Impressions - March 2012 - (Page 40)

‘Blingiﬁcation’ of Decorated Apparel By Mark L. Venit, MBA, Contributing Writer The In the fashion world, bling — while not necessarily new — is bigger than ever. Here’s a primer to get you up to speed about rhinestones and other shining trends. met Joan Weber, a San Antonio-based decorated apparel entrepreneur, at a marketing workshop I conducted at last year’s Ft. Worth Imprinted Sportswear Shows (ISS). After a discussion about the critical nature of choosing (or changing or adding) a company name and positioning a business to better reﬂect its core mission to customers and prospects, Weber handed me her business card. Her company name is Bling Concepts, its tagline is “Enhancing Your Brilliance!” and the ﬁrst word listed in her product offerings is “Rhinestones.” If this were a college course and I were still in the world of being a professor, I’d award her an “A” for her mastery of business nomenclature and positioning fundamentals — though she came to the course already “schooled” on these principles. 40 Impressions | March 2012 i But the fact that her card sported a sparkling rhinestone to dot the “i” in the word “bling,” thus thoroughly reinforcing her company’s position, would earn her a fast A-plus. While Weber is a relative newcomer to our craft, she has advanced her niche in it. Many veterans could learn a few things from this newbie. BLING BIGGER THAN EVER I’ve been pushing rhinestones to my consulting clients for more than 20 years. Through the 1980s, 1990s and into the 21st century, there was one main source for rhinestone transfers in our industry: Miamibased ZBSL, by any standard the pioneer of bling in the decorated apparel world. ZBSL only offered buyers Swarovski crystals, as well as nailhead designs. (Today, a successor ﬁrm to ZBSL, Crystal Trends in Pembroke Pines, Fla., still provides highend stones in their offerings.) During the past decade, cut-glass rhinestones have been the standard of our trade and are considerably less costly than Swarovski stones. Bling is bigger than ever and still growing in popularity on shirts, caps, higherend wearables, jeans, bags and fashion accessories. But you already know this and see the bling phenomenon as a staple today for women and younger (or youngerat-heart) audiences. The fact of the matter is that bling isn’t new; it has been around for millennia. When archaeologists dig up preserved bodies and skeletons all over the planet, their ﬁndings indicate jewelry was a common element in prehistoric and ancient times throughout diverse populations in the impressionsmag.com http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - March 2012

Impressions - March 2012
Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
ISS Conferences
Product Gallery
What Women Want
Fashion Meets Function
The “Blingifi cation” of Decorated Apparel
Online Directory
Shop Spotlight
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Technique
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Embroidery Design & Digitizing
Tech Tips: Embroidery
Tech Tips: Embroidery
Screen Printing Production
Screen Printing Production
For Screen Printers Only
For Screen Printers Only
Tech Tips: Screen Printing
Tech Tips: Screen Printing
Digital Decorating
Digital Decorating
Business to Business
Business to Business
Classifieds
Classifieds
Ad Index
Ad Index

Impressions - March 2012