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How has everyone’s March been? It looks like we’re finally getting into Spring weather in Toronto after what feels like a very long winter. Here at National Event Supply we’ve been kicking it into high gear bringing in a wider range of wood folding tables, new amuse bouche spoons and forks, launched a new website that added smartphone capabilities, French translations, and easier access for event and party rental planners on the go, celebrated 100 blog posts, and exhibited at 3 tradeshows including the CRFA Show, the 2013 CRA Prairie Regional Trade Show and the 2013 Quebexpo. We’re not the only ones getting ready for summer—it looks like the blogosphere and event publications are also gearing up for the summer months. So let’s check some of the best posts out.

Special Events Magazine polled some of the top furniture rental companies across the United States to learn more about the types of furniture styles that seem to be flying out of rental warehouses today. To learn more, check out the article Top Trends in Event Furniture Rental.

The CRFA polled 350 professional chefs to identify what’s hot in the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s fourth annual Canadian Chef Survey. The full survey results detail the top 10 up and comer menu items for 2013, and the top 10 menu trends consumers will see in restaurants this year. To see the entire results document and view the top 10s, read CFRA’s 2013 Chef Survey Shows Variety is the Trend in Canada’s Restaurants.

Getting more Facebook likes is definitely something you should be striving for, but getting Facebook shares is even better—because a share means your content is being passed around social networks and creating buzz for your business. Facebook marketing expert Mari Smith, along with Shortstack created an infographic on the 14 ways to boost your content’s visibility and viral sharing on Facebook. Get all the tips by viewing the infographic.

RestaurantCentral.ca published a wonderful article on how even the best corporate strategy can and will fall short of its objectives if management poorly implements operational activities. To learn more about how the battle for competitive advantage can be won in the trenches, not the boardroom, check out the article Achieving a Competitive Edge Through Outstanding Operations.

With hiring new staff members on one of the many responsibilities business owners have, Inc Magazine reminds us of the 3 common red flags on resumes that we should be looking for when reviewing a potential hire. Check out the article to learn what those red flags are—3 Common Red Flags on Resumes.

Over the past few years we have seen increasing success with our NES Wood Folding Tables. As it is with most things, sales started slowly as people initially discovered that we had started stocking plywood folding tables. Sales continued increasing as people took a closer look at our product and discovered that we were selling a quality plywood table. As sales increased, we started getting requests from customers looking for plywood tables in other sizes. Up until recently, we were stocking 3/4" inch plywood folding tables in the following sizes in our Toronto, Vancouver, and Indianapolis warehouses:

• 4-ft Rectangular Banquet Tables (30 inches wide)
• 6-ft Rectangular Banquet Tables (30 inches wide)
• 6-ft Rectangular Banquet Tables (30 inches wide)
• 48 inch Round Tables
• 60 inch Round Tables
• 72 inch Round Tables

Now, just in time for the busy spring season, we are pleased to announce that we have added a wide range of new wood tables to our inventory. Effective immediately, we are proud to offer the following plywood tables to our customers:

• 8ft x 42 inch Folding Harvest Tables
• 8ft x 18 inch Folding Training Tables
• 60 inch Half Moon Folding Tables
• 5ft Serpentine Tables (5ft inner diameter; 10ft outer diameter)
• Bar Topper for 5ft Serpentine Tables (15 inches wide)

Just like all of our other plywood folding tables, our new tables feature 3/4 inch plywood that is up to 13 layers thick; grey, powder-coated, wishbone folding legs that are bolted through the tabletop for added durability; support rails bolted through the table top for added strength and PVC vinyl edging. Bull nosed aluminum edging is also available on a special order basis. With the exception of the 8ft Training tables, all items are available in both Vancouver and Toronto. The 8ft Training tables are currently only available in Toronto.

After taking a look at our new tables after they arrived, the new table that we’re most impressed with is our new 8ft x42 inch Folding Plywood Table. In some parts of the country this style of table is called a Harvest Table, but our tables are a durable plywood construction rather than a stressed oak construction. With 8ft Wood Banquet Tables, the 30 inch width can restrict the range of centerpieces that can be placed along the center of the tables by wedding and special event planners. The 42 inch width of our new folding tables allow for bigger centerpieces and makes family-style means more enjoyable. The additional width of the table requires that additional support is added. To that end we’ve boxes the supports on the underside of the table.

In addition to the round and rectangular tables that we are stocking in all three of our warehouses, we also stock bar-height tables in our Toronto warehouse. Otherwise known as cocktail, pedestal, or cruiser tables , these tables feature a ¾ inch plywood top, a long (or short) chrome pole, and a 4-legged pedestal style table base. Currently, we are stocking 24 inch, 30 inch, and 36 inch round tabletops and 24 inch, 30 inch and 36 inch square tabletops. The tables are available as a package including your choice of tabletop and your choice of chrome pole. In addition, the pieces of the table can be purchased individually to allow you greater flexibility.

I've written a few blogs about how spring was coming. How it was almost here. How it was time to get ready for spring. Well spring is here. We've had several customers start putting orders in for the tables and chairs to replenish and add to their inventories. We've had new party rental stores purchase White Resin Folding Chairs so that they can compete with existing rental companies who already have these popular chairs. Event Rental companies are looking at our Chiavari Chairs with their new lower pricing and choosing the colours that they think will rent.

