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Sometimes the office just doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to get to know clients better or participate in team-building exercises. By trying something a little unorthodox and adventurous outside the four walls of an office, you can build bonds while having fun. We took our clients out to the Mojave Desert around Las Vegas to ride some ATVs and do some team building. Starting off the new year in January, our Co-Founders, George Stroumboulis and Chris Hartswick, wanted to try something a little different to bond with our clients and strengthen our team. Even though Ideoli takes its relationships with clients very seriously in terms of designing and manufacturing quality fixtures, furnishings and lighting products, we also think it’s important to have fun. So after a night of enjoying drinks in Las Vegas, about a dozen of us headed into the Mojave Desert the next day to ride ATVs. Amid amazing scenery, we let it all out and had a blast. We’re passionate about everything we do with clients– including having fun with them! 

Connectivity has made the world a smaller place— as you can now do once unimaginable things such as ordering products from the other side of the world with the click of a button. Yet, for this to work, there must be reliability on the other side of that transaction. Even though it is easier and quicker than ever to interact with potential suppliers in international markets, there are some risks that should not be overlooked. Some companies think they can get by when they find cheap suppliers online that will sell directly to them, but too often this leads to getting burned on quality, lead times and warranties. “In reality, you need the right partner, using the right people, doing the right engineering, the right processing, using the right material to make the right product,” says Mark, who works in Ideoli’s Asia office. Because Ideoli has on-the-ground operations and partners in China, we can confidently deliver what our clients are looking for, without worrying about the unknowns that come with trying to conduct business purely online. “The diverse portfolio of resources we have access to in China allows us to better serve our client’s furnishing and decorative lighting fixture demands, quickly and on time,” adds George Stroumboulis, CEO and Co-Founder. Ideoli’s complete control over the international manufacturing process allows for complete product perfection. 

The internet is often the best place to start your search when it comes to finding and procuring new interiors for your commercial spaces, as it helps give you design inspiration, conduct price checking and become more knowledgeable on product specifics to help narrow down your options. But when you need to buy large quantities of fixtures, furniture and lighting products from international sources, you need a partner that can help you navigate this tricky process. When a reputable manufacturer presents their products and technology, procurement professionals often say they can buy the same things cheaper online, or that they already have a direct email relationship with a foreign manufacturer, or they even claim the manufacturer is simply buying from the same supplier and adding a markup. At Ideoli, when we are confronted with these comments, we always advise them to proceed with caution and wish them the best of luck. While these procurement professionals may think they’re avoiding excess costs, in reality they could wind up stuck in very expensive situations down the road, due to the following unknowns: 1) Quality Concerns: Is the product made with the safest and best materials possible? 2) Sight Unseen: Are you really getting the exact products you think you found online? 3) Shipping Unknowns: Will they ship with a major, reputable carrier or a freight forwarder that may damage your goods and have no liability? 4) Source Confusion: Is the company you are speaking with the actual manufacturer or simply a disguised reseller? 5) Warranty Challenges: Will product failures be covered by the manufacturer, and will they cover all shipping expenses to replace defective products? 6) Factory Review: Is the factory violating any international labor and pollution laws? 7) False Certifications: Is the product certified with a fake product’s number from another supplier? 8) Product Review Before Shipping: Who is looking into your products for quality assurance and accuracy before sending them? Our clients understand the risks involved with international procurement of fixtures, furniture and lighting, and they entrust us to do what we do best— design and produce high quality products for their vibrant environments. At Ideoli, we own the entire process from design to packaging, which minimizes risk and results in client reaching their desired outcomes within their budgets. 

As our company grows, we need to find more partners across the globe that can helps us bring our clients’ visions to life. So we recently took a trip to Mexico to work on that goal.  With its close proximity to the United States, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and a design flair second to none, Mexico is the epitome of a strategic location for ideoli’s business. We only work with best-in-class partners and have a powerful network of subcontractors in Mexico. Based in Guadalajara, Mexico, Alvaro is a specialist in manufacturing components for ideoli’s quality products. “Mexico is a country that can compete worldwide. Our quality is excellent,” says Alvaro. “Ideoli is a competitive company, a visionary company. They have the capabilities to achieve any contract.” Ideoli manufactures everything from furniture for large restaurant chains to fixtures for hotels to decorative lighting for large international retail brands. As our clients continue to grow in North and South America, we have found Mexico to be invaluable in supporting their expansion goals. Ideoli has helped make the world a smaller place for its clients by understanding key international markets and establishing a business presence that matters, such as in Mexico. 

