Week 16, Volume 7 : What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

Viva Las Vegas!  Well, granted the PPAI show in Las Vegas wasn’t exactly Elvis Presley and Ann Margaret, but there were still some pretty exciting things going on…at least thats what we were told, since your humble neighborhood bloogles blogger stayed in Houston and held down the fort. 

Nevertheless I vowed to live vicariously through our representatives Peter, Robert and Paul.  Being one of the first shows of the year, the PPAI Expo 2009 gave everyone an opportunity to showcase all of their new wares and demonstrate why their product lines are the best.  

We at Hirsch Gift enter 2009 with a sense of refreshed optimism, a glint of hopefulness in our eyes, and a whopping brand spanking new 80 page catalog to highlight all of the great products that we are offering our customers for this coming year.  Personally, I’m very excited about our line of products, primarily because it brings back all of our best sellers and distributor favorites as well as some new stuff that totally tickles my “tech-e” bone.

T180 - Internet News Presenter and Weather Station

This gadget here is, in my humble opinion, the epitome of awesome!  It reminds of a superhero , in that it sits on your desk…and is completely unassuming, until it is needed!  The moment you click a button, automatically you have your stock indexes, 14 news and sports headlines, current weather including a 4 day future-cast and a clock for good measure. 

T543 - Morris USB Drive w/ Laser Pointer & Light

I’d like to think of the T543 as everything you could possibly need during a presentation.  A few years ago, you’d need to carry a laser pointer to highlight items on your prepared presentation which was most likely saved on a CD or Floppy disk (yes, I said Floppy disk), which you also had to carry.  More likely than not, the room was dark, so you also needed a small pocket flashlight for your notes.  The T543 takes care of all those needs and it fits in the palm of your hand.

T2150 - Lindy Emergency Charger

A few months back, there was this little event that hit the Gulf Coast region of Texas, this event was named Hurricane Ike.  I don’t know about you, but I was wholly unprepared and my cell phone ran out of charge about 2 days before I got my electricity back.  I’m not saying that everyone will get hit by a hurricane (heaven forbid) but you never know when there might be a situation where a quick charge from the T2150 could be a sanity saver!

4047 - Borsa Handbag Holder & Keychain

For those of you who frequent the Bloogles corner of the internet will know that I’m a pretty big Tech-Geek and if its a gadget that requires electricity, then I’m ALL over it.  The 4047 caught my attention in that, its just absolutely practical.  All the ladies out there know what I mean, when you go out to a restaurant and sometimes, theres just no place to put your purse besides the dirty floor.  That’s where the 4047 comes to save the day, it folds out into a handbag holder that you can hook onto the table to save your purse from the dirty floor, and the keychain is detachable so the valet doesn’t end up with your handbag holder!

Even though it has taken us a little longer than originally anticipated, this entry marks the end of our 7 Weeks, 7 Volumes journey.  In the time it took us to complete this, we’ve been through Hurricanes, upheavals, elections, awards, and accolades.  What in the world will we come up with next….hm…I wonder!

Week 15, Volume 6 : Victory is Sweet! Slightly Tangy, and with Just a Hint of “Tech-e”ness

That’s right all you bloogles fans out there…Victory is Sweet!  Now, before I turn on the good ole 8-track and start dancing a fancy jig to the tune of Queen’s “We are the Champions”, I feel I must explain which “victory” I am referring to.

As you all may or may not know, Hirsch Gift has been awarded a 2009 Counselor Distributor Choice Award in the category of Digital Photo Frames!  Hooray!

This recognition was only given to 33 companies out of the over 3,500 ASI suppliers, and it is both a great honor and achievement to be chosen by our peers.

Tim Andrews, CEO of ASI & Paul Hirsch

This award means a lot to all of us here at Hirsch Gift, particularly because it was voted on by the distributors in the industry.   Here at HG, we’ve always prided ourselves in offering not only a quality product, but also a quality service and this award solidifies to us, that we are on the right track!

