Jewelboxing - Super Jewel Box Packaging System

We thought it might be useful to document the process of starting an online business from scratch. Jim Coudal and Steve Delahoyde will periodically post here about issues involving our product and business plan. Hopefully things will go well but even if the whole thing goes down in flames, it’ll probably be interesting to watch.

A Successful Audition

Maybe it stems from some residual childhood memory of being at the dinner table, but we're firm believers of the "Try it, you'll like it!" mantra. Around Jewelboxing HQ, we try and keep to that mindset outside of just what lands on our plates, giving the benefit of the doubt to everything from that new web app everyone's talking about to seeing films we ordinarily wouldn't be watching. So we were happy to hear from Jon Hall, who had a similar, "Try it, you'll like it" experience with Jewelboxing. Here's from Jon:

"I'm a graphic designer from Pittsburgh, PA. I operate JDH Ideas, a small design firm that works with web, print, and logos specifically. I have been using the Jewelboxing package system for a while now and I can't believe how great they work. I'd been using old school, flat-black CD cases before and they were unsightly, flimsy, and generally just bad for business. I had a friend tell me about the Jewelboxing system, but I hesitated, thinking that the system was too good to be true. I finally ordered a pack, printed my CD, and never looked back at the old flimsy packages I had used before (well, actually, I use them as frisbees now). I really like how the packaging system gives my designs a permanent presence. It definitely ensures the materials don't go unnoticed. One of the things I like most about them is how they start up so much conversation; it's amazing. Everyone has been wowed by the design of the cases and so now I use them for all my new JDH Ideas clients, and for myself. They are just great for job hunting because they give you that extra edge that no one else has."

Thanks much to Jon for taking the plunge and becoming a Jewelboxing believer. And here's to hoping there are loads of new converts in Philadelphia, New York, Tulsa, Grandville, Wake Forest, Yardley, Palo Alto, Westlake Village, Aliso Viejo, Belton, Chicago, Washington DC, Sioux Falls, Venice, and Hong Kong.

Monday, June 23, 2008 | Permalink

Full-Time Perfectionists

If you're a musician or a filmmaker, you can maybe slip by on the design side of things by doing something simple, figuring that the Jewelboxing case alone will do enough initial impressing to encourage people to pop in the disc and get into whatever it is that your real bread-and-butter expertise is. But when you're V12 Studios, a full-service design firm that does a whole lot of everything, from print work to packaging design to any and all in between, not only does the included reel have to be sharp, but the Jewelboxing case itself has to be nothing short of perfect. Because, who knows, maybe after looking at the way V12 handled their reel, that client they're pitching to could turn around and decide they need to have their own project or product packaged up using Jewelboxing too. Kiran RajBhandary, the president of V12, was kind enough to drop us a line, letting us know why they decided to use our cases, and here's what he had to say:

"We looked for a system that was first and above all, of absolute total quality. When you sell creative services, the presentation of the work is a critical attribute. I found only one system that met our needs: Jewelboxing. Jewelboxing provides a presentation platform that allows not only for superb reproduction, but ease of use. We get inquiries worldwide, and having the ability to provide a visual and physically tangible example of our thinking and the quality we strive for quickly and with ease is of great benefit."

Thanks very much to Kiran and the crew at V12 for getting in touch with us and here's to hoping it's quality galore in Arlington, Evanston, Slidell, Kingsport, Newcastle, Lenexa, San Jose, Athens, Morton Grove, Fairfax, Altamonte Springs, Marietta, Dallas, Murphysboro, Hyde Park, Chicago, Seattle, Middletown, New York, Hamilton, Philadelphia, South Pasadena, Singapore, Virginia Beach, Kenosha, Savannah, Newton, Coral Gables, Brunswick and Brooklyn.

