Beautiful last minute diaries

As the year draws to a close the words “first come, first served, however realistic, can drive you mad. Currently there is a mad panic for diaries and many clients linger on a decision only to find that by the time they make up their mind the stock is gone. Actually at this time of the year, you have minutes to make a decision and should not be wrapped up in sticky red tape that causes you to miss out on what you want. But now I am going to give you a carefully guarded secret diary option. So many diaries are now out of stock. This year we were introduced to brand new diary design from a new unknown publisher. The range is called the Frameworthy range of diaries. I love this diary. It is the one that I have chosen for our team for next year. Because we want the diary that very few others have. Starting with the cover, I love the luxurious feel of it. It has a soft padded PU cover. And not that hard plastic cover that many diaries come in, but a smooth velvety texture. While many diaries have the date merely stamped or foiled on the right hand, this is a well-designed embossing; that you can has been specifically designed. The cover embosses logos beautifully. I also like that there are perforated tear off corners on these diaries. As a day is finished, you tear off the perforated corner. This means that you can easily find your space, even if you forgot to put the ribbon into the correct place. We have the A5 diaries for our team and ladies may be interested to know that there is even a table of food calories in the diary as well as a BMI (Body Mass Index) Calculation. For wine lovers , in our A5 diary there a vintage chart, with notes on how long you should keep a wine as well as the best serving and storing temperatures. For international business people the world information that includes international times is useful tool and if you need to call internationally these pages also give you the currency required in various countries. Being in the corporate gifting industry, I also like the fact that there are wedding anniversary gifts. This week my husband and I had our eight wedding anniversary, which meant that the gift or this year should have been electric. With the current hear, I should have asked for an electric fan. I also found the international clothing sizes very useful. I usually wear a size 10, but if after too much Christmas feasting, I could always say that I am say that I am wearing a continental Europe size 38 dress and people will just have to think that I bought a dress abroad and not trying to hide too many Christmas treats. The PU cover Frameworthy diaries come in three sizes and three colours. Long Slim Executive Pocket Diary. The long slim line executive pocket that has two page for per and can fit snugly into a handbag. 171 x 81mm (H x W) White paper, ribbon page marker, elastic string closure, stitched over, perforated corners, South African Public Holidays, Personal Memoranda. Contact pages, World Map, World Time Zones A5 Page a Day Diary. The popular A5 size (210 x 148cm) page a day option White paper, Ribbon Page marker, Personal Memoranda, Contact Pages, World Map, World Information, Embossing Management Diary Page a Day. A large format executive diary (270 x 205mm (H & W) White paper, Ribbon Page marker, Elastic string closure, perforated corners, stitched cover, stitched cover, South African Holidays, personal memoranda contact pages, World map, World information. The colours are a brilliant cherry red, basic black and ever classic navy. Although quantities change every few minutes, these are the quantities that were available at 15H00 on 20 November 2013. Slim Pocket Diary: Black, 1700, Navy, 750, Red, 700 A5 Page a Day, Black 1600, Navy, 750, Red 700 Management: Black 1600, Navy, 700, Red 700 Please take care to order very quickly, as stock is being allocated on a first come first serve basis. Yes, sorry, there are those dreadful “First Come, First Served” words. For more information on our diary range and corporate gift range visit us on info@belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

What are the Trends in Year End Gifts?

