by Kim Schroeder

Prior to Covid-19 offices saw a shift toward open, collaborative spaces. The trend was for low panels, benching systems, wellness rooms, and large open collaborative areas. Our main focus was centered on improving the place where we spent most of our time, the office. We opened up spaces, added natural and biophilic elements; we all thought the more open the better. While this concept lent itself to beautifully imagined spaces, people had mixed feelings regarding privacy. Fast forward to today and we are now having to reimagine those spaces to make them safer in our new COVID-19 world.

by Diana L. Martin

Today I’m issuing you a challenge - get more from your office supplies.

More what? Office supplies are office supplies, right?

Wrong.

What can you get from them? Value, convenience, time, money and rewards, just to name a few. Let’s consider those…..

by Diana L. Martin

Reopening during Covid requires some additional safety features - some as simple as signage and masks, others as drastic as reconfiguring your workspaces to allow more distance between people. Let’s look at the simple solutions today - signage and barriers.

You’ll need some way to indicate where & how far apart people should stand while waiting to be served and most businesses are using floor decals for that purpose. Consider these large 20” diameter decals:

by Sarah Izzo

Custom Packaging and Wrappers / Seals

The great thing about packaging—it is one of the best opportunities to build your brand awareness and get your message out there. It is a guaranteed advertisement and chance to create a unique customer experience of your brand. Depending upon volume and product, sometimes the custom price is comparable to the generic. Consumers are visual and packaging is frequently a subconscious deciding factor conveying quality, confidence, and value.

by Diana L. Martin

Good Morning - and welcome to the Wizard’s World of Trivia! Since I am a wizard, I decided to do some wizarding trivia today. That’s right……our topic is:

Harry Potter Trivia

by Valerie Glander

Systems furniture, better known as cubicles, has gotten a pretty bad rap over the years - and for pretty good reason, I suppose. Consider this: even the man who invented panel-based systems furniture, Robert Probst, is quoted as saying, “The cubicle-izing of people in modern corporations is monolithic insanity.”

Let’s take a look back at the beginnings of systems office furniture and how the office furniture industry has adapted to meet the needs of the 21st century office.

by Diana L. Martin

With more businesses starting to reopen, now is the time to stock up on the supplies you need to get off to a running start. One of the most important supplies is going to be your ink and toner. There are few things as annoying as your printer telling you to replace the cartridge, only to find that you don’t have a spare. We’ve all been there - the last person to change it never told the appropriate person to order a new spare and now you’re dead in the water until the new one comes.

by Sarah Izzo

There are two parts to any branded or decorated apparel project - the selection of the apparel and the choice of decoration. The two go hand-in-hand. The material will determine the type of decorating options you have to choose from just as much as the look you want to achieve, the size of the design and its location.

There are many types of apparel decorating that can be done separately for affordability or combined for a complex design. Here is a great article about the different types of decoration: Apparel Decorating Basic Terms and Techniques. Deciding which option is best starts with what you are trying to accomplish and how it will be used.

by Diana L. Martin

Companies have slowly begun to reopen and I’m sure you’re swamped right now, so I won’t make you work too hard today. In fact, I’ve got a pretty easy one for you - and it’s your favorite category:

Common Denominators

by Diana L. Martin

Depending on the state you’re in, your business may be on the verge of reopening and may be facing some significant challenges. Or perhaps you were an essential business and have been open the whole time, but sales were (obviously) much lower than usual. In either event, jumping back in, reconnecting with your customers and presenting products and solutions to meet their needs and jumpstart your sales will be crucial.

by Diana L. Martin

I’m baaaack! Did you miss me? While I’ve been gone our other contributors have put up some great posts - if you haven’t seen them you should really take a look. There’s lot of helpful information!

Well, since your brains have had a bit of a rest from my trivia, I’m going to make you work today. So…….put on your thinking caps, get your fingers ready to Google (or however you find answers) and go back in time.

Back…..

Back……

Back to the late 60’s and early 70’s……for……

TV Theme Songs

Office Cleaning Plan

If you don’t already have a cleaning plan in place, consider following a daily / weekly / monthly checklist for ensuring a safe and sanitary environment for employees and clients.

Office space is certainly getting more comfortable! Both our corporate and healthcare clients are including more lounge seating than ever and one question that’s at the top of everyone’s mind is… what about durability?

by Sarah Izzo

All the different types - an overview

There are many types of signage all based on the need and the use. The top two questions when determining the correct signage are:

• How long does it need to last? Temporary, Mid-Term or Long-Term

• Is it for indoor or outdoor use?

There is overlap in the solutions depending on your answers. Here are the basic categories:

by Diana L. Martin

A lot has happened in the past couple days in regard to the Coronavirus outbreak. With President Trump’s latest actions, many workers are now working remotely from home and it could be an extended situation. If that’s you, there are several things you need:

• A quiet workspace - a location in the house (spare bedroom, den, basement) where you can set up a dedicated space that will be quiet, minimize distractions and allow you to concentrate.

by Diana L. Martin

Earlier this month I spent a week traveling with my son to visit college campuses for his grad school choice. One of the universities we visited was the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. It is home to the Hopeman Memorial Carillon, a beautiful carillon consisting of 50 bells. That got me thinking, which, of course, leads me to today’s topic:

Guinness World Records

by Valerie Glander

One of the latest advances in office technology has nothing to do with new devices or automation. Quite the contrary, it’s a responsive textile designed as a health and wellness product. How can a textile improve health while you’re sitting at a desk all day? Short answer - your chair.

OEX partners with a local textile company to source upholsteries made with Celliant fiber. Celliant’s innovative fiber technology promotes more energy and less fatigue while sitting.

by Diana L. Martin

We’re getting close to the end of winter. The days are getting longer and we’re starting to see more sunshine. That always lifts my mood! It’s the perfect time to revive your office space - infuse it with a little energy. Freshen it up with something new! Bring new life to it!

I have the perfect suggestion for you today. We have a new collection of desktop accessories that will put some zing into your desktop setting. Mesh has been the thing for quite a while now. Clear acrylic is out there too, as well as some wood collections as alternatives to the standard plastic. They’ve all been around for years. If you want to shake things up a bit……………………………………….

Making your print POP and WOW

by Sarah Izzo

Design meeting function is the lifeblood of creative marketing. The digital age has only seemed to increase the need to up the ante on getting attention and leaving a lasting impression. To what lengths do you need to go to do that? What really has value?

Researchers are learning more every day that the tactile experience creates a greater engagement, increased attention and memorability. Studies are showing that even those heavy textbooks might be better than the laptops and some are already suggesting a reversion back to the backbreaking bookbags.

Thus, we find that a digital message gets the least amount of focus. A video engaging the sense of hearing gets a bit more attention and recall.

Welcome Back fellow trivia geeks! It’s time for another game!

This time I’m going to take you to a dark place. A very dark place with a lot of people, where nobody says a word……………. They just sit there, staring straight ahead……… That’s right - today’s topic is:

Movie Trivia