My wife and I have split our holiday shopping between local area stores and online vendors, but one thing that’s been consistent has been that any online retail purchases have been accompanied with FREE shipping. Whether it was a coupon or part of a preferred service (Amazon.com, and Zappos.com) a limited time offer (LL Bean.com) or as part of the purchase (Costco.com) we have received FREE shipping of our purchase to our door.

5×7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

(news story on concert from Burlington Free Press)

I still have a few lapel pin orders to handle and I’ll be burning the midnight oil trying to take care of both the orders and the designs for some of you. I’m in the middle of trying to figure out a way to add some recognition to an already existing design. Tricky, but part of what I enjoy about working here; every day is a new project! I have to say, the hard enamel process gives me the most flexibility. It’s our nicest process and allows me more options than embossed or printed pins.

Art mock-ups in the work for customer

It’s important to note – we can start with just about any artwork, even a sketch that you fax over! We have some very skilled artists who we will work with to create a virtual proof and make sure you like what you see. Worried you can’t sketch, Google images is your friend! Search for whatever you want and just send the saved image to us – we can even make changes!

Now back to my designs and pin orders (and a lanyard order, too – you know we make lanyards, right? and my Green Mountain Coffee!

A submerged garage and vehicles just outside Waterbury, VT. (Full resolution photo available of this photos and others at link at the bottom)

We’ll get back to discussing custom lapel pins and lanyards, patches, coins, etc. But I had a friend send me this link to high resolution photos of the destruction caused by Irene here in Vermont. They really are breathtaking.

All photos are from Lars Gange & Mansfield Heliflight

Click here to view photos in new tab/window

Glenn Russell/Burlington Free Press/AP Firefighter Mandy Drake clears a storm drain in front of the fire department in Waterbury, Vt., in the wake of tropical storm Irene.

My colleague Vini left work early on Friday in an applauded effort of community spirit and civic awareness. Many areas of Vermont are still recovering from the initial effects of Hurricane Irene, coupled with continued rain and thunderstorms hampering both the relief efforts and the natural “drying out of things” (that’s my technical term for it).

I helped Vini take care of some of his pin orders and lapel pin designs, and he drove back to his town of Waterbury, Vermont to volunteer in the local clean-up efforts. I had emailed him about a pin order and that night he sent this email in reply,

Thanks Matt. I worked downtown for about 8 hours yesterday.  You cannot believe the disaster on Main and the residential streets of Waterbury. Every home and car is trashed.  It is rather gut wrenching and humbling at the same time. There were hundreds of volunteers, however, which is amazing.

Huge dumpsters everywhere and furniture and debris piled up everywhere.  I stopped at the Alchemist to chat with some people I know there and the building has been totally gutted right down to the basement. It is a rebuild from the basement up, but they plan on opening up again in a few months.

I’m also not sure how long it will be before people can live in their homes again. The fumes from overturned [heating] oil tanks are dangerous; the HazMat companies are pumping out basements as fast as they can, but it will be months for these people, too. And of course, very few have flood insurance. But FEMA was there yesterday so that ball is rolling.

Count your blessings, as they are many!

Vini

Vini is back today, helping our customers with their custom pin, coin, and lanyard projects. But I know his thoughts, and ours are with our neighbors.

News article from local paper on effects and cleanup effort.

The same cannot be said for much of the rest of the state and our thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbors. Often times the toughest of circumstance brings about the best in our fellow friends and we are witnessing that now as we are rallying to support our neighbors.

In lighter news, I am going to be one of the new “go-to” blog posters for PinSource. I’ll hope to provide you with both a little insight into the people behind the phones, emails, designs, as well as some tips and experiences from our work here.

This photo was taken from this CNN article:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/30/vermont.town.flooding/

Peggy Schorle took this photo of flooding at Tweed River and Route 100 in Pittsfield, Vermont, Sunday afternoon.

We sell to a multitude of civic organizations like Lions Clubs, Rotary, the Masons as well as many others. We sell to most, if not all of the Fortune 500 companies. When you travel to theme parks such as Disney, Universal Studios, or restaurants like Planet Hollywood, you can see our wide range of lapel pins being worn by a multitude of employees and visitors. Companies like Disney have huge pin collecting and trading societies, and their followers truly desire their pins. Many of the pins are large, multi-layered and incredibly beautiful.

Pins really come in all shapes and sizes, and every order is unique to its customer. You can send us your own artwork, or we can make the art ourselves. There is an infinite amount of possibilities of things you can do with pins.

And we’re always finding new ways to express ourselves. SUI has many different business ventures, but the most intriguing as of late, is our brand new bag company. The company has just started, but is working its way up to the top, much like the other SUI brands. They sell various bags from existing manufacturers as well as our own line of vintage, nautical canvas and leather bags, designed by us. Check us out at www.urbanadventurer.com.

There are so many different aspects to my job here at PinSource. One day I’m selling pins to a local company down the road, and the next I am selling ones with my favorite Disney characters with a beautiful glossy finish. We are a company with over 20 years of high quality success, and we continue that level of quality and success with our new brands and business ventures!

If you have any questions about anything pin related don’t hesitate to call or email me. My email is Vini@pinsource.com and my phone number is (802) 878-9288.

It really all started 15 years ago, when I built my own house with my wife Becky, in a small town in Vermont. It was a quiet neighborhood with not many people around. It wasn’t until I was running one day, that I made my first friend in the neighborhood. Her name was Cali—a beautiful, three-legged, Chesapeake Bay Retriever. But don’t let the three legs fool you, this dog could run! After a few initial growling and barking incidents, Cali and I quickly became fast friends, and she took my wife and I under her wing. She ran with me every single day, and even with her three legs, she could beat me in any race. I really owe where I am today to her, for she was the one who introduced me to her family, and more important introduced me to Rob—the one who introduced me to the world of pins.

Coincidently, Rob and I had both previously worked in the petroleum industry. We actually worked for the same company, but at different times. We quickly became fast friends, much like Cali and I. We went on long runs and bike rides all together, and discovered the many similar interests we shared with each other. Rob had started his own pin business prior to meeting me, and shared with me all that he knew about it. He had just started his own company, PinSource and invited me to help him grow his business. I gladly accepted.

Me in my office at PinSource

So, here I am at PinSource, the company started by my neighborhood friends. The company on a larger scale, is actually called SUI International Inc., a multi faceted business, that lapel pins (PinSource) take a vital role in. We offer a complete line of related products such as key chains, custom made jewelry, Challenge Coins for the Military, as well as any kind of promotional product you can think of. And if we don’t have it, we can make it! We even have our sourcing company in Hong Kong, Sino Express, where we can really make anything. So if you can think of it, we can create it.

I have a lot of fun in the pin business, and I’m happy to be a part of it. I not only take pride in the products that I am selling, but my job itself. It’s something that I never would have pictured myself doing, but I’m glad that I am. I’ve learned a lot about the pin industry, and realized that there is much more to it than what initially meets the eye. With each new sale I make, I learn one more thing about the pin world, as well as the world of business. There’s always something new and exciting going on, and I look forward to sharing more about my pin ventures and experiences here on this blog.

So feel free to contact me, Vini Sassone, a genuine PinMan. My email address is vini@pinsource.com and my phone number is 800-678-9288.

Thanks for letting me share my story with you.

-Vini