IRVING, Texas—PPAI is reaching out to member companies affected by the floods in Tenn. in the form of the Promotional Products Business Recovery Plan. The purpose of the recovery plan is to take care of immediate needs by determining which companies have been affected, what they need and then collecting and distributing critical resources to help re-establish businesses that have been destroyed, damaged and disrupted. This plan was first implemented in 2005 to help industry members through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  -Read more-

Sure, your customers could be off to Vegas, Aruba or the French Riviera. Still, in these times of stressed economies, increasing fuel costs and abbreviated vacations, who is to say just how the traditional resort scene is going to fare? Instead, what say we focus on the “resort market” as we find it in our own neighborhoods? It doesn’t have to be a mega-hotel with thousand-dollar rooms; truly, the definition of “resort market” lies in the things people buy when they find themselves in a retail outlet, having been brought there for reasons other than routine shopping.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—EmbroideryFX will host four quarterly embroidery workshops in 2010 taught by Melanie Coakley, a 20-year embroidery and digitizing educator and veteran. These three-day workshops are designed for all embroiderer levels on any embroidery machine, will be held in a commercial-embroidery facility and include hands-on education on a range of topics, including hooping, quick fixes, production, needles, threads, stabilizers, how to take orders and more. For more information, contact EmbroideryFX at (423) 413-7514 or e-mail melanie@embroideryfx.com.

Walter Floriani KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Floriani Commercial Products is now offering three-day educational workshops featuring respected names in embroidery titled “Weekend With Walt” for commercial embroiderers. The educator lineup includes Walter Floriani, well-known educator, writer and speaker and Melanie Coakley who has owned her own business for 19 years and is a consultant, educator and writer.