Elastic String for Travel Luggage Tags

Airlines, cruise ship companies, river barge cruise directors, passenger railway travel companies, etc. are constantly competing for travelers. One very simple, necessary, yet often overlooked way to streamline travel and improve the customer experience is this: elastic string for travel luggage tags. Every travel company needs a way to help themselves and their customers track luggage properly; why not also use these tags as a way to cement that company-traveler relationship by making the tag itself a value-added item?

Travel Tags with Elastic String—Create sturdy tags that attach easily with elastic loops to your customers’ bags. While the check-in employees may need to use those sturdy tape tags for system purposes, always offer your travelers the option of attaching a personal tag at check in in case they’ve forgotten theirs. Remind them to use a mobile number, but to skimp on other personal information for emergency contact purposes.
QR Codes with Special Offers—Expand the travel tag’s usefulness by printing a QR code customers can use to access discounts and special offers that will improve their travel experiences.
Mobile Destination Tips—Business in the front, party in the back: Let travelers use the front for emergency contact information (and you for branding), but use the back to provide helpful tips or insider information on their travel destination. Sharing travel secrets with your customers on how to improve their experience or visit places they hadn’t considered will take their trip from ordinary to extraordinary. Using elastic loops to attach the tag makes it easy for your travelers to tuck the tag in a pocket, purse or book for future reference.

It may look like just a travel tag, but it could mean so much more to your travelers with a little extra thought and design. Contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830 to place your bulk order for elastic loops for luggage tags and give your travelers another reason to revisit you.

Stock Up on Spools of Elastic Apparel Thread for Spring 2016 Fashions

Clothing manufacturers who’ve been watching the runways for spring 2016 trends had better stock up on spools of elastic apparel thread as they prepare to meet spring’s demand for bold colors, big stripes, Flamenco flounce, off-the-shoulder hotness, puffed sleeves, tie-dye, silver lamé and sequins for everybody! You’ll need the stretch for:

Spanish Flair—Flouncy, bold flamenco-inspired frocks with a cinched paperbag waist are hitting the runways big time. You’ll need extra elastic apparel thread to make it breathable for prêt–à–porter pieces.
Victorian Puffed Sleeves—Anne Shirley would be proud. Whether they’re on the upper arm, or the lower, puffed sleeves on everything from gowns to blouses and jackets will need some stretch around the ends to fit everyone.
Off-the-Shoulder—Last year it was one shoulder, this year it’s both. You’ll need stretchy thread to keep everything in place.
Satin and Lace—Boudoir fashions are hitting the street with classic Hollywood-inspired gowns.
Period Pieces—Spring 2016’s time machine isn’t just stopping in the Victorian era. Your cool aunt’s estate sale fashion pieces are getting a bold, colorful update in the form of skirts, blouses and jackets with bold colors and stripes.
Dynamite Denim—Denim won’t die: not this spring, anyway. Expect more in the way of everything from gowns and shorts to jackets, blouses and robes. The key is that it needs to stretch.
Tie-Dye—No, not the trashy old T-shirts from college; tie-dye is getting a serious upgrade this season in everything from dresses, skirts and jackets to sheaths and gowns. Some of the hot colors to dye for are pink and peacock blue. Dye it into stretchy fabrics with plenty of elastic apparel thread.
Everything Sparkles—Just put sequins on it. And stretchy silver lame. They’ll be hot sellers this season.

If you’re a clothing manufacturer gearing up to satisfy the spring 2016 market, contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830 and stock the factory with plenty of elastic apparel thread!

Elastic Stretch Cord for Manufacturing Expandable File Folders

One office supply that never goes out of style is the expandable file folder. Secured with elastic stretch cord and used by businesses, lawyers, home executives, teachers, students—basically anybody who needs to have quick, organized access to paper files—this is one office supply that just keeps selling. Office supplies manufacturers can use the following three formats with an endless combination of graphic designs:

Expandable Button Folder with Elastic Loop

With gathers like an accordion that expand, these file folders extend to hold and organize a lot of files. They feature a flap that folds from the back to the front; an elastic loop goes around a button to shut the folder.

Corner Elastic Cord Folders

These folders have elastic cord loops at the two bottom corners of the file, securing the front folder flap to the rest of the folder. These usually don’t expand as much as the previous type, but are good for protecting a modest collection of papers while under way.

