Blog Posts - All the Newsworthy Things at HC Brands

Holmes Stamp & Sign Wants Your Blood!

For anyone that frequents our blog or follows us on social media, it’s no secret that Holmes Stamp & Sign is a big believer in giving back. Between taking time out of our Saturdays to participate in a stroll around downtown for a good cause, volunteering our factory for a day for a good cause, and fostering creativity and competition at our own University of North Florida, it’s amazing that we have any time left over to get our work done! But with so many big-hearted employees here we can’t help but do what we can for those in need!

So what are we up to this time? As previously reported by various news sites and stations around town, The Blood Alliance here in Jacksonville has been running very low on a variety of blood types. The blood supply is so low in fact that the alliance, held a blood drive on the 15th of this month in Orange Park where the first 125 people to register were given two tickets to Monster Jam this past Sunday.

As previously reported by various news sites and stations around town, The Blood Alliance here in Jacksonville has been running very low on a variety of blood types. The blood supply is so low in fact that the alliance, held a blood drive on the 15th of this month in Orange Park where the first 125 people to register were given two tickets to Monster Jam this past Sunday.

But to make it more convenient for us, we gathered the necessary amount of signatures, set the date, and when we all arrived at work on this past Monday, the big red bus was sitting there waiting. So for a few hours, a number of us took a break from our machines, computers, and work spaces to donate the gift of life. According to the Red Cross website, it is estimated that “every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood” which translates to an overall everyday need of more than 41,000 donations. The Red Cross goes on to estimate that while there are 38% of eligible donors in the United States, less than 10% actually do on a yearly basis.

So can’t our friends in white lab coats come up with a solution for blood bank shortages? Science may have accomplished some great things but duplicating human blood in a way where it can actually help out those in need, and not just scare the neighbors on Halloween, has yet to become a reality. For thousands of years, doctors, shamans, and other types of healers have been unable to duplicate that one thing that gives life; Blood. Nothing can replace it; nothing can compare to it, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Despite some truly remarkable technological advances in the fields of science and medicine and a couple close calls, scientists are still unable to reproduce the precious life giving substance and must therefore be forced to rely on the generous hearts of others to maintain their supplies. So with blood unable to be synthesized in a hospital ready format, the need for donations is here to stay!

We were so glad that we were able to do our part to help out, and while some of us may have been feeling a little bit lightheaded afterwards, it was worth it to know that we were saving lives!

Miss out on all the fun? Not to worry, you don’t need for the big red bus to pull up in your own work parking lot or even in your own driveway. The Blood Alliance has a whole host of donation centers scattered about the city. For a link to some of their donation centers click here and schedule an appointment today!

Holmes Stamp & Sign Has A Massive Secret!

For anyone who has ever been a part of a small business, you know that there really are no secrets that stay secret for long! And for anyone who has ever come into contact with our Holmes Stamp & Sign CEO Bryan Croft, they would know that he is always up to something.

For all of us that work here at Holmes Stamp & Sign, it never surprises us when Bryan does something- well…surprising! But it just so happens that our mischievous minded CEO has really outdone himself this time!

First came the workers that started digging mid-day in front of our building. We all watched and wondered what they were doing, but most of us chalked it up to nothing more than city workers doing something that only the city knew or understood. Then about a week later, the mysterious digging site was getting even more attention, this time it was from a cement truck.

This was about the point where everyone knew that something was going on. We all went outside and participated in the hand-print-in-wet-cement ceremony that has become a tradition. Employees started asking questions but surprisingly no answers could be found – Bryan just smiled his Cheshire cat smile and said “It’s a surprise! You’ll have to wait and see!”

So what was really going on? A few months ago, Bryan reached out to Sculpture Professor Jenny Hager of the art department at UNF to orchestrate a contest where students were tasked to design a major sculpture, and our own CEO would be the judge. The winner of the contest would then take their model design and make it into a full scale sculpture and then have their finished product displayed outside of our very own Holmes Stamp & Sign!

