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July 9, 2009

Store Progress: July 8th, 2009

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We’ve been busy in the store, building walls for dressing rooms, assembling shelving and placing furniture.  I’ve still got to finish the bathroom (light fixture, mirror, etc.) and get the floors cleaned.

Dad Installs Door Hardware by you.

ABOVE:  My dad installs hardware on a dressing room door. 
BELOW:  A completed dressing room.

Dressing Rooms Finished by you.

Stock will begin to arrive next week, which means sorting, steaming, hanging and entering into the computer system.  Oh yeah, and I need to buy a computer system.

It never ends, but it’s been a fun ride so far.

 

July 4, 2009

Store Progress: July 3, 2009

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As anyone who’s been reading the blog will know, I’ve been very busy getting ready to open our new retail store.  We’re going to be selling uniforms for nurses, firefighters and police officers.

When we started, the store was just a shell, with only a bathroom and small “kitchen nook” area.  To that, we need to add dressings rooms, partition for our back area where we’ll continue to make our quilted cot covers and a cash register area.

Here are some pictures of our current progress:

Store in Progress 7 by you.

Store in Progress 1 by you.

The walls were already painted and the floor is terrazzo, so we don’t have to do a lot of other painting.  We’ve actually done a bit more than these photos, but I didn’t take any of the store before we left for fireworks (our city always does them on the first Friday of July, to coincide with our famous, rocking street party).

 

June 17, 2009

IFDF 2009 Wrap-Up

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The 2009 IFDF Expo and Conference was easy for our company since we operate in Florida.  The show, held at the World Golf Village just outside of St. Augustine, started on Thursday, June 11th and ended, for me, on Friday, June 12th.

My compensation for presenting two seminars was a free booth space.  The 8′ x 10′ space would normally have cost me $375, so I was happy for the trade-off.

Here’s how our expenses stacked up:

FUEL:           $   40
LODGING:      102
MEALS:             65
MISC.:                35
———————–
TOTAL:   $ 242

Had I paid for the booth, we would have incurred $617 in costs, making our pre-show goal, calculated at $50 per cover sold, 12 covers.  Interestingly, we sold 11.

The show was sparsely attended, as far as I could tell.  There were quite a few people missing from previous years, but whether they were kept away by the economy or the location, I can’t say.

Still, we only sold to 2 new funeral homes.  Everyone else was either ordering to replace covers they bought from us at previous shows or getting covers for cots that had not been draped with one of our georgeous cot covers yet.

So was it a good show for us?  Not surprisingly, the answer is both YES and NO.

First, the negative.  I learned that by the time we’re attending a show for the third time, we’ve already exhausted the audience of new funeral homes that attend.  If we sell items on our third attempt, it will be reorders or orders for a new product.  That means we’ve got to keep developing new products and having those ready for funeral directors to buy.

And why not?  We obviously sell a good product – I know that because funeral directors constantly tell us how much they like them – and people now trust us.  In fact, I was excited to see how many of my past customers hang around the booth and even ask “what’s new?”

The positive part is that seeing funeral directors for a third time reassures them that our company is for real and will be hanging around for many years to come.  In turn, that helps clients when they decide who to give their money to.  It’s a trust issue, and I’m glad that we’ve been building that trust so effectively.

So we’re working on getting our dressing table skirts shipped.  We’ve prototyped it, and it works.  But now we have to figure out how to make them in bulk.  We’ve got four orders already, so getting them out within the next few weeks is a big concern.

We’re also working on a casket cover that funeral homes can use for long distance travel or for in-town transport when they want to cover a casket with something prettier than a moving pad.  They won’t be anywhere near as cheap as one of those grimy moving pad covers, but we think there’s a market for them.

In the meantime, we’re planning our next convention, which is the 2009 KFDA show in Louisville next week.  I will not be attending that show.  Instead, I’m sending two of my employees.  Here’s hoping they sell a whole bunch of cot covers!

 

June 10, 2009

IFDF 2009 Preparations

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It’s been a hectic few weeks in Final Embrace world.

