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Spring shipments continue to arrive at National Event Supply. Recently we took delivery of a container of porcelain from our factory. In addition to the Quadrato Dessert Plates, the 10 inch and 12 inch Risotto Bowls, and several sizes of rectangular platters, we took delivery of 6 new pieces of porcelain that we’ve been eagerly awaiting since January of this year.

H3951 Hotelier Sugar Bowl with Lid	H3950 Hotelier Creamer

The last time we ordered porcelain, we added coffee mugs, espresso cups, and cappuccino bowls to our Hotelier line. It was only after we took delivery of the new coffee stuff that we realised that if we’re going to carry coffee and tea things, then maybe we should also carry sugar bowls and creamers. With this shipment, we’ve rectified our oversight and have added a 10oz Creamer and an 8oz Sugar Bowl with lid. As you can see below, both items match the styling and colour of our Hotelier line and would be perfect for use in restaurants or at events with family style dining. Both the Hotelier Creamer (SKU: H3950) and the Hotelier Sugar Bowl with Lid (SKU: H3951) are introductorily priced at $6.95/ea.

A1220 Quad Divided Bowl	A1229 Trio Plate

We’ve been selling our Trio Bowl (SKU: A1330) for over three years now and have caterers and rental customers rave over the design. We’ve also been asked if we could get bowls with four slightly larger compartments, and for small porcelain platters with divisions. It’s taken a little while, but we've finally received porcelain pieces that will meet our customers needs. The first item is our new Quad Divided Bowl (SKU: A1220). It features 4 individual sections, each of which holds 4oz. The other new multi-segment item is our new Trio Platter (SKU: A1229). It is a three section platter, each of which is 3.5 inches square. We are happy to introduce the Quad Divided Bowl at the price of $11.75/ea and the Trio Platter at $6.50/ea.

A0319 Porcelain Tasting Spoon	A1164 Wide Rim Bowl

The last two new items that we're introducing today are our new Porcelain Tasting Spoon (SKU: A0319) and our new Wide Rim Bowl (SKU: 1164). The new porcelain tasting spoon is designed for individual appetizers or amuse bouche. They are just big enough to hold a bite-sized morsel of goodness, and they're intriguing shape will undoubtedly make the an item that your customers will talk about. The Wide Rim Bowl is perfect for serving chips with some sort of dip at a table, or a small appetizer. It holds 6oz, and is 11.25 inches wide. We will be introducing the Porcelain Tasting Spoon to the market for $0.60/ea and the Wide Rim Bowl for $9.95/ea.

April has been a month of highs and lows—with April Fools bringing everyone a little laughter and the horrendous disaster in Boston reminding us to hug our loved ones a little tighter. Here’s hoping we see some May flowers ahead! Here at National Event Supply we brought in a new variation of our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chair—a Black on Grey combination. We also brought in more stock of our White Resin Folding Chairs, a staple for spring and summer events as well as introduced a new NES Natural Wood Folding Chair—just like our white resin folding chairs in style. We’ve been ramping up our stock for the busy season and the industry seems to have been doing the same! Here’s the round up of the best articles from around the blogosphere.

This may seem counterintuitive but Inc Magazine wrote an article on doing more business with fewer salespeople. Their reasoning? There are few really good salespeople, and most people hate to sell. To read more about their reasoning and how to make your sales department suck less read the article here.

With event budgets finally making a comeback, Special Events Magazine talked with four event planners providing entertainment for events to hear the top trends in event entertainment. To learn more about the hits and flops and how the improving US economy is leading to bigger and better budgets, read the article here.

With ordering tap water at full service restaurants up 8% since 2007, innovating against the beverage portfolio to attract customers in the hyper-competitive Canadian market could mean the difference between sinking and swimming. To learn more about some of the beverage options getting the most attention and additional opportunities to grow your restaurant read the article here.

Finding marketing tactics that you can employ in the next 24 hours to improve your marketing for the long haul is no easy task. Most campaigns take time to build, test and measure. Hubspot did all the hard work for us – bringing best in class experts for their input and expertise that you can employ within a workday to help attract, convert, engage and delight more prospects, leads and customers. To learn more (and really who wouldn’t want to learn more?!) check out the blog post.

Pinterest has become a pivotal and important source of inspiration for more occupations than I can name in one blog post. Event managers / planners and party rental companies are no exception to this. Event Manager blog compiled the 20+ must follow Pinterest boards for event professionals highlighting trends, technology, social media, event décor, speaker selection, food trends and more. Check out the blog post and boards for more inspiration.

It's hard to believe, but 2013 is now 1/3 over. All across Canada, snow is melting, grass is growing, trees are budding, and everyone is getting ready for the busy summer season. We're in the middle of our busy spring season. New products and stock are arriving every week and orders are going out our doors just as fast. Although we try to keep things in stock, sometimes we run out of chairs in a certain colour, or we run low on tables. It's always better to get your orders in early to avoid disappointing your customers.

Return of the PST

For the past 30 days we've been adjusting to the dissolution of the HST in BC and the return of the PST. In the past, we haven't had facilities in BC and didn't have to worry about collecting the PST. Now that we have a warehouse in Vancouver, we need to charge our BC customers the GST and the PST. However, you purchases may be PST exempt under the BC tax code. If you are PST exempt, just let our sales staff know. If you provide your BC Tax ID, we can set you up in our systems so that you only pay the GST. If you have any questions about the PST exemption, please don't hesitate to ask.

New in Vancouver

In the past two weeks, a couple of containers have arrived at our Vancouver warehouse. We were happy to receive the first container as it replenished our stock of White Resin Folding Chairs. We've been selling this chair for over five years, and every year we've set sales records. It's always incredibly difficult to keep White Resin Folding Chairs in stock in spring, and this year is no different.

We also received a new variation of our always popular NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chair— Wedding White on White. We've had numerous requests for the Wedding White chairs over the past few months, and we've finally been able to bring them in. These chairs are a brighter white, similar to the colour of the White Resin Folding Chairs as opposed to the cream colour of our existing white on white chairs. The Wedding White on White NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chairs are currently in stock in Vancouver and will be available in our Toronto Warehouse in early May.

Earlier this spring, we introduced our brand new Mahogany Resin Folding Chair. It’s a gorgeous chair with a removable black vinyl padded seat, and deep reddish brown frame. It commands your attention in a way that our white or black resin folding chairs don’t. But make no mistake, it’s as strong as its white and black counterparts. But the Mahogany Resin Folding Chair was not the only chair that we hoped to introduce this spring.

For some time now, we have been looking for a natural wood coloured resin folding chair. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to create a beautiful looking natural wood colour chair in resin. The colours just don’t look right, and it can end up looking tacky and not up to our demanding standards. But our customers were demanding a Natural Wood Coloured Folding Chair, and so we decided that the only thing to do was to go and find a Natural Wood Folding Chair. It took a little time to find one we liked, but early last winter we found one.