Creative Ribbons: Hair Accessories

Ever wonder what people really do with all those ribbon rolls?

Here’s an idea to get your creative juices flowing! Hair Accessories!

Time to bring out all those ribbon rolls again, and the project this time is hair bows and other accessories. While most of these don’t require a personalized ribbon roll, it doesn’t hurt to have them on hand. So, grab whatever you can and let’s get started.

ribbon rolls and hair accessories and bowsFirst, and probably the easiest idea is the hair tie. Grab a length of ribbon that will wrap at least twice around a pony tail. This length may vary depending on how much hair you intend to tie up in this ribbon. Secure the pony tail in an elastic. Once this is done and the pony tail is to your liking, simply wrap the ribbon around the pony tail to cover the elastic. Finish this look by securing the ribbon with a simple bow, much like a shoelace.

 

ribbon rolls and hair accessories and bows

This next idea will only take about five minutes to complete. You will need to hair elastics and a long piece cut from a ribbon roll. Simply join the two hair elastics with a simple knot. Once this is done, take your ribbon and measure the length needed. This is done by gently, but securely, wrapping the ribbon roll around your head where you will wear the headband once. Add one to two inches to that length and give it a snip! Singe the ends of the ribbon to avoid fraying. Then just wrap one end of the ribbon through one end of the hair elastic knot and sew it in place; hot glue is also an option to secure the ends. Repeat this process with the other side of the knot and the other end of the ribbon. And, you’re done!

ribbon rolls and hair accessories and bowsAnother super easy idea is to take approximately the same length of strips from a ribbon roll and secure them with a knot around a single hair elastic. Variate the colors on this project for a unique look, or use color combinations that go with holidays or specific outfits that are in your closet. These are super cute for little girls and they typically love the frilly look of this simple hair accessory.

 

ribbon rolls and hair accessories and bowsThe last idea is super cute and also really easy! Cut three to four 5-6 inch pieces off a ribbon roll. Find the center of each strip and fold the ends in to meet each other at this point. Hot glue the ends to the middle of the ribbon strip. Repeat this process for each strip. Lay each ribbon on top of each other and fan out into a flower shape. Once this is done, carefully pull each layer up and secure them with a dab of hot glue. Line an alligator clip using another strip of your ribbon roll. Glue the flower onto the clip and add a colorful button to the center of the flower to complete this cute project.

While there are only four ideas here, there are hundreds other out there. Do you have a unique idea for hair accessories that you would like to share?

9 Creative Ribbon Storage Ideas

Is storage an issue for your craft room? Craft rooms don’t always have the right storage so can be cluttered with all of your ribbons, lace, scrapbook supplies, buttons and other items that we think you’ll use eventually. These items were probably purchased for other projects that ended up not using everything purchased or not using them at all.

Making Ribbon Storage more Friendly

Instead of collecting piles and mounds of these leftovers in various spots around the room, here’s some quick ideas to help you get organized with your storage.

ribbon storage using a tension rod
ribbon storage using a basket
ribbon storage using a shoebox

1. Make tension rods your best friend.

This is probably the easiest way to get all those ribbon rolls organized into one storage space. And, it’s as simple as it sounds. Add a tension rod between two table legs or in a door way and simply slide each ribbon roll on to display. This is a great way to also measure out how much ribbon you might need and with a quick snip, you’re done!

2. A-tisket a-tasket, find yourself a basket.

Finding the right basket is the most daunting task of this project. Once you do find the basket simply find a small dowel that will fit through the holes on the sides of the basket. Secure it through the middle of each ribbon roll and through each end of the basket. As shown in the picture, the final step is to thread the end of each ribbon roll through a hole on the side of the basket. And, voilà, you’re done!