Besides getting all the OFDA 2009 cot cover orders built and shipped, I’m also busy renovating a retail space for our new uniform store, writing two presentations for the IFDF conference that starts tomorrow and getting cot covers back on the shelf so we’ve got some to take to St. Augustine for the IFDF expo and to Kentucky for the FDAofKy show that starts in less than two weeks.

ARGH!!!!  Too…busy….must….sleep……

No, I’m not complaining, just glad that we’ve got so much business and dealing with the realities that brings:  hiring employees, training people, finding cash to buy materials to keep making covers while we wait for receivables to come in, etc.

Still, there are about 24 hours of things to do in the next 12, so I’m going to get back on my presentations – I’m talking about “social media” and “merchandising techniques, in two separate talks – and hope that the car gets packed before tomorrow morning at 7:00 am.

 

June 1, 2009

Why It’s Time for Retail

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Friends:

I’ve been pretty busy lately, which has given me little time to write here.  Sorry ’bout that, but there’s some exciting news:

We’re opening a retail store!

“Wait,” you say, “aren’t you in the funeral business?  How you gonna retail funeral supplies?”

Good questions and even better skepticism, which may explain why I’m not focusing on funerals for the retail project, but something I also know:  uniforms.

Working for a metropolitan fire department, I know the daily grind of finding, buying and fitting uniforms for firefighters.  And since many of these guys also have uniform-wearing wives (think nurses, vet techs, daycare workers) I know the need for uniforms in my area.

Plus, our funeral supply business is growing at an impressive enough rate that we’ll soon outgrow our warehouse-style space, making a move to a larger location painful (financially) without any benefit other than more space.

So I’ve decided to find another niche that will allow us to provide a necessary product where solutions and good customer service will be appreciated.  And I’ll “marry” that product (uniforms) to our current offerings in a single space.

First, the retail portion of the store will be completely separate from the back office functions, which will include production and storage space for our quilted cot covers.  We’ll take advantage of the storefront, giving UPS a place to pick up our packages (right now I drive boxed cot covers to the Post Office).

It’s also time for a full-time or almost-full-time employee for the business – other than me – so I figure that person can sell scrubs to nurses and pants to firefighters when there aren’t any cot cover orders to fulfill.  I’ll also use our four part-time employees to help with orders, so that big conventions and nurses’ week don’t destroy our sanity.

So now I’m busy lining up manufacturers and getting the lights turned on and buying insurance and finding 4-way garment racks and negotiating a lease and getting permits and paying for licenses and……

Going crazy!

 

May 27, 2009

OFDA 2009: Expenses

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Here’s what our expenses for the Ohio trip look like:

FUEL $200
LODGING $600
MEALS $160
MISC $90
BOOTH $625
TOTAL $1,675

 I had expected our costs to be closer to $1600, but a few miscellaneous expenses, including two new shelves and some new paper bags (for carryouts), pushed our total higher.

With that estimate and using my $50 a cover rule, I figured we’d have to sell 32 covers or so to pay for the show.  With a final total of $1675 for expenses, I think my goal of 35 covers was reasonable, from a monetary standpoint.  From a practicality standpoint, I was a bit more apprehensive.  See, we’ve been selling well this month, but the first coupla months of 2009 were off year-to-date.  In fact, I was so apprehensive about our outlook at the end of April that I made the decision to attend the Ohio show at the last minute.

It’s amazing how many good business decisions are precipitated by moments of horror and how much clarity comes with fear.  In 2007, I shared our two most difficult moments as a company in the posts Crippling Challenge + Determination = Business Reward/Failure (Part 1) and Crippling Challenge + Determination = Business Reward/Failure (Part 2).  While April 2009 doesn’t compare to either of those experiences, my feeling of dread was creeping up and I knew we had to do something to kickstart sales.