So who was this grand winner? Bryan selected art student Ian Skinner’s design to be installed on our property! Tall, green, and unique in its abstract form – the great thing about art is that everyone sees something different. A little known secret about Mr. Bryan Croft is that he is a great lover of the arts and believes that art is something that can beautify any space, including the front of our building and surrounding area. A huge fan of community involvement and growth as well as art, Bryan thought, what better way to do both than by reaching out to his Alma Mater the prestigious University of North Florida for a special project!

The finished result is something we can all be very proud of. And now that the big unveiling is over, we are all very grateful to Professor Hager, and the talented Ian Skinner for beautifying not just our Holmes Stamp & Sign campus, but also our local community!

For decades Holmes Stamp & Sign has been a constant of the Jacksonville business community, and now we’re so pleased to be able to do our part to further beautify this already beautiful city that we are fortunate enough to call home!

What do you think of our latest attraction?

A Special Thanks To A Very Sweet Man

Yesterday we were all very sad to hear that one of the “sweetest” men in the world had died at the ripe old age of 95. That man was Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. longtime chief executive Melvin Gordon. And while the founder of this staple chocolate candy has long since passed, Gordon was the man responsible for transforming this relatively small potatoes company into the multi-billion dollar candy manufacturing corporation that it is today.

Since 1962 Melvin Gordon has been the man in charge of steering the company through the murky waters of the big time business world. Under his supervision, the Tootsie Roll Corporation grew and expanded to producing a variety of new and different candies including but not limited to the world famous Tootsie Pops. Various new candy offerings and multiple acquisitions of smaller candy manufacturers catapulted their sales and net worth over the years, making them one of the most recognized candy brands in the world!

So what does a stamp & sign company from Jacksonville, FL have to do with tiny little candies of chocolate goodness? If you’ve ever shopped with us and received one of our packages, you would know that we like to include something extra special in all of the orders we send out. Tootsie rolls have long since been a Holmes Stamp & Sign company staple going back as far as we can remember!

For years our customers as well as our employees have enjoyed the sweetness of the chocolate candy to the point where you could even say that some of our employees run on it. And as the tootsie roll company grew in leaps and bounds, so has ours. Since 1954, Holmes Stamp & Sign has been serving up countless stamps and signs to the Jacksonville area and beyond. Over the years, we’ve acquired plenty of new and exciting brands and are capable of producing more products than ever!

But with each and every order that leaves our factories, we’ve always made sure to include at least one tootsie roll. So why chocolate? We at Holmes Stamp & Sign believe in making sure our customers are as happy as possible, and believe it or not, chocolate can actually make a person happier. According to the Medical Wellness Association, “chocolate stimulates the release of endorphin’s, natural hormones produced by the brain, that generates feelings of pleasure and promotes a sense of well being.” With rave reviews like that, why wouldn’t we include some in our outgoing packages?

Over the years we’ve had countless customers come back to us and tell us how neat they think it is that we include the tootsie rolls in our packages. And because we’ve been including them for so long, we’ve developed a special love for the tootsie roll company and their products (yes, even the colored tootsie rolls). At this time our thoughts go out to the entire Gordon family and commend Melvin Gordon on leaving behind a delicious legacy.

So who is this little detective on top of all of our tootsie roll boxes? It’s Holmes!

RING-ing In The New Year!

Spring is almost here and with it comes wedding season! December has always been an incredibly popular engagement month and this past year did nothing to break with the tradition. Experts estimate that wedding season typically occurs from just after Thanksgiving and ends New Years day and then a significant lull takes place until the annual Valentine’s Day love fest.

With so many couples opting for shorter engagement periods, it can put quite a strain on guests financially, especially when so many weddings are taking place right after the holidays.

By this point we’re used to the drill when it comes to the Holiday season. With store after store dropping their prices lower and lower to lure in last minute holiday shoppers, combined with the pressure to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list – it may be the most wonderful time of the year for baking cookies, and looking at lights, and even shopping, but one look at your bank accounts may tell a different story.

So when one of your loved ones announces that they’re getting married sooner rather than later, what can you do for them without causing even more problems for your bank account?

Celebrate the new union with a custom address stamp for the new couple! As if planning a wedding and joining households wasn’t exhausting enough, sending out all of those thank you notes and updates after the wedding can be almost as time consuming and exhausting as sending out the initial save the date’s and invitations. Here at Holmes Stamp, we have a wide variety of different custom address stamp designs for you to choose from for the new couple.

