Blog posts tagged with 'event venues'

Stainless steel cutlery is a staple to any stand-alone restaurant, restaurant in a hotel, or golf course, banquet hall or party rental that deals in tabletop supplies. There are three main types of stainless steel cutlery that exists in the market – 18/10 stainless steel cutlery, 18/8 stainless steel cutlery and 18/0 stainless steel cutlery. The “18” number refers to the percentage of Chromium in the stainless steel flatware. Chromium is a strong durable metal that gives cutlery its hardness. The “10” or “0” number is the percentage of nickel in the flatware. Nickel gives the cutlery corrosion resistant properties, is very expensive and gives cutlery its shine and luster. The nickel helps stainless steel cutlery mimic the shine silver plated cutlery possesses. We’ve written about the difference between 18/10 and 18/0 cutlery so this post delves more into what pros and cons 18/0 stainless steel cutlery has – and which style of restaurants tend to favour 18/0 cutlery.

Pros of 18/0 Stainless Steel Cutlery:

• Less expensive then 18/10 cutlery because lack of nickel content
• Still possesses durability for everyday use
• Dishwasher safe

Cons of 18/0 Stainless Steel Cutlery:

• Can rust more quickly due to lack of high nickel content
• Doesn’t have the same high polish shine that fine dining restaurants would look for
• Can stain more easily due to lack of high nickel content

For casual restaurants or high volume events / restaurants, choosing an 18/0 cutlery will work well with its soft sheen and economic value. It will allow you to wash them in the dishwasher multiple times a day, while allowing you to keep your costs down when they accidently get thrown in the garbage! Higher end fine dining restaurants or rental companies who service a luxury clientele will be happier with 18/10 flatware for its high shine and stain resistance. That being said we corrosion-test all our cutlery over a 3 day process and have chosen a supplier who provides 18/0 cutlery that didn’t rust during our in-house testing.

https://www.theknot.com/

Gold Chiavari chairs are the hottest event chair this season. We haven’t been able to keep them in stock and have had a solid list of back orders practically the entire year. With the season slowing down a bit I thought it made sense to write a post showcasing the pros and cons of gold resin Chiavari chairs versus gold wood Chiavari chairs. We’re anticipating gold Chiavari chairs will still be popular into 2017 so this post will give businesses who haven’t purchased gold Chiavari chairs yet, the chance to review which chair best suits their business needs. Read on for the comparison.

Gold Resin Chiavari Chairs

Pros:

• 4mm thick resin and 1mm thick hollow steel frame support (ours has a steel frame to provide additional support and durability – not all Gold Resin Chiavari’s do though)
• Seams are virtually invisible
• Resin at the core is a similar colour to the gold coating colour and because of that does not show scratches as easily as wood or aluminum (i.e. gold high gloss finish when scratched would show a gold toned core)
• Solid resin seat allowing for easy change out of cushions
• 2 horizontal chair rails similar to the traditional Chiavari chair look
• Resin Chiavari chairs can hold over 1000lbs making them an extremely strong chair
• Resin less likely to succumb to water damage if accidently left out to the elements

Cons:

• Generally more expensive than a wood or aluminum Chiavari chair – but also tend to last longer
• Cannot be re-painted or re-stained as easily as a wood Chiavari
• Chairs weigh 13lbs each – tend to weigh more than wood or aluminum – especially if there’s a steel core frame
• Not all resin Chiavari chairs are the same chair – which leads to confusion in the marketplace

Gold Wood Chiavari Chairs

Pros:

• The authentic Chiavari Chair – over 200 years old – has always been wood
• Gold Wood Chiavari Chairs have a matte finish which some companies really like
• Wood Chiavari chairs are easier to re-finish
• Weigh less than a resin Chiavari chair
• Less expensive chair than a resin Chiavari chair
• Costs can be reduced further with knocked down unassembled wood Chiavari chairs

Cons:

• Gold Wood Chiavari Chair shows a natural wood colour when it chips or scratches
• Knocked down unassembled gold wood Chiavari chairs need their screws tightened often
• Knocked down unassembled gold wood Chiavari chairs can be less sturdy / strong if proper care isn’t taken to ensure the screws and bolts are fastened.
• Wood Chiavari Chairs often need their paint touched up after events
• Can succumb to water damage if left outside for prolonged periods of time