I saved money by driving the convention wagon I bought earlier this year.  The vehicle, which I showed off in the post, Final Embrace, LLC’s New Convention Wagon, was packed to the gills (OFDA 2009, Here We Come!) and fueled up with $2.25/gallon gas in Florida.  If I had planned our fuel better, we could have taken advantage of lower prices in Georgia and fueled twice at a lower rate.  As it is, during the trip up we fueled once in Florida, once in Georgia and once in Ohio.  Ohio was the highest price, with regular unleaded gas going for $2.459 a gallon!

On the way back, we stopped just as we entered Georgia and just before leaving, saving us almost ten cents a gallon.  On two fillups, that meant a savings of $4.  Might not seem like a lot, but we didn’t have to go out of our way to save that money, either.

We stayed in a very nice hotel in Columbus.  My strategy was to choose simple hotels for the two drive-all-days and pick a pampering hotel for the stay in Columbus.  The strategy paid off, as the Drury Inn on Nationwide Boulevard in Columbus was both comfortable and convenient.  Parking was reasonable ($12 a day) and the hotel is connected to the convention center.  Access is made through several air-conditioned walkways and convention spaces.

We ate at three good restaurants in Columbus:  Carrabba’s, The Cheesecake Factory and O’Charleys.  I also had dinner with an old friend at the FlatIron Grill, just down the block from the hotel.  As usual, we skipped the food service on the convention floor, although it looked very good and everyone praised the selection and freshness.

Want to know why I don’t eat on the floor of an expo?  Read the posts, Hey, Vendors. Stop Telling Me How Hungry You Are. and 2008 NFDA Convention: The Tired, The Hungry and The Bored, to better understand my philosophy.

So far, I haven’t decided to attend any conventions that aren’t already planned, meaning we’ll attend IFDF in early June, Kentucky in late June and the NFDA show in Boston in October.  Still, I continue to see the benefit of attending conventions and seeing our customers face-to-face, so next year’s convention schedule will be VERY ambitious.

Here’s what I’m planning so far:

February 1-3, 2010
South Carolina FDA Mid-Winter Conference/Expo
Columbia, South Carolina
Booth Fee:  $520

March 1 & 2, 2010
Georgia Expo
Atlanta, Georgia
Booth Fee:  $500

April 26-28, 2010
Ohio FDA Convention/Expo
Columbus, Ohio
Booth Fee:  $625

June 2010
IFDF Conference/Expo
Location TBA
Booth Fee:  $400

June 2010
Kentucky FDA Expo
Louisville, Kentucky
Booth Fee:  $600

August 3 & 4, 2010
National Funeral Director & Mortician Association
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Booth Fee:  $1200

October 2010
National Funeral Directors Association
New Orleans, Louisiana
Booth Fee:  $2400

 

May 17, 2009

OFDA 2009, Here We Come!

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Just finished packing the “Final Embrace Convention Wagon.”

convention packing

We leave at 6:00 am Monday morning.  Too early, I know.  But we want to get a jump start on traffic and be in Kentucky before dark.

 

May 17, 2009

Flag Football Championship Games

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I just competed in flag football championship weekend.  Our team played in two leagues:  Age 30+ and Age 18-29.

How did I play in the younger league if I’m 33?  Because the rules allow the old, fat, slow guys to play against the younger guys, but not the other way around.

P1000665

I took this picture as the 18-29 league championship game was ending.  That’s the “Final Embrace Convention Wagon” on the left.

We lost against the younger guys.  But I got my very first sports trophy for the 30+ league championship, where we beat the team “Pick 6″ by three touchdowns.  I even scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion!

All-in-all, the season of flag football was exciting and worthwhile.  But when they start back up in three weeks, I’ve told the organizers that I’ll stick to officiating.  My body isn’t made to twist, fall or bounce like it did last season!

 

May 11, 2009

Ohio FDA Expo Preparations Are Under Way

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Friends:

You may wonder where I’ve been lately.  I”ve been wondering that myself! :)

Truth is, I’ve been getting ready for the Ohio FDA Expo, which starts next Wednesday.  I’m leaving out Monday, May 18th, so there are a lot of things to do in the next six days to get our display ready.

