class="tag"Posts Tagged ‘community involvement’
No Comments Do You Notice The Signs? A Community Involvement Project
The Sign Depot Survey
The Sign Depot Survey was created to see how signs are perceived. We posted our survey to online community and responses were complied into the infographic below. As you can see the importance of a clear sign has an impact on how your business is viewed and how memorable your establishment is. This is our interpretation of what the responses mean.
How Often Do You Notice Signs On Your Daily Travels? Very Often was the response that ranked the highest. To learn more about getting noticed by the traffic in your area make sure to read our post You Want To Go Where Everyone Knows Your Name
Does The Size Of The Sign Make It More Noticeable? The popular answer to this question was Yes. There are many different measurents involved when it comes to letter size and installation height. Find out more by reading Visibility Is Key
How Likely Would You Enter A Store That Had A Sign In Poor Condition? Business owners take note! Most said it would they would NOT LIKELY visit your location if your sign is in poor condition. Think of your store front sign as your first impression. Custom business signs are very important to your company’s brand.
How Do you Find Out About New Businesses In Your Area? We asked those participating in the survey to choose all the answers that apply. It was no surprise to us that A Coming Soon Sign, Social Media and From A Friend were at the top of the list. We believe the best way to build buzz about a new business is with signage, social media and referrals!
When You Give Directions Do You Use Landmarks? The majority answered yes that they do use landmarks to give directions. Having a memorable landmark on your property is another way to get your name out there.
What Is Your Favorite Colour? This was more just for curiosity sake, but you may want to keep the colours in mind when it comes to your company logo.
Thanks to everyone answered our questions we appreciate your community involvement!
Custom Business Signs For Blackberry – Signs Of Good Things To Come For Waterloo Region’s RIM
Business Signs For Blackberry
The Region Of Waterloo is know as being the technology hub of Canada. In more recent years The Tannery Building in Kitchener Ontario has become quite a think tank for the tech industry. The Sign Depot was selected by several of The Tannery’s tenants to provide custom reception signs that fit their businesses as well as the re-purposed building where they now reside. A few names you may recognize are Desire2Learn, Cutegecko, VeloCity Garage, MFX Partners and Mad Hatter Tech. Beyond reception signs we have been a regular supplier of custom business signs for The Communitech Hub located in The Tannery. The Communitech Hub is a collaberative workspace for tech based businesses. The most well known tech company in Waterloo Region is Research In Motion, who is about to launch the latest Blackberry. To promote RIM’s upcoming release Communitech came to The Sign Depot to create a sign to coincide with the Blackberry launch.
Signs Of Celebration
Research In Motion is a highly visible company in this area and RIM is well known for their Community Involvement. To celebrate the upcoming launch of RIM’s latest Blackberry smartphone they are holding celebrations in three separate parts of The Region Of Waterloo. Below is the information about the upcoming community Skating Parties being hosted by Research In Motion on Wednesday January 30, 2013 in The City Of Kitchener, The City Of Waterloo and The City Of Cambridge.
- Waterloo – Public Square/City Hall 75 King St S Waterloo, ON 5:30pm – 8:30pm
- Kitchener – City Skate Rink/City Hall 200 King St W Kitchener, ON 7:00pm – 8:30pm
- Cambridge – Central Park Skating Rink 615 King Street, Cambridge, ON 5:30pm – 7:30pm
These free community skating parties also include include free hot chocolate, cookies, and music. We think this is a sign of good things to come!
What Does Sign Making Have To Do With Movember? Community Involvement Is Just Part Of It
How The Sign Depot Made It Through MOVEMBER
Actually here at The Sign Depot, we think Movember has a lot in common with us! Have you taken a good look at our logo? Our brand is all about the moustache! Other similarities include our commitment to community involvement and finding ways to give back to a community that supports our business. Perhaps the last thing that Sign Depot has in common with Movember is the appreciation for fine craftsmanship, whether it be in the form of a well crafted custom sign or well groomed moustache. We see value and take pride in both art forms.
December 1st has now arrived, which means the end of Movember 2011. This year the top fundraising (or should it be hair-raising) country for this year’s Movember campaign is Canada. Take a look at what all the Canadian MoBros and MoSistas accomplished.
- Canada raised $36,901,445.00 from the 246,126 registered CITIZENS OF MOVEMBER Canada
- In Ontario 107,074 people signed up raising $14,892,613.37 in funds for Prostate Cancer Canada
- Locally here in Kitchener Waterloo there were 4365 Movember particpants that together raised $394,746.70 & Counting!
