Jay Spear, Author at - Page 9 of 16

August 14, 2013March 5, 2014

Too Early for Christmas?

Christmas Night recently sent out an email newsletter, featuring two new large (and expensive) Christmas displays. We featured our new Silver Santa Sleigh and Reindeer in a Facebook ad and on our page. We had a lot of favorable comments but we had several comments, such as “Not now” or Too early for Christmas” or one of those text abbreviations that I can never figure out.

We understand that some lovers of Christmas feel that the whole celebration has become too commercial and promotion of Christmas should wait until just before Thanksgiving. We want to point out some reasons why we communicate our new and featured items as early as we do.

1. Shopping malls, municipalities and large businesses plan their Christmas displays in advance, sometimes 8 to 10 months ahead. They will often request display plans and proposals from design and decoration firms, who in turn approach us for product information and quotations. Often the mall or company will contact us directly and we may have to bring in custom product for them, which may take 4 to 5 months

2. We begin selling Nativities and outdoor Christmas displays in April/May. Many times, customers who missed out last season, because we were sold out, will buy early to avoid the same problem. This means that we must often adjust our new factory orders and let customers know what we have.

3. Many people with large displays at their home or business, have already purchased the traditional Christmas figures, such as Santa, Snowman, Toy Soldier etc. and are looking for new and different designs. We design much of our product and Claire, our inventor/designer is always looking for a new approach or look to the traditional figures. Most of these new designs sell out when customers discover them.

4. Our supply chain is from the Philippines, China and the USA. Turnaround time from Christmas Night placing the order until the container arrives at our warehouse is 10 to 12 weeks overseas and 1 to 4 weeks locally . The later in the season, the longer the lead time. This means that our last overseas order must be placed by the first week in September.

5. Many of our customers anticipate our deliveries by placing advance orders for product on the water ( in transit) or on order. We assist the ordering by offering a “Pay Later” layaway plan. This helps us plan our purchases and helps our customers avoid disappointment.

So we apologize to customers and fans who think we are rushing Christmas, but we are primarily doing this so we don’t disappoint customers and to avoid a panic in our office. Besides we love Christmas and the arrival of every new container is like Christmas morning under the tree. santasnowedunder

June 17, 2013March 5, 2014

NEW PRODUCTS

The lifeblood of our business is new products. This is true for any company selling to consumers, but it is somewhat more difficult for us in the Christmas business. Many Christmas figures and images are religious and or traditional. Granted, the images may reflect local or regional visions and values, such as the difference between the “Coca Cola Santa” in the US and “Sinter Claus” in parts of Europe.

Christmas Nativity figures try to duplicate the Nativity story as originated by St Francis of Assisi and as imagined by European painters and sculptors, both in medieval times and during and after the Renaissance. The Italians generally do it best, but in their strongly individualistic way, are known to include Elvis and other celebrities in their Nativity scenes. Fontanini, the Italian family firm which has specialized in producing Nativity scenes of all sizes for over 100 years, has added more animals and figures of medieval “village people”. These are probably more consistent with the original vision of St Francis, who used real people and animals in his Nativity scenes.

Many non-religious Christmas figures are derived from the “Night Before Christmas” poem. These include Santa Claus, Reindeer and Sleigh and Santa’s Elves. Children’s tales turned into ballet and movies provided the images of Toy Soldiers, Nutcrackers and Bears. Recent innovations include the “Victorian” figures including Carolers and Lamp Post.

So much of our new product effort is offering a new version of the classic figures, that the challenge is making the figures new and different and still appealing and seasonal. Fortunately our founder and president , Claire, is a fine arts grad and photographer with an excellent eye and color sense as well as the extreme patience and attention to detail necessary to produce winning designs. We are also fortunate to be working with several factories whose owners understand the importance of new products and employ skilled designers and sculptors.

Our latest product introduction, the enormous 12 foot Nutcracker King, item 37001, is an example of our team in action. Claire provide the original design and the factory sculpted the figure which Claire fine tuned. The factory then produced the mold and created the prototype colors and decorations based on Claire’s design. The factory also determined the sizes of the various parts and how they will be attached together for the final giant piece. The final result is a unique figure which will decorate many shopping malls, retail stores, city centers and even some mansions next Christmas.

Here is a link to our press release announcing the introduction of the 12 foot Nutcracker King

April 24, 2013March 5, 2014

Five Ways to Care for Your Outdoor Christmas and Garden Statues

Christmas Night (and Saint Francis Garden) specializes in Christmas and Garden statues which are made of fiberglass and generally displayed outside the home. Any manufactured item, such as patio furniture, the siding on your house or children’s toys, when left outside in the sun and the elements, will fade, painted or not.. Direct sunlight will cause faster fading. Painted statues left in standing water or ice covered may chip. As our weather becomes more unstable, outdoor statues may be blown over or damaged by hail and wind. Statues may be knocked over by lawnmowers, pets or children.

