http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:19:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 © stucker@asicentral.com () stucker@asicentral.com() 1440 stucker@asicentral.com No no http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog 144 144 http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2009/09/08/get-caught-in-my-web/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2009/09/08/get-caught-in-my-web/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:09:38 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2009/09/08/get-caught-in-my-web/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2009/09/08/get-caught-in-my-web/feed/ 2 http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/28/interview-with-leslie-oesen/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/28/interview-with-leslie-oesen/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:37:59 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/28/interview-with-leslie-oesen/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/28/interview-with-leslie-oesen/feed/ 1 2:33 Leslie Oesen, who has been a prominent member of the Canadian ad specialty indusry for the last 24 years with her husband, Fred, sat down ... Leslie Oesen, who has been a prominent member of the Canadian ad specialty indusry for the last 24 years with her husband, Fred, sat down with me during the second day of the PPACanada Show to discuss trends and changes in the marketplace. Leslie and Fred owned Task Force Marketing, a well-known and respected company in the Canadian industry and are now vice presidents of ASI Canada. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/27/interview-with-joe-hafner/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/27/interview-with-joe-hafner/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:08:43 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/28/interview-with-joe-hafner/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/27/interview-with-joe-hafner/feed/ 1 3:39 Joe Hafner, a pioneer in the Canadian ad specialties market for more than two decades and the owner of the supplier Redi-Medic, sat down with ... Joe Hafner, a pioneer in the Canadian ad specialties market for more than two decades and the owner of the supplier Redi-Medic, sat down with me to discuss trends in the Canadian ad specialty market, the vibrancy of the industry in Canada and his perspective on the shows so far this year, as he exhibited at ASI Orlando, PSI Dusseldorf, PPAI Las Vegas and now PPACanada. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/26/interview-with-craig-morantz/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/26/interview-with-craig-morantz/#comments Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:04:49 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/25/interview-with-craig-morantz/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/26/interview-with-craig-morantz/feed/ 0 5:54 Craig Morantz, vice president of Polyconcept North America and the person at the helm of Leed's Canada, with the six Image awards the company collected ... Craig Morantz, vice president of Polyconcept North America and the person at the helm of Leed's Canada, with the six Image awards the company collected last night from PPACanada, including "Supplier of the Year" which the company has won for the last three years. Never at a loss for words or one to shy away from the limelight, Craig hosted a Polyconcept party last night and worked the room like Hugh Hefner at the Playboy mansion. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/26/interview-with-mark-bruk/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/26/interview-with-mark-bruk/#comments Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:03:13 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/27/interview-with-mark-bruk/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/26/interview-with-mark-bruk/feed/ 1 1:21 Mark Bruk, vice president of business development for CFS Promotions For Now, and I chatted at the ASI Canada reception last night regarding his take ... Mark Bruk, vice president of business development for CFS Promotions For Now, and I chatted at the ASI Canada reception last night regarding his take on the first day of the PPACanada Show. Mark convinced me that I should join him and the other suppliers for a week on the Advantages traveling road show and blog from each different city. He assures me that the stories would be priceless. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/13/interview-with-arni-esra-einarsson/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/13/interview-with-arni-esra-einarsson/#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:23:37 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/13/interview-with-arni-esra-einarsson/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/13/interview-with-arni-esra-einarsson/feed/ 2 8:52 I get to travel quite frequently as an ASI editor, though I have never been to Iceland. After meeting some Icelandic distributors at the PSI ... I get to travel quite frequently as an ASI editor, though I have never been to Iceland. After meeting some Icelandic distributors at the PSI Show, I have learned two things: First, like Poland, Iceland has a rapidly growing economy and one that supports a vibrant promotional products industry; Second, I donrsquo;t know if because of the 24 hours of sunlight that makes their capacity for consumption flourish, but these people party like Vikingshellip; to the point where they made me seem downright Amish. I talked with Arni Esra Einarsson, who runs one of the largest distributorships in Iceland, Margt Smatt Bolur (translation: "Many Small Things"), located in Reykjavik. He is as smart as he is hearty in his partying. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-philippe-varnier/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-philippe-varnier/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:23:24 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-philippe-varnier/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-philippe-varnier/feed/ 0 8:52 Towards the end of the PSI Dusseldorf Show, the traffic didnrsquo;t dissipate and the excitement continued right up until the end of the show on ... Towards the end of the PSI Dusseldorf Show, the traffic didnrsquo;t dissipate and the excitement continued right up until the end of the show on Friday at 4:00 p.m. Trends on the show floor included metallic accents and embellishments, a continued emphasis on eco-trends including one company, Everything Environmental, who carries pens made from recycled CD cases, and Polyconcept, who showed items powered by water instead of electricity. Wooden toys, too, were prevalent, in response to the backlash against metal toys. I spoke with my favorite French-accented industry oracle, Philippe Varnier, chairman of Polyconcept, and asked him for his outlook on upcoming trends. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-john-lynch/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-john-lynch/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:23:07 +0000 Michele Bell http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-john-lynch/ http://bellwether-asicentral.com/bellblog/2008/01/12/interview-with-john-lynch/feed/ 4 4:18 I sat down with my friend John Lynch, a native of New Jersey who moved to Krakow, Poland to start his own supplier company, Lynka. Now, ... I sat down with my friend John Lynch, a native of New Jersey who moved to Krakow, Poland to start his own supplier company, Lynka. Now, 14 years later, his company is one of the largest promotional products businesses in Poland and John is both an expert on this emerging market and quite the fun expat if yoursquo;re ever in the area and want to know the best restaurants and where to find the most sublime Polish vodka. Interviews stucker@asicentral.com no No