If not a custom address stamp, then maybe something a little bigger? Maybe a keepsake that the new couple can hold on to for years to come? While it may not seem like it, we do much more in our factories than just make stamps and signs – we also have a wide selection of custom gifts for our customers to choose from. One of our most popular wedding gifts to give by far is our Engraved Rosewood Wine Box. This box is given a striking rosewood finish and comes equipped with a variety of tools for wine enthusiasts.

We let you choose your own wine, we just supply the wine box and all the trinkets that come with it. Our wine boxes are also able to be engraved to your specifications and can create a beautiful lasting keepsake that the happy couple will be able to hold on to for many years to come.

Here at Holmes Stamp & Sign, we’ve been in the stamp and sign industry for over sixty years at this point. Over the years, we’ve dedicated ourselves to ensuring the high quality of our products and our customer service. We know that without our customers we would not be the successful business we have become.

Whatever the New Year brings your way, we wish you the best and will be here to help you get through as many weddings as life can throw your way!

Holmes Stamp Gives Thanks And Gives Back!

All across the country, millions of families are preparing themselves for one of the biggest holidays of the year, and we don’t just mean Black Friday or Cyber Monday. If you’re a turkey, you’d better run for cover – Thanksgiving week has arrived! But what is Thanksgiving really about? Throughout the past number of decades, the real purpose of the holiday has become overshadowed by countless retailers across the country pushing their “LOWEST PRICES OF THE SEASON” ads. And while there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of a great deal when it comes to buying gifts for your friends and family, shopping is not meant to be the main idea that surrounds the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead, it is the concept of being thankful for what we have that should matter the most to everyone.

Now we know that for some of us, it may have been a while since we’ve cracked open a textbook so allow us to refresh your memory when it comes to the origin of Thanksgiving. As the story goes, once the pilgrims landed on our fair shores, they quickly realized that life in the new world was not going to be as simple and easy as they may have thought. The days were long, the work was hard, and considering many of them had no real knowledge of what it took to be a farmer, the overall planning was poor and food had a tendency to be scarce.

The resident Native American tribes flourished and as a relationship grew between the pilgrim settlers and the natives, the natives helped instruct our ancestors as to both what and how to grow their food. Without the help of the Native Americans who knows how long our ancestors would have struggled to survive in early America? According to Today.com, as a way to ‘give thanks’, “Captain Miles Standish, the leader of the Pilgrims invited all of the Native Americans who had helped them so much during their first year”. As the legend goes, the feast was so grand, that it lasted for a full three days!

So now that everyone has brushed up on the story of Thanksgiving, it’s easy to remember just how important it is to be thankful for all that we have and to be content (at least for one day) with all of our gadgets, friends, family, and also our health.

So as we here at Holmes Stamp & Sign are gearing up for our own Thanksgiving Day celebrations, this year we decided to do something a little extra special. Remember our recent post encouraging all of our local Jacksonville friends to come out and join us for this year’s Autism Speaks Walk event? Well, Nov. 8th has come and gone and we’re proud to say that our Holmes Stamp team was there and proud to be contributing our Saturday morning to raise awareness to such a noble cause!

According to the chairwomen for the Autism Speaks event Mary Foley, roughly 1,000 people registered for the event. Though the walk was relatively short, there was an assortment of activities designed to keep the kids entertained and having fun. Here are some pictures of some of our Holmes Stamp employee’s doing the same!

So this year, when you’re sitting down to Thanksgiving day dinner with your loved ones, remember what the Holiday is really about. Remember that you are lucky and remember to always give thanks.

The Duval County Fair Has Arrived!

The cotton candy is twirling, the Tilt-A-Whirl is whirling, and the fun houses are funning around! Yep – it’s that time of the year again! The Duval County Fair is back in town and people are having a ball celebrating and taking part in all of the festivities! Special guests and various musical acts have all been planned for entertainment, an assortment of animals have arrived, countless contest’s are going on and dozens of food trucks and game stands are setting up shop and getting ready to service the crowds.