As mentioned a month ago Sign Depot was ready for the Challenge! Peter grew a moustach inspired by the shop sandblasted logo sign. In under 10 days he had a filled in moustache, so the challenge had been met. By day 15 many of our clients dropping by commented on his participation and lots of great convos spurred from that. When day 25 came around he was hoping the end would be near because he mentioned it was becoming irritaitingly itchy & then it happened. Dec 1st the last day to wear the Mo’
This may be the last glimpse of it before he shaves the evidence. I’m thinking for next year’s campaign we should re-name ourselves the The Sign DepMO’
The Sign Depot Makes It A Movember To Remember
If you stop by The Sign Depot this month you’ll see that things have gotten a little HAIRY!
Yes we’re busy working away as always, but the Hairy I’m referring to is the facial hair kind. You know the fuzzy stuff on the upper lip.
What Does Movember Have To Do With Custom Wood Signs?
Peter Moir the Owner/President of Sign Depot has signed on to participate in Movember Canada this year. Being that the main logo for The Sign Depot Inc. features a Moustached fellow it makes for a perfect fit! What else do moustaches and signs have in common? A custom carved sign makes an impression the way a well groomed Movember moustache does. They both get people talking and raise awaremess. Whether it is for a business or for an non-for profit, getting noticed is an important part of making a great impression.
More About Movember
For those who have not heard about Movember, it is a charitible organization formed to raise awareness about Men’s Health issues. Being part of a community of those willing to help others is something we here at The Sign Depot can get on board with! Being supportive to those is need is a great way to connect with the community you are based in. Find ways to get involved and you will know what it feels like to be part of something bigger. All it takes is a little initiative and some creative thinking.
Rick Mercer is known for his rants, but see what he has to say about Prostate Health and his involvement with the Movember community.
Want to be more involved in Movember? Join a team and follow all the fun on the facebook page
See what you can do to raise awarness about Movember and Prostate Cancer Canada. Help make this a Movember To Remember
Online Community Involvement – Sign Depot Blog VIEWER’S CHOICE
Back at the Big Brown Desk
After a week of holidays I’m back at my desk, but with so much catchup and not really sure what was worked on last week, I’m at a loss for this week’s post. Instead of running around the workshop, I decided I need to play some catchup here at my desk. This means I need some input in the blog post department. Who better to help me with that than the SIGN DEPOT BLOG READERS? So I’m taking a poll on our Facebook page. Just pick any of the answers I’ve listed or feel free to add your own idea! On Friday we’ll see what topic won. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING in the First Sign Depot Blog VIEWER’S CHOICE poll. We love our online community and want to be able to give you in the information you want to see from us whether it be about construction of signs, or The Sign Depot’s community involvement.
UPDATE
Community Open House was the winner. Read more about it on The Sign Depot’s Community Involvement post.
The Sign of the Times – Community Involvement
State Of Now
Ever since Sign Depot moved into the Access Storage/Doon Twines building last spring, we have been a hub of activity. The workspace here has been multipurposed several times over.
It began with our initial Open House Supporting the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. From there we hosted our first Community Connector for Designers . Then we began getting a little more creative and supported an Art Show. All these events were created online and promoted through our use of Twitter!
In hearing that Jeff Pulver‘s 140 Characters Conference will be making it’s first Canadian apperance in Kitchener-Waterloo at The Tannery (a place we have become very familiar with), we knew we had to be involved. The 140 Characters Conference is about the internet making the world change through the use of online networks in real time (aka The State Of Now).
“We want people to be both educated and inspired by the stories we present at the 140 conference,” commented Julia Rosien, of the 140 Conference Ontario Team “The speakers we have introduced will do just that; educate us on how to make our lives better through the Internet, and inspire us to pursue our personal and professional dreams.”So on September 9th 2011 we want to invite the community to take part in the final Meetup leading up to the 140confONT.
We’d like to thank Little Mushroom Catering for partnering with us to provide another community connector event here at Sign Depot. Being involved in the community is just one of the things we take pride in here. We value attention to detail, and traditional craftsmanship as well. We are proud of what we make here and am proud of what this community has to offer.
Make sure to RSVP and prepare to celebrate the 140 Characters Conference coming to Canada.
http://guestli.st/64371
How The Sign Depot Prepares For The Pending Postal Strike In Our Community
Will The Canada Post Strike Affect The Sign Depot?
… Hopefully it won’t .
We’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks watching the headlines regarding the Canada Postal Workers Strike. From the news earlier this week it seems almost unavoidable. Being that many of our clients pay by company cheques, we needed to take precautions to make sure this strike didn’t cause cash flow problems. These are the steps we’ve taken and in sharing them, we hope your are able to avoid some hurdles as well.
Where To Start
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Take a look at your accounts receivable. See what is left outstanding. Contact those clients and see if their payments have been sent. If they said it’s been sent, ask for the cheque number. This will give you an idea of what cheques you will have to track down in case of mail that is held back or lost during this ordeal.