But not everything has to be new. If you've invested in our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chairs, and some of the chair glides have gone missing, give us a call. We've got chair feet in grey, white, black, and tan available in whatever quantity you're interested in for just $0.20/ea. The chair glides are exactly the same chair feet used by our factory on new chairs, and are relatively easy to pop on or off. The chair glides are round, and will work with any chair which has legs that are .75 inches in diameter.

If you've had your NES Reliable White Resin Folding Chairs for a couple of years, the padded seats may have seen better days. If the chair frame is still in good shape, why not just replace the chair pad? At $5.00/ea, it's a relatively inexpensive way to refresh your existing inventory and you can use the money you would have spent on replacement chairs expanding your inventory in other areas. The chair pads come in black and white and are available individually.

On the Chiavari Chair side of things, we stock fabric and vinyl chair cushions with Velcro ties in black, white, and ivory. If your cushions are looking a little ragged, replacements can be had for $5.00/ea for the fabric cushions and $7.50/ea for the vinyl. Investing in an alternative colour of cushion can provide choices to your customers who are looking at your venue or thinking about renting chairs for their special event.

NES Reliable Round and Rectangular Tables are incredibly strong, but sometimes they need a little love. We have multiple sizes of round table feet available if yours are missing or if they've seen better days. We also have replacement table clips which hold the tables legs when they are folded up. Replacement table feet and table clips are available in whatever quantity you are looking for at a price of $0.35/ea.

Spring is all about renewal. Plants and animals that have been in hibernation or just eking out an existence waiting for the sun to come out and shine down are waking up and getting active. If you have any questions about how you can renew your inventories, or if you are interested in a quote for any of the products that I've listed, please don't hesitate to drop us a line.

Revamped website adds smartphone capabilities, French translations and easier access for event and party rental planners on the go.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Mississauga, ON) March 26 -National Event Supply, one of Canada’s leading suppliers to the party and event rental industry, today announced the re-launch of their website, with improved usability for mobile users, and complete French translations for their Francophone customers. The revamped site offers visitors from the hospitality, food service, party rental, and event rental sectors a fresh look that is more focused on users’ needs.

The redesigned website has a new user-friendly layout for touch-screen based devices like smartphones and tablets, enhanced product information and regularly updated content in the blog, and improved product pictures, in addition to a complete translation to French allowing for better service for their Francophone customers.

"Our goal is to keep our customers as up-to-date as possible, as well as to provide more efficient service to our clients,” said Dennis Heathcote, President of National Event Supply. “Our latest website improvements are significant because we have made the website fully accessible to Francophones across Canada, allowing those who are more comfortable dealing with commercial activities in French to more effectively utilize our online offerings."

Also added to National Event Supply’s technological snapshot are capabilities for smartphone apps allowing for enhanced website compatibility through easy-to-maneuver smart devices. This comes as great news for planners and event rental professionals who are always on the go.

“In this day and age, it’s important to place technology at the forefront of your strategic planning, and with the inclusion of a smartphone app and enhanced website, I think we’ve set a benchmark within our industry,” added Heathcote.

For more information and to view the new website, please visit: www.nationaleventsupply.com

About National Event Supply:

National Event Supply began as a home business retailing porcelain figurines in 1992. After expanding to provide commercial-quality products to the hospitality and food service sector, National Event Supply quickly became a one-stop shop for the party and event rental industry.

Today, National Event Supply is a leading factory-direct wholesaler to the party and event rental, food service, and hospitality industry, focused on growth through delivering quality products at great value with excellent customer service, technology, and beneficial relationships with our customers.

Canadian locations for National Event Supply include their main showroom and warehouse in Mississauga, as well as their warehouse facility in Vancouver. National Event Supply has also tapped into the American market with a location in Indianapolis.

Contact:

Chris Dabrowski, High Impact PR
Toll Free: (888) 864-7912

Although this isn’t the 100th blog post (it’s the 102nd), we wanted to mark the occasion of our 100th blog post. It’s been a little over 2 years since we revised the website and introduced our blog. During that time, we’ve introduced dozens of new products, travelled North America visiting trade shows from Vancouver to New Orleans and from Toronto to Las Vegas. All of which is incredible blogging material!

NEW PRODUCTS

Just recently, we’ve introduced our Mahogany Resin Folding Chair and our Polar White Dinnerware. Last fall, we added Wing Bowls and Wood Harvest Tables at the request of customers who had a need for these products. Last summer we began offering our new Crystal Stemware and Glass Stemware to great demand. The common denominator for all these products is that we introduced them in our blog before we managed to get individual product pages up. The blog is the perfect place get your first glance at our new Chiavari Chair Cart and our new amuse bouche fork and spoon.

In the future, we’ll continue introducing our new products on our blog. In addition, we’ll be providing information about our existing products, like our beautiful selection of Champagne Fountains, Chocolate Fountains, and Cupcake Stands. We’ll also be doing more videos showing how strong our products are by show just what it takes to destroy them.

NEW LANGUAGE

We teased a French version of our website about a month ago. Now we ready to launch it! We’re initially launching the product pages first, and we hope to add translated versions of blog articles within a day of the English language blog article being posted. The translation of the website is all due to the hard work of our French sales rep Stephanie Loiselle. She has put long hours into first translating the website and then fixing any errors I may have introduced pulling the pages together. Merci Beaucoup, Stephanie!