First, we’ve got to get enough cot covers on the shelf to meet demand AND fill our display for the show.  That means carrying 50 covers with us and making more for inventory.  Not an easy task.

Second, I had to get off my wallet and order a professional sign for our booth.  It wasn’t easy – I hated parting with that $150, even if it means really awesome signage – but I think we’ll wow a few folks with our improved display. 

Third, I’ve got to plan our route, book hotels and decide on dining option for each leg of the trip.

Luckily, there’s a nice Cantina (Pappasito’s) where we’ve eaten on trips to Atlanta and Kentucky and some friends to join us at other stops on the way.

So far, our agenda looks like this:

Monday, May 18th
6:00 am – Get up too darn early and drive to Atlanta for lunch at Pappasito’s Cantina
2:00 pm – Continue to Richmond, Kentucky and turn in for the night

Tuesday, May 19th
7:00 am – Get up kinda early and meet Spencer Guily, from Hilltop.net, for breakfast in Richmond
9:00 am – Drive to Columbus, Ohio
2:00 pm – Check into our awesome hotel and have dinner with an old friend, Albert

Wednesday, May 20th
8:00 am – Get up at a normal hour and head around the corner to the convention center
10:00 am – Unload our tightly packed vehicle and set up our new floor (more later)
10:30 am – Set up our booth
12:00 pm – Go have lunch at some ridiculously beautiful place (that’s my hope, at least)
2:00 pm – Take our time getting ready for the expo opening
4:30 pm – Expo doors open
7:30 pm – Post-expo nightcap meal and drink at local establishment

Thursday, May 21st
8:00 am – Still sleeping, recovering from an exhausting day selling cot covers
12:00 pm – Day 2 of Expo
4:00 pm – Expo closes for the day
5:00 pm – Dinner with other funeral friends, plotting industry domination

Friday, May 22nd
7:00 am – Too early wake-up call
8:30 am – Check out of hotel
9:30 am – Expo doors open for final day
12:30 pm – Another successful convention ends
2:30 pm – On the road to Richmond, Kentucky

Saturday, May 23rd
7:00 am – On the road back to Eustis, Florida with a pile of orders in our hands!

In addition, I’m putting the finishing touches on our floor.  Instead of renting carpet, or buying a junked piece, like I did in Kentucky last year (2008 KFDA Convention: 1st Day of the Expo), I’m building a floor out of scraps from our quilted cot covers.  I’ll take some pictures soon, but I can best describe it in words as a window frame with back lines between dark blue panes.

Ugh, gotta get back to sewing!

 

May 6, 2009

Two New Cot Cover Designs That Look Like Old Quilts

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I’ve just added two new cot cover designs to our collections. 

green-leaf

blue-cabin

These two covers are available in limited quantities, but should fit the needs of funeral directors who want a more “traditional” quilt pattern to offer their client families.

 

April 29, 2009

Why I Joined the Eternal Space Advisory Council

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To be fair, I was pretty skeptical about Eternal Space when I first met them.  They called me to give them my view of the funeral industry and, like any of my consulting clients, they paid me a small fee per hour to share my insight. 

As a side note, I never knew how much consultants can really make until I told people how little I was charging my clients and got the “you should be billing at least $100 an hour” speech from several colleagues.

My first few sessions with Eternal Space were productive for them, but I was still unsure if they could ever be anything more than a dream bandied about during cross-country phone calls.

Later, when they made a big splash at the 2008 NFDA show, I was impressed with their work to that point, but the fact that they hadn’t created a working site yet made me nervous.

I continued to be concerned about their ability to build a business without a working product – especially considering how much money they’ve burned through with advertising and their NFDA booth - but those fears vanished when I saw a working prototype.

Truth is, their site looks like the “movie-version” of an online memorial.  Seriously, the versatility and user experience are akin to an episode of CSI.

I’m hooked and I think they’ve got a great product.  And, frankly, the only one that offers a funeral director tangible value to market to their clients.  I think funeral directors can make some good money promoting Eternal Space.

Anyone who reads my ramblings here will know that providing a good service AND making money make up the real “bottom line” for me.