As the year is coming to a close, I like to review what our clients are spending on. It gives us a good feel of what trends are emerging and helps other clients to make decisions. Leather We have seen a strong move towards timeless classics such as leather gifts for year end gifts. Leather gifts have a timeless elegance. We have had a big boost in leather wallets, both personal wallets, ladies leather purses and leather travel wallets. In fact in none of the preceding years have we ever sold as many small leather items. When I say small, I mean in comparisons to leather bags, which are larger in size. After coming through some troubling global economic times, people are looking for security ad hope. Timeless classics like leather have distinguished and established look, which adds longevity and trust to relationships. In the past people have had the misconception that leather is expensive, however the smaller leather items, such as leather wallets and purses are not as expensive as one might imagine. These days decisions are about value and not just cost. Our clients want to know that the gifts that they give are actually going to be used and not just put into the bottom drawer. Another leather gift that has had a boost is the leather notebook covers. These are more visible than a wallet or purse as they are used in meetings, making your brand more visible. We have also had an increase in personalisation, where a person’s individual name is debossed onto the item. Diaries Diaries remain a firm favourite, with sadly many clients still waiting to order until the last minute. The challenge with diaries is that because of the dates on them, diaries that are not sold are counted as a loss. This means that printers would rather under print than over print. It makes logical sense, to minimise potential losses. However this means that at the end of each year, some people will be disappointed if they have not planned ahead. It is understandable that some corporates may wait until they feel more certain with budget. If this is a challenge, then we would recommend organisers instead of diaries. There are great leather organisers as well as PU organisers. The inserts are generic can be changes every year. Travel Gifts We have had a strong growth in the travel market and travel related gifts. Custom made passport covers, leather luggage tags and leather travel wallets has been very popular items. We have noticed a lot of activity in the travel/tourism industry and also with the amount of tour t-shirts that have been ordered. Outdoor Gifts As the holidays approach, clients are looking at giving gifts that can be used in a family outdoor setting. Our clients have shown a lot of interest in braai sets, cooler boxes and cooler bags. Picnic baskets and picnic bags remain a firm favourite. As a family we have a number of them. Some are for two, when you have a special couple date and some are for four, when you are having a family picnic. Alongside that, picnic blankets work well, with many families using two to three picnic blankets at a time. One picnic blanket to place the food on and the other two to sit or lie on. While there are thousands of year end gifts to choose from, these categories have emerged as popular year end gifts for this year. For more gifting ideas contact us on info@belleregalo.co.za or visit our website www.belleregalo.co.za or call us on 0829487461.

Great Corporate Gift Give Aways

Are you looking for great give ways for 2014? Back to school items are a terrific way of marketing your brand. Some idea for university students are: • sticky notes • free rulers • coffee mugs • flash drives • pens • water bottles • Conference bags • Cell phone covers • IPad Covers • Dairies Sticky notes make great corporate gifts or back to school gifts. These are practical and low cost corporate gift. When studying or researching students can use sticky notes to mark pages that are important. Free rulers are a low cost corporate gift that is a wonderful give away. Because they are used every day, the cost per impression is very low, making this corporate gift exceptional good value for money. Coffee mugs are by far the most popular give away corporate gifts. They are low cost corporate gifts with high value. A terrific back school gift for university students. In the digital age students are really into gadgets and technology. This makes a flash drive or USB a perfect corporate gift. Who can go wrong with a pen as a promotional give away or a corporate gift? Conference bags make excellent book bags for students. There are so many colour options to choose from these days, making your corporate gifting or conference gifting option much easier to work with. Keeping hydrated is a critical part of good brain functioning, so a water bottle is a healthy lifestyle gift for anyone, but particularly students who need to keep high levels of brain functioning. Cell phones are almost an extension of a student’s arm. Promotional cell phone covers make for an idea student give away or corporate gift. Many schools and universities are moving towards using ipads as an educational tool. This makes and IPad cover an idea corporate gift. All students need diaries, which make 2014 diaries a perfect student back to school gift or corporate gift. For more information on these and other corporate gifts visit us on wwww.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

2014 Calendars and Diaries

Can you believe that we are stepping into October? Every year thousands of diaries and desk calendars go out to clients and every year people tend to leave their calendars and diaries until the last minute. Don’t let this happen to you. Plan in advance for 2014 diaries and calendars. But also allow you creativity to flow. There may be some people who have sent out diaries ahead of you, so how do you get your 2014 calendars stand out from the rest. One way is by choosing beautiful designs. Our wildlife art calendar for 2014 is presented in a double wire format again, to allow your clients the pleasure of framing the full-size artwork pages after the calendar has run its course and to give them the opportunity to linger on a favoured image for longer. Another excellent way is to put your calendar onto something else that is useful. For example our memo strip memo sets that have calendar strips in them.