3. Not with a fox, but put them in a shoe box.

Here’s another easy project to wrangle all your ribbon rolls into one place. Either purchase a box, use an old shoe box that you can re-purpose, or give yourself a reason to go get that new pair of shoes. Whatever your choice, simply decorate the box however you want and find, or make, an elastic that will fit all the way around the bottom. Stack your ribbons inside and secure each end on one side underneath the elastic. Close the lid and it’s almost like decorating your craft room.

ribbon storage using a pant or skirt hanger
ribbon storage using canisters or jars
ribbon storage using a straw canister

4. Treat ’em like a pair of slacks and hang them up!

Another great way to store all those ribbon rolls but keep them handy is to hang them up. Find a skirt or pant hanger with multiple bars and simply slide them on. Typically these hangers have a swinging arm to add and remove rolls with. Use a push pin or a nail into your wall and hang it up!

5. Like time in a bottle, canisters work as storage too.

Remember those old glass candy and cookie jars? You’ve probably wanted one for, like, forever! Why not splurge a little and finally get one. Use it to hold all your ribbon roll odds and ends. Wrap the ribbons around craft sticks or clothes pins or just stuff ’em all in. Not matter what, this storage idea will help your craft room look like a candy store in no time at all!

6. Store them with the straws.

Here’s another one to make you take a trip down memory lane. Remember those old straw canisters from the diners? Grab yourself one next time you’re at the store and make a pretty little display jar for your ribbon rolls.

A small section of a blue ribbon rolls stored in an empty tic tac box.
ribbon storage using pencils and erasers
Rain gutters that hold rows of ribbon rolls.

7. Keep them “minty” clean and use an empty Tic Tac or mint container.

While this only works with smaller and skinnier rolls, ribbons can still be rolled up tightly and slid into an empty Tic Tac container. Simply curl a piece of ribbon and pop it inside the container, making sure to leave the tail end hanging out of the lid a little bit so you can pull on it to cut off the desired amount. And don’t forget to decorate the little boxes and make them your own.

8. Line them up, like ducks in a row, using pencils and erasers and put them in a drawer.

Again, this one is just as simple as it sounds. Take a pencil, can be any color or any kind (number two work the best) and add a large eraser to one end. Line up your ribbon rolls and shove that pencil right through the middle! Secure a second eraser to the other end and throw the bundle in a drawer or it’s own little box.

9. Plug up your gutters with ribbon roll storage!

Instead of filling up a gutter with rain or leaves, mount them on the wall in your craft room and fill them with all those ribbon rolls. Paint or decorate them to match your décor or room color and hang them within reach to make the ribbon rolls easy to get to.

No matter your storage choice, keep your creative brain handy!

Do you have anything to add to this list? Let us know in the comments.

Customer Donations: Curry Senior Center

Providing customer donations is part of who we are.

From ribbons to name tags, Coller Industries is your go-to specialist for personal identification needs. While we do pride ourselves on our service and professionalism in producing these fantastic products, our main focus is to help you, our customers! And part of this is to donate what we can, whenever we can. These donations are truly something that helps us stand out from our competition.

This month we were able to help out a wonderful cause.

customer donations curry senior center

In the heart of San Francisco, Curry Senior Center, named after its namesake Dr. Francis J. Curry, has been a leader and a lifeline to seniors for nearly 40 years. Right in their own neighborhood, seniors can easily access a wide range of integrated services through Curry, from health care to housing and everything in between; it is comprehensive care in a single setting.

“Curry Senior Center’s Annual Gala (Helping Hands, Healing Hearts) is the single largest fund raising effort for the organization each year. This is due to taking a highly personalized, family-focused approach to our sponsors and donors. Part of that focus includes the use of name badge ribbons to highlight leadership roles and award winners at the gala. These lend an air of sophistication and importance not previously experienced until our use of Coller Industries’ highest quality of products.” says Tod Thorpe, Director of Development at Curry Senior Center.

“Our mission is to provide services to seniors that promote independent living while maintaining their dignity and self-esteem,” explains Thorpe.