Before we commence with the high-fives and “woohoos”, a big heartfelt thank you to all those who voted for us this year and we will continue to do what we do in order to better serve all of our customers.

Week 9, Volume 6 : There is a season…(turn turn turn)

Happy Hallogivingmas!

With the holiday season starting to rev up into full swing, the time just seems to fly by.  Personally, I sometimes forget if I should be giving my loved ones candy, stuffing a turkey, or wondering what their heart desires most….and where I can buy it for a discount on the internet! 

Regardless of how you feel about the holiday season, I think its sufficed to say that everyone wants to feel just a bit special or just a bit more loved around this time of year, and why not?  Of course, everyone is going through a rough spot with the economy the way it is, but instead of spreading doom and gloom I like to remember the old addage…”its always darkest before the dawn”. 

Being a self proclaimed pragmatist  I always think of a multitude of different ways to get my loved ones something that they need and would actually like without completely breaking open the piggy bank.  Luckily, here at HG we have a multitude of different “stocking stuffer” gift ideas that follow my vein of thought. 

7000 Pisa Spinning Tower Clock

 I’m not sure what it is about these clocks, but my first day here at HG they caught my attention in our showroom and I spent a good 2-3 minutes spinning the face of these clocks.  They have a classic look with a modern flare that just really catches your attention.  Then again, I’ve always had this adult onset A.D.D. when it comes to neat gadgety things.

T301 Samba Digital Photo Frame

 Speaking of gadgety things, the T301 Samba is a standout among your everyday digital photo frame.  Yes, its not super flashy or overloaded with 4 billion pixels, BUT it has a nice look and feel while its size makes it convenient for an office desk or a frame for your home computer room.

T730 Rave MP3 Speakers

Now I’m sure everyone out there has an MP3 player by now, if not…for shame!  Just kidding   I actually have one of these sitting on my desk and I have to say it is one of the most convenient speakers I’ve ever come across.  I can literally listen to my MP3 player while I jog in the morning, plug my MP3 player into the car while I listen on the way to work, get to work and listen to my music with this discrete speaker plugged into my computer.  Can’t get much better than that, especially for a music snob like myself. 

T701 Juba Portable Media Player

As I’ve mentioned before, most people nowadays do have an mp3 player, BUT if you have yet to discover this wonderful little piece of technology…have no fear! HG offers a nice assortment of MP3/Portable Media players including the Juba and the Jive!

T700 Jive Portable Media Player

It never fails really, every year I plan and plan and plan to be ahead of the shopping curve and make sure that everything is done so it’s not 9:45PM, Dec. 23rd and I’m bouncing from store to store to store trying to find last minute gifts for all the people that I should’ve had gifts ready for months before.  As I sit in the sea of traffic, filled with the millions of others who are desperately seeking gifts for their loved ones…I realize that no matter what…its a labor of love. 

Before I get all teary-eyed like those ladies in the Hallmark commercials, just a reminder to stay safe out there and have a very Happy Thanksgiving

Week 8, Volume 5 : Hello Mr.President!

Well well well…after 2 years of campaigning, endless primaries, a multitude of candidates, a near miss for a potential Mrs.President, and the word “change” rocketing from the obscure pages of Webster’s dictionary into the rockstar position of being the keyword for all campaigns. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.  It takes a lot to keep up with all the comings and goings from one party to the other and from one channel to the other.  Needless to say I did my part and waited in the merely tolerable waiting lines in order to get my turn at the voting booth.  Now as much as I would like to get on my soapbox about telling everyone the importance of voting, I would prefer to think about how I could commemorate my first voting booth experience  

Without sounding too much like a voting amateur I got to thinking what a historic election I had taken part in, and what in the world could someone get to commemorate the event.  So I got to browsing through the different items we had in the HG catalogue and with some help from Robert we picked out a few items that would perfectly match the occasion.

T317 & T311

 Naturally I would start off with some of digital photo frames, being a crazy tech-head myself, nothing says “special” like a high quality image wrapped inside a stylish personalized frame.  