Here are some recommendations for protecting and refurbishing your lawn statues and outdoor Christmas decorations.

1. Tether the taller statues using flexible wire or nylon line or ties attached to fixed points such as fence posts or tent connections or a piece of re-bar hammered into the ground. Statues can be screwed onto a wood base or propped up with sand bags. Tethering will eliminate or reduce falls caused by strong wind or vandalism. Nativity creche sets are often displayed in wooden stable which can provide some protection, particularly if the church or individual covers the front of the stable with clear unbreakable resin plastic.

Nativity protected by Stable and Clear Plastic

2. If your statue has a small crack, through a fall, or has small chips coming off for any reason, we recommend repair with a product called Marine Tex. This can be found in small repair kits purchased at www.jamestowndistributors.com.

3. Extensive cracking, broken parts or holes will require repair by an expert in fiberglass use and repair. Often a technician who repairs boats or other fiberglass structures such as tanks can be found online. In some parts of the country there are artists who work in materials such as fiberglass, who may also be found online.

4. A statue with a few small paint chips may be repainted. We recommend Testors flat enamel which can be found at http://www.megahobby.com/testors-paint-for-plastic-models.aspx. Be sure to purchase all the matching colors to restore the original look. Also be sure to sand the chipped areas with fine sand paper before painting.

5. If your product has faded badly or has extensive chipping, it will need complete repainting. Unless you are an artist who wants to take on the challenge, we suggest repainting in one color or a few simple colors. Go to your local paint or hardware store and ask for outdoor paint suitable for use on fiberglass. Match your colors and don’t forget to sand all the areas to be painted. Let the paint dry completely before trying antique finishing. If you decide to antique, pick an antique color and water it down. Saturate a cotton cloth with the antique color, squeeze out the excess paint and wipe the areas you want to add to. Immediately use a dry cloth to clean off the antique color from the adjacent areas you do not want antiqued. Do this quickly, one area at a time, before the wash dries

A carefully refurbished Christmas or Garden statue will add to the pride of ownership and display, because you have done it or supervised it yourself. It may be a way for a dedicated parishioner to do something extra for their church or a member of the community to contribute. Refurbishing will extend the life of your statues and your enjoyment of them.

April 15, 2013July 26, 2021

FONTANINI NATIVITY FIGURES

Christmas Night has been carrying the beautiful and famous Nativity figures from Fontanini of Lucca, Italy for over 10 years. Since our focus has mostly been on larger outdoor figures, we initially listed the 34 Inch and 50 inch Nativity figures. We then discovered that the manufacturer does not recommend outdoor display of their marble and resin pieces, so we added the smaller, 18 inch and 27 inch Nativity sets, which are better displayed indoors, in any case.

Fontanini figures, which have been manufactured and hand decorated by the Fontanini family for over 100 years, are classic works of art. As such, they are very expensive and sell very slowly. We have carried some larger figures, carefully packaged and protected ,in our stock for five years. The replacement cost of these figures keeps increasing, in line with higher commodity and labor costs.

We have decided to offer several of the larger sets, Holy Families. Kings and individual pieces, at greatly reduced prices to make room for faster moving items. Our prices for these items are wonderful bargains and are an opportunity for anyone who has wanted such figures but couldn’t justify the expense. Our quantities are very limited and these offers will not be repeated,by us.

One featured set is the Fontanini 50″ Holy Family

Retail price for this set is $7599.00 plus shipping.

Our special, one time, price is $2997.00 with free shipping.

A featured figure is St Joseph with Jesus

Retail price $999.00, special price $499.00

Please see our websites christmasnightinc.com and saintfrancisgarden.com under Fontanini Statues for other specials.

March 1, 2013March 5, 2014

Questions About Dog Statues

Our sister website www.saintfrancisgarden.com recently added a new product category, dog statues. We have long featured statues of Saint Francis of Assisi and, based on his life and good works, figures of various animals and children. We know that dogs are by far the most popular domestic animal in the US home and the interest in our site and our new dog statues has confirmed this. We are writing this article to try to answer some of the questions about dog statues that we are regularly asked by our customers. 39104dt001

CAN YOU MAKE A STATUE OF MY DOG THAT JUST DIED?

This is the same questions as , can you make a statue of special or rare breed of dog? As dog owners ourselves, we know the desire to immortalize that special friend that shared our life and warmed our hearts for so long ( not long enough). As with all manufactured products, dog statues are subject to a volume/cost relationship. The more of one figure made by our factory, the lower the cost. Custom made items or, as we call them “one of’s” bear all the design, set up and mold costs for one piece, that are spread over many pieces with volume production. In order to offer our statues at a reasonable cost, we must stay with popular breeds .