In order to efficiently create world-class custom products for clients, ideoli has established a strong, strategic manufacturing footprint in key markets around the globe, including China. Ideoli has offices and an assembly factory in Shanghai with a strong network of local subcontractors, and our co-founders are closely involved with ideoli’s activities in China. “China is strategic to Ideoli’s business model because China is the manufacturing center to the world,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli’s CEO and Co-Founder. “China’s manufacturing prowess helps ensure Ideoli can move from product concept to product samples to full production in a matter of weeks, all while maintaining a high level of quality.“ “Ideoli has an experienced team here in Shanghai. This allows us full control over everything from incoming component inspection to final quality control,” says Chris Hartswick, Ideoli’s Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder. Chris has been embedded in Asian manufacturing for nearly a decade, establishing strong relationships with key people, setting up dozens of factories and overseeing the efficient production for hundreds of thousands of products. Ideoli’s key relationships and footprint in China facilitate our revolutionary approach to custom manufacturing, where we’ve decreased the overall production turnaround time from start to finish. We look forward to producing more world-class products with our partners in China. 

We don’t just make amazingly creative products for retail, restaurant and hospitality environments. We are also marketing mavens who are extremely passionate about our company, our services and our clients. To reflect this passion, we needed the right company name to embody the mission, culture and invigorating spirit of our business.  We knew we wanted a simple and clear name, but we also needed it to represent us as people, as a company and what we do for our clients. On top of that, we needed our logo to be truly unique and vibrant. After months of brainstorming over many coffees and beers in New York City, we came up with the name Ideoli. We instantly became passionate about this new name, in part because it is derived from the root of the Greek word for obsession; so this new name represents our obsession for what we do. We also fell in love with the name because it achieved our original goals of clarity and simplicity. Not only does our name have significant meaning in terms of a word, it also includes deep symbolism, as we integrated Ideoli’s logo into the text. By merging the “e” and the “o” within the text, we formed the powerful infinity icon, which reflects what we offer as a company to our clients: infinite possibilities and product offerings to bring their spaces to life. With our name and logo in place, Ideoli is quickly becoming a recognized brand internationally, and we thank our colleagues, partners and clients for making this possible. We created an animated video that delves into the root of the word Ideoli and the significant meaning of our company name. 

Store design plays an important role in showcasing your brand and attracting customers, so cookie-cutter furnishings and fixtures don’t always work. That’s why we worked closely with our client to help them bring a new design to life. Ideoli goes beyond simply manufacturing products. Instead, we help clients through the entire product lifecycle.Our national-furnishing client wanted our help to conceptualize, design and fabricate a fixture that truly communicates who they are as a brand and help promote their staple design, which is the letter Z. The client envisioned something to help drive pedestrians from the street into their stores, while also being able to communicate their brand effectively to repeat customers. To meet this goal, Ideoli engineered and manufactured a custom Z fixture using the highest-quality materials and finishes, along with customized LED technology to help bring it to life. With a national rollout of the fixture under way, Ideoli is helping its client drive more business into its stores. No matter what our clients dream up, we can be there every step of the way to make those ideas a reality. Ideoli hit the road again, this time to visit a client’s new store to receive the shipment of a new product we created for them and oversee the installation process.

We are racking up some serious air miles in search of the perfect international markets in which to manufacture our products. We recently visited beautiful Thailand and were able to gain a better understanding of its booming manufacturing industry.  Ideoli constantly strives to assign production of its various product offerings to the best-suited international markets. During this trip, we had the opportunity to work with several manufacturers and local contractors needed to support our growing furnishing business for national account restaurants. The size and expertise found in the furnishing space in Thailand gave us confidence in expanding our manufacturing footprint to this thriving country. Bon is an expert in the furniture design and product arena in Thailand. He works closely with us to support our client custom furnishing needs. “We have a long history of the craftmanship. we have a good design, and we like good quality. this is what we are trying to do,” says Bon. Thailand’s quality and craftmanship are just some of the reasons we found it to to be a key player in the manufacturing industry. Adds Bon, “We try to offer the client with European quality product with competitive price. Not only in labor, but we also invest a lot in high-end equipment. We appreciate a good design; we try to learn and adapt.”  Ideoli is always looking for new markets, and being in Thailand is an example of its dedication to doing so.  We stop at nothing to find the perfect international markets to support every one of our clients. Invigorate your space today with Ideoli. Ideoli crafted a video highlighting our founders’, George Stroumboulis and Chris Hartswick, trip to Thailand and ideoli’s pursuit of a manufacturing footprint there. 