With a ton of other vendors setting up shop and catering to the masses, make sure that you’ve got what you need to stand out in a crowd! Here at Holmes Stamp & Sign, we’ve been servicing the Jacksonville area (as well as the rest of the country) for quite some time! Duval County is home to us and if we can help our friends and neighbors with their business – whether it’s strictly seasonal or year round, we would love to be given the opportunity to try!

Out of all of our available products that we do here, when county fair season rolls around we do a lot of business by selling our banners to vendors! Available in multiple sizes, and capable of high quality, vibrant colors and pictures, our signs will be sure to set you apart from the rest of the flock with ease! Unlike traditional standalone signs, banners are perfect for the business on the go. Setting your banner up and taking it back down can be done in minutes, and when the day or the event is over, simply fold it up and store it away until next year. Our banners last year after year and will be sure to help you keep business booming!

Being a Jacksonville based company, every year many of us here at Holmes Stamp, gather our families and head out to the fairgrounds to enjoy a day or night of family fun. We go on rides, and take part in the games and contests, sometimes we even get our faces painted – ok maybe WE don’t but the kids sure do! While the rest of the world is constantly evolving and changing, and our kids get wrapped up in various new social media platforms, there becomes fewer and fewer things that seem to bridge the age and culture gap between us and our kids. The annual county fair just so happen to be one of those things. The rides may have changed, as well as the faces of the individuals who operate them – but no matter how old we get, we’re still able to hold on to those memories that we have of our parents taking us to the fair every year – and what’s even more special is that our parents, can remember their parents doing the same thing.

Over the years the county fair has become more of a tradition than anything and we love taking our families there to join in the fun and relax! Want to join us? The Duval County Fair is in town this week only – the last day being the Sunday November 16th. Don’t miss out and have to wait around a whole other year to get your family in on all the fun!

Not from Florida but still love the fair? Check out this list of America’s Biggest (and Best) State Fairs and see if your home state’s fair made the cut!

The Holmes Stamp & Sign Team Joins With Autism Speaks!

Alright, we know that down in Florida we have no room to talk – but the mornings here are getting a little chilly. We’re usually the last of the states to experience the sudden chilliness that shows winter is on its way, and as excited as we tend to get about the cooler weather, it isn’t long before we start to miss our tank tops, and flip-flops. We know, we know – living in Florida must be tough! While it’s true that we’ve never had snow on Halloween before, that doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate the cooler temperatures. If you happen to be new to the state, it’s best that you learn now that it is always hot or cold and seldom in between.

But our wacky weather patterns shouldn’t be enough to keep you indoors and stop you from getting involved in local community events! You may or may not remember our blog post for Breast Cancer Awareness month a few weeks ago, but we want it to be known that we are strong supporters of helping out those in need!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and has become heavily publicized and supported (woohoo!), but, there are a growing number of other causes out there who are jumping on the October bandwagon and pushing for their own unique brand of notoriety. So just what does Holmes Stamp & Sign have to do with all these causes? Hopefully a lot! Over the past few months, our very own employee based charity committee has been meeting periodically to discuss upcoming community charity events that Holmes Stamp could work to get involved with and make a difference!

For now, we’ve decided to get involved with the Autism Speaks walk coming to the sunny streets of Jacksonville and to a neighborhood near you. Autism, though not nearly as well known and funded as other causes such as breast cancer, is becoming increasingly more prominent in today’s families. According to The National Autism Association, “Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3” and affects roughly 1 in 68 children. Perhaps the reason Autism Speaks chose that as its name, is because it is estimated that 40% of the children diagnosed with having a variation of Autism, do not speak. Many will speak later in their childhoods and not at the normal rate that most children do.

This is a heartbreaking situation for parents. The presence of Autism in a child can lead to a host of behavioral problems as well as sleeping disorders, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, immune disorders and more. For first-time parents especially, the diagnosis can sound scary and daunting. These struggles weren’t often common knowledge until NBC premiered the television show “Parenthood”. On the show, parents Adam and Kristina Braverman struggle to navigate the waters of Autism when their youngest child is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (a form of Autism). The show chronicles the parents as well as the child’s adjustments to the news. One thing that stands out on the show is the need and desire for help, community, and overall awareness from the child’s parents. Just like in real life, knowledge becomes power and families of these autistic children try to help each other.