WHEN WILL MY DOG STATUE BE IN STOCK?

Our statues are made in our factories in the Philippines and in our importers factories in China and other countries. We try to buy adequate quantities and anticipate demand, but we are not always right. Production and shipping lead times can be 12 to 16 weeks. We try to keep you informed as to expected delivery times on our website.

WHAT IS MY DOG STATUE MADE OF AND HOW DURABLE IS IT WHEN DISPLAYED OUTDOORS.?

Most of our statues are made of fiberglass or polyresin, which is plastic resin re-inforced with glass fibers and other materials, similar to how boats are made. Some of our pieces are cast in stone or cement or even metal such as brass or copper.On our website we offer full information as to the construction material of the statue.The fiberglass and polyresin pieces are usually decorated with sunlight resistant paint while the stone or cement can be natural or stained. The metal may generate it’s own patina. Fiberglass and polyresin figures ,displayed outdoors , will fade and need to be repainted even if not exposed to direct sunlight. Stone and cement figures will need very little, if any ,refinishing.

CAN I PHYSICALLY SEE THE DOG STATUE BEFORE I PURCHASE IT ON LINE?

As an internet marketer, we often are asked this question. Customers naturally want to see, touch and experience a figure. This is especially true with an emotional figure like a dog. We have a warehouse, not a store, so it isn’t possible for a customer to touch and feel the dog figure before we ship. We try to provide the best photography, product descriptions and information. We also offer a return option, where we may waive the restocking charge if asked.

WHAT ABOUT SHIPPING MY DOG STATUE.

Most of our dog statues are shipped by FedEx Ground and arrive in 3 to 6 days. A few of the larger fiberglass dog statues may have to ship by LTL truck. Our custom made cast stone and concrete statues are manufactured at our Chicago factory and take 4 to 8 weeks to arrive. Some of these stone dog statues are too heavy for ground shipment and must go on a wood pallet by truck. Some of our statues are offered with a fixed shipping charge to mitigate the cost. Please check our website information.

January 30, 2013March 5, 2014

Taking Your Work On Vacation

In my last blog, I raved about beautiful and interesting Panama and what a wonderful time we had. With our website www.christmasnightinc.com we are mostly in the Christmas business. We work on the website and Christmas year round and it is hard to let go even on vacation. Since our vacation time is just before , during and after Christmas we often get to experience the way other countries celebrate Christmas (if they do).

panama10 Panama is a Christian country and the people love festivals and holidays. The truism and joke about Panamanians is that the only thing they take seriously is their holidays. There are 14 official holidays and many more local or regional holidays. While Carnival at Easter is the largest festival, Christmas is usually marked with a festival and ,in Panama City at least, a parade with floats depicting the Nativity among other Christmas things. Here are several pictures of the festival and float decorations.

While we were exploring the old section of Panama City known as San Felipe or Casco Viejo, we stumbled upon the factory panama11 where the Nativity and other figures for the parade floats were made. We were fortunate enough to meet a factory supervisor who is English who explained the process of carving figure from blocks of styrofoam and sealing them with fiberglass before painting and decorating. The Englishman himself was just as interesting as the factory, easily mistaken for a retired rock musician with a constant cigarette and the boast that a “wealthy wife” paid for his lifestyle, such as it was.

The old city of San Felipe is fascinating, with centuries old churches, refurbished buildings housing government departments, many great restaurants and the casco-viejo-police “Tourist Police” looking like a group of New York City cops, ready to go on patrol. We will definitely return.

January 25, 2013March 5, 2014

OUR PANAMA CHRISTMAS

panama

As you may know, we import most of our Christmas figures from our factories in the Philippines and China. The figures and Nativity Sets are shipped in steel shipping containers on large ocean going container vessels, such as the ones shown below All of these large ships arrive at our New York Port via the Panama Canal.

For our Christmas break this year we decided to visit Panama and see the country and how the canal works for product like ours. What a surprising country Panama is! Rather than some Central American backwater, Panama City resembles Miami with high rise offices and condos right on the water. High end hotels and sophisticated restaurants cater to international business people and tourists. A network of roads and expressways tie the city together, anchored by the PanAmaerican Highway and they are building a subway. The country is safe for visitors, the people are friendly and welcoming and the currency is the US Dollar. If my narrative sounds like we enjoyed it and will go back, we already plan to.