After successfully exiting a high-tech LED startup that they helped found, and which was later acquired and then went public on the stock market, our founders George Stroumboulis and Chris Hartswick decided that New York was the perfect environment in which to build off of their previous success and launch their new venture. Ideoli Group is a designer, manufacturer, and procurement collaborator of furnishings, fixtures, lighting products and showcase pieces for large national retail stores and restaurants, and international hospitality groups. From designing to prototyping to manufacturing, Ideoli is involved from start to finish, helping to bring spaces to life. If you walk down any major street, or visit a mall or shopping center, you have likely seen our custom furnishing and decorative lighting fixtures in action. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Mexico City, we truly have an international footprint to support and bring value to our clients. Fast paced, energetic, invigorating and the startup hub of the world all describe our home, New York City. With an energy that makes us want to see more, do more and be more, it’s exactly why Ideoli was founded here. We created a video that profiles our founders, George Stroumboulis and Chris Hartswick, and the city where they launched their startup. 

Ideoli’s founders, George Stroumboulis and Chris Hartswick, recently took a trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, to look for the strongest partners to work with and the latest products to consider for our clients. We see Vietnam is really in a strong position now with the TPP—Trans Pacific Partnership—including the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, and about 40% of the world economy,” says Thomas, a Danish native, working in the Vietnamese manufacturing industry and helping Ideoli better integrate into the local business climate. According to Thomas, Vietnam is positioned to be a production base for these other countries, as one to two million young people get into the job market every year in this country, meaning there is enough labor supply to take on an increase in manufacturing. After inspecting several factories in Vietnam, we gained an appreciation for the attention to detail and advanced manufacturing capabilities these companies have. “The quality of products coming out of Vietnam has increased a lot. Over the last 20 years, there has been a strong development in the wood furniture business here. It’s a very dynamic environment where new things are developed continuously,” adds Thomas.We’re excited to expand Ideoli’s footprint to Vietnam to be a part of this growth environment and look forward to providing our clients with more high-quality products. Passionately seeking out the best international markets—it’s the Ideoli way. As part of our video series on Ideoli’s pursuit of international markets, we created a video showcasing our recent trip to Vietnam and outlining its strong manufacturing capabilities. Check out the video on our Vimeo channel! 

Known for their ability to invigorate any space, Ideoli today is checking in on a customized, one-of-a-kind ring chandelier it produced for American Girl’s flagship store in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Already a company and client favorite, Ideoli wanted to see how visitors to the store were reacting to this stunning lighting piece at the epicenter of the store. Nestled at the heart of one of New York’s most visited tourist locations, the American Girl store has become a go-to attraction in Rockefeller Center. As visitors make their way to the store to see their favorite American Girl dolls and stories come to life, they are welcomed by Ideoli’s breathtaking masterpiece chandelier. “I love it, I would love it in my home,” exclaimed Carla, a first-time visitor to the store. “It’s elegant… and it was stunning,” mentioned Bliona, another fan of the Ideoli customized piece. Inspired by the demands of their clients worldwide, Ideoli was thrilled and honored to be tasked with designing, producing and installing this specialized focal piece for American Girl. Ideoli constantly pushes the envelope of design excellence, and its founders take the time to thoroughly understand the mood and environment client’s aim to deliver to end users. By doing so, Ideoli is able to curate individual customized pieces that perfectly complement the space at hand, just as they did with this piece. “The chandelier makes it look very classy,” said American Girl visitor Francesca. Another guest Gabriella claimed, “It’s the first thing you notice when you walk into the store.” It is always a pleasure to know that end users love Ideoli projects as much as the team and client do. We hope that American Girl fans continue to enjoy this Ideoli favorite! For more information about Ideoli and their line of customizable products, email invigorate(AT)ideoli.com and visit www.ideoli.com.