2013 Year End
In this time of reflection, sharing, and holiday spirit we at Townsend Leather always like to take a moment and reflect on our year. 2013 was another exciting year in the world and in the world… Full Aritcle
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In this time of reflection, sharing, and holiday spirit we at Townsend Leather always like to take a moment and reflect on our year. 2013 was another exciting year in the world and in the world of Townsend.
- We had some major milestones like our AS9100 Re-certification.
- We had lots of visitors from customers and our world wide sales team as well as people like Congressman Owens.
- We created new products (Pantone Color of the Year, Lace Weave, Lots of Colors…) and even further improved our processes.
- We got new machinery and new top talent people. We participated in many meaningful events like Relay For life.
- And we made lots of memories in and out of Townsend all along the way.
We encourage you to browse the past year of blog posts to see if you missed anything, or our company news feed – to keep up on some of the noteworthy moments at Townsend in 2013.
You can see a brief photographic glance at some moments of 2013 at Townsend Leather below. But as we look back on 2013, we also want to look forward to 2014 with hope, and so we leave you with these words – a “Message from the President of Townsend Leather”…
As we begin 2014 in these still uncertain times, I am moved by a Theodore Roosevelt quote that inspired the title for Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly.
“ It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ”
– Theodore Roosevelt
I think we can all find inspiration in this message as we toil courageously in the year ahead, take creative risks, consider and try out new possibilities and endeavor each day to work passionately to our fullest potential.
To all of Townsend’s Partners: our employees, our customers, our suppliers: Let us all know in 2014 the triumph of high achievement, and together, let’s Dare Greatly.
Jared Eckler
Townsend Leather President
A PASSION FOR Leather, Luxury and Design
A photographic look at some moments of Townsend Leather’s 2013, presented in random order…
And if you are looking to catch up on anything you might have missed or just relive some big moments in 2013 worldwide, take a look through some of these links:
- Google just released their annual Zeitgeist, see what the world searched for in 2013: https://www.google.com/trends/topcharts?zg=full
- Facebook also has some data they collected, see what everyone talked about in 2013: http://www.facebookstories.com/2013/en-en
- The top movies of 2013: http://www.imdb.com/year/2013/
- The top books of 2013: http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2013/
- The top music of 2013: http://www.npr.org/blogs/bestmusic2013/2013/12/11/249734685/npr-musics-100-favorite-songs-of-2013
- Top news stories on 2013: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/12/specials/yir-top-stories-vote/
- Top fashion of 2013: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/molly-friedman-best-fashion-2013-article-1.1551015
- The footage that defined 2013, in 30 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tL3tvmSJP_4
- Some worldwide designs of the year: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/9940462/Designs-of-the-Year-2013.html
Happy Holidays to all, see you in 2014!
After some minor food logistic mishaps, our Holiday Luncheon kicked off with lots of laughs and good times.
It always impresses that the team that puts these events on are able to pull everything together so wonderfully so quickly. They are magicians who know how to please, and can pull off impress tricks like turning this into this…
We all got to enjoy an extended lunch with an abundance of food, good memories, and good company. We spent time reflecting on the past year, watching photos from all the big Townsend moments. And enjoyed celebrating the many successes from the past year, with big milestones, new employees, new machines, new processes, new products, and lots of fun.
As anyone and any company, Townsend has its share of peaks and valleys throughout 2013, but spent the time today sharing in the brotherhood and team that Townsend is. And we were each proud to be a part of this team that honors each other and works so hard to hold each other up.
We had plenty of food and plenty of good conversation.
We even had a Cookie Bake-Off competition.
But the winners of the Cookie Bake-Off weren’t the only winners of the day, we also had a bunch of raffles with winners receiving gift cards and lottery baskets.
We even had (what may turn out to be a new Townsend holiday tradition) our first Pizza Raffle! A few very lucky individuals didn’t have to cook dinner last night after taking home a delicious pizza!
But the highlight of every Holiday luncheon is hearing the heartfelt words of wisdom and insight shared by our fearless and tireless president. Jared spoke of some highlights of the past year, shared touching stories and accounts of the partners we will see retire at the end of this year, and he also spoke of the positive outlook for 2014 and all the ways we can make our team even stronger.
2014 is going to usher in a lot of new things at Townsend and we are, now, all feeling ready and hyped up to meet this new year running.
We look forward to charging into this new year along with you.
Do you like Facebook? Do you like Townsend Leather? Do you like winning stuff?!
Well then we have good news for you!
We want to be sure all our customers and fans stay up to date with everything that is going on at Townsend, and one of the best ways to do that, is to LIKE and follow Townsend Leather on facebook.
But, we want to sweeten things even more for you, not only do you get to connect with Townsend and stay in-the-know of everything going on here, but 1 out of every 50 LIKEs to our page will be randomly chosen to win a luxury leather good!
