Can Anyone Help Me With Product Labeling?

[I Gotta Tell Ya]

Howdy, All. Thanks for the warm welcome from the mods. Looks like a nice group of people.

I run a small company that makes really high-end guitar picks. As crazy as it seems, our picks sell for $30-50 each -- and I can't make them fast enough.

We have been on the internet for four years now, and we only sell direct. Because we offer exclusive colors and materials, our business is strong, with sometimes as much as 50% of our monthly sales consisting of return or repeat customers.

As you can see, we have no branding or logos on our products. This will change in the coming year. I already have the design. This is a rough mock-up (I'm just now learning Photoshop), so the green will be brighter, less mustardy, more lime looking.

https://imgur.com/oh6vEef

We do everything in-house, and we have built our company entirely with sweat equity. I want to do the logo and labeling myself.

Would anyone have some insights to this, or tell me what resources I might find on the Internet to begin my research? I need something really durable because the logo goes right where a guitarist thumb will go, and I don't want something cheap that wears off in thirty days.

Thanks in advance for your insights and suggestions. Appreciate it very much.

IGTY

 

[matthewsx]

Um,

If you’re selling guitar picks for 50 bones I’d say you don’t need a logo

Welcome to the forum, we need a link for your company....

John

 

[I Gotta Tell Ya]

Um,

If you’re selling guitar picks for 50 bones I’d say you don’t need a logo

Welcome to the forum, we need a link for your company....

John

John, thanks for your response. On that first post I attempted about a half dozen times to paste the direct URL to my website, but I kept getting an error message saying the content was "unauthorized" or something. Any idea what's going on?

Thanks. Will respond at more length once I hear back from you on this.

Appreciate It,

IGTY

 

[matthewsx]

Since you’re new it probably won’t let you post links.

How about a picture of your shop?

 

[I Gotta Tell Ya]

Since you’re new it probably won’t let you post links.

How about a picture of your shop?

My shop has been our second kitchen. No kidding! My wife is not happy. We're in the process of remodeling our laundry room to move in there and will be all settled in a month or so.

One of the advantages of making a tiny product is you don't need a lot of space.

In the interim, perhaps this will suffice. Here's a live vid of me playing one of our products on a very fine Eastman guitar:

Our company is called Charmed Life Picks. A Google search will pick it right up.

Thanks,
IGTY

 

[Superburban]

A couple of random thoughts. Have you considered if the placement of a logo will detract from the sales? I assume you are only looking at placement on one side, but still think in some peoples minds, it might ruin the good looks.

Have you discussed with your material supplier, as to what would work good? I'm thinking a small silk screen setup, with the right ink would work good.

What about engraving? A small CNC engraver would leave a nice subtle logo, and a phone number, and/or website.

You do have some nice stuff.

store | charmedlife

www.charmedlifepicks.com

 

[I Gotta Tell Ya]

A couple of random thoughts. Have you considered if the placement of a logo will detract from the sales? I assume you are only looking at placement on one side, but still think in some peoples minds, it might ruin the good looks.

Have you discussed with your material supplier, as to what would work good? I'm thinking a small silk screen setup, with the right ink would work good.

What about engraving? A small CNC engraver would leave a nice subtle logo, and a phone number, and/or website.

You do have some nice stuff.

store | charmedlife

www.charmedlifepicks.com

Super, great ideas all the way around. Funny, I was thinking of silk screen as well. However, are there silk screen inks out there durable enough to hold up under wear and tear over a long period of time? I confess I'm largely ignorant of that world.

I absolutely will NOT do simple engraving. That's what all our competitors do. It's lame, passe, not unique, and represents cheapness. We are going full color. Also, everyone splashes their name all over their picks. No name on ours, no clutter, no chaos or crowding. Simple. Subtle. Understated. Elegant. Our products will only the logo on them -- and not that large -- as well as the thickness, in mms.

On the logo thing: A couple years ago I was stopped at a red light behind a Mercedes. I looked and realized cars don't have the brand name on them anymore, esp high-end cars. Even Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Lexus, Mazda don't have the logo anymore. So we want to brand the way Apple or Nike or other high-end brands do.

From a practical standpoint, there's another need to mark the pick face. We already have three or four picks in the same color and shape, but in different thicknesses. People have no idea what they're playing.

You may be right on no logo. So we're only going to roll this out on one or two models and see how it goes, not our full line-up. I'm willing to be proven wrong on this; my ego is not attached to being right or forcing something that doesn't work.

I kind of view us as early Porsche or Lotus -- just plain beauty and performance. But I do think we need the logo for branding and marketing.

Great thoughts, though, and we're mostly in agreement,

IGTY

 

[hman]

In the interim, perhaps this will suffice. Here's a live vid of me playing one of our products on a very fine Eastman guitar:

OK, not really on topic, but I love that song. Have recordings by Michael Peter Smith, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kingston Trio, Steve Goodman (2 versions), and Tom Russell in my iTunes.

Don't know much about branding or durability, but I'd think that some kind of light engraving (possibly laser engraving?) would probably last longer than printing (including silk screening). Of course, you'd have to do some research to verify that the engraving doesn't affect the flexibility of the pick, or (even worse) create weak spots where the plastic could crack.

 

[I Gotta Tell Ya]

Ah, so you're an old folkie too. Not too many of us left.

I am probably the biggest Steve Goodman fan on the planet. I was lucky to see him live several times, including one time with John Prine. It was Steve's version of "The Dutchman" that I first the song, and that's the one my version most closely resembles. "Sister Clarissa" is another amazing song. But yes, everyone of note has covered "The Dutchman."

A friend of mine in another business says possibly engraving and then a very thin layer of colored epoxy for the Shamrock. This is the beginning of a journey that will probably take a year or two to solve. My goal is to produce the most beautiful pick in the world and possibly win some industry design awards.

Great hearing from you,

IGTA

 

[Latinrascalrg1]

I dont even know how to properly hold a geetar so keep that in mind if my idea is off the planet.....Anyway i was thinking maybe engraving the outline of the shamrock then backfill just the outline with a rubber or silicone type material in the color you choose that maybe sits flush to just proud of the pick surface. It would add a grippy surface to held hold plus it would be more durable then a silkscreen logo because the color is not just on the surface and if when that rubber piece decides to detach itself you will still have the engraved surface remaining. So theres my 2 cents, I know it kinda sounds a bit overboad maybe but then again I had no clue a brand new pick could cost $50 either!