4029

Of course, there’s always the more traditional route with the 4029 Big Picture Magnifier.  You can have any coin placed inside the magnifier such as presidential dollars or what not. Plus, if coins aren’t your thing, you can always place a digital imprint inside and that can be anything you like.  Either way, its a great keepsake that can be handed down to the next generation.

7714

Now, not everyone wants something digital or even something as heavy as a paperweight.  Never fear, I have a solution!  The 7714 keychain is perfect for someone that just wants a little something to remember the occasion (I’ll probably get something like this for myself). 

The election, as groundbreaking as it was, is now part of history and we look forward to the future with President-Elect Obama.  I think everyone will agree that this is indeed a very exciting time and I know that Hirsch Gift will always be here to help commemorate each and every moment.

Week 7, Volume 4 : We (dis)like Ike.

[**Disclaimer** : This post was started September 10th 2008, 2 days before Hurricane Ike]

It is t-minus 2 days, give or take a few hours until Hurricane Ike makes landfall.  I have to say, as morbid as it sounds, it’s a little exciting.  Not exciting as if you’re waiting for your favorite singer/actor to come down the red carpet, but exciting like the anticipation of the unknown. 

As diverse as we are here at Hirsch, most of us are old pros at dealing with hurricanes from barracading potential water leakage points, to elevating cords and electronics from the floor.  In this day of preparation we have left nothing to chance and prepared everything for what the storm may bring us.  I will now bid this post a fond adieu, since I have to disconnect my computer and put it on top of my desk.  With any luck, I will post again on Monday and let everyone know how we all faired here at HG!

 

October 14th, 2008:

Ok…so, if you recall, a few posts back…I made a remark about Hurricane Eduoard being “much ado about nothing”.  Well, lets just say that Ike was everything Eduoard wasn’t, multiplied by three hundred billion. O_O

It’s been quite awhile since Houston has been hit point blank by a hurricane and for some of us long-time Houstonians, Ike brought back the memories of all the other big storms that have made their way through, from Alicia to Rita.

One theme that is always prevalent, regardless of what disaster befalls our fair city, is how well we all band together to repair or restore what was broken or destroyed.

As you can see, even though we had our own private adversities to deal with, the HG family all showed up on Monday morning, bright and early, to roll our sleeves up and clean up the aftermath. 

After all thats said and done, we at HG operated for a full week without power or internet and subsisted on one 5500 watt generator.  Despite all of our personal hardships (including Robert’s 18 day stint of having his house powered by a generator) we were able to pull together and operate like business as usual.  

Old Faithful!

In an attempt to be an unbiased third party (Yes, I said attempt )  I’m very proud of HG and the resilience the staff showed with regards to orders which had to be printed, packaged, and shipped on time, as if Ike was just a simple summer storm.

Gold Medal Aftermath! Week 3, Volume 3

**Cue Olympic Theme Song**

Admit it…you watched it…we all watched it.  The single most watched Olympic games in the history of Olympic games broadcasts and it all happened in this quaint little city of Beijing.    OK OK, substitute quaint with vast and overwhelming and we all watched it because the idea of one man winning 8 gold medals in one sitting seemed absolutely incredible.

In the aftermath of the Olympic games, I thought I’d take this opportunity to touch on a few things regarding Beijing and China in general since there’s been so many different conceptions regarding this huge chunk of Asia.

As you can see, much of China is centered around perserving the old while embracing the new.  These constant themes can be seen throughout the country, from the technicolor shores of Hong Kong to the stately mannered Great Wall.

For the most part when one thinks of items manufactured from China you think gnarly little toys or flimsy gumball machine fair, BUT, nothing could be farther from the truth!  China is one of the largest and fastest growing manufacturing nations in the world, anything from the average everyday zipper to the high end LCD TV’s that I drool over when I window shop at my local neighborhood electronics store. 