So what are we doing to help out? On November 8th at The Jacksonville Landing, we are dusting off our ~~running~~ walking shoes and coming together for this year’s Walk Now For Autism Speaks event. We’re raising awareness and raising money for a great cause and getting in some exercise on top of it! Would you like to join us or help support our team? Check out our team page on the Autism Speaks site and feel free to join our team and walk if you’re in the area or donate on our behalf to an awesome cause!

Fall, Family, And Fresh Air Is On Our Minds!

If you don’t live in Florida, we here at Holmes Stamp & Sign are here to tell you that all those rumors of blistering hot summers, and snow free winters are true. Last winter we did come close to snow, in fact it snowed at the Florida/Georgia border – but while the rest of the country was getting pounded with foot after foot of powdery white snow, we never saw a single snowflake. So in that precious time between the sweltering summers and frigid snow-less winters, when the temperatures get down lower and we no longer feel as though we are choking on humidity, we throw our doors and windows open and watch as our towns and cities come alive with fun Fall festivities and festivals.

Being a family based company, we like to encourage all of our friends, family, and loyal followers to venture outdoors now that the weather is finally beginning to cool. Throughout our daily lives, we spend so much time indoors that we don’t even notice it anymore. Kids spend roughly six hours a day in school, while adults and parents spend about eight hours a day at work. By the time everyone gets home, staying inside and cleaning, making dinner, or watching some Netflix is about all anyone ever wants to do. What so many families miss out on, are all the outdoor Fall activities that promote real genuine bonding between family members – not to mention all of the tremendous benefits to breathing in fresh air! More energy, vitamins from the sun and not from a pill, an invigorated mental state, a better and more restful sleep, not to mention quality time with your friends and family. What’s not to like?

Even though the Fall season has really only just begun, there is already no shortage of fun family filled events and activities to get you and your family into the Fall spirit. If you happen to live in the North Florida area like us, then we have something in common! Already we have various Fall festivities popping up all over town. Where you ask? Pumpkinpatchesandmore.org is a great resource for you to use whether you’re in Florida or elsewhere! Locate tons of Fall fun just outside your front door!

If you’re in the Jacksonville area and don’t mind a slight drive, Conner’s-A-Maize-Ing Acres isn’t that far away and offers not just a pumpkin patch, but a corn maze, and a hay ride too! A great place to relax and enjoy the fresh air, there are even animals that the kids can see! If you’re looking for something a bit more local, there are numerous pumpkin patches set up all over the city. Support your local businesses and organizations and check them out this weekend!

We can’t tell you, how much we love our fair city. Our company of Holmes Stamp & Sign has been based out of Jacksonville, Florida from its inception. What started in one man’s humble garage, now occupies two buildings not five minutes from the historic San Marco area that all locals familiarize themselves with at some point. It is thanks to our awesome and loyal fan base of customers that we credit our success and we plan to be around for many more years to come!

Holmes Stamp & Sign for Breast Cancer Awareness!

Every year around this time, in addition to the pumpkins and changing leaves, pink ribbons take over! But as an increasing amount of cancer survivors (both breast and otherwise) are pointing out, cancer is not something to be made light of and to be seemingly wrapped up in a bright pink bow. Every 2 minutes, someone is diagnosed with breast cancer. While the survival rate is somewhere around 87%, breast cancer is still considered one of the leading causes of death for women between 40 and 50 years of age and claimed approximately 39,620 lives in 2013 alone.

Every year throughout the month of October, pink ribbons appear to be almost as plentiful as falling leaves; and what started as a well meaning annual campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer, has erupted into something of an almost festival-like status. While it’s wonderful to celebrate overcoming something so life altering, let’s not forget what the pink ribbon truly symbolizes.

It’s true; no one ever wants to think about dying. But what happens when the person fighting for their life is a friend or a beloved family member? It’s easy to dissociate ourselves from the realities of something as scary as cancer, but in doing so we really only hurt ourselves. The symbol of the pink ribbon was never meant to trivialize or downplay the seriousness of breast cancer, it was only ever meant to raise awareness. But what does raising awareness really do? By this point, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t know what breast cancer is, but what it is really trying to do is to educate people as to the importance of screenings and early detection.