Total Enclosure Elastic Loop File Folder

Similar to the first format, but the elastic loop is attached in the front and stretches all the way around the expandable folder to keep a hefty set of files in place.

Trendy Looks for Expandable File Folders Secured with Elastic Loops

Office supply manufacturers will continue to need bulk spools of elastic cord to secure their expandable file folder brands. They’ll also need to keep the latest graphic design trends in mind so their products pop out on the shelves. While Pantone hasn’t yet announced it’s 2016 “IT” color (this passing year’s is Marsala), design experts are predicting something gorgeous in the blue family, possibly Deep Peacock. We’ll find out in a few weeks, so start designing!

In the meantime, call Elastic Connections at 847-426-6830 today to put in your elastic cord order; we have everything from 1mm up to 2.4mm in a wide variety of colors!

Elastic Lanyard: Freebies, Giveaways, Marketing

Whether you’re fretting over your next trade show tchotchkes or trying to come up with a nice marketing freebie to spread cheer and goodwill amongst customers and leads, there’s one important thing to remember: it’s got to be useful. And that’s where bulk elastic lanyard comes in.

You can take this one simple item and turn it into a hundred different useful items that will make life easier on your target audience while also reminding them about your company. Consider these ideas to hand out at your next trade show, community event or as freebies for loyal customers:

Elastic lanyard phone pouch—Help people keep their phones securely anchored around their necks instead of falling out of their back pockets. For those who don’t like that arrangement, they can loop the lanyard through a belt loop and stow the phone more securely in a pocket (than without the lanyard/pouch). The pouch itself could also be made using elastic thread to fit various phone sizes.
Pens on a tether—Attach a branded pen to a branded elastic lanyard and your customers or prospective customers will be seeing a lot more of your logo whenever they need to scribble something down.
Elastic lanyard for sunglasses—A great idea for tourism marketing or even eye healthcare businesses. A cool, stretchy lanyard will keep your customers glasses handy while reminding them of you.
Trade show badges—We covered great trade show badge designs in a previous blog, but did we mention that elastic lanyard gives them something they can use after the show is over too? Depending on the clips or attachments you decide to add to the end design, you can provide the attendees a branded option they could use to tether their keys, sun glasses, pens, and other items long after the show is over.

Multi-Purpose Lanyards

For bulk elastic lanyard to bring your marketing freebies and trade show giveaways to life, contact Elastic Connections at 847-426-6830 today.

Bulk Elastic for Mask Manufacturing – Not Just for Halloween

Mask manufacturing used to see its biggest push around Halloween, but recent pop culture trends are making mask manufacturing a year-round business opportunity. If your company wants to keep the profits rolling throughout the year by following these mask production trends, make sure you have plenty of mask elastic in stock to meet growing demands.

Elastic for Masquerade Masks

Masquerade balls and parties are becoming more popular all around the year. Any of these styles would fly at Halloween as well as any other holiday masked ball:

Filigree masks—Like layering skin-hugging lace across the face, these elegant masks are truly hot for any occasion where masks are in demand. Most commonly appearing in black, but also in other colors, bulk mask elastic is available in many colors to fit the style you’re manufacturing.
Classic Venetian Mardi Gras Masks—Mardi Gras or Carnival masks are obviously in demand long after Halloween, as well as on cruise ships. These solid design masks come in every color under the sun, as do our options for mask elastic.

Elastic for Cosplay Masks

The cosplay trend has exploded with every kind of con(vention) you can imagine where thousands of fans of different types of movie, comic book and anime genres come together to dress up and pretend to be their favorite characters. Masks are a huge part of the trend and an essential part of the many disguises and costumes that people are willing to shell out the big bucks to wear. Mask manufacturers can get in on the trend by designing and producing more masks depicting trending characters at these conventions. Just make sure not to run out of mask elastic at the factory.

If you’re mass producing masks at your facility and need the elastic to affix them securely and carefully to the wide range of head shapes and hairstyles of the end customers, contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830. We stock mask elastic string as small as .040″ diameter or spooled elastic up to 2.4mm diameter.

