Charles Chatter

February Wrap Up and March News

2012-03-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe it is March already and our Charles Chatter is almost a year old now. It seems like just yesterday we were planting our roots in hopes we’d grow into something much bigger, and here we are. But reminiscing isn’t just about Charles Products and our blog: our very own Ben took the plunge and got engaged to his long time best friend and true love. Congratulations to both of you!

Among the celebrations, February brought us a delicious Lunch with the Bosses at Matchbox. Matchbox has become a CPI favorite as they serve the best gourmet pizza in Rockville. The namesake comes from the large collection of real matchboxes now preserved within the tables themselves. Tracy, Danielle and Justin accompanied Frank and Marshall there. Someone in the group even taught everyone a little bit about pescetarian eating.

In office news, Domestic Purchasing is undergoing several changes. Claudia is being promoted from assistant purchaser to purchasing manager. Danielle is being promoted from assistant purchaser to Frank and Marshall’s executive assistant. These modifications are scheduled to occur next Monday, March 5^th and will make us more efficient and productive overall.

With the new year, the physical Charles Products, Inc. building began a dramatic facelift. These renovations, from thorough window cleanings to wall-to-wall painting, are beautifying our daily surroundings and improving company morale. Not to mention, we want to look our best when you come pay us a visit.

And finally, our February Employee of the Month as voted on by Operations: Ben.

Ben interacts well with everyone and is always a friendly and outgoing person. He helps out greatly with collections. He also helps out other positions and departments when necessary. He is always pleasant to work with and a real team player.

Congratulations, Ben!

Charles Products 2012 Kick-Off Meeting

2012-02-10T14:17:00.007-05:00

Last week, Charles Products, Inc. had their annual Kick-Off Meeting. First-timers of the festivities included Moises, Sarah, Leafy, Danielle, Jon and Jesenia. A warm welcome goes out to each and every one of you!

To summarize, kick-off meetings are held every year at the beginning of the year and serve as an open forum for all employees to participate in. We get to know each other better, converse about our achievements as a team, and discuss ways on which we can improve our company. For example, last year’s Kick-Off Meeting inspired the launch of this blog! Just one of the many great ideas waiting to be developed further by our employees.

After an informative introduction, the Charles Products family launched into a new, team-building game called, “We are CPI.” Prior to the meeting, we individually filled out a series of 21 random yes or no questions. After being split up into six teams determined by length of employment at CPI, each group reviewed the survey questions and attempted to guesstimate how many people out of 35 answered yes to each question. The “Young Guns” – comprised of Claudia, Jonathan, Ben, Jessie, Jeff and Anna – came out on top with 11 points total!

After our game, we stretched our legs and enjoyed a catered BBQ lunch. It was absolutely delicious and the cornbread went fast!

As we gathered once again after lunch, we discussed the Charles Products Credo, dove into our anonymous responses to the 2012 Kick-Off Questionnaire, and participated in "You be the Boss" (a discussion where employees present a change or new policy for CPI). We learned a lot about what people enjoyed in relation to working at Charles Products and thoroughly discussed changes we could implement to make CPI an even better company to work for! Overall, the meeting was very informative. We discussed all things CPI and even debated implementing several changes to our usual way of life.

Lastly, we rewarded many of our employees on their accomplishments at Charles Products, Inc. Erin and Felicia were both rewarded for their Five Years of Service. Erika single-handedly represented Ten Years of Service, while Jen did the same for Fifteen Years of Service. Two of our employees, Sean and Doug, were rewarded for their amazing Twenty Years of Service. Congrats!

And finally, our 2011 Employee of the Year: Erin.

Erin is a major asset to Charles Products, Inc. As a member of the Art Department, she is always working very diligently and will labor past normal hours until the job is complete. We are proud to have Erin here and are delighted in the success she has brought to our company.

Congratulations, Erin!

Operation Smile

2012-02-10T11:29:00.004-05:00

After successfully raising almost $1,000.00 for Haiti a couple of years ago by participating in Super Bowl Squares for charity, Charles Products decided to try it again. This time we raised money for Operation Smile, an amazing non-profit organization that helps children who desperately need cleft lip surgery but can't afford it.

