Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Create a Cowboy Western Theme Room In 6 Easy Steps

!±8± Create a Cowboy Western Theme Room In 6 Easy Steps

To create an unbelievable looking cowboy western theme room all you need to do is follow six easy steps. Is there work involved? Of course there is but the work is both fun and rewarding and you'll be amazed how great your room looks when you're finished.

Step 1

The first thing you need to do is come up with a wall color scheme that you like and has a western feel to it. There are various ways to do this and here is one great way that always works. Go to your local library or look online for cowboy western photos. Have a look at the bar rooms, the old hotels, the western scenery and so on. Why? Because you'll find some great looking wall color schemes. Some will be two-tone while others have a single wall color. This is a great way to start your brainstorming and come up with a fun and unique wall color for your cowboy western room.

Step 2

Next you'll want to come up with a floor style. Deciding on the type of flooring you want in your cowboy theme room really depends on exactly where that cowboy western room is located. For example if it were in your basement game room then a checkered floor with earth tone ceramic tiles would be what you want.

If it's in a different part of your home like a home office or bedroom then you'll want to look into hardwood or laminate flooring. The key to a great looking country western floor is the country western look and feel. With a dark hardwood floor you get that look and feel for a price. If you want something cheaper then laminate can and does replicate hardwood very well and is much cheaper.

If you already have flooring down and don't want to change a thing then you can always look into western style rugs to place around the room. That way you'll have a great western look and feel and not have to tear up and lay down a new floor.

Step 3

The third step is fairly easy and very fun to complete. Now that you have painted your room using a country western flair and are finished with the flooring you can start to cover your bare walls.

Step 3 is all about finding the perfect western posters, prints and artwork to hang in your cowboy western room. Whether you're going for a cowboy theme, a bar room look and feel or just a general western style adding posters and pictures is fun.

One of the best places to find these types of prints are at local second hand stores believe it or not. Sometimes you can find original pictures or posters and that is always fun and they will look great in your western theme room. If you're not into second hand stuff then besides going all out at the local country western theme store have a look online first. Check out some internet auction sites as you'll find a large assortment of western wall hangings to add to your room.

Step 4

Now it's time to add western lighting to your room. This is a major part of creating a great western theme room that's both fun and functional.

There are various ways to bring western lighting into your room. The first way is to add a couple vintage western lanterns to your tabletops or bar. These add to the overall western look and feel. Next find a wall sconce or two with cowboys or bulls. For low lit situations these are truly beautiful and a must for your country western room.

To actually bring light into your room you'll need something bigger like a chandelier or pub lamp / swag lamp. Whether you go with an antler chandelier or one that's rustic looking it'll do the trick. Swag and pub lamps are good for game rooms. And country western themed table lamps are great for just about any room in your home.

Now you almost have a complete country western room with only two steps to go.

Step 5

So you have the lighting done but what good is it if you don't have anywhere to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. So Step 5 is all about adding country western furniture.

Here's where personal comfort comes in. There is some great looking western furniture made from wagon wheels. Personally I love that look but comfort wise it's probably not the best choice. Basically any type of furniture that has a brown tint to it would work in your western theme room.

But if you want something more western then go with hand carved or log furniture. You'll give your western room an outdoors feeling and that is always fun and unique.

Step 6

Step 6 is all about finishing off your Great Looking Cowboy / Country Western Room. How do you do that? You do that by adding the best, the coolest and the most unique western accessories and decorations you can find. This is where you imagination comes in handy.

Look for things that will enhance the overall western experience for friends and family. For example look for little things like a cast iron bottle opener or boot spurs. Add in a neat "Weather Rock Forecaster" for fun. Add an antler clock and if you're making a western game room add some vintage looking "wanted posters" and whisky bottles as decorations. Basically use your imagination and your western theme room will be the best in the state.

Now depending on how much time you have, creating your country western theme room could take anywhere from a week to a year. But don't rush it, take your time and enjoy the process. It may end up being a lifelong process of continually adding and subtracting neat western items. But that is the joy and fun when creating a theme room. Now you know the six simple steps to get you started so why wait? Start Today!


Create a Cowboy Western Theme Room In 6 Easy Steps

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Step2 Canopy Wagon

!±8± Step2 Canopy Wagon


Rate : | Price : $94.99 | Post Date : Nov 26, 2011 04:21:35
Usually ships in 2 to 3 days

An innovative children's wagon with sun protection. This design features two contoured seats and deep leg well with molded-in drain holes. Extra large storage compartment is built-in under hinged rear seat. Long handle for easy pulling folds under wagon for transporting in trunk of car. Seat belts included for added peace of mind. Molded-in cup holders for two drinks. 17" x 31" detachable canopy protects children from the sun and rain. Canopy features two cup holder and a compartment for small items such as keys and phones. Adult assembly required. Made in U.S.A.

