Strut your stuff!

Trinkets, Do-Dads and Widgets...

Do your trinkets match your business?

Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t use the words ‘trinkets’.  I’m talking about the promotional items that your business or group hands out to help other people remember you. Come on - you know what I'm taking about.....do-dads and widgets.

Sure you have your name, logo and website printed on your widgets, but what is it about the item itself that stands out?  Is it something that will cause a person to remember you instantly without even looking at the printing?

Let me give you a couple of smart examples.

Take for instance our smart friend, Bob the Builder.  He passes out pens to potential clients. 

“Pens you say?  What does that have to do with construction?”

I’m so glad you asked!

Take a look at HIS pens!!

 
Now tell me these babies don’t stand out and match his profession!  People love them and they write very nicely!  The bonus?  He has paid for (several times over) the cost of his pens by the bookings he gained with calls from the peeps he gave the pens to!  Cool, huh?  (Oh yeah…Bob gets the T-Shirts for his employees through us too! Like I said…smart man)

Another smart client of ours is State Savings Bank.  Check out these mega-cool Piggy Banks.  Sure, theirs might be a bit more obvious, but it fits their business perfectly and the kids love them!  What a great way to encourage little people to start saving their quarters!

I'm telling you, we have something for every business, every group, every club and every body!!  Can’t think of anything?  Call me!  All of us here at Exceptional Specialty Products are great at coming up with ideas.  The are millions of ideas floating around in our heads!  Scary, huh? 

Give me a call….I’m Georgie (866-943-4377) and I’m excited to help you find just the right thing!

Follow us on Twitter @esp4all

ESP – We Know What You Want!

Showing Off...

Sometimes you just want to show off.  And if you do something quite well, why not?

We want to show off a couple of things…one the cool T-Shirts we did for a client and two…our very cool client!

Brett DeBruyn aka The Puppet Guy needed some nice T-Shirts made.  So….WHERE did he turn to?  Well Exceptional Specialty Products of course!! 

He already had a beautiful full colour logo, so we took that and turned it into beautiful shirt art! 

Brett is a professional puppeteer.  Not only does he perform, but he also creates new characters, then he actually makes the puppets!  He does shows all over Iowa as well as children’s parties!  I even heard a rumor that he and his cast of colourful characters will be at the Iowa State Fair this year too!

If you’re interested in hiring Brett or just to find out more, check his website, Big Bear Puppets or keep up with what is going on with him on his Facebook page!  You can also follow him on Twitter – he is @PuppetGuy! 

And of course we want you to give us, ESP a call whenever you need T-Shirts or ANY thing with your logo on it!  You can reach us at 866-943-4377.  AND...we're also on Twitter @ESP4All or you can 'Like' us on Facebook!

ESP....We Know What You Want!  (and we like to brag sometimes too!)

Eating Humble Pie

I am humbled.

As fierce as the name, “The Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies” sounds; it just wasn’t enough to win us the championship at the Dog-Eat-Dog Trivia Night sponsored by The Pet Project Midwest this past Thursday night.  Not only did we not win….we did not even come close to winning.  And here I thought we had the brightest of the bright Duckies on our team. 

 

Not so.

Being a first time team to compete in DED, we had our work cut out for us!  With twenty-eight teams of eight, there were a myriad of big-brained people there to compete with!  You can bet we will be studying diligently on our trivial, senseless facts for the next time.  Please note:  We scored very high in the ‘cartoon category’….that might tell you a little more about our mental state of mind.

The main thing is we had dog-gone great time!  We had a nice little meal, a couple of adult beverages, our ducky head gear, our ducky necklaces and our ducky light-up-power rings!  It was perfect!  I believe where we went wrong, was that we didn’t print some personalized lucky ducky T-Shirts – well that, and we couldn’t seem to answer any of the questions correctly.  Maybe we should hit the books next time? 

Put the next Dog-Eat-Dog event on your list as a must do! 

What a great way to help out a wonderful cause and have a ton of fun in the process!  I was pleased to find out that they raised $10,000 !  Way to go gang!  Visit their site often to see when and where all their events will be.  Please consider a donation of both your time and/or money.  It’s just the ducky thing to do!!  (You can soon see the winners and photos from the evening on their site too)

Hey, don’t forget, you can get your own cool team shirts from us!  Please give us, Exceptional Specialty Products, a call at 866-943-4377!  We’d love to help you with your crazy design!

Okay….gotta go study!! 

 

Wordless Wednesday....We Know What You Want!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is There a Submarine in YOUR Head?

It can be so annoying when a song gets stuck in your head.  Even if it’s one you love.  By the end of a whole day of it playing over and over in your brain, you end up hating it!

 

That happened to me here last week at ESP.  A co-worker who shall remain nameless *coughlaura*, did that to me.  Only it didn’t last just a day.  No, it has been playing over and over…ricocheting off the walls in my skull for days now!  I cannot get rid of it! (insert maniacal laughter here)

 

I’m sure this person didn’t do this to me intentionally, because she is the sweetest thing with not a malicious bone in her body.  However she did giggle with delight when I told her.  So yeah…she does have an ornery streak in her.

 

In the mean time, Yellow Submarine keeps hammering away.  The thing is, I don’t even know all the words, so it's only the chorus. Ugh.

 

So how does all that tie in with Exceptional Specialty Products?  Well it doesn’t really.  EXCEPT to tell you that we hope that OUR name will reverberate through your head the next time you have any promotional needs.  We can fix you up with all kinds of useful products that people would love to receive from you!  Don't forget, we also do T-Shirts and logoed apparel that everyone loves wearing! 