Or why not try a foam mouse pad. Foam mouse pads are inexpensive and very useful. Or turn a corporate gift favorite, the branded coffee mug into a calendar.

We love the 4 in one cd stand, with calendar and notelets and a place for a pen. Upgrade your CD calendar order to this unique set-up containing:

• Your choice of CD calendar from the 3 standard themes • Note paper • Business card holder at the back • Pen holder Secure a standing spot on clients’ desks and simply order refills for future years. Other traditional calendar ideas include: Desk calendars; Wall calendars; Diaries; Fold-up triangle calendars; Brochure calendars; Promotional calendars So start capitalizing on a huge marketing opportunity for your brand with calendars and diaries this year. Happy shopping! For more information visit us on www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

Better Planning for 2014 Diaries Producces Happier Clients

A surprisingly large number of clients leave the ordering on their diaries until the last minute. To create the best impression you need to order your 2014 diaries anything from August. We find that after October stock starts to diminish as does your chances of making an impact with your 2014 diaries early. We have found so many companies who complain if there corporate diaries sent by suppliers are late or in some cases absent because of lack of planning. Clients are often anxious if there do not get their annual diaries early and begin to wonder if they will be getting them at all. So planning early for diaries is a way to show you client that you appreciate them as you have planned this corporate gift with them in mind. Diaries are one those corporate gifts that make a huge impact on your company’s image. Your 2014 diary will be used over the entire year, so your cost per impression will be very low. 2014 Diaries can be branded with your corporate logo by Debossing, foiling or printing. Tip in pages are also a great branding option for 2014 diaries. For more information on 2014 diaries or there corporate gifts click on www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us at info@belleregalo.co.za

Top Selling Year End Gifts

I was taking a look at what were good sellers for year-end gifts last year. Our top list for year end gifts were. 1. Beach Umbrellas 2. Coolers 3. Diaries 4. Double Decker Bags 5. Our of Africa Sling Coffee Bag 6. Pens 7. Photo frames 8. Portable Braai 9. Zip Around Folders 10. Knife Set in Boxes 11. Management Journals 12. Watch Gift Set Beach umbrellas make wonderful year end gifts, as so many people particularly those who live in Gauteng, head off to the beach. If you have your client a beach umbrella as a corporate gift or year end gift last year, then any kind of gift that is associated with outdoors would complement a beach umbrella. For example beach mats or beach towels make wonderful complimentary corporate gifts or year end gifts for beach umbrellas. Whether you are adding to a beach corporate gifts idea or want to have an outdoor theme for your year end gifts, cooler bags are always a winner as a corporate gifts. They are perfectly practical gift for those impromptu picnics. Annually the gift that remains a practical, recurrently excellent value for money year end gift is the enduringly popular diary. Diaries come in a range of size and colours and give longevity to your brand. The double decker bag is a firm favourite for a weekend away or for a golf day or any other corporate sporting event. Introduced last year was the pit of Africa sling coffee bag which is a stylish alterative to the wine glasses typically found in picnic baskets. The coffee bag makes for a fun alternative to picnics during winter months. They are perfect for travelling especially if via road and have coffee for two travel companions. Pens are not just for conferences, chosen well a pen is a wonderful year end gifts for senior executive an there are many up market pens to choose from for corporate gifts or year end gifts. Photo frames make wonderful gifts for women as well as for gents who have family pictures that they want to display on their desk. Photo frames make wonderful corporate gifts and year end gifts as they are versatile and can be used as desk accessories or in the home. Portable braai are a great seasonal gift for National Braai day or year end gifts. There are a variety of styles and sizes to choose from, but one thing is for certain, they are always a well-received corporate gift of year end gifts. For these and other corporate gifts visit us at www.belleregalo.co.za or e-mail us at info@belleregalo.co.za