The most popular type of event chair we sell has always been the white resin folding chair. It has such a classic style and is an elegant, stylish and affordable alternative to a more expensive chiavari chair. Because of this, party rental companies, event venues, and golf courses buy thousands every year to appease special event coordinators and brides. Because of this classic event chair silhouette, I thought it made sense to provide an honest comparison between a white wood folding chair versus a white resin folding chair. This will let you decide what folding chair you feel makes the most sense for your business – while providing a transparent look at the pros and cons of each kind of chair.

Below is a detailed comparison of the resin vs wood folding chair.

White Resin Folding Chairs

Pros:

• During informal stress tests, breaks at 748lbs of weight
• Stackable when folded flat and locks in place to other chairs – requiring no additional straps
• Doesn't show scratches due to resin being same colour throughout chair
• Low maintenance cost
• Screw covers are replaceable
• Screw covers flush with resin
• Seat is replaceable

Cons:

• Higher initial cost to purchase
• Slightly heavier in weight 9.9lbs
• Can yellow with age
• Harder to repair – more likely to have to replace

White Wood Folding Chairs

Pros:

• Lower initial cost to purchase
• Slightly lighter in weight 9.1 lbs
• Stackable when folded flat
• Seat is replaceable should it be stained or ripped
• Easy to repair as wood can be sanded and re-painted

Cons:

• Shows scratches easily when the wood is painted as wood interior is light
• Need to be secured with bungee cords or ratchet tie down straps as wood folding chairs don’t lock together when stacked and will move unless secured
• Screw covers are not replaceable
• Screw covers are not flush with wood
• Higher maintenance costs associated (wood needs to be sanded and repainted or re-stained to properly maintain)

Each folding chair has plenty of fans and has widespread penetration into the special events market. Whichever chair you decide upon will be a popular chair for your rental inventory or will provide you with lots of event business. Hopefully this comparison post will give you the information you need to make the decision that’s right for you and your business.

We brought in cross back chairs earlier this spring and then a new colour of cross back chairs at the beginning of this month. They’ve been a great seller for us already and with the trend certainly not slowing down we wanted to find a way to ensure these wood event chairs were protected when stored and transported by rental companies. We’ve also been getting a lot of questions about where to buy cross back chair storage covers so we originally wrote a blog post to address that.

I’m pleased to announce that coming late-November 2016 is Crossback Chair Storage Covers to our Mississauga warehouse.

These storage covers will help ensure the cross-back chairs can be stored in a warehouse without getting dirty or dusty – and help ensure they don’t get scratched up when they are stored or stacked. They’re made of the same fabric as the chiavari chair covers.

At this point I don’t have information on the sell price for these covers but as soon as we get the shipment in, I will be posting another post letting you all know first!

Every once in a while we get requests for differently shaped folding tables – above and beyond rectangle or square. We stock serpentine folding tables in both wood and plastic, as well as half-moon tables in wood. We’ve also started getting into non-standard sizes for rounds and rectangles – including 8ft x 36” tables, 8ft x 42” tables, 7ft rounds, 8ft rounds and 8ft ovals. Most of these are custom order products right now but that can always change – and you’ll be the first to know! In the past we had 5ft square wood folding tables but when we switched to a more reliable, higher quality wood folding table manufacturer, we didn’t have the ability to manufacture 5ft square wood folding tables.

It has been almost 7 years since the switch and our manufacturer has grown into the ability to make just about any wood folding table we can think of. Because of this, I’m pleased to announce that now back in stock is 5ft square wood folding tables.

Made of clear coated ¾ inch thick plywood and feature supports that form a box on the underside of the table. Because of this support structure, the tables will not bend or warp under the heaviest of loads.

Additional Details:

• 60 inches long x 60 inches wide
• Edging is t-shaped black vinyl
• Bolt-through construction to secure rails and folding legs to ensure strength and durability
• Wishbone-style leg design
• 18 Gauge grey powder-coated steel legs
• Snap lock legs to secure legs in an open position