Our company bought individual squares from a pool of 100. We randomly assigned numbers to each row and column, which created 100 unique combinations for possible scores for the Super Bowl. Sarah was our lucky winner! She won $50.00 and the remainder of the pot went to Operation Smile.

We raised almost $500.00 for this organization. Kudos to us!

2012 New York International Gift Fair

2012-01-26T15:08:00.002-05:00

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jan 29 - Feb 1, 2012

Drawing 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and 85 countries, the New York International Gift Fair exhibits companies who showcase the very best lines across the home, lifestyle and gift spectrum.

The NYIGF is organized into eight targeted divisions and each of these divisions is comprehensive and well-edited, showing off the latest new products and designs. Please come by the Charles Products booth 1137 and say hello!

Looking forward to seeing you soon in the Big Apple!

December Wrap Up and January News

2012-01-11T10:59:00.006-05:00

What a great year 2011 has been for Charles Products, Inc! We are sad to see it go, but are ecstatic about the prospects that 2012 will bring. Despite Mayan predictions, we are expecting 2012 to be a year of growth and advancement for all (apocalypse, no).

On December 16th, we enjoyed The CPI Annual Holiday Banquet and Gift Exchange. If you haven’t seen the pictures, be sure to check out our CPI Holiday Party post. Good times for all!

January has already shown itself to be a very busy month. Our salesmen have been flying around to various trade shows across the country. The Charles Products Sales Team has already been to Las Vegas, Nevada and is now currently in Orlando, Florida. Later this month, they will also be visiting New York. I hope they packed their running shoes! If you happen to be at any of these trade shows, be sure say hello!

And finally, our December Employee of the Month as voted on by Sales: Danielle.

Danielle is really enjoyable to work with. When Eileen is out, she goes the extra mile to keep everyday running smoothly. She is always ready to help out and greets you with a smile.

Congratulations, Danielle!

2012 PPAI Expo

2012-01-03T10:47:00.004-05:00

The salesmen from CPI will be attending the PPAI Expo this week in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The expo draws thousands of suppliers, distributors and industry associates from across the country and around the globe. It is the promotional product industry’s largest and longest running trade show dedicated to bringing distributors and suppliers together. New products, outstanding education, effective networking and creative business-building ideas are all experienced every January in Las Vegas.

The PPAI Expo 2012 will be held Monday, January 2nd through Friday, January 6th (exhibits open January 4-6), 2012. We hope to see you there!

2011 CPI Holiday Party!

2011-12-19T16:31:00.002-05:00

The holiday season welcomes many traditions: family meals, last minute shopping, excessive decorations and, of course, holiday parties. We celebrated the holidays and the end of the year together at Charles Products on Friday with a festive lunch followed by our annual gift swap.

Frank and Marshall thanked our CPI team for all the hard work we do on a daily basis and we all came together to take a break from our daily tasks, sit back, enjoy each other’s company, and eat! We reminisced about 2011 and shared our goals for the new year too.

After lunch and plenty of champagne, everyone gathered around our Christmas tree and we started the “swap”. So, if you aren’t familiar with our holiday gift exchange, I’ll go over the main rules for you to get the gist of it….A person with the first name drawn chooses a random gift under our tree. The next person selected chooses to open a gift under the tree OR the person can steal a gift from another person. The (annoyed) person who just had their gift swapped can either keep the one they just received or switch gifts with someone else’s already opened gift, and so on.

We had a huge pile of various sized gifts, and of course there were some popular ones in high demand. A sweet DVD player, Horseshoes, Nintendo Wii, and of course alcoholic beverages were practically swapped every round. We had some hilarious gag gifts thrown in too. It was a great party enjoyed by everyone. Take a look at some of our pictures below to see the fun. Happy Holidays from our CPI family to you!

Happy Holidays from CPI!

2011-12-15T14:35:00.003-05:00

Hi all, just a heads up about our holiday hours for the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. Happy Holidays!

ATTENTION CPI CUSTOMERS!

2011-12-07T17:55:00.003-05:00

The Charles Products 2011 end of year inventory has been scheduled for December 12 through December 14, 2011.