The Leggendary Moleskine

I love Moleskines. They make wonderful corporate gift and because they are used up, they make a wonderful repeat corporate gift. But don’t just take my word for it; there have been numerous sightings of Moleskine notebooks on cinema and TV screens. Their silent presence accompanies the movements of both real and imaginary characters, protagonists of the world of culture and entertainment. The notebook is itself the protagonist in a crucial point in history and, at other times, the simple mark of a style of living and being, invariably the fruit of the spontaneous choice of its user. Many sightings come from the various communities and individual Moleskine notebook lovers around the world. The Devil Wears Prada USA, 2006 Directed by David Frankel Cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt Shall we dance USA, 2004 Directed by Peter Chelsom Cast: Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez,Susan Sarandon National Treasure USA, 2004 Directed by Jon Turteltaub Cast: Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel,Diane Kruger K-Pax USA, 2001 Directed by Lain Softley Cast: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack The Talented Mr. Ripley USA, 1999 Directed by Anthony Minghella Cast: Matt Damon, Gwineth Paltrow, Jude Law The history of the Moleskine all started many years ago, with a pocket-sized black object, the product of a great tradition. The Moleskine notebook is, in fact, the heir and successor to the legendary notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Bruce Chatwick. A simple black rectangle with rounded corners, an elastic page-holder, and an internal expandable pocket: a nameless object with a spare perfection all its own, produced for over a century by a small French bookbinder that supplied the stationery shops of Paris, where the artistic and literary avant-gardes of the world browsed and bought them. A trusted and handy travel companion, the notebook held invaluable sketches, notes, stories, and ideas that would one day become famous paintings or the pages of beloved books. In 1997, a small Milanese publisher brought the legendary notebook back to life, and selected this name with a literary pedigree to revive an extraordinary tradition. Following in Chatwin's footsteps, Moleskine notebooks have resumed their travels, providing an indispensable counterpart to the new and portable technology of today. Capturing reality in movement, glimpsing and recording details, inscribing the unique nature of experience on paper: the Moleskine notebook becomes a battery that stores ideas and feelings, releasing its energy over time, making it a superb corporate gift that you can give over and over again. The Moleskine is easily branded with debossing and/or foiling making it an excellent corporate gift. for more information contact us on info@belleregalo.co.za or visit: http://www.belleregalo.co.za/gifts/Moleskine.htm

Eco Diaries Information

With so much focus now on eco friendly products, it is comforting to know that you can now choose eco diaries. Every year masses of diaries are printed world wide and after the year is over, these diaries are discarded. Eco diaries make a wonderful corporate gift for the environmentally conscious corporate gift buyer. Why Choose Eco Diaries Recycled cover boards. The front and back boards used to manufacture the diaries are recycled. Daily environmental tips. Daily tips help keep you focused on small things that you can do that over time make a big difference. Sappi Triple Green Paper. Sappi Triple Green papers chlorine free made from sugar cane fiber and is biodegradable. Environmental Information This is a great way to improve knowledge about caring for our environment. Sizes of Eco Diaries A4 Eco Diary: 210 x 260 mm A5 Eco Diary: 148 x 210 mm Slimline Eco Diary: 80 x 144 mm   Eco Diary Cover Fabrics Bonded Leather: Bonded leather is a high grade recycled product. Fiscagomma Winner: Synthetic leather manufactured to the highest quality standards. Fiscagomma Aurora: A certified biodegradable material used in the manufacture of diary covers. It is certified by the Italian pulp and research institute. Miradur La Scala: A high quality diary covering that is very durable and easy to keep clean. Printed Book Covers: This is a customised full colour printed cover. This option is only available for hard covers. Eco Diary Finishes The covers of the diaries come in the following finishes: Plain: Single colour. There are standard covers and executive colours. Contact your sales consultant for an up to date listing of the range of colours. 2 Panels: Contact your sales consultant for an up to date listing of the range of colours. S Curve Finishes: Contact your sales consultant for an up to date listing of the range of colours. Diary Customization Pages End Papers: End papers are inserted in the front and back of your diary. Also called and open and closing spread, so you will find them attached to the actual inside cover and as the first and last page of the diary. These are used to insert your company information. Tip in Pages: These are pages that are inserted into the front of the notebook. You can pages of your own design with your company information on these. Wraps: These are pages that are inserted between the sewn book sections.   Diary Cover Branding Terminology Laser embossing: This is basically laser engraving, where your logo is engraved onto the cover. The colour of the branding will be the colour of the material under the diary cover material. You can not choose what this colour will be. Embossing: This is when a metal block with the impression of your logo, then the impression is pressed into the cover of your diary creating a sunken in impression of your logo. The colour will be the same colour of the cover of the diary cover. Foiling: After a sunken impression of your logo is made on your diary cover, the sunken impression is filled with gold or silver foil. Printing: Inks are used to apply your logo to the cover of your diary. You can get to choose the colours of your print. This option is seldom used on diaries as the surface area of the diary is often textured, so it will only be suitable on smooth diaries. Doming: A logo is digitally printed onto a piece of vinyl, and then a drop of resin is placed onto the vinyl, which creates a raised transparent covering over the logo. The dome sticker is then stuck to the diary cover. You can get a full colour logo that is cost effective. However sometimes clients are tempted to pick at the decal and if they manage to get it off the diary cover will be ruined.   Diary Accessories Coloured Ribbon (Min 500) Branded Ribbon (Min 1000) Ribbon branded with your logo. Pen loop/Holder: Only available for hard cover A4 and A5 diaries Back Pocket: Only available in the Eco Lifestyle Diary and the Eco Journal Diary