Monday, June 16, 2008 | Permalink

Getting to Know the Real Bryan Bedell

Not to sing our own praises too loudly, but usually around here it's us talking to Jewelboxing users about their projects or interviewing them for one of our Case Study features, not the other way around. But such was the case with our own Bryan Bedell who was recently interviewed by IT Enquirer about all things Jewelboxing, from what tool designers tend to work with on their projects to printing thousands of cases in bulk. Being as Bryan is our resident Jewelboxing printing expert, and just because he's a generally pleasant person, it's an interview well worth your time.

Thanks to IT Enquirer for their interest in what we're up to and here's hoping that the tough questions are being asked in Seattle, York, New York, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, Pleasant Grove, Columbia, Sunnyvale, Centreville, Portland, Napa, Boston, Farmington Hills, Palmyra, Liverpool, Palmerton, Herndon, Dallas, London, Detroit and Houston.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008 | Permalink

Past Preservation

It's always cool when you learn something new about a friend. You think you know them pretty well, but then they surprise you with something they've never mentioned before, like "I won the state archery championship in high school" or "I just finished writing my first novel. It's about bees, which I've been utterly fascinated by since childhood." Such was the case with our good friend Andrew Huff, who has not only been a web ally over at Gaper's Block, but has helped us over the years with projects of ours like Layer Tennis and The Show, as well as coming along with us on more than a couple of trips to the bar. But until recently, we didn't know about a project he'd used Jewelboxing for and once we'd heard all the details, we asked him if he wouldn't mind sharing them on the blog. He agreed and so here's the whole story from Andrew himself:

"At Christmas in 2001, I brought a mini-casette recorder out to my grandparents' house in Scottsdale, Arizona, to interview them about their youth. My grandmother was born in Italy and immigrated to the US when she was 8, passing through Ellis Island on her way to Chicago. My grandfather was born here, fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and came home to jobs ranging from running a small trucking firm to working for the City of Chicago's Recorder of Deeds to owning a nightclub. He was the single best storyteller I've ever known, and their life together was so rich that I wanted to make sure at least part of it was recorded for posterity.

"I recorded about three hours of tape that Christmas. In between stories of my grandparents' childhood in Chicago's Little Italy, their courtship and my grandfather's experiences in Guadal Canal and after, I also captured the rest of the family filling in details and asking questions. On one tape, my grandmother walks through the steps of making stuffed artichokes, and then we talk about life after marriage, the move from the Old Neighborhood, and grandpa's trucking company and the uniform company he drove for for 20 years.

"In 2003, I brought my recorder with me again. This time, it was to record my grandfather one more time: he was in the last stages of lung cancer, so it was one last opportunity to ask him questions. He told me about the bar he ran, and about the move to Arizona in the early '90s. Three weeks later, he passed away.

"The tapes sat in my office for several years, until my grandmother expressed interest in hearing them again. That spurred me to finally have them digitized. As I prepared the files for Grandma, I realized that the rest of the family would be interested in copies, too. So a grand Christmas present project was hatched.

"I knew right off the bat that I wanted to use Jewelboxing cases for the CDs. They're beautiful presentation pieces, and the custom templates allowed me to easily create nicely designed inserts for them. I scanned photos from my mother and my collection, produced layouts in Photoshop using the templates, and printed them up. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before Christmas to actually burn the CDs. Fortunately, I was able to print the CD labels and take them with me, burning the discs and slapping on labels while listening to the recordings with my grandmother.

"The four-CD set turned out beautifully, and fits perfectly on the shelf alongside DVDs and books. My family loved the gift, of course. I'm looking forward to repeating the project with my dad's side of the family this summer."

Thanks very much to Andrew and here's to hoping for a few surprises in Arlington, Austin, Cupertino, Orsay, Launceston, Lexington, Mountain View, Old Buckenham, Belfast, Wimbledon, Surbiton, Berkeley, Oslo, Guildford, Burbank, Chicago, Brooklyn, Montreal, Meerbusch, Great Neck, Richmond, Tonsberg, New York, Woburn, Elk Grove, London, Amsterdam, Seattle, Helsinki, Stockbridge, Bonita Springs, and Edmonton.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 | Permalink

Completely Complete Introducing The new Jewelboxing Studio