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Check your accounts payable. If you regularly pay by cheque you might find your payments will become overdue if you mail them out. Look for alternate methods of payment (see below)
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How will your products end up in the hands of your clients? If Canada Post is your main method of shipping you may want to look into setting up an account with a courier service.
Start Your Action Plan
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For your accounts receivable, how many of your clients are local? Can you make payment pickup arrangements? Every invoice I sent out this week had this message attached to it
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For your out of town customers, see if they are able to pay by credit card or through an online banking transfer. If those methods are not available to them then suggest they make courier arrangements.
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Accounts payable should also make arrangements as well. Many companies will accept credit and online payments, and depending on their methods for payment acceptance you may be able to take the bill to your bank and pay it by cheque through the teller.
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Inform your clients that frieght charges may change during this time period if you are changing your shipping methods.
Commnunity Involvement Year In Review 2010 @ The Sign Depot
Ever Notice How Quickly Things Change?
This time last year we headed in a new direction. This direction happened to take us across the street, with a few detours along the way. Thank goodness we are masters in the art of wayfinding signs, or should I say in the artistic way of wayfinding?
We had just moved into the Access Storage Building formerly known as Doon Twines/Canada Cordage. There were a few hurdles along the way. Our move went in two parts. The shop was being setup downstairs, but the office would not be ready in time, so we had a “makeshift” office upstairs. During that time we learned a lot about this building and all of it’s passageways, elevators and mishaps that can happen with a heritage building.
Early spring the office was completed and setup began. After that we hosted a public Open House and Food Drive to welcome the community to our new location. It was a great event filled with friends both old and new.
Summer came and it brought a new employee, new business and a new project. Besides our day to day operations, a Pirate, his ship and a trusty first mate we constructed. We visitors almost daily to watch this project evolve.
Since then we’ve had several projects both locally and Toronto based.
Now with this whirlwind year winding down, we’re happy to announce the launch of our new site, a Designers’ Day event in January & an Art Showing coming in February. Want to keep up with us in 2011? It’s easy, just sign up for our Monthly newsletter in the right side bar of this page. We really enjoy our location and are looking forward to more community involvement projects. We promise to keep you in the loop.
Happy Holidays From Everyone at The Sign Depot!
Notice The Signs Of Kindness – Random Act Of Kindness Day In Our Community
Pay It Forward
We hope that all the Kitchener-Waterloo residents will take part in Random Act Of Kindness Day. It happens on November 12th this year. Not sure what a Random Act Of Kindness is?
Last year I made sure to bring in a treat for my co-workers and I plan on keeping that tradition Pay It Forward tradition intact.
Easy Ways To Show Signs Of Kindness
- Hold doors for people
- Suprise someone with a coffee
- Give a gift card for groceries to a local shelter
- Donate your used items to thrift shops that support charities
- Call someone you haven’t spoke to in a while
- Visit a seniors’ centre or nursing home
- Organize a fundraiser
- Donate to your local food bank
- Mow your neighbours lawn or shovel their driveway depending on the weather conditions
- Volunteer for a local organization
- Embrace community involvement at your workplace
As you can see it is very simple to pay it forward and perform random acts of kindness wherever you are.
Make sure to pass this list on & REMEMBER to tell the recipent that they were just shown a Random Act Of Kindness & they should now pass it on.
Watch the video below to see how a little boy’s dream came true through community involvement.
That community knows all about paying it forward.
What do you do to get involved in your community? We here at The Sign Depot believe it is very important to give back. We do our best to support local artists, charitable organizations and community events. It does take some time and effort to pay it forward, but what you get in return means much more. The world can always use a little bit more kindness and we here at The Sign Depot hope this is a sign of things to come.
Welcome Sign – Community Involvement At The Sign Depot’s Grand Opening
Signing In And Signing Up For Community Involvement
We invited family members, clients, friends and Mayor Carl Zehr to see what goes on inside our new sign shop located at 51 Borden Ave S. Kitchener, Ontario, formally the Doon Twines building. This historic building, now owned by Access Storage, has been re-purposed but many of its heritage features were kept intact. This makes a perfect match for our traditional wood signs.
We demonstrated a few of our custom sign making techniques such as guilding and and let them have a sneak peak of some of our upcoming sign projects.
This CNC demonstration showed how a sign design begins on the computer
Then gets cut on the router table
to become a custom 3 dimensional sign
We had a great time and it looks like our attendees did as well. More importantly we filled all the boxed for the Food Bank and it was all contributed to the local Dig In Campaign For The Food Bank Of Waterloo Region.
For additional photos of our community involvement initiatives, please visit our Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/TheSignDepot
