All the Newsworthy Things at HC Brands -

Holmes Stamp & Sign Lives and Loves Local Jacksonville!

From humble beginnings come great thing. While we’re no stranger to this age old phrase, we can certainly attest to its truthfulness. Our company of Holmes Stamp & Sign started all the way back in 1954 when one Florida man took to his garage and began making stamps. Sure enough, what started out as an exceedingly small one man business out of a tiny garage space, grew and expanded into a multiple building corporation with well over 60 employees.

Now here we are, all these years later, managing multiple brands and shipping out orders all over the country! With the sudden rise of technology and the age of instant gratification, we’ve proven that we can consistently keep up with the times. Our efforts continue to provide our customers with the excellent level of customer service that they’ve come to expect, as well as new and innovative ways to manufacture our products faster without sacrificing any of our high quality standards that we’ve become famous for. As technology evolved and became available, we upgraded our lasers and techniques as well as brought in an awesome staff to help us get our orders out the door as quickly as possible.

As we grew out of the garage and into an actual manufacturing plant, we’ve never tried to distance ourselves from our roots, nor would we ever. In all the time that we’ve been in business we’ve remained loyal to our strong Jacksonville, FL base of customers and supporters. Being a small business is tough in any decade, especially in today’s world with more websites than a single person could ever imagine. Competition is fierce! We know how hard it can be to get your name out there and to build a following today, that’s why we thought we would put together a special Holmes Stamp & Sign care package for some of our more prominent small business neighbors.

Jacksonville neighborhood favorites like Aardwolf Brewery, Bold Bean Coffee, Maple Street Biscuit Company, Sun Ray Cinema, and Black Hog Farms are just a few of the local businesses that we reached out to. After raving reviews from friends, neighbors, and even our employees, how could we not decide to introduce ourselves? So we shipped out a bag of goodies! Stamps, stickers, and buttons galore, all featuring their own unique logo, made up the contents of the package as well as a friendly letter saying hi and welcoming them into the small business fold!

We got plenty of responses from our recipients who thought it was really great for us to reach out to them. So when all was said and done, what did we learn? What most businesses learn after a certain number of years! Small businesses often make up the backbone of a community. They learn their neighbor’s names and get to know them over time, they become aware of new business and/or social trends and if successful, they manage to cement themselves into the lives of their customers by creating a community within a community and building those relationships. The same thing applies when small businesses get into contact with each other. Valuable business relationships are formed and you always know that you’ve got friends when and where it counts.

As for us, under no circumstances do we plan on lessening our involvement in the wonderful Jacksonville community that we’ve all come to know and love. Here’s to another 60 years of building lasting relationships in our town!

Jacksonville Beach Elementary Visits Holmes Stamp & Sign 2014 Edition!

Another year, another field trip to Holmes Stamp & Sign for the first graders of Jacksonville Beach Elementary! We know the old saying that time flies, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s been a whole year since our factory was last overrun with first graders. When the kids go back to school every fall, we all know what’s coming – or should we say who is coming.

Just like clockwork, around September Jacksonville Beach Elementary gets in contact with us. We work our schedules around and make sure we are able to fit in some time to give back to our awesome community as well as educate some youngsters while we’re at it. Summer vacation is always so much fun for kids, so when the new school year starts, things can get pretty monotonous very fast. By the end of August, the morning classroom routines have nearly all been set and established and the normal hum-drum of everyday life is settling in. It’s times like these where a little excitement never hurt anyone – and that goes for us too!

Prior to the kids arrival, we make it a point to thoroughly clean up our areas! Surfaces are scrubbed down, potentially dangerous materials and chemicals are shelved and kept out of reach. All little pieces of plastic and trash are quickly and efficiently deposited in the trash cans. When the moment of truth arrived, one by one the first graders all piled on their school buses and prepared themselves for a fun filled day of stamp, sign, name tag, button production and manufacturing.

Early Tuesday morning, the bright yellow school buses pulled in single file into our parking lot. The students were welcomed into our showroom and greeted by the Holmes Stamp & Sign CEO Bryan Croft himself. They were given a quick rundown of what it is exactly that we do here, and what kinds of fun they could expect throughout the day. Once the kids had the general idea, they were taken to the old machine used way back in the day for clocking in, and were then separated into smaller groups. The kids were taken around to the different stations we had set up for them in advance. By the end of the day, they had their little grab bags full of goodies. From all six stations we set up for the kids to visit and learn from, they received something special to take home with them. Each student had made their own custom stamps, buttons, stickers, and even received a handful of tootsie rolls – the first graders had their hands full for sure!

While we admit, we may not get much work done on these field trip days, not only did they give the students a welcome break from everyday routine, but us too! On a normal day here at Holmes Stamp & Sign, we’re busy little bees buzzing from area to area, working hard to process and produce thousands of orders a day – so the kids aren’t the only ones who could use a break from time to time. Once a year, we welcome this day of distraction because it gives us an opportunity to give back to our community and help give our teachers a break for a day as well. So what do we do now that they’re gone? We get back to being the well oiled manufacturing machine that our customers have come to know and love over the course of the past sixty years!

So long Jax Beach Elementary! We’re already counting down the days until your visit next year!

It’s Back To School For Duval County!

The 2014 Fall semester is back and in full swing again! The kids are back from visiting relatives, going to their summer camps, and also out of the Holmes Stamp & Sign break room (at least until our annual school field trip happens in a few weeks)! A few weeks ago, all of us parents put in a little more time before leaving for work in the morning just to make sure the lunches are packed, and no folder, backpack or anything else was forgotten before the kids headed off on their first day of school. And we know that we weren’t alone.

