As many of you have come to enjoy, every few weeks we showcase one of the displays passing through Production in a quick video. Sometimes it’s done by the Project Manager who worked on the project. Other times by either Mel or me.
I wanted to share a recent one with you: a) because it answers SO MANY questions about our best-selling hybrid line, and b) because Mel and Jeff (the dude behind the camera) did a terrific job on pulling this video together.
We are often asked, “What makes the Sacagawea Portable Hybrid different?” the answer is simple. Only the Sacagawea combines smart engineering, quality materials, easy assembly, and reusable packaging into an affordable, upscale display. There’s no comparison — at any price.
Discover the seven benefits of a Sacagawea Portable Hybrid Display, plus one.
On Wednesday, June 25, Classic Exhibits will offer a free Exhibit Design Search Tips, Tricks, and TechniquesWebinar. Join us when we review significant updates to EDS since the last session, including an expanded My Gallery, Trade Show Tips, and the new Price Range tool.
If you haven’t attended an EDS webinar, you’ll learn how to streamline your sales and design process and turn prospects into orders. Techniques include understanding advance search options, building shared galleries, and navigating seamlessly within EDS in a fraction of the time.
If you have attended a previous EDS webinar, discover even more features that will turbocharge your sales.
This is a MUST for anyone with a branded EDS website!!!!
Should you have any problems registering (GoToWebinar can be finicky sometimes), send me an email and I’ll register you. For more information about recent Exhibit Design Search updates, see the following blog post.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100 or www.classicexhibits.com.
Shared Knowledge University Graduates Another AMAZING Class!
A little over a week ago, Classic Exhibits held the Spring 2014 session of Shared Knowledge University (SKU). To say that it was our nicest group ever is not an overstatement. IT WAS!
Starting on Sunday May 18, 42 attendees arrived from all over the country to attend Classic Exhibits’ bi-annual training. Attendees came from as far as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and South Carolina and as close as Oregon and Washington — and many states in between. The group was the key to the overwhelming success of the event. They were prepared to learn, attentive in class, and hands-on once we hit the shop floor.
The events started casually on Sunday night where we hosted a dinner with attendees who arrived early. We had a chance to share stories at a local brewery before the event “officially” started. After that, we kicked into full gear Monday morning.
Each SKU involves a lot of preparation and a little anxiety since we want everything to be “just so.” But like always, everything went without a hitch.
As a long-time employee of Classic, one of my favorite parts of SKU is that first moment when the group arrives at our facility. It’s our home 8-12 hours a day, so seeing the reaction of the attendees as they walk in is always something I look forward to and enjoy. For most, it’s an eye-opener, with reactions of “Oh wow! You were not kidding.” The shop and the tour reinforces what they have heard from Jen LaBruzza, Reid Sherwood, Mel White and me for years.
Our proud spring 2014 graduates ranged from industry veterans of more than 25 years to folks that were new our industry. Which in itself added to the value of the session. I witnessed a lot of sidebar conversations from student to veteran where ideas were shared and contact information was swapped in hopes of helping one another on future projects.
Spring 2014 SKU Video
The two-day event was not just classroom and shop-level training. There was a lot of fun as well. We are proud of the City of Roses and love the opportunity to show all things “Portlandia,” which includes an evening at the always interesting Kennedy School in NE Portland. Originally an elementary school, it was opened in 1915, then closed in 1975, only to be re-opened in 1997 as a restaurant and hotel including many unique spaces such as the “Detention Room”…now a cigar bar and the “Gym”…now a large group event space. It’s a great place that the group enjoyed, some perhaps a little more than others. 🙂
Evening two, we ventured into the Pearl District of Portland to the Bridgeport Brewery, a restaurant and bar that was opened in what used to be one of many vacant industrial buildings in downtown Portland. The Pearl District is clearly “THE” hotspot in downtown Portland. It’s an Urban Living area complete with restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and apartments/condos.
Before dinner Tuesday night, we took a detour to the Exhibits Northwest Portland showroom for a cocktail reception hosted by Jim Shelman (GM) and the gracious staff at Exhibits NW Portland. It’s a beautiful showroom, and the ENW team created a relaxing atmosphere after two grueling days of intense training.
SKU Photos
I have received many thank you emails since sending the honored graduates on their way (after they recited their secret Graduate Pledge). In particular, I was touched by their comments about the Classic people they met, from Production to Accounting and from Design and Customer Service. Many praised their dedication, openness, and sincerity. One person asked a project manager if Classic was an Employee Owned Company because of everyone’s committment to the business and to the company’s core values of Shared Knowledge, Shared Responsibility, and Shared Success.