And, if you happen to be one of the lucky “likers” to be a hundredth liker (be the 200th, 300th…person to LIKE us), you will automatically win a special prize from Townsend Leather.
Good luck and see you on the ‘book’!
Pantone has announced their Color of the year for 2014…
RADIANT ORCHID
It is certainly an eye catching color, and we at Townsend, are excited to see the influence in design and fashion this polarizing color will have.
Purple and its off shoot, “Radiant Orchid”, is rarely seen in nature, but is always noticeable when it is. Purple can invoke a sense of Royalty and purity. It is one of the most loved or hated of colors and almost always is used to make a statement when used in Architecture and Design.
As soon as the color choice was announced our aRt & D team (for projects like this, we utilize our “ART & D” team instead of a more traditional, R & D team) got to work making up soe Radiant Orchid inspired one-of-a-kind pieces. And actually it was even a bit before the announcement, that is how on-top of color trends our team is, they have been watching and speculating for a while, on the color of the year.
Playing with textures, sheens, patterns, and hues – this quick exploration was a fun project for the team. There will sure be more to come from this…
Townsend has a variety of previously existing products that fit the Radiant Orchid family, like these hand-crafted masterpieces from our Abstract Art Collection,
And these leathers, each with their own personality, but all under the umbrella of “radiant”.
Townsend looks forward to the Color of The Year Announcement each year, and is looking forward to a year full of radiance and flowering, eye-catching designs.
A few Townsend Leather partners got together today, for a meaningful and small celebration, in honor of a veteran worker who will be retiring in just a few days.
As someone who is usually prone to avoiding the spotlight, it was great to be able to honor John in front of a group of his peers for his work and dedication. We had to organize everything in secret, he may not have shown up if he had known about it! :)
We were all able to spend some time talking about what he will spend his time on during retirement and hear some accounts of what it was like, back in earlier days at Townsend. John has a wealth of wisdom that he has been doling out to some young guns that have had the privilege of working with him.
He has experience in a variety of departments and has been able to excel at each of them, even when he was coming to them “blind”! He shared a story from his earliest days here, about how a manager asked him, “Do you know how to run this thing?” referring to a highly specialized leather machine. John responded “yeah” with confidence, so he was left to run it by himself. But he let us know, he actually didn’t even know what the thing was, he’d never even seen one before! But with his determination, talent, and dedication John figured it out in no time.
John has been a hardworking dedicated fixture in the Townsend landscape for years and it will be hard to see him go, but he is more than deserving of some time to spend on his other interests.
We got together for a low key, John-style lunch with pizza and cake, and some meaningful sentiments shared about John’s time at Townsend and the lasting impact he has made.
And some of his team worked together to create a truly stunning retirement gift…
His own miniature toggle board, complete with a mini hide and golden toggles!
This gift was hand crafted with expert craftsmanship and thoughtful attention to detail – which is a perfect way to honor the work and personality of John.
Townsend is honored to have so many incredible partners, like John, on our team and we wish him the best of luck, joy, and health in this new chapter of his life.
Still high on a good vibes from last week and
all our Thankful feelings (click here to see our thankful list),
Townsend Leather started in on a month long exploration of the giving spirit.
Every year Townsend Leather “adopts” a local family in need.
We help to raise money (click here to see pics of our Chili CookOff) and gifts to make their Christmas, during a hard time in their life, extra special.
A small group of big-hearted Townsend partners, took their lunch time today to wrap up the first batch of gifts for the family.
Townsend partners also got started on our annual Toys For Tots collection.
We are looking to break our record and collect more than 5 over-flowing-ly full boxes.
And all over the office and production we are starting to see signs of Holiday fun and spirit…
Christmas tress with Deer toppers…
Handmade (and beautifully designed) leather stockings…
Incredible craftsmanship!
And some lights to add to the jolly feeling…
The ol’ Silver and Gold always seems to show up a bit more this time of year in production.
Shown here, some in-process Gold Leather.
There is sure more to come from Townsend’s Holiday festivities, decorations and giving spirit.
“Like” us on Facebook and you may even get to be a recipient of Townsend’s giving spirit!
Winky Face! More on that to come soon…
This week, Townsend has been focused on giving thanks! Everyone is anxiously looking forward to Thanksgiving and having some time to spend with family and friends.
We each took a minute to quickly share something we are thankful for, and what started as a thought here and there – snowballed with everyone’s un-containable feelings of thanks and gratitude, and we ended up getting a list that nearing 200 sentiments of thanks from many of the Townsend Partners.
Townsend Leather sincerely wishes you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday, we are very thankful to have such great customers, partners, suppliers and fans. Thank you!