How to Choose to a Diary for 2014

You can't beat the tactile nature of a diary. There is something immensely reassuring about writing things down. Diaries are of those corporate gifts that almost create a dependency on your firm. Recently I was at the offices of one of our support companies and they were complaining that their regular courier had not yet sent them their calendars and diaries. Once this dependency is created it also builds brand loyalty, something that can never be undervalued. Choosing your size of your 2014 Diary Before we get to the design and price, you need to think about how the diary will be used. A popular general use 2014 diary is the A5 diary. It is compact enough to fit into most bags and has all the relevant public holidays and information that you expect from a diary. However if you need a lot of writing space then the A4 diary is a better choice. This is an item that I would recommend for sales people. A slim line diary is a great small woman’s gift, for women on the go. It is also a terrific 2014 diary option for moms, who need to write down the dates and times of extra mural activities. Choosing the Format of your 2014 Diary Once you have the right size in mind, you need think about how you are going to use your diary. A page a day will give you enough space for writing down appointments. The slim-line 2014 diary will give you a handy week to view option and is small and compact. The moleksine 2014 diaries give you a daily, weekly and monthly option. Choosing the Style of your 2014 Diary Are your clients corporate, academic or are they looking for a personal diary. Whatever style of 2014 dairy you are looking for; we are able to assist with a wide variety of 2014 diaries. Special needs for your 2014 Diaries Do you need to market your products? For example pharmaceutical companies may want to add product information into their diaries. Then you would choose tip in pages for your diaries. Do you want to show case designs? A full customised diary with laminated cover may be well suited to advertising or communications companies where they want to showcase their design abilities on the front cover. Do you want a prestige look? Then genuine leather Filofax may be the option for you, as it also has longevity in that only the inserts need to be replaced, but the cover lasts for years and years. Is the environment important to you? Then choose our Eco diaries printed on Sappi Triple Green paper. Triple Green Paper is made from sugar cane fibre and is chlorine free. Lead time for your Diary If you have planned ahead, then you can go with a custom diary which will take a good few weeks to manufacture. However if you have left your order until the last minute then you will have to choose a stock option which you can have debossed with your logo. By November of any month almost all the corporate diaries are sold out, so it is always best to plan ahead for your 2014 diaries. Costs Now that you've managed to narrow down your choices of diaries, you have a number of choices of diaries to choose from. Things that will influence costs would be quantity, type of branding, tip in pages and if the diary is fully customised. Happy shopping!