Don’t think for a minute, however, that I’m not there to give dissent.  I’ve never been reserved with my opinion and I will continue to push Eternal Space to make sure they continue to provide real value to funeral professionals.  Because, if they don’t, our industry really doesn’t need them.

 

March 29, 2009

Where I’ve Been: 2nd Annual Central Florida Fire Muster

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You may have noticed how little I’ve been writing lately.  That’s because I was working on the 2nd Annual Central Florida Fire Muster.  I told you about last year’s muster in the post, Advertising Before You’re Good Enough. 

But this year, I have video to show you what fun we had:

 

March 4, 2009

2009 Georgia Expo Day 2 and Results

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Our trip to Atlanta for the 2009 Georgia Expo started on the birthday of my travel companion (my aunt, Dawn), so I ordered up a Georgia snowstorm for her:

P1000535 by you.

We arrived at our hotel just after 3pm and immediately stood in front of the heater for a few minutes to de-frost.  This is the view from our hotel, situated adjacent to Turner Field, where the Braves play:

P1000537 by you.

After warming up and getting unpacked, we scooted off to scope out the expo location and enjoy a celebratory birthday dinner.

Driving in Atlanta is treacherous in sunny conditions (14 lanes of traffic, incomplete or missing directional signs, one-way streets), but finding our way through construction zones in the icy, freezing dark was an adventure.

We never did find out exactly how to get to the Georgia Freight Depot that night (I checked my email again and found the map the organizers sent me) but we did find the chosen restaurant, Pappasito’s Cantina (which we discovered last year and blogged about in the post KFDA 2008: Lunch in Atlanta).

P1000539 by you.

We each ordered fajitas and the picture above is of the 4-person table they covered with our meal!  As usual, the meal was totally wonderful and we were too full to even attempt dessert.

Move-in at the Freight Depot (host site of the Expo) was scheduled for 8:00 am Monday morning, with hearses and caskets going in first.  That left less than 3.5 hours for the rest of us to set up and prepare for the wave of attendees.

Compounding my concern was the fact that Dawn is new to our company and has never set up our convention space, let alone sold a single cover before!  So we set off early to find our way through downtown construction and get in line to load all our goodies into the exhibit hall.

P1000551 by you.

 We left our hotel room at 7:15 am and arrived at the location within 15 minutes.  Load-in had started early and, to our surprise, the hearses and caskets had been loaded the day before, to keep them out of the snow and cold.

Even better than getting a jump on setting up, Dawn is good at puzzles and takes direction well.  We had the metal shelving assembled within an hour and finished shelving covers and cleaning our area by 9:30.

After a quick breakfast at a Waffle House just a few blocks away, we changed clothes in the Expo restrooms and hit the floor just ahead of the funeral directors.

We recapped our Day 1 sales numbers in the post Almost All ULTRAs at the Georgia Expo.  Our goal for the whole show was 20 covers, so selling 10 on the first day was a great relief.  To celebrate, we went back to Pappasito’s, where we split a fajita platter (steak, chicken and rock lobster!) and shared a huge brownie dessert.

P1000561 by you.

Day two started at 12:00 noon and saw even more funeral directors show up.  The session was scheduled to end with a special legislative reception, which provided time for funeral directors to chat with their elected officials and lobby them on important funeral-related issues.

As the day wound down (closing time was 4:30 pm) and we watched other exhibitors tearing down their booths 30 to 45 minutes early (a real shame) we kept pushing for the last few sales that would put us over our goal.

Dawn sold cover #22 while we were breaking down our booth at 4:50 pm.  One of the funeral directors who purchased a cover earlier in the day dodged the exiting hearses and fleeing casket sellers to add another cover to his order.

We’d exceeded our goal and, with snow still on the ground, were ready to pack the car and head back to Florida.

 P1000547 by you.

Dawn helped me implement a cool packing trick that I brainstormed before we left; we packed the two large towers of shelves full of covers and removed the large bridge shelves. 

P1000562 by you.