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Distribute Your Product to Convenience Stores

!±8± Distribute Your Product to Convenience Stores

Article also includes:

-Description of various organizations typically found in an inventor's distribution channel.

-Explanation of how to find a distribution channel for your product.

Many inventors have small novelty products where they want their products sold to convenience stores. This has been a difficult market for inventors because the distributors are typically rack jobbers who actually own the merchandise and buy at 40 to 45 percent of retail. The distributors can be hard to find as they don't have a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) dedicated to them, and most operate on the office supplies distributor SIC code.

Recently on a project though, I can across a great source, Mr. Checkout. According to the website description "Mr. Checkout is a national organization of (DSD) Direct Store Delivery Wagon-Jobbers, Distributors, Retail Merchandisers and Wholesale-to-Distributor Warehouses servicing Convenience and Grocery Stores in the US since 1989. Our DSD / Full-Service Merchandising Distributor Members call on c-stores weekly." The site has a large of services including a Walgreens merchandising program and a product placement blitz service. Everyone should check this site out if you have a product for drug stores, convenience stores or grocery stores. I can't vouch for the association but I did find the site had a great deal of helpful information.

Over the years I have found that inventors are unfamiliar with distribution, which is the channel that a product follows to take to market. Often products are handled by your own direct sales efforts, reps (also called manufacturers' sales agents), brokers, specialty distributors, wholesale distributors, other manufactures with complementary lines, and rack jobbers all who may play a role in selling a product. The path your product follows to market is called a distribution channel. For example you may sell a product through a rep to a rack jobber distributor who sells to convenience stores who then sells to the consumer.

Description of terms often used when discussing in the distribution channel:

Direct sales: Indicates that sales are handled by the selling company's own sales force.

Reps (manufacturers' sales agents): Independent contractors that promote a Company's line, but have very limited authority to commit a company to any but its standard sales terms. In effect a salesperson that represents a variety of companies with non competing product lines. They typically call on a specific industry, and carry product lines where the sales volume isn't large enough to justify a direct salesperson. Reps don't take title on a product and work commonly on a 5 percent to 20 percent commission.

Brokers: Brokers are similar in some respects to a rep, they are independent from the companies they serve and receive a commission but they are more oriented towards the buyer than the seller. A rep will not carry competing lines and will have a wide range of products. A broker has a narrow range of products and many of them compete. An insurance broker, for example, carries lines of insurance from many companies, and will chose the company that is best for his customer. An insurance agent carries only one company's products, and tries to steer everyone to buy those products. A clock broker, for example, might have three stores as customers, and have access to many lines of clocks. He would then offer clock lines to his customers so they would have a constantly changing variety of clocks. Reps are far more common than brokers.

Private label: This is a practice where a company makes a product that it sells to another company that markets the product under their brand name. For example, a toy company might make a toy that is sold under the Toys R Us label. Or it might make a toy that is sold to Play School and then Play School would sell it under its label. Private labels sellers own the rights to the product and develop and produce the product to their specifications. Toys R Us might also create a develop toys that they have produced by a manufacturer. That manufacturer would be a contract manufacturer, rather than a private label manufacturer, because it didn't create the product and it doesn't own rights to the product.

Specialty retail distributors: Distributors serving small markets, for example baby stores or bike shops. These distributors take title to the product and promote the product and typically carry many products from one product inventor oriented companies. They are a key component in most inventor companies' distribution plans. They typical mark up (raise their price by) is 35 to 40 percent before selling to retailers.

Industrial distributors: These companies typically sell directly to industrial companies, versus selling to a retail store. Graingers and Fastenall are examples of industrial distributors that sell a wide range of products to companies. You also have specialized industrial distributors. Some examples would be a pump and compressor distributors, a distributor that sell products for high temperature furnaces, or a company that supplies safety equipment. These companies typically have a high level of technical support to help chose the right products and then get the products to work effectively for them.

Trade distributors: These are distributors that deal with tradesmen versus industrial or consumer oriented accounts. Plumbing distributors, wood products distributors that sell to contractors, auto parts distributors that serve car repair shops are just a few of the types of distributors that sell to various trades.

Wholesalers: Wholesalers are also a distribution point between manufactures and their customers. While distributors provide promotion and service, wholesalers typically don't. They also rarely carry products from inventors as they purchase very large stocks of products and serve markets like grocery stores. Like distributors they take ownership of the product, but typically only mark the product up 15 to 20 percent.