Time and time again, what I am most proud of is our people. Take away the shop, the products, the website. Take it all away, and we are still left with the greatest and most dedicated group of employees a company could ask for. And the fact that it “shows” to those coming just for two days is what makes SKU so successful each and every time.
So thank again to all who attended. We appreciate your business and your support for our work families and our home families. And most of all, thanks to the entire team that makes SKU . . . SKU. It’s a great opportunity for people to learn about what we do and more importantly how hard we work to make everyone successful. Finally, a special thanks to our guest speakers: Dave Brown from Optima, Eric Albery from Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits, and Tim Patterson, the Tradeshow Guy!
Have a great weekend with your families. June is upon us if you can believe it! We look forward to serving you as we roll into the summer.
Each year, a group from Classic Exhibits, our vendor partners, and friends raise money for Cancer Research/Awareness.
In the past, we have accomplished this through bike rides ranging from 75 miles – 100 miles. This year, we are taking it to a whole new level!! We are going to run 199 miles! That’s right, I said WE ARE GOING TO RUN 199 MILES. From Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast. The event is called Hood to Coast. And believe it or not, we have fun doing it. 🙂
A team of twelve, along with four volunteer drivers and helpers, will embark on this 199 mile run to raise awareness and more importantly funds for Cancer Research. The facility is the Providence Cancer Research/Care Center. It’s located in Portland and is near and dear to the Classic Exhibits Family. Why Providence you ask? Easy — Mike Swartout, the Design Director at Classic Exhibits, that’s why!
Mike Swartout
A few years ago, Mike heard the news no one wants to hear, “You have Cancer.” And in Mike’s case it was particularly bad — Advanced Stage 4 Prostate Cancer. His PSA was 2640. That is not a typo.
With the research and care provided by Providence Cancer Research/Care Center, Mike is still with us today. Mike agreed to participate in many experimental treatments/studies to help find a cure for this dreaded disease. Mike has outlasted the early prediction of only living a few months to having survived over several years.
His selfless approach as a guinea pig has allowed Providence to advance amazing treatments such as Provenge to the point of FDA approval. This drug is stopping the course of prostate cancer in many patients who are now getting diagnosed, something that Mike and all of us are very proud of.
So, with Mike’s permission and urging, we decided to “Take It Up a Notch” to raise money for the Cancer Research Center in his honor. Which is where you come in!
Our goal is modest, just $20,000. That’s just over $100 per mile.
Your donation is 100% tax deductible. And goes 100% towards Providence Cancer Research/Care Center to allow them to continue to provide the great care and attention patients like Mike and others around the country are receiving due to their tremendous work.
So, let me be corny in saying, help support us please while we “expose” ourselves to Cancer Awareness by donating to our 199 mile run.
On our previous bike rides, we would be honored and grateful to run with the names of your loved ones that are battling or have lost their battle to this disease. So please make sure you email me their names so I can have them included on our shirts.
Let me guess . . . you don’t view Classic Exhibits or ClassicMODUL as retail display builders? Quite honestly, I don’t blame you. We don’t design and build cardboard product displays. We never get orders for 1000 merchandising racks. No one comes to us for rounders or rolling clothing racks or 500 pieces of slatwall hardware.
And yet,every week we’re designing, building, or fulfilling a traditional retail order. Much of it is custom, which shouldn’t surprise you. We are an ideal source for custom retail fixtures since we excel in engineered aluminum extrusion and wood fabrication. We love these jobs because they fall into two camps: 1. Pure custom, which is both challenging and rewarding, and 2. Lots and lots of straight or curved extrusion cut to specific lengths.
Lately, there’s been an addition to the mix as retailers have “discovered” backlit fabric graphics. Silicone Edge Graphics with SuperNova LED lights are all the rage, which makes sense. Shipping large print graphics is expensive. Too often, they arrive damaged or the hardware is cumbersome to assemble and then gets tossed after one season. Aluminum SEG frames, fabric graphics, and LED lighting solves most of those challenges, if installed correctly the first time.
Did I mention tablet stands for iPads and Surface 2? No surprise. Those are very popular as well.
Show Me
Now that’s the attitude we’ve come to expect from our distributors. There’s now a Retail Display Gallery on the Classic Exhibits website that shows samples of retail projects. Sadly, we don’t get to see everything, especially if the job calls for cut extrusion. And, frankly, some clients are reluctant to share images for competitive reasons. We assume the final product is stunning since we don’t always see it unless the distributor sends us photos.
Click here for the Retail Displays Gallery. Or you can find the links in the Exhibits or Resources menu. Or in the footer on the Classic Exhibits website.