Then, we wrapped each one with cling film (Saran wrap) and loaded them into the car.  Our sign and the cot we borrowed from my friends at our local funeral home, Harden-Pauli, fit sideways next to the shelves.

We stopped for a quick bite at a Zaxby’s Restaurant in Perry, GA and were home by 12:35 am.

In all, the event was a very positive experience for our growing company.  We made some good contacts, signed three regional funeral supply companies to resell our product and got our cot covers into the removal vehicles of 20+ more funeral homes.  And it only took three days and less than $1200.  Here’s the breakdown:

Booth

$ 550

Fuel

$ 110

Hotel

$ 248

Food

$ 165

Brochures

$ 50

Miscellaneous

$ 50

TOTAL

$ 1173

And while I haven’t figured out the exact sales figures for the show, I’ve estimated we wrote at least $5000 in orders.

 

March 2, 2009

Almost All ULTRAs at the Georgia Expo

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Today was a good day for our sales (although attendance trailed off too quickly) and the new features we added to the ULTRA model of our cot covers are attracting customers.

Nine of the ten covers we’ve sold are the ULTRA model, which features a pocket, binding on the lower edge of the cover and ScotchGard spray on the top fabric.  To that, we’ve added a drawstring at the head end (helps keep the cover out of the wheels) and a matching lined pillowcase.

Unfortunately, the weather or another force kept some folks from turning out in huge numbers, but the organizers have shown me the stack of Tuesday-only registrants and I’m hopeful about turnout for tomorrow; it helps that there is a meeting with local legislators tomorrow and many of the funeral directors want to chat with them.

Our goal for the whole convention is 20 covers sold.  At 5:43 pm (it closed at 6:00 pm today) Dawn sold 8, 9 and 10.  With new attendees and those who promised to come back tomorrow, we have a chance to meet or beat our goal.

More updates tomorrow.

 

March 1, 2009

2009 Georgia Expo Goals and Planning

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Dawn at Georgia Expo 2009 by you.

We’re on our way to the Georgia Expo in Atlanta, hosted by the IFDG and the GFDA and it’s SNOWING!!!

The Georgia Expo is being held at the Georgia Depot, a converted train station, near the Georgia State Capitol.

We’ve arrived at our hotel in Atlanta, but the picture above is from outside Macon!  It’s about 34 degrees right now and the snow is piling higher as we speak.

The expo starts tomorrow, with load-in at 8:00 am and the kick-off at 11:30.  Doesn’t leave a lot of time to get things setup and ready, but we’ll manage.

I’ve been told to expect between 200 and 400 funeral directors, so we’re making a pretty bold prediction that we can sell at least 15 covers.  But you know how I think, so I’ve set our goal at 20, just to push ourselves.

Since this company is a family affair, I’ve brought along a new booth worker, my aunt Dawn.  She’s retired from the Orange County Fire Department, but spent a number of years going to conventions and exhibiting for the deparment.

We’ll check back in tomorrow night!

 

February 26, 2009

Eustis Fire Dept. Museum Display

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Eustis Fire Display 2009 #5 by eustisfire.

In addition to the blog, my company (selling cot covers!), preparations for the Georgia Expo next week and all the plans for the 126th Annual GeorgeFest in my little town, I’ve also been prepping a display for the Eustis Historical Museum and Preservation Society.

Headquartered in a turn-of-the-century house built by one of the town’s fathers, the Eustis Historical Museum gathers memorabilia and artifacts from the 126+ years of our area’s history and presents it throughout rooms in the spacious home.

I was recently elected the 1st Vice President of the society (I wasn’t busy enough, I guess) and I spent a few hours talking with my fellow officers about future plans.  We’re testing out one of those plans here, by letting the fire department – something I know well – become the first “swing exhibit” at the museum. 

If this display, which is tucked into a back room, does well, we have plans to kick off June with an exhibit of local wedding dresses throughout history, complete with days where locals can renew their wedding vows in the Unity Bell Clifford Gazebo (on the grounds) or in the front parlor.