Our warehouse will be closed for shipping and receiving during those days and plans to reopen on Thursday, December 15, 2011. Please have your stock orders in hand by Thursday, December 8 at 5:00PM to guarantee your order will be shipped out prior to the warehouse closing.

Thank you and have a wonderful winter!

November Wrap Up and December News

2011-12-05T17:21:00.006-05:00

Charles Products, Inc. started the year off great, and now we are ready to end 2011 the same way. We are thrilled to welcome back Chichi, our Accounts Receivable guru. Also, Rena, who was at Shady Grove Hospital during our monthly meeting, welcomes a new bundle of joy into her home, and she will be out on maternity leave for some time. Congratulations, Rena!

CPI also had two Lunches with the Bosses. The first group (Doug, Rena and Anna) went to one of our all time favorite places: Timpano Italian Chophouse. Timpano’s offers award winning cuisine including steaks, chops and pastas. Yummy! The second group (Derek, Ben and Claudia) checked out something new at the Thai Pavilion. Thai Pavilion is a unique, exotically theme restaurant known for its traditional and authentic Thai dishes.

The CPI Annual Holiday Banquet and Gift Exchange will take place on December 16th. It’s sure to be a blast! Let’s hope no one gets a gag gift this year…

We are working hard this holiday season, but we will be closed a few days over the holidays so that we have time to spend with our families and celebrate the winter holidays. On Friday the 23rd and Friday the 30th, our office will be open in the morning, but will close at 12:30pm. Our office will be closed the entire day on Monday the 26th and will also be closed on January 2nd, 2012 (we are giving you a heads up!).

Be sure to keep your eyes on the mailbox. Our holiday cards have left the building and should be arriving to our customers shortly.

And finally, our November Employee of the Month as voted on by Purchasing: Tracy.

Tracy stands out because she takes the time to look up information and do research before asking others. She is a master of customer service, order entry, artwork approvals, etc. for Glen’s accounts. She picks up the slack when order entry or one (or both) of the other sales assistants are out. Tracy is the Go-To person for questions regarding UPCs, order entry and sales. Charles Products (especially Glen) would be lost without all of her hard work.

Congratulations, Tracy!

Now it’s time to go out and spread some holiday cheer!

October Wrap Up and November News

2011-11-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

Looking back, there have been plenty of fall festivities to keep our CPI family cheerful. Ben won the CPI Football Survival Pool, beating out our runner up, Moises. I don’t understand how he did it! I was out the first round…

Yesterday, we had our November Lunch with the Bosses. Mike, Erin and Sarah went with Frank and Marshall to a new restaurant, which opened just last week, called Founding Farmers. The Potomac restaurant offers farm-inspired American food and drink in a modern, casual and eco-friendly setting. Everyone had a great time together and it was a beautiful day.

Can you believe it's already November? Charles Products, Inc. will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday on the 24th and 25th. But we will be back with a reminder for you before then!

We have saved the best for last: our October Employee of the Month as voted on by Operations: Marianna.

Marianna is a great example of a hard working employee. She does her job with a smile and is a true asset to the company. She is very pleasant to talk to and very attentive. Marianna is eager to help and answer any questions you may have. Thanks for all of your hard work for Charles Products.

Congratulations, Marianna!

A Spooktacular End to October

2011-10-31T16:45:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween to all our Charles Chatter readers! This past Friday, CPI went ALL OUT for our annual Halloween Bash. Almost everyone dressed up, except Justin… and Justin… and Justin… and wait a minute...How can he be everywhere at once?

Linda (Scariest Costume Winner, as the Witch from Snow White) and Jessie (as Ryoko Hakubi from Tenchi Muyo!) went as far as to use latex prosthetics! Francesca (Best Costume Winner as Old Lady Gaga) joined them both in Halloween extremes having a wicked wig and a completely homemade outfit. They are joined below by Felicia (as Zombie Kid), Jesenia (as Minnie Mouse) and Danielle (as 20s Flapper).