Pre-Tied Elastic Bows for Holiday Merchandising

As summer turns to fall, merchandisers and retailers are already gearing up for the impending holidays. One of the questions they often ask this time of year is, “How can we make this holiday shopping season even more awesome, but with less stress?” One elegant, low-stress solution is pre-tied elastic bows. Whether you’re merchandising for an up-scale boutique or part of a large merchandising operation shipping pre-packaged goods to shops or customers, pre-tied elastic bows make packaging a gorgeous snap:

Pre-Tied Elastic Bows for Shipping Pre-Wrapped Gifts

A huge chunk of holiday gift purchases happen online. If you’re shipping pre-wrapped gifts through the post, many of your clients are expecting that their gifts will come wrapped right out of the shipping box. Pre-tied elastic bows are really the gift packaging choice for any high-end gift that needs to be shipped because the elastic holds the gift securely in place while also looking great under the tree.

Pre-Tied Elastic Bows for Eco-Conscious Marketing

Today’s consumers expect to reduce, reuse and recycle just about anything they can. Pre-tied elastic bows fit this growing paradigm perfectly. High-quality satin pre-tied elastic bows can be saved and reused from year to year, which is something your clients will appreciate.

Pre-Tied Elastic Bows Fit Your Merchandising Needs

Whether you’re marketing and packaging chocolates, cosmetics, jewelry, or a host of other small, special gifts, you can get thin elastic stretch bows or elastic loops with bows in exactly the color that fits your marketing and branding program. These stretchy bows look great on any package and makes it easy and fast for employees doing the packaging, saving them time to focus on a more personalized customer service relationship.

Make holiday merchandising easier and more elegant at the same time this year with shiny, pre-tied elastic bows. They add elegant bling easily to all sorts of packaging options. Contact Elastic Connections today by reaching out to us at 847-426-6830.

Elegant, Easy Merchandising with Twisted Cord

The holidays are approaching, and you merchandisers and marketers know what that means: finding elegant, cost-effective, hassle-free packaging that sets your product apart from its shelf neighbors. In fact, the holiday shoppers you’re trying to attract aren’t all that different from you. Everyone wants stunning packaging without time-consuming wrapping during a season when nobody has extra time. So we suggest gift bags with a twisted cord cinch! It’s the perfect packaging for many gifts. Two such potential merchandising/packaging options include:

Opaque satin with twisted cord—The colored twisted rayon cord can match or complement the branding, color and merchandising requirements. This is a win-win for the customer and the shop: The gift, whether it’s jewelry, perfume, spirits, electronics, pre-packaged chocolates, etc. is elegantly concealed within the pouch. The customer saves time and headaches with wrapping and the store employees save time so they can serve more customers efficiently.
Organza pouch with twisted cord cinch—If the product is on display in the store, a translucent pouch with a twisted cord cinch is a beautiful and convenient option. The organza is shiny and eye catching and can easily be incorporated into the display theme to attract customer attention. This is a great option for high-end personal care products, perfume, glass-bottled beverages and some gourmet foods.

Aside from product merchandising, if your company manufactures gift wrapping to be sold to consumers, mass producing gift pouches that can be cinched together with twisted cord is an excellent sell. Many consumers don’t have time to wait in line for someone to wrap their gifts, don’t want to, or simply don’t have the time to wrap them at home; they still want a beautiful option for presenting their gifts, however. Gift pouches fill this market need.

Elastic Connections has elegant twisted rayon cord that fits the cinching needs of gift pouches perfectly. Contact us about color and width options today at 847-426-6830.

Attention Hair Accessory Manufacturers: Stock Up On Bulk Elastic Now!

Dear hair accessory manufacturers,

We’re sure you’ve heard the news from Paris, London, Milan and New York by now that plain, old naked hair is out. No matter what length the ladies are wearing it this season, hair accessories are the latest IT thing. So you will need to stock up on spools of elastic thread in bulk so you can get some amazing hair adornments to market ASAP. The top three trends this season include:

Stretchy Headbands—No two coifs or noggins are alike, so if you are manufacturing blingy headbands for market, knitted elastic to make them stretchy and comfortable is going to be essential. The top fashion houses are displaying a lovely assortment of bejeweled, floral, sparkly and minimalist satin stretchy headbands to keep hair up and out of the eyes.
Stretchy Hair Bows—If it’s not a band, it’s a bow; and it’s being worn in creative new ways to spark the imagination. Some bows stretch across the entire coif in a dramatic sweep that can clearly only be accomplished with elastic thread to hold the design. Still others use elastic to attach bows to a variety of styles that bring color and bling to every woman’s head.
Wild Adornments—This season, there is an “anything goes” feel to the hair on the catwalks. We’ve seen everything from wild floral and patterned head scarves with a distinct gypsy flair to shiny elastic ribbons woven into a variety of braids, buns and twists. Sparkles, leather, floral, feathers, beaded and bejeweled elements are all on display, and it’s a lot of fun!