Rack jobbers: Rack jobbers are a specialty type of distribution. Most distributors take title to the product and then sell it to a store or industrial company that takes title. Rack jobbers instead rent portions of a store, which might just be a section of a rack, or endcap positions at the end of the store aisles by the cash registers. Durable hair care products (brushes, combs and other product related hair care products) at drug stores are a typical rack jobber item. The rack jobber owns the merchandise in the store, replaces it and is only paid for the merchandise when it is sold by the store. Typically rack jobbers raise their purchase price 50 to 75 percent and then the stores mark the product up an additional 50 percent.

Selling through other manufacturers: One of the reasons companies use reps is that they don't have enough sales volume on their own to justify a direct salesperson. Those companies are often willing to pickup a line from another company if it puts them in a position to have their own direct sales force.

How to find agents and distributors.

Step 1: Start by looking for trade associations, trade magazines and trade shows. You can find associations and trade magazines with Google searches if you are lucky, or by going to one of your larger libraries, where you can look for The Encyclopedia of Associations by Gale Research, and also Gale Research's Directory of Magazines and Broadcast Media. Both of these directories have a wide range of groups for even thee smallest trade associations and trade magazines.

Once you find a list of associations and trade magazines you should go to their site and look for a list of manufacturers' representatives or distributors. For example I went to look for products for the baby industry in Gale's Encyclopedia of Associations. I found the association Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. When I went to the web site, jpma.org, I found they had a list of manufacturers sales agents. Often the web sites will also have a list of distributors, similar to the Mr. Checkout web site.

Step 2: Develop a list of manufacturers in the industry. You can find lists of manufacturers in the trade association and the trade magazines web sites. Trade magazines will also have a list of trade shows. If you go to the web sites for those trade shows you can usually get a list of exhibitors. You can make the list more complete by using your library again. Most bigger libraries have a service called Reference USA in their online services. You can also use the service at home once you have the library password. Go to the site http://www.referenceusa.com before going to the library to see what information you will need. Then look up the SIC codes for a few companies on the site. SIC stands for Standard Industrial Codes, and typically most companies in the industry will have the same code. Once you have the SIC Codes you can do a search based on SIC codes and get a list of many of the companies in the industry.

Step 3: Go the web sites of companies in the industries. Some of the companies will list distributors, and others will list manufactures representatives. Other companies will be looking for representatives or distributors. Often it pays off to call those companies and see if they would like to partner with you in marketing your products. This is a tactic to consider because often manufacturers reps and distributors don't want to carry a line that is too small. You and your partner company might have enough volume together to entice distributors or manufacturing reps to carry your product.

You can also find representatives at the manaonline.org, which is the site of the manufacturers' agents' national association web site.

Success Tip

If you are a minority or women-owned business you might want to check out the site http://supplierregistration.target.com/Supplier/supplier_registration.aspx to get idea of the information you need to know to become a supplier for a leading store.


Distribute Your Product to Convenience Stores

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Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Step 2 Canopy Wagon

!±8± The Step 2 Canopy Wagon

A Step 2 Canopy Wagon is a great ride on toy for toddlers and preschoolers. There is something very unique about a covered wagon that kids just love. In it's original day, covered wagons were used to transport goods. They were very primitive in design and incredibly uncomfortable. So uncomfortable, in fact, that if you owned a horse you would much rather ride on it than in the wagon.

The covered wagon design has been replicated in children's wagons. Known as canopy wagons, these rides are incredibly popular with both children and parents. They are not only a great way to get around the neighborhood but they're also a great way to stimulate your kids sensory and cognitive development.

You can be sure that your child's new Step 2 canopy wagon has been designed with safety and convenience in mind. It has seat belts and rounded edges to ensure safety and to prevent scratches. The seats are molded for extra comfort during those long rides. Cup holders allow for extra drinks and there will be plenty of storage areas.

Your canopy wagon will be able to take a lot of rough play. It's very durable and can take any kind of roughness. Even if run into things, over things, or on top of things, they'll still keep going. They have a great turning radius and it's very difficult to tip them over. The extra long handles make it easier to pull them and turn them.

With just a little hot water, some soap, and a soft bristled brush you'll be able to keep your wagon just as clean as can be. In fact, this is something that the kids can help with so they can start to learn about maintaining and taking care of their toys. Don't forget to have them dry off any metal parts underneath to prevent rusting.

The hot rays of the sun won't always kind to your wagon. Unfortunately, plastic can warp and become somewhat deformed and the color can fade. This usually happens after a long length of time in the sun but you should prepare by keeping your wagon in a cool and shady location.

The Step 2 Canopy Wagon is a quality made ride on toy that your children will use for years. They'll enjoy you pulling them around on little trips but they'll also enjoy playing in it themselves. You'll see the older kids having a blast pulling the younger kids all over the backyard.


The Step 2 Canopy Wagon

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