Panamanians love parties and fiestas and have more national holidays than most countries. Just before we arrived there had been a big Christmas Fiesta and parade. Several of the parade floats featured giant Nativity figures and, after the parade, these were displayed in a park on the Causeway Highway, connecting downtown Panama to the old city and the Canal. The Nativity figures are made locally and don’t have the artistic detail of our figures, but for parade floats celebrating the true meaning of Christmas they are perfect. More on where and how these figures are made in our next post. Here are some photos showing the figures displayed on the Causeway with the city skyline behind. Looks like Miami doesn’t it?

December 22, 2012July 27, 2021

THANK YOU for a Terrific 2012!

Again, thank you for a terrific 2012. We are sold out of most sets and figures, just in time for Christmas. Next year we will have to stock more Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer combinations, more Nutcracker pairs, more large Santa and Snowmen, more bears and more six foot Nativities.

For 2013, we have designed and created new Santa and Snowmen, additional Nativity figures, leaping, prancing and trotting reindeer and new outdoor Husky Dog Sets. By popular demand, we will have two new Giant Camels, one standing and one resting, in addition to a giant Standing Ox, all for our 6ft Nativity. A new 66″ Tin Toy Soldier will supplement our outdoor offerings.

We plan to bring in a selection of Giant Hanging Baubles for larges spaces and a greater variety of dogs for our Saint Francis Garden website.

We will soon be showing pictures of many of the new items on our blog. Please “watch this space”

Best wishes for Christmas 2012 and a happy 2013.

October 9, 2012March 5, 2014

Five Trends in Christmas Decorating

Decorating your home for Christmas used to be mainly inside the house and was focused on the room with the tree.Many of us can remember going out to cut or purchase a live tree, bringing the boxes and boxes of tree lights and decorations out of storage and the fun of placing the tree in a stand, wrapping the lights around (and trying to find out which one in the string was causing the problem), hanging baubles , tinsel and icicles and finishing with the tree topper and tree skirt.

How have our lives changed? We have less time. We want things prepared or done for us and we are prepared to pay for the convenience. Many of us have less space to store all the tree decorations, but many of us have larger homes with more connection to the outdoors. New technologies and less expensive overseas manufacturing have impacted the kind of Christmas decorations we display.

We have written before on the movement to bring Christ back into Christmas with Nativity Sets, the use of pre-decorated trees and the movement to outdoor decorating. These trends continue to change the face of Christmas decorating. There are. however, several new developments which have impacted the preparation for Christmas celebration.

1. The return of the original reason for Christmas, that is, the birth of Jesus Christ, has created a growing demand for traditional Nativity sets, with the larger sets often replacing the Christmas tree as a focal point for the celebration.

2. When a Christmas tree is the focal point, it is often a pre-lit, pre-decorated tree ,which is complete out of the box. This saves a lot of time but loses the closeness of the family ritual.

3. Newer homes often merge indoor and outdoor space and this invites more outdoor Christmas decorating. The decorating can be shared with the neighbors or can become community projects.

led-santa 4. Most Christmas Lighting has become LED in different tones, replacing the incandescent C-7 or mini light. The look is often brighter and there is a saving in use of electricity.This lighting evolution also applies to large lighted Christmas Displays such as animated Toy Trains and Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer

fiberglass-santa 5. Life Size and larger fiber glass Christmas display figures such as Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer, Nutcrackers, Toy Soldiers, Santa, Snowmen and Christmas Carolers.were mostly seen in commercial displays in shopping centers, retail stores and municipalities. Overseas manufacturing and more accessible pricing and wider distribution have brought these impressive figures home for outdoor decorating.

In general, there are many more Christmas Decorating options than ever before.

September 19, 2012March 5, 2014

Our Customers Write

We send website newsletters every few weeks to our mailing list of past and present customers. In these newsletters we try to include advice on Christmas decorating and Nativities. We show pictures of new products and special offers as well as regular features of our website such as our free pictures and our Lay Away Plan.

A few weeks after we ship a product we ask the customer to rate the product and our service, with both a comment and a zero to five star score. We receive some wonderful comments and we have published the best in our blog.

We had one recently that we want to share with you.

customer-photo

Jeanette Ricker writes:

Husband Arthur built the stable; he’s been a building contractor and inspector. [The building can be dismantled for storage.] For several years now, we’ve wanted to add the 3 Kings…as well as cattle and/or a donkey, etc. Truth is, we just can’t seem to afford to do so. We have a HUGE family – growing by leaps and bounds – and by the time we plan gifts for those we MUST gift, there’s just nothing left for our outdoor display. We’d take you up on your “buy now, pay later” plan, but every January 1^st we end up so “far behind” that this kind of planning doesn’t help us at all. WE DO keep your catalog and ads handy and – if and when we feel we are able – will be in touch to add pieces to our outdoor Christmas display. Thank you for keeping US in mind!

Jeanette F. Ricker – dba The Executive Assistant – [email protected]

Husband – Arthur W. Ricker, Jr