We even had Jon (as Max from Where the Wild Things Are), Mike (as Darth Vader, including sound effects and lights!), Darrell (as Old School Hip-Hop), Justin (as Muscle & Fitness Magazine cover man) and Justin…

We enjoyed a catered pizza lunch and had a costume contest where everyone was judged by their peers. Here is a group photo of the entire CPI family. We will let you be the judge here:

And here are a couple more shots of some costumes up close:

Ben (as Peter Griffin from Family Guy)

Felicia (as Zombie Kid)

Frank (as Hard Rocker)

Jon (as Max from Where the Wild Things Are)

Linda (as the Witch from Snow White)

Marshall (...as Doug)

Overall, it was a wonderful event full of fun, fright, and well, Justin. We hope you have a spooktacular Halloween!

Let's Bowl the Night Away

2011-10-27T16:55:00.001-04:00

Greetings Charles Chatter readers. On Monday, the CPI team was treated to a bowling night at 300 Shady Grove in Gaithersburg, after work of course. It was great to unwind and get our bowl on! We enjoyed a private suite and were provided with a catered dinner too. After we grubbed, we broke into teams of three and played 2 competitive games together.

The teams’ scores we very close, but our bowling pros prevailed and were awarded some fine looking trophies. Here is our list of winners, for bragging rights:

Highest Scoring Player: Jay
Highest Scoring Team: Dustin, Derek & Justin
2nd Highest Scoring Team: Jay, Frank & Moises

We had a great time! Enjoy these candid shots of Charles Products at play to see us in action:

October is a busy month when it comes to breaking out of our shell. So be sure to visit back soon as our Halloween party is tomorrow afternoon. We will have more pictures for you to enjoy as well!

September Wrap Up and October News

2011-10-05T14:27:00.002-04:00

It has been a great year so far, but Charles Products, Inc. is starting out the month of October with some somber news. On October 13th, Lihao will be leaving the CPI family. In addition, Chichi, our Accounts Receivable guru, will be out of the office until November 17th. But not to worry because Moises will be lending a helping hand, along with some others, to fill the void until Chichi returns. October is looking like a fully booked and busy month ahead, as we have numerous customer appointments and trade shows planned.

We seem to have skipped a month, but September brought with it another Lunch with the Bosses. Eileen, Dustin and Francesca enjoyed a wonderful meal at Seasons 52, one of our favorite local lunch spots. We have also scheduled a date for our Second Annual CPI Bowling Night – 2011. The entire company will be partying the night away towards the end of October. I will keep my camera on hand all night as well so I can share some great moments with you all!

And finally, our September Employee of the Month as voted on by Art: Sarah.

Sarah is always working before and after hours for the salesmen. She is especially great at getting things organized for the shows this year. She's easy to work with even in the face of the monstrous amounts of work that she usually has in front of her. She is very devoted to CPI. Sarah is truly an asset to Charles Products!

Congratulations, Sarah!

Now, let’s go and prepare for this spooktacular season!

Trade Show Season

2011-09-30T17:15:00.002-04:00

Well, the sales team just returned from the first major trade show of the season. The Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show came into being less than a decade ago but is quickly becoming one of the premier souvenir shows in the country; drawing more and more buyers each year from all over the United States. There are even major buyers from overseas that have heard the buzz and started attending the show. This year was a major success and bodes well for the rest of the show season, as well as sending a positive message about a busy 2012. More travel and more shows are still on every salesman’s calendar, so don’t expect to catch them at their desks much over the next couple of months. But no worries! The office is running at full speed and we are here to do whatever we can to help our customers through the rest of the year. Give us a call if there is anything you need, or just to say hi.

Las Vegas: Here We Come!

2011-09-13T14:41:00.001-04:00

Come visit Charles Products at the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show in Las Vegas September 20-23!

We will be in booths 415-9, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with the latest and greatest in custom souvenirs and gifts!

August Wrap Up and September News

2011-09-02T14:20:00.004-04:00

First and foremost, Charles Products would like to congratulate our production designer, Dustin, on getting married this past August. According to him, it was all he hoped it would be and more! Back to the business side of things, we had a record month for our booked and invoiced orders. Cheers all around to our hard working CPI team!

As September begins, I would like to take the time to remind everyone that Labor Day (Monday, September 5th) is a federal holiday. All of our Charles Products employees will be taking a much needed break from our busy days to spend time with our families and enjoy our last summer holiday. We will be closed this coming Monday.

