Incredible India, is what it is often referred to as. As Ideoli expands globally, we want to share our experiences along the way. We started doing business in Bangalore, India – the capital city of the state of Karnataka. With a population of 10,000,000 people, this multi-cultural city is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India and has one of the most highly-educated workforces in India. Experience the culture, make sure to try the local cuisine and take the local rickshaw as well – you will thank us for it! Until next time…
New York City is pretty damn awesome… so are all of our partners and friends that came by to experience Ideoli’s premiere reveal show. Much respect! Missed us this time? Don’t worry, we will be coming to a city near you… very soon. Ideoli took over a progressive studio in the heart of the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City. We opened our doors to our friends, partners and clients to come and experience what we do and how we do it – lighting, furnishing and showcase products.
At Ideoli, each and every product we design and produce, goes through vigorous testing. We develop, produce and ship a lot of furniture elements for domestic and international markets. Each and every piece of furniture goes through this testing process. Our chairs are tested up-to 400 pounds, which is just enough for your average sumo wrestler. We work exclusively with the world’s meanest sumo wrestlers to test our products. It’s one of the many things we do at Ideoli to go the extra mile.
At Ideoli, we believe that we are not only defined by our successes, but by how well we address hurdles along the way. That is why we like to share with you our responsiveness stories. One day, we received a call from a client that just received thousands of products from us for a large national rollout for their client. They were very annoyed and were in a tough situation. The shipment was being delivered during a series of Hurricanes rocking the south of the country and the freight company ended up rerouting our shipments and damaging them along the way. Not good. Although the freight company’s fault, we knew we had to resolve immediately for our client. So we sent our best and brightest down to the client’s warehouse to address the situation. The freight company had dropped several pallets off the truck in transit, causing a mess. Ideoli quickly assessed and addressed the situation, coming up with a targeted game plan. We coordinated testing of all products on site… replacing defective product and damaged packaging with new ones, and removing the damaged materials. The client was able to complete their shipments immediately, making them extremely happy with how we resolved the situation. Ideoli received the first call on Tuesday and had everything resolved by the same Friday. Problems are inevitable. The way Ideoli addresses them with a sense of urgency is what sets us apart. The client and Ideoli lived happily ever after… the end.
We know it can be a challenge to get your day going sometimes. We are all human and sometimes need a little motivation. In this edition of our MONDAY DANCE MOVES series, we are featuring a very famous dance move from a global hit! George (CEO & Co-Founder, Ideoli) – Chris, you ready to perform Gangnam Style by Psy? Chris (COO & Co-Founder, Ideoli) – G, you know it.Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam styleOppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam styleOppa is Gangnam styleEh – Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam styleEh – Sexy Lady oh oh oh ohNailed it, boys. Absolutely nailed it!
At Ideoli, we are passionate about the brand we are building and what it stands for. “We’re on site at the factory right now. It’s pretty remarkable what’s going on behind me,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. The products we make can take several months from concept to market, and the packaging we place them in often takes just as long to develop. “We’re producing over 20,000 units of our new LED lighting fixture. Here’s the packaging. Absolutely top notch,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. Marketing is not a gimmick, it’s what we use to express who we are and the products we make so well. We are extremely proud of what we are bringing to market and the packaging that will represent the product. Stay tuned for more developments.
Have you ever visited Japan? If so, then you know what the craze is with their Cherry Blossom season. If you have never been, then let us try to paint a beautiful picture for you. It’s when the entire country is littered with the most stunning trees and colors. In Japan, the appearance of cherry blossoms, known as sakura signals the beginning of spring. The arrival of these flowers is an annual event so significant, that there are forecasts pinpointing exactly when and where the flowers are expected to bloom. Ideoli experienced this firsthand and we can tell you, it is a must see.
Numbers. It’s all about the numbers. Whether we are designing, manufacturing or selling – it all comes down to the numbers. On a recent order for an international client, we had a massive production run of a custom LED light fixture that required thousands of feet of electrical cord. How much cord exactly you ask? 800,000 feet of electrical cord, to be exact. 800,000 FEET!!! Do you even realize how much cord that really is? Well, to put it in perspective… that’s roughly… enough cord to stretch from New York to Philadelphia, and back! Enough cord to wrap around a New York City bus 32,000 times. Enough cord to have 134,000 kids play a game of skipping simultaneously! Enough cord to stretch all the way to the Earth’s stratosphere and back, two times! Holy shit, that is a lot of electrical cord for just a single order, right?