Everything about the tags “fastest growing” and “largest manufacturing” was intriguing, so of course Hirsch Gift has to investigate and see what all the fuss was about.  SO! HG sends 2 of our most intrepid travellers (Peter and Paul) eastbound to Hong Kong, the land of dragon boats, microchips, memory drives, and interesting food choices.

                       Electronics Production Line, China

Peter and Paul spend most of their time in China visiting their product factories & finding new products to stay current with the trends & fashion. After 20 years worth of experience sourcing and manufacturing in China, all our customers can feel assured & confident that their overseas projects are in good hands with HG. All customers can be assured that HG only works with factories that have above average factory conditions & stringent quality standards. 

Peter and Paul are often taken for dinner to some local delicacies by their Chinese contacts!  Now, what most of you don’t know about our Mr. Paul Hirsch is this…he is not a fan of Chinese food. This always is a dilemma for him on his trips causing him to shed many pounds  :D

Peter and Paul with Winnie, QC manager, Hong KongPaul and Peter with factory partners in Shenzhen, China

Have You Hugged a Tree Today? Week 2, Volume 2

Go Green!  Recyclable! Renewable! Reusable! Sustainable! Post-Consumer!  If you aren’t excited enough by now, I just don’t know what to say, because there’s only so many exclamation points I can handle before I get worn out.  Which begs the ultimate question that is obviously on everyones mind…have you hugged a tree today?  

There’s been a whole lotta hoopla regarding how the industry needs to become more eco-friendly and more conscious of the environment.  Unfortunately, thus far I’m still absolutely confused as to how things are classified as “eco friendly”.   It just seems like around every corner someone slaps a recycled symbol on a tea-cozy and BAM! its eco-friendly. 

 

 

Well, being of a more curious nature, I wanted to get to the bottom of all this hype, and rip through the propaganda to see what’s actually out there, and what can actually help the environment.  I have decided to take it upon myself to sift through the hype with you.

 

Renewable/Sustainable Resource:
(Webster’s Definition) – A resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable or faster than its rate of consumption by humans or other users. 

(Bloogle’s Translation) – If its a natural resource, such as bamboo or maple, and it can grow or replicate itself faster than we can use it, then it qualifies as renewable.

Recycled/Recyclable/Recycling:
(Webster’s Definition) – Recyclinginvolves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent the waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air and water pollution by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.  Recyclable materials include glass, paper, metal, textiles, electronics, and plastics. Recycled materials are the end results of the recycling process.

(Bloogles Translation)- As much of a mouthful as webster’s definition may seem to be…basically if you can recycle it, it can be remade into something else which can then be used again.  If you ever hear Post-Consumer Recycled Product, is just a fancy way of saying the product was in someones house as something else and got recycled into this brand new product that will most likely end up in their house again. 

Carbon Footprint:
(Webster’s Definition) – A carbon footprint is a “measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

(Bloogles Translation) – In lay-men’s terms…a carbon footprint is how much ”junk” you leave in your wake.  From how much energy you waste by leaving the light on when you fall asleep in bed, to how long you keep the water running to brush your teeth.  Each of these activities leaves your own indelible “footprint” in regards to your time spent on earth. 

Now, knowing these terms are just half the battle, there’s about 100  ump-tenth million buzzwords out there relating to the environment and the “Go Green” movement, but what are we doing about it? Of course, I understand that just one person or one company can’t possibly dramatically impact the world, but here at HG, we’ve done our research and I’m proud to say, have decided to introduce an entire line to do what we can to make Mother Earth breathe just that much easier.

 
Hirsch Gift launched the new line of Eco-Friendly products beginning of Summer 2008.  In an effort to bring some of HG’s more “green” customers a bonafide eco-friendly product and not just an old product with a recycled label pasted to the side. 

After some careful resource and quite a few tireless hours of sourcing materials, HG has put together the beginnings of a great line that not only has mainstream appeal, but also sends a message to the world that HG cares enough about carbon footprints, to help reduce yours.