Everyone loves lists, especially top ten lists, but we couldn’t narrow this one down at all, they are all great things to be thankful for! Here’s a look at some of the things Townsend Leather Partners are thankful for in 2013, it’s long, but we encourage you to browse through it all, there are some real gems in there, and for sure something you can relate to!:
Share what you are thankful for with us on Facebook, join the conversation, Facebook/TownsendLeatherCompany
I AM THANKFUL FOR…
Having a good job with caring coworkers!
Leather.
Good health.
Having a Mother-In-Law who is cancer free.
Pudding.
Hand knit hats.
Duck Dynasty.
Coffee.
Bacon.
Chocolate with bacon in it.
Snow.
Kids who are fitting in nicely in their new school.
Venison in the freezer.
Dogs.
Breakfast buffets with giant pans of bacon.
All my blessings.
The health and happiness of all Townsend Partners.
Profitability, Sales, and future growth.
Coffee.
My children.
My husband.
My family.
A great company to work for.
New software.
Having a job and being able to come to work every day and help support my family.
Warmth.
The good health of most of my family and friends, and good news on a sick family member.
Friends that make me laugh.
The ability to come to a job every day that I love (most of the time) and work with great people.
Warm days and hot baths.
The improvements my daughter has made at school.
Health.
(As always) My health, friends and family and their well-being.
The support and love of my husband and immediate and extended family.
Many good memories made with friends this year and the celebration of some happy occasions, such as weddings.
I Will really be Thankful when the new software is up and running smoothly and I can have a life again! :)
Every new day and the possibilities it brings.
A warm place at night and the comforts of home.
Having a job and the great people that I work for.
Very caring and supportive people who are always willing to offer a hand to help when needed.
My loving family and friends.
Dreams coming true.
Technology.
Family – far and near.
Dedicated team members.
All of Townsend’s reps, all over the world.
The opportunity to Dare Greatly with the people of Townsend.
Jeeps.
People who not only care for each other but, for the people around them.
Leather.
Townsend partners, even the ones not in the building, that make everything better.
Sweater weather.
Courteous people who open doors when you have your hands full, people who help you up when you fall.
2 sweet girls.
Great family.
Cancer miracles.
The smell of bacon cooking.
Stella.
Water.
Songs.
Family to love.
Co-workers’ spirit and passion.
Conquering something that seemed impossible.
A great company to work at every day.
Having such a loving family & supportive friends as I embark on a new chapter of my life. Change isn’t always easy but I’ve decided to look to the past with fond memories and look to the future with a positive attitude and a smile! :)
Traveling.
Learning.
Love.
Smiles.
High Fives.
A nod of approval.
Everyone’s different abilities and talents.
Friends.
My 2 sweet little girls who have grown into 2 strong, smart, compassionate, independent women.
My health and the health of my children.
Putting bacon on a salad.
Taking deep breaths of clean air.
Taking deep breaths of bacon scented air.
Working and living in a place with such beautiful natural surroundings.
Working at a place that treats me like family while doing a job I love.
I-tunes and Pandora!
Turkey.
Stuffing.
Mashed Potatoes.
Gravy.
Apple Pie and wonderful people to share it with.
That fun whooshy noise that happens when the front office door is closing.
Cats.
Thankful for my Friends that have helped me through a very difficult year.
The great Family I work for.
The New York Giants.
A good company to work for.
Good peers.
Being cold but knowing it could be worse, at least I am indoors.
Great bosses.
Marco the Terrier.
Live music.
Being able to walk away from really terrible smells.
New family.
New home.
The sounds of bacon cooking.
Flexible and creative minded people.
All of my loving family and friends.
New recognition programs.
Good managers.
Chili.
Bright colors.
Good books.
Dropping 30 pounds.
Being fit and active.
Consistent work and the opportunity to advance my career.
My beautiful and full of life daughter!
The opportunity to work at Townsend Leather with such amazing people.
Finding new ways and new ideas.
Chairs with wheels on them.
Laughter.
Holidays.
Surveys!
My son.
My wife.
Baked potatoes bacon on them.
Facial Hair.
Having feet that I can walk on.
Music.
Leather.
The smell of leather.
The feel of leather.
Working with a phenomenal bunch of people who treat each other like family.
Townsend Leather and all the people that make it what it is.
Family.
Health.
Freedom.
Friends.
Nature.
Changing into dry socks.
Health Care.
Listening to people discuss, if it is called Dressing or Stuffing
The future.
You.
Making turkey pictures from tracing your hand.
The giant Kermit balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Football.
Reading.
Safety.
Teamwork.
Initiative.
Effective Communication.
Flexibility.
Family, Friends, joy, and comfort and having all of that right where I work everyday. I am beyond THANKFUL for Townsend Leather and all the people connected to Townsend Leather.
What are you thankful for?
Let us know on our facebook page, Facebook/TownsendLeatherCompany
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
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