Ideoli has established a strong manufacturing footprint in key markets around the world. Our typical cross-the-world trip includes overseeing 20+ production runs in just about four days. “Just got off a 14 hour flight and we are in the city of Shanghai. We have in town meetings at our office here and then with a client. Then off to our factory to oversee production that we have going on,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. Today we are on site at our factory to give you a glimpse into our manufacturing capabilities of custom light fixtures and furniture.These custom light fixtures and furniture are for international retail, restaurant and commercial clients. “Shanghai is a second home to me and Ideoli. We do a lot of our business here and we’ve established our Asian footprint here, primarily in the Shanghai area,” says George. At Ideoli, we are involved with every step of the process. “We have full production lines going on non-stop, 6 days a week, producing several thousand units a day. So were excited with what’s going on. We have full-time coverage over here with our local team and US presence,” says George. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in a few days! At Ideoli, we strive to connect globally. We’re off to our next location!
We are such a connected company with partners located in all parts of the world. To make sure we win business and service our partners, we are on an airplane, daily… traveling to the wildest destinations possible. We thought it might be useful to share some flight advice with our community… so next time you hit the skies, use our tips! “When I go to a new market and it’s international and I’m only there for 48 hours or 36 hours and then I’m back on a plane; I stay away from coffee even though I need it. Your biological clock doesn’t know and coffee is not a good mix so I try to stay away from coffee when I’m travelling.” “Probably the biggest thing I found is make sure you bring your own food and drink on the plane. Last thing you want to be doing is, when you only got two days in Southeast Asia, you don’t want to spend that time on the toilet. Very important to bring your own food and drink.” “Do us all a favor and pack your hygiene kit in your carry on. That would mean including your toothbrush, change of underwear, change of clothing if you need it. Whatever it is that makes you feel comfortable so when you land you’re fresh.” “One of my travel tips is to avoid sitting in the middle of a plane so you don’t have to fight two guys for an armrest.” “When I travel I always try to travel light, not carry excess stuff. I always have my MP3 music with me and always have a book or something to read.” There you have it… and you’re welcome! Up up and away!
The USA is a large country, but is it large enough to visit 10 cities in just 5 days? Not at all! We trekked across this glorious country to film Ideoli’s products in action! The trip started in New York and ended in Los Angeles – with several stops along the way. Including Baltimore, Maryland, Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. From our LED lighting products, to our custom decorative light fixtures, to our quality furnishings, we sent our uber-talented Production Magician, Kosta, across the country with a camera and coffee in hand. Then we headed west to Denver, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, Nevada to bring you a glimpse of our custom end-to-end chandelier and LED lighting fixtures. Next up, a not so sunny Los Angeles and San Diego, California featuring our round glass LED fixtures, custom furnishings and LED backlit mirrors. Then back East to Stamford, Connecticut to experience our dome-shaped lighting pendants. We are so focused on global expansion; it is great to experience what we are doing right here in our backyard. At Ideoli, we bring ideas to reality and aim to connect both on a national and global level. We traveled almost 10,000 miles in just five days! Where will we go next? Stay connected with #ideoli online at ideoli.com and on all our social media platforms.
Ideoli’s co-founders George Stroumboulis, CEO, and Chris Hartswick, CPO, have a big day. On a weekly basis, we are getting in front of new and existing clients. Some big brands… and others even bigger. Preparing for the meetings takes several weeks at a time, so it goes without saying that we are very passionate about these opportunities. We’re meeting with a client to go over several prototypes that we developed from a design standpoint to outfit their retail and office spaces. “We want to take you on this journey with our team from start to finish. Today is basically our version of the Super Bowl,” says George. For us to get in front of the client, it’s the type of day we look forward to on every scale. It’s exciting to be walking the streets of New York with our custom decorative lighting samples in hand. When we go to different renderings, when we’re making our spec sheets, when we’re showing the client throughout the process our entire design and intent, it works out great. Presentation is so important: Kathleen Keane, our Marketing Manager, says, “I’m a stickler for details and making sure that everything looks great. We always say that the packaging holding the products needs to be as exciting as the product itself.” We work with razor sharp focus on our appearance and volume in our presentations. It pays off when we see our clients excited about our products and working with Ideoli. How did the meeting go today, Chris? “Any time we can actually get in front of the customer and show them our product, show them what we can deliver, the quality and the timing, everything. It’s so much better just having everybody in that room.” says Chris. Join us on our next client presentation adventure.