2016 Trends in Elastic Hair Accessories

So if you’re a hair accessory manufacturer and you need to get some hair bling to market this season, contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830. We can recommend anything from spooled elastic ranging from 0.5 mm to 2.4 mm or larger, including stretch satin and stretchy rayon cord and so much more!

Hang Tag Design Trends

The hang tag is hot in merchandising across many consumer markets right now. Everyone from clothing designers and chocolatiers to condiment makers and high-end cosmetics and personal care products merchandisers are going in for highly-customized, brand-awareness-boosting hang tags, attached to the product with hang tag elastic. Some of the designs are so great, consumers use them as bookmarks, elastic loops and all, once the product is unwrapped. Here are some of the hottest trends in elastic hang tag design now:

Die-Cut—Not just square or rectangle… it could be the shape of a bird, a flower, a moon, a retro luggage tag or anything else; whatever speaks to your brand message. All it needs is a hole at the top for the elastic thread to loop through and attach to the product.
Typography—It used to be just a way to convey essential information, but now fonts are as much a part of the design as the color, shape or other graphics. Many merchandisers are opting to have their own fonts designed to completely set their brand apart from the Helvetica-using crowd and convey uniqueness.
Elastic Loop Attachment—Elastic hang tag attachments are as much about form as they are about function, and designers today (as well as consumers) love when the two go hand-in-hand, as they do with elastic cord. From metallic, colored elastic cord (for high-end products) to matte elastic cord (for products broadcasting their “natural” connection), elastic cord makes attaching hang tags to product so much easier and stylish than other potential fasteners.
Retro is Forever—Graphic designers are decade-hopping more than ever. The psychedelic 60s never seems to get old, not to mention turn-of-the-century “antique-ness.” Designers are even bringing back the bold colors of the 80s and 90s as well. It all depends on your branding strategy.

If you’ve got a big hang tag product merchandising project, contact Elastic Connections at 847-426-6830 to discuss the best elastic cord for your tags.

Elastic for Surgical Mask Manufacturing

There is an increasing demand for surgical masks around the world. In fact, the U.S. government is concerned right now that there aren’t enough domestic surgical mask manufacturers to meet a potential demand in case there is a pandemic of some kind. Although most of the Ebola epidemic happened an ocean away—and surgical masks are just one piece of the entire protective gear needed for that particular pathogen—there is a clear need for surgical mask manufacturers to stock up on the elastic that go on the masks.

There are several styles of masks used across the medical field (including family practice, hospitals, dental offices, laboratories, EMS, etc.) for the purpose of preventing the spread of airborne pathogens or contaminants. In addition to medical usage, masks made for the medical field are also being used as protection against dust and pollution by people world-wide. There are three key essentials to consider when procuring bulk elastic cord for surgical mask manufacturing:

Comfort—Medical personnel, emergency workers and people who need to protect themselves from dust and pollution need masks that have comfortable, fabric-covered elastic loops that do not chafe around the head, ears or twist in the hair.
Durability—While surgical masks used in hospitals or other medical facilities are often one-time-use items, the elastic still needs to be heavy-duty for long-term wear. Emergency workers protecting their mouths and noses from dust and pollution especially need durability for difficult conditions.
Effectiveness—Also, the cords needs to maintain their elasticity without overstretching so the mask maintains its protectiveness.

Typically, a thicker, fabric-covered elastic cord loops through the mask material so the wearer can quickly attach the mask over the face by securing the elastic cord behind the ears. Therefore, soft, but durable polyester elastic cord is needed in mask manufacturing. Elastic Connections has several options for thick, soft elastic cord that is perfect for surgical mask production. Contact us for details at 847-426-6830.