We are also in the midst of planning our Second Annual CPI Bowling Night - 2011! We are looking to get together towards the end of October. I’m hoping this will mean fabulous candid shots for our blog!

That leaves us with our August Employee of the Month as voted on by Sales: Moises.

Moises is something of an unsung hero here at Charles Products, Inc. He sits at his desk, works all day, never complains and is always pleasant to speak with. The work he has been doing in collections, updating email addresses for invoices, etc has resulted in a more efficient system, increased collections of outstanding debts and quicker collection on current invoices. He has really been a wonderful addition to Accounts Receivable. He is a great guy, hard working and efficient.

Congratulations, Moises and Happy Friday!

Sales Appreciation Lunch

2011-08-11T10:40:00.000-04:00

Last week on Thursday, August 4^th, the sales team provided lunch for the entire CPI team as a thank you for all the hard work we put into our company and customers. We enjoyed delicious, catered BBQ, and had ice cream for dessert. Yum! We also participated in plenty of door prizes. Everyone came together and had a great time. Overall, it was a wonderful sunny day filled with friends and good times. Check out some candid shots of our celebration below!

CPI has the Travel Bug!

2011-08-05T12:01:00.000-04:00

The sales team will be hitting the road for the fall selling season and will be traveling to most of the states and parts of Canada to visit our customers. They will be selling at trade shows in Las Vegas, Tennessee, Florida and Ohio. Our product development team will also be heading to China and Hong Kong to visit vendors, shows and factories. Thank goodness for frequent traveler programs!

July Wrap Up and August News

2011-08-04T15:10:00.003-04:00

The Charles Products family seems to be growing! At the very beginning of August, we welcomed a new artist, Jon, to the company. We have also learned that our very own Rena is going to have a baby and Dustin is getting married. This is all wonderful news! On the business side, we had a record amount of orders booked for the month of July.

Speaking of July, Jeff, Ana and Felicia joined the bosses at Addie’s on Rockville Pike for some great food. It was a casual experience with some extraordinary New American cuisine. With some peer pressure, Felicia even tasted calamari for the first time. What a culinary adventure!

And of course, our July Employee of the Month as voted on by Purchasing: Kate.

Kate always has a great attitude and is ready to help anyone, anytime. Kate is always super friendly to everyone and is fun to be around. She goes out of her way to be nice to everyone. Her work ethic and attitude is always professional, and she does not show any irritation even in very stressful and frustrating situations. She is one of the easiest people in the entire company to work with!

Congratulations, Kate!

June Wrap Up

2011-07-19T09:41:00.002-04:00

Charles Products, Inc is just chugging along! June 2011 saw record sales booked, record sales invoiced and a record single item sale. That’s amazing. We also had one “Lunch with the Bosses” outing. Mirla, Moises and Larry dined at Seasons 52 with our head honchos. Seasons 52 is a wine bar and fresh grill in Rockville, Maryland that has a seasonally-inspired menu in a casually-sophisticated ambiance.

Last but certainly not least, our June Employee of the Month as voted on by Operations: Dustin.

Some things that were said about Dustin were that he sets up art for our freelance artists on top of his regular workload. He always has a great attitude around the office, and works well with both the salespeople and purchasing. Dustin is a great asset to Charles Products. He is an adamant biker to work and he makes the best sandwiches in the company.

Congratulations, Dustin!

Fourth of July Holiday

2011-07-01T11:13:00.000-04:00

As the summer heat rages on here in Maryland, most Americans will be taking a day to celebrate the day our country adopted the Declaration of Independence and declared our freedom. As such, Charles Products will partake in the festivities and will be closed on Monday, July 4^th, 2011. However you observe this holiday, whether by barbeque and/or fireworks (or in another way), remember how great our country is and have fun celebrating!