It may be hard to imagine, but coming in at 885 sq miles Jacksonville is the largest city in America (by size). How else could we have so many awesome events going on all the time as we do? With our population coming in at over 830,000 people is it really any wonder that within our county of Duval, there are 285 schools, that’s not even counting the amount of colleges and universities for the business men and woman of the future. Yes, every year Jacksonville consistently churns out some inspiring graduates with awesome potential to find work. In fact, recent numbers show that despite a country that is having difficulty recovering from financial crisis and so many losing their jobs, Jacksonville has a remarkably low unemployment rate, which has lead to many recent grads feeling optimistic.

While some of us here at Holmes Stamp & Sign have older kids in college or graduated, many of us have kids still in grade school and what a handful they can be – not to mention expensive! That’s why we’re all so happy to get to live in a city that helps take care of its own. Every year for the past seven years, Duval County Public Schools partner up with other groups to put together their annual Back To School Fest at the Fairgrounds. This year there was everything from doctors’ visits to haircuts and everything in between. After seven years, this Back To School Fest is truly becoming the can’t miss back to school event of the season. On top of having entertainment and a back to school fashion show lined up for the kids, they were even offering free backpacks and other school supplies. As any other parent can tell you, not all school supplies come cheap!

When it comes to families, Jacksonville does its best to support and take care of each other the very best we can. Being a family based company, we look forward to the annual field trip we host every year and can hardly believe that it’s right around the corner again! We love getting the opportunity to brighten the kids days by showing them around the plant and letting them make their own custom button, name tags and more! We can’t just send them away without giving them something! And on top of lightening our room with their giggles and smiling faces, our conference room usually gets some really awesome artwork for our massive dry erase wall! Who could say no to that?

Want to hear how it goes? Check back with us soon for all the pictures and stories that we will undoubtedly have to share!

Ever Bank Field: Where Bigger Is Definitely Better

Given that our company has served as a staple to this city for over 60 years, we are all very aware of anything new and exciting coming to our streets here in Jacksonville Florida. Whether it’s a new building downtown, or the ever popular One Spark reappearing and winding its way through our streets, we usually have all the details.

If you happen to follow any football related news, or if you watch Stephen Colbert, you may have heard about the “world’s largest video display at a stadium” according to Karen Feagins of NPR. There’s no denying it and probably nothing to rival the lights from the new and improved Ever Bank Stadium within a hundred miles, unless you count the racetrack in Daytona, and in a football town like Jacksonville, few really do.

With a string of note worthy new recruits for the team including UCF’s own Blake Bortles in the lineup to come up should veteran QB Chad Henne not be up to the task, this upcoming year promises to be an entertaining season if nothing else.

According to the previously mentioned article, the ginormous display is the result of linking together a whopping 15,000 individual television screens to produce one single image that is even larger than the field itself.

And while other ticket holders for other surrounding teams may be excited to watch their respective teams take the field, our stadium now offers something even more grandiose than its mammoth sized displays perched atop the stadium itself.

Care For A Dip Anyone?

That’s right! The proud home of the Jacksonville Jaguars now boasts swimming pools and private cabanas for the true Jaguars fans to reserve and purchase access to – for the right price of course. But even still, at what other sports stadium are fans given the option to cool off in swimming pools? And while these pools may not get too much attention in the winter months (yes, Florida DOES have a winter season), the still simmering temperature of summer won’t be disappearing any time soon and will probably only begin to give way to the more cool and crisp temperatures associated with fall mid-October. So with that being said, there is still plenty of time to break out those swim trunks and bikini’s before the end of the year!

We’re so pleased and proud of our city and our Jaguar’s for putting together something this grand! And while everyone and their second cousin twice removed, has an opinion on the whopping $63 million dollars spent on the construction of these ‘upgrades’ to Ever Bank – the fact remains that if you build it they will come.

Already all of the available spots for the exclusive uses of the pools and the cabanas have been purchased and were sold out in minutes of becoming available. But because the owner of our team remains dedicated to keeping our jaguars here in Jacksonville, there is always next year to secure your spot!

We are all so proud of our city and our team for their continued excellence and dedication to making our city the very best it can be, and to making sure that all who visit here have a wonderful and one-of-a-kind experience!

What about you? How do you feel about the new renovations to the EverBank Stadium here in Jacksonville? Plan on going to any games? Let us know in the comments section below!

Happy Fourth of July!

Is it really July 4th already?! It feels like just last week we were freezing in our long sleeved shirts and heavy coats! Time really does fly when you’re having fun – and we’ve been having a blast! Remember our Bring Your Dog To Work Day post?

Well now the fireworks are ready, the burgers and hot dogs bought in large supply, and we’re all ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy our day off! But let’s not forget what this Holiday is really about.

Vendors are coming out of the woodwork in droves, ready to showcase their summer food, merchandise, and get noticed! But the problem is standing out in a sea of wandering and hungry people. How exactly do they manage to do it? Signs.

We pass them on our way to work, on our way home, and even at crowded festivals – but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we always see them. We may not think about them all the time, but the second we start to look for that one specific thing in a crowded area, a sign is the very first thing we start to look for.

But when it comes to even vendors, it may not be practical to carry around a great big sturdy sign everywhere. That’s where vinyl