T595

First up is the T595 Eco-Button, which is pretty darn cool in my opinion.  Basically, at the touch of a button you can put your computer into sleep mode and just leave it.  We all know what a pain it is to have to wait for your computer to start up, but it wastes too much electricity to leave it on all the time.  The Eco-Button solves that problem by simply putting your computer to sleep at the touch of a button!                                                                                    

T4709

 

Next up is the T4709, the Breeze Ionizer with USB Hub.  Not everyone’s too familiar with what an ionizer does, or what a USB hub is for that matter.  This device allows you to plug in all your computer peripherals into it, while it cleans the air around you.  It’s pretty nifty if you consider the fact that one small hub on your desk gives you your own personal “bubble” of fresh air. 

 

And finally, we have the HG I Ecolution’s line of eco-friendly flash drives.  Lets face it, everyone has a flash drive, but not everyone can say their flash drive is helping to save the world

T530

T512

T513

I seem to have rambled on just a bit today, but I have this bad habit of just talking and talking and talking when I get excited about a subject.  Granted the environment isn’t exactly my forte, and admittedly I had to go and look up quite a few terms   I guess that’s what learning is all about though, and if it wasn’t for HG I would’ve never even gave a second thought about using sustainable resources or even what a carbon footprint is.  Ultimately, I think if we all do our part, we truly can save the world, one eco-button at a time

 

HG Braves Edouard! Week 1, Volume 1

Well, there wasn’t much to brave, but it does sound rather valiant does it not? :) With the thoughts of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita still fresh in people’s minds, I guess it would’ve been prudent to err on the side of caution; however, those of us that stayed to weather the storm can pretty much sum up the prowess of Edouard in one simple phrase:  “Much Ado About Nothing”

Back to the task at hand!  Getting to know all of us here at Hirsch Gift!

It’s Wednesday morning…hump day.  As all of you know, it’s really tough to get up in the mornings.  If you disagree you’re either a liar or one of those crazy “morning” people that I hear so much about.  Anyway, I peel myself out of bed and pick up a cup of caffeine and hit the ground running.

As I’m driving to work and pondering the very real possibility of my bona fide caffeine addiction, I see a huge billboard for the recycling center.  It got me thinking about all the recent hoopla regarding the industry “going green”, but that is a topic for another day.  It is 8:52 AM and I’ve arrived at HG!  Time to reveal the good, the bad, and the laser machine !

As you can see, HG headquarters can present a rather daunting sight for the first timer, racks and racks of newly imprinted products awaiting their new carefully bubble-wrapped and individually packaged homes; in addition to, the ever present hum of a multitude of machines at work.

First off, there’s Peter, namesake and fearless leader here at Hirsch Gift.

Then, we have Paul, computer whiz behind HirschGift.com and our resident HG Techie.

Robert, the renaissance man…anything you can do, Robert’s probably doing it too.

Luis, the man behind the art proofs.

Jason, if you’ve ever called Hirsch Gift for anything at all…you probably talked to Jason.

Lu, Rudy, Salvador, Winnie, Ashley, and Gloria, the perverbial “gun-arms” of HG, they make the magic happen!

and lastly, there is me, Theresa.  Your humble hostess for bloogles and I must say, I can be characterized in one phrase…the newbie.

Jason's Forehead and Peter

Paul and Lu

Robert and Salvador

Gloria, Rudy's back, and Ashley

Jason as he requested

Hello World!

Welcome to Bloogles!  It’s an exciting day here since we are launching our new blog and we are all a flutter with anticipation.  Will we really be able to effectively change the world and mold a new social structure with the power of our blog?!?!!?!?!  … most likely not, but there’s always that hope!

Since we’re just starting out here, we thought it’d be a great idea to do the infamous 7 volume introduction.  For those of you out there that don’t know what a 7 volume introduction is, allow me to explain.  For the next 7 weeks, every Monday will contain a “volume” chronicling the day to day here at Hirsch Gift.  After the 7 weeks, we will have compiled 7 volumes and hopefully introduced ourselves in a way that makes our readers understand just that much more about us and what we represent.