Hum….I wonder if we have any yellow submarine squishy toys?

 

 

ESP…We Know What You Want!

 Call us at 866-943-4377

Long-Haired Freaky People...Please Read This!

And the sign said, "Long-haired freaky people need not 

apply."  So I tucked my hair up under my hat

And I went in to ask him why. –

 “Signs” Five Man Electrical Band 1971

 

There are many kinds of hats – there are hats for almost everything… golf hats, police hats, fedoras, bowlers, pirate hats, knit hats, cowboy hats, ball hats, moose lodge hats…

 

 

 

 

 

And Exceptional Specialty Products has a hat just for you!  We can get you a hair-tuckin’-pony-tail-hanging-sweat-stopping-bad-hair-day-hiding-job-seeking hat made just for you!

Many brands, many styles and many colors to choose from…and don’t forget, we put your logo on it too!

 

Give Cindy Taylor a call at 866-943-4377 and see what she can pull out of her hat especially for you!

 

(Note: Moose Lodge hats are on back order)

There Are Just No Words to Describe This...

 

 

The Man Who Has No Name...

We need your help!  We need a name for our darling little green man with the huge heart!  What are we talking about you ask?  Well let me tell you about him!

The first thing you'll notice about him is that he's very smart and a little angelic. 

 

He's always willing to hold things and keep track of them for you when you're busy. 

 

He doesn't even mind paperwork! 

He's a gentleman and always removes his hat whenever a lady is around! 

 

But as wonderful as this little guy is, he doesn't have a name yet! Oh sure, we've  tossed a few around, but we can't seem to agree on anything. One suggestion was 'Magnetic Man' (Whoa! Captain Obvious), another was 'Bendy Ben' (Eww), someone else suggested 'Brad Pitt (Seriously?) and then someone suggested 'Mr. Wonderful', but I informed them that, that name was already taken by our boss (wink, wink...hoping for some brownie points here). 

As you can tell...we need HELP!!  Don't leave us holding the bag...

Help us come up with a cool name for this lil' dude.  Just leave your suggestions in the comments below.  If we choose your name, I'll send you a $25 ESP Gift Certificate to use toward your next order!

And of course you can call us (Exceptional Specialty Products) at 866-943-4377 ANY TIME and order your own 'Bendy Ben' (See what I mean? Eww!) with your logo right smack on his tummy!  You'll fall in love!!

C'mon put those Thinking Caps on and help us with a name for this little guy!  

By the way...rumor has it that he might be going on RAGBRAI!!
 

 
  
 
 
 

America!

Why is America great?  We’re certainly not perfect, and we obviously don’t have all the answers (just listen in on a congressional session some time) and we still have some issues that we all wonder if they’ll ever get resolved.  BUT…we still have our freedom! 

 

We’re still free to voice our opinion, to worship as we choose….or we can choose not to.  We can vote, drive, go to school, buy a home, own property, start a business….and the list goes on.

 

Our country has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, everything from white sand beaches, to dense forests....to a high, snowy mountain top!  And don’t forget the golden waves of grain!  I think I feel a song coming on!

 

America….we have baseball, apple pie, picnics, barbeques and the ice cream man.  John Wayne, parades, dog parks, Michael Jackson (had to throw him in there), carnivals and cotton candy.  We also have county fairs, state fairs, blue ribbons, stuff-on-a-stick and butter cows!

 

We have it all.  Most of all we have each other.  America, where we’ve pulled together time and time again.  Always there to help and support each other when disaster strikes.  No nation on the face of this earth bands together the way we Americans do.  We may squabble amongst ourselves, but when times are tough, we’re always there holding each other up.  That’s why we are the UNITED States of America.

 

This weekend I will eat BBQ, watch fireworks and go to a parade where I KNOW, (with my hand over my heart) I’ll shed a tear when the colour guard carrying MY flag walks by.  I’ll celebrate our great country along with everyone else.  But I wonder how many people take it for granted?  This weekend let’s tell each other and especially our children, the stories of what makes this the best nation in the world!

 

America….I love you!  I will stand up for you, I will fight for you and I will continue to honour my pledge to you.  Happy Birthday to my wonderful and beautiful United States of America!!   Exceptional Specialty Products wishes you a happy and meaningful Independence Day!

 

(click and enjoy!) God bless America!!

A Weekend of Art...

This weekend begins the Des Moines Art Festival, one of the largest and strongest in the nation!  Yes folks…the NATION!  Artists from around the world show off and sell their creations at the festival that is set amidst the beautiful downtown Gateway Park and the new Pappajohn Sculpture Garden.

 

 

 

Des Moines, the greatest city, in the greatest state of the greatest nation is a perfect spot for creative minds to gather and celebrate their gifts! 

 

The art you see at the festival is amazing and one-of-a-kind.  There are all kinds of different foods to try and performances to see at several different stages through out the day that will keep you fascinated for hours!!  It’s fun, it’s festive and it’s free!  Trust me, you don’t want to miss it!

 

And while we’re on this subject, have you ever considered your logo as ‘art’?  If not, maybe you should.  The logo you create is unique and one of a kind.  It reflects you and your business or organization.  It draws people to you and helps them to remember you and your services.  Is it catchy?  Is it up-to-date?  Even national well known companies update and modernize their logos from time to time.

 

Once you have your logo, what do you do with it?  Anything?  Or does it just make a pretty picture for your business card?  Exceptional Specialty Products can help you get your name and logo out amongst the masses!  We have products for any kind of business…seriously….ANY kind!!  Call me today for an appointment 866-943-4377!

 

 

 

Go get your 'Art On' at the 2010

Des Moines Art Festival!