As is the key to combating any illness ranging from something as serious as cancer, all the way down to the common cold, early detection is the key to overcoming any health problem in record time. According to ruskhospital.org, “when breast cancer is found early, the five year survival rate is 96%”. So how exactly can breast cancer be detected so early? According to various sources, scheduling annual mammograms is a must if you are within the high risk age group or if there is a history of breast or ovarian cancer that runs in your family. So what makes mammograms so great? Mammograms can detect the presence of breast cancer up to two years prior to it growing large enough to even be felt.

No one could ever mean to suggest that something as scary and messy as cancer could easily be wrapped up into a glamorous little pink bow. But if seeing the pink ribbon symbol could lead to even 1 person asking questions about breast cancer, who is at risk, and what they can do to make sure that they are in the clear – then isn’t it worth it?

Every year as a result of the raising of awareness, millions of dollars are raised in October and beyond to help fund breast cancer research and education in an effort to find the search for a cure and here at Holmes Stamp & Sign we’re trying to do our part. Whether you are a part of a larger breast cancer awareness group, or just want to spread the word yourself, we have four different breast cancer awareness stamps for you to choose from. Whether you would like to turn all flat surfaces into a symbol for breast cancer awareness or you wish to have an accompanying message attached to the ribbon, we’ve got plenty of designs for any and every stamping purpose.

Are you local to the Jacksonville area and want to get involved? We’ve got a bunch of upcoming events for breast cancer awareness month! Don’t hesitate to join a local walk or bike ride for a good cause!

Watch Your Pumpkin Patch Business Grow With A Custom Banner!

pumpkin patch sign jacksonville florida — Photo property of Stephie Joy Photography

It seems like just yesterday we were knee deep in our swimming pools or visiting the beach with our families, but suddenly it’s October! Where did the time go? Summer just flew by this year! Then again, maybe that’s because we were just having so much fun! But no matter how quickly the Summer months flew by, October is already here and before you know it, it’ll be Halloween and then Thanksgiving! Here in Florida, we’re all ready for it to cool off – it’s been a hot summer and the cooler temperatures will give us the opportunity to open up our windows and give our air conditioning units a break!

We know our version of Fall is probably a lot different than what it must be like in the northern parts of the country. No the leaves on our trees don’t seem to change color, but at least we can safely say that it has never snowed on Halloween! Either way, we know we’re excited for Autumn’s arrival and we’re willing to bet you are too!

And what comes along with Fall? Pumpkins! Yes, it seems that no matter what, pumpkins have become the symbol universally acknowledged as Fall. From pumpkin decorations, to pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, there is no denying that it’s everywhere! October has only just begun and already there are a handful of pumpkin patches popping up around our beautiful city of Jacksonville and our surrounding areas.

Since our inception, we have done our very best to be a friend to business owners big and small. Did you happen to read our last week’s blog about our friendly letters to our fellow local business owners? If you have, you’d know that being a small business ourselves, we know just how important it is to connect with and support our fellow small business owners. So what can we do for our seasonal Pumpkin Patch friends in business? We can do what we do best! Stamps and signs! While stamps may not come in handy for the owners and operators of a pumpkin patch, the presence of a sign could be extremely beneficial! For a predominantly roadside business like this, a custom banner would be the smartest purchase to make. Depending on the size of the banner, it could be easily seen by those driving by or just on a walk in the neighborhood.

Here at Holmes Stamp & Sign, we have a multitude of banner sizes for you to choose from. All of our custom banners are created using high quality vinyl and are capable of producing a multitude of vibrant colors of your choosing! We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service and fast turnaround times so you can be sure to get in on the Fall pumpkin rush as quickly as you can!

Words cannot express how proud we are to belong to such an awesome city as Jacksonville. October has only JUST begun and already we have over four different pumpkin patches set up for families and individuals all over the city. We knew our city was big, but that’s a lot of pumpkins! Are you a local looking for a pumpkin patch to visit? Visit this site dedicated to giving northern Florida the best Autumn season possible and scroll down to your county and find your own local pumpkin patch today! Are you as excited for Fall as we are? Do you have a favorite Fall tradition? We would love to hear about it! Let us know in the comments below!