We’ll host an “opening” for the fire dept. exhibit in a few weeks.  If you’re in town, I hope to see you there!

Eustis Fire Display 2009 #1 by eustisfire.

 

February 23, 2009

2009 African-American Heritage Parade

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2009 African-American Heritage Parade by you.

Every year, my friend Carla Mitchell goads me into driving a car in the African-American Heritage Parade.  In 2007 and 2008, I drove my own convertible.  But since I sold it last year, I had to borrow this beautiful Mercedes-Benz to make the trip.

Riding with me are Patricia Moore (left) and Miss Eula Belle Douglas (right).

Patricia is one of the three founding members of the Eustis African-American Heritage Festival.  Against the protests of the other two founders, she pushed hard for the inclusion of a kick-0ff parade.  After they dropped their resistance, the parade made it’s debut and has been a fitting beginning to a day full of music, food and fellowship for the past 15 years.

This year, Patricia withdrew from helping with the festivities because she’s battling cancer.  A hospice nurse by training, Patricia knows all too well how important it is for her to spend time with her family and friends, as her diagnosis is terminal.

Without her knowledge, the committee made her the grand marshal and sprung it on her at the last minute. 

The night before the parade, the committee held the annual Black Achievers Banquet and honored 12 area African-Americans for their efforts to better themselves and their community.

Ms. Eula Belle Douglas, known around town and “Godmomma” for the number of children she either raised or babysat in over 53 years in Eustis, was one of the honorees and rode in my car with Ms. Moore.

I enjoy driving in the parade and seeing all the excited children, eagerly anticipating candy and the festival to follow.

Plus, the food at the festival is AWESOME!!!

 

February 17, 2009

Possible Fabric for Pet Removal Cover

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One of my customers and a faithful blog reader, Jodi Clock, cornered me at the 2008 NFDA Convention and told me I had to make a pet removal cot cover, so long as I made her one first.

Well, Jodi, here’s the fabric I’ve found so far:

pawsfabric

I think it’s appropriate for most pets, like dogs and cats.  Might even work for a badger, squirrel or ferret.  I like the dark blue background, as it will ward off stains and dirty handprints.  What do you think?

Anyone else doing enough pet funeral business that they need a cover for those clients?

I’ve promised Jodi first dibs, so if she wants one with this fabric, we’ll make hers first and start on the rest later.  I’m thinking of offering this pattern with a sheet made from our FluidBlocker lining fabric to place over the cot pad.  Of course, that’s just an initial reaction.  What features do you think would be important for a pet removal cover?

 

February 11, 2009

Follow Final Embrace on Twitter!

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I won’t take a long to time to explain Twitter to everyone – if you already use it, you know how it works – so I’ll just tell you that we’re on it and you can follow us.

I like Twitter because the 140 character limit for posts keeps me succint.  And I can “twitter” from my phone. 

To follow me, click “find people” and enter ”finalembrace” in the “find on Twitter” section.

You can also see who I’m following and who follows me.

I set up an application on my iPhone that let’s me see all my Twitter friends and get updates when they post something new.

Try it out!  You might like it.

 

February 6, 2009

Final Embrace, LLC’s New Convention Wagon

Posted by finalembrace under Nuts and Bolts, Who Are We?
[3] Comments 

Since we got serious about selling our products at various expo’s around the country, I’ve been looking for a vehicle that can hold everything we take to conventions, including our shelving unit, over 50 sample covers, a computer, luggage and more.

Thing is, it had to be stylish, utilitarian AND cheap.

Here’s what I found, for less than $10,000:

car

It’s a 2004 Cadillac SRX.  It’s got a HUGE sunroof (over 3′ long!), a even bigger cargo area and lotsa other bells and whistles.

I especially appreciated the heated seats this morning.

We’ll use this beauty to travel the country, visiting at least four or five trade shows every year, selling our quilted cot covers (check out the redesigned site at www.cotcovers.com).

Next stop?  The Georgia Expo, co-sponsored by the GFDA and the IFDG, starting March 2nd.

 

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