Curry Senior Center is where more than 2,000 seniors, regardless of income or insurance, have access to top-notch health care as well as meals, housing, and social services in their own neighborhood. This helps meet seniors’ essential needs and lets them stay as active and socially connected as possible as they age.

imprinted verticle stock badge ribbons customer donations curry senior centerCurry Senior Center received 62 of these badge ribbons. Badge ribbons can be printed with information to identify speakers, staff or an assortment of other functions during conferences and other meetings. The donated ribbons were all imprinted with different titles or awards to help the recipients stand out. Each of these ribbons can be fully personalized to meet any need.

“A ribbon may seem like a small thing but not when it makes our supporters feel special and cared for; that is priceless. Thanks to Coller Industries so much for your generosity!” expressed Thorpe.

Low Error Rate Produces Happy Customers

Customers are our top priority and we show this by keeping our error rate low.

Coller IndustriesHere at Coller Industries Incorporated, we pride ourselves in our customer service expertise. Not only do we have a great team of Customer Service Agents, but our team members from Production and Shipping are also here to provide quality and accuracy with all of our products. Part of what makes us so great is our ability to keep our error rate so low.

 

    Here’s a quick review of our current year-to-date statistics:

  • Our overall error rate is 0.265%. This means that 1 in about every 400 orders may contain an error; great news for our customers!
  • Since January 1, 2016 we have had a total of 20 errors coming from 7551 orders total. And, to top that, 8 out of those 12 weeks have had 1 or fewer errors; more great news for our customers!
  • If we have 3 or fewer errors as a company during a one week period the company provides a “Free Lunch Friday.” If we have less than 8 errors in any 4 week period Coller Industries treats the entire company to lunch out at a local restaurant.

Not only are these benefits for the employees here at Coller Industries, but with these incentives to keep us going, our customers get to enjoy the satisfaction of doing business with an outstanding company. Having a low error rate increases sales and increased sales translate into happy customers. And with happy customers, Coller Industries remains in business to continue to serve everyone and their personal identification needs!

“Throughout each step of any and every project there is a double checking process that takes place. Everything hinges on getting the order checked completely and thoroughly before it gets out of customer service and into production,” says Aimee, our Customer Service Manager.

She goes on to explain the process that our customer service agents take with each order.

    COLLER INDUSTRIES’ ORDER REVIEW PROCESS:

  1. Orders are received by a Customer Service Agent and our Design Team makes a proof of the product.
  2. The order is sent to Quality Control for confirmation (meaning that the proof matches the invoice).
  3. The order is received into Production and is confirmed using an internal check sheet form.
  4. The order is then sent from Production to Assembly and is again compared using the same check list.
  5. The order is sent to Shipping and once more checked for accuracy before being sealed and shipped.

Once an order is received and goes into our internal system, it is checked on a consistent basis so that it remains correct and matches the original order placed. This means checking the invoice against the production page and finally against the actual, finished product. This process is followed for all orders received here at Coller Industries.

If anything changes, or an error occurs, during this checking process, the whole order is re-evaluated. We are also in continual contact with each of our customers throughout the entire order process to make sure that we are meeting exactly what they ordered and what they are expecting.

“I’ve tried to instill the mantra that each order is wrong until you prove it right,” explains Pat, our Production and Shipping Manager. “We are constantly, consistently and objectively checking each order,” he states. No assumptions are made that the order is correct, and as each order has 10 to 15 variables to it, meticulous checking is a must. “The people working here are a big part of the reason why this system works so well,” Pat says proudly.

keeping our error rate low to ensure happy and satisfied customers

keeping our error rate low to ensure happy and satisfied customers

keeping our error rate low to ensure happy and satisfied customers

From our customer service agents and our design team to our production and shipping team, the review process of each order is extensive and takes extreme concentration. We, as company, put all available resources we have into each and every order. And we always keep our customers involved in all processes and steps of every order so as to maintain our low error rate.