Art Department Field Trip

2011-06-14T16:34:00.000-04:00

Friday was an exciting day for the Charles Products, Inc. art department. We ventured out of Rockville via Metro into the heart of Washington, DC. It was a day of exploration and inspiration. We all started the day at the National Museum of Natural History. We explored the gift shop and looked at all the Charles Products souvenirs. We all made stops at various places, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gardens, The National Gallery of Art, and The Air and Space Museum. We checked out more gift shops and viewed more exhibits. Everyone met for lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian’s Mitsitam Native Foods Café. The artists enjoyed the indigenous cuisines of the Americas trying everything from buffalo to ceviche de camarones.

After lunch, some of us went back to the museums at the mall while a few of us ventured across town to the National Zoo. By 5pm, we were all tired and went home satisfied. With plenty of pictures and inspiration, our artists are sure to mock up some excellent spec work!

Memorial Day Holiday

2011-05-27T14:42:00.002-04:00

It is getting hot in Maryland! Everyone here will be enjoying the summer weather on this nice, long weekend. That means that we here at Charles Products, Inc. will be closed on Monday, May 30th, 2011 in observance of Memorial Day. Enjoy the small vacation and remember all our country's heroes who fought for our freedom.

April Wrap Up

2011-05-09T10:53:00.005-04:00

Our first month blogging has been quite exciting! As April comes to a close, we look back on all the good times and forward to some great times. Our product development team just came back from two weeks in China. While there, they ate plenty of strange foods like sea urchins and mashed potato beef cheeseburgers. Most importantly, they brought back new products to add to our inventory. With their new found knowledge, Charles Products is ready to jump start the 2012 year.

April also saw two “Lunch with the Bosses” excursions. Some of our fellow employees (Glen, Jen and Tara), were treated to lunch at Matchbox, and others (Jay and Sean) went to The Cheesecake Factory. I know it was full of fun times and yummy food!

And finally our April Employee of the Month as voted on by Sales: Erin.

Erin is always so helpful when anything is needed from the Art Department and never complains, no matter what is asked of her. She’s ready to take on any challenge. She did great work on the catalog, blog (yeah she designed this!) and website. She has a great attitude and is great to work with.

Congratulations, Erin!

2011 Train Catalog

2011-04-27T11:41:00.003-04:00

Exciting news! We just got in the first shipments of our 2011 Train Catalog. Be on the lookout and check your mailboxes as we have started to send them out. If you don’t receive one, be sure to call and get your copy. It’s filled with hundreds of our best selling train products: some brand new and some classic treasures. Enjoy!

Easter Holiday

2011-04-21T16:08:00.004-04:00

Just popping in to give you an update. It has started to be a warm spring here in Maryland and we are all going to be enjoying our Easter break this weekend. So yes, Charles Products, Inc. will be closed Friday, April 22^nd, 2011. Enjoy the holiday. Signing off for now!

Sneak Peak

2011-04-14T14:50:00.001-04:00

Here is a sneak peak of our new 2011 train catalog cover! We are thrilled with all the new items we have this year. We will be releasing it to our customers in just a few weeks!

CPI Snapshot

2011-04-11T14:54:00.003-04:00

Hey! Check out our front door. Our space and its award-winning architecture reflect the energetic and creative forces that reside within... It's a beautiful world in here!

Welcome to Charles Chatter

2011-04-08T12:43:00.006-04:00

Hi, all! My name is Sue Veneer. When I was a little girl, I loved to travel. More than traveling, I loved to visit gift shops. Whether it was at the amusement park or the national park, the zoo or the aquarium, I liked ogling at all the neat stuff. Even better, I liked to take them home with me.

I love writing about souvenirs and I am a full time blogger at Charles Products, Inc. This is where all the magic happens! From Operations to Sales, from Art to Purchasing, just about everything in the world of souvenirs occurs here in Rockville, Maryland. We specialize in thousands of custom zoo and aquarium, train and American history gifts
and souvenirs.

Since you have found your way here, let me share with you a little bit of what will be in store on Charles Chatter. We will take you on an expedition into the world of souvenirs. Journey with us as our product development team ventures around the world to discover new, exciting products to bring to our customers. Meet our most outstanding people as we highlight our Employee of the Month and give them thanks for what they do. Join us
as employees discuss the latest in the souvenir world and artists showcase their
fabulous work.

Thanks for joining in and have a fun time exploring!