about #10 being your favorite?
May God bless you all, your businesses, families, and your customers. |
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