In the event that something does go wrong (we admit that we’re human and not perfect), there is always something that can be done to fix the problem, and most of these are typically corrected by the next business day.

“No matter the error, we always work with each customer in getting out a replacement as quickly as possible,” explains Slim, our Quality Control Supervisor. “We will always accommodate each order in whatever way we can,” Slim says.

Our Reorder Program

A key point to maintaining such a low error rate is our reorder program.

Once an initial order is received from a customer, our customer management system (we call it MOM for short) holds onto the design information to reduce the risk of errors. All layout information is saved so that we can recreate an original order exactly. Once in the reorder program, a customer can actually see a visual proof of any original design from the orders they have previously placed with Coller Industries so that they know exactly what they are getting when they place their reorder. This program eliminates any guess work on the customer’s end, and on our end, as to what the customer really wants.

Rod, one of our programmers, explains, “The customer does not have to guess which layout they want as they can see a picture and know for sure which item they are selecting. We have made entering or uploading a list about as easy as it gets; the count of items for the order is taken from the list thus making the quote we provide fairly accurate. All of this adds up to a reorder that can be entered in a manner of minutes with little to no hassle.”

“Before the new system, there was a lot of back and forth with customers to be sure the correct layout was used. Now (with the new program) the customer sees a picture of the product they are ordering from the start,” states Traci, Quality Control and Customer Service Agent.

With the automation of this reorder system, errors are kept at an all time low. “This has greatly reduced the order and list issues we have seen in the past,” says Traci.

Gary Coller, President of Coller Industries, states, “Efforts have been made to prevent many, if not all, errors from occurring. We also take the time to figure out why an error has actually happened when they do occur.” Gary credits the low error rate to our 5 Stage Checking and to the employee incentive program.

“Most importantly, we always take responsibility for our mistakes and no matter
what happens, we will make it right,” says Gary.

All in all, Coller Industries strives in every way possible to get each order not only out the door quickly and efficiently, but correctly! And our low error rate only proves this, not only to us but to our current and potential customers.

Giving Back: Personalized Ribbons Edition

Giving back is what it’s all about!

From giving time and money to those in need, each year Coller Industries strives to give back to our local community. And, each year, we like to show the appreciation we receive for these generous gifts. It’s like a thank you for a thank you!

Annual Donation: Granite Education Foundation (from Name Tag Experience 12/15/15)

Every year Coller Industries makes an effort to recognize its employees during the holiday season. Part of this recognition tends to extend into the surrounding community. And, in turn, this translates to donations to various parts of our community. For the past six years, Clyde and Gary Coller, the CEO and President, respectively, of Coller Industries Incorporated have generously donated monetary benefits to The Granite Education Foundation.

“It makes us more responsible in the community,” said Gary Coller. “Hopefully our customers appreciate when they see that we give back to our own community.”

Coller Industries Incorporated started donating to the GEF in 2009 and to day has donated over $37,000. We are happy to continue our annual support of this wonderful foundation. And as employees here at Coller Industries, it is a pleasure knowing that our employer is so generous with their time and money.

The Granite Education Foundation provides educational opportunities for Granite School District students. They educate students, teachers and members of our community on positive ways to impact the community.

The Granite Education Foundation has kindly supported our business by giving us these wonderful notes and thank yous. And now here they are for you, as our reader, to enjoy!

valentines from the granite education foundation giving back to our community valentines from the granite education foundation giving back to our community

 

Included with thank yous from students and parents was a wonderful letter from the Foundation:

“This year, Granite Education Foundation and students from throughout Granite School District wanted to express our heart-felt thanks for your continued generosity and support. Enclosed you will find hand-made Valentine’s Day cards that our students created with YOU in mind.

In our opinion, YOU’RE AWESOME SAUCE, Valentine! Thanks for believing in our mission and for the extra boost you give students. We couldn’t accomplish what we do without YOU. You are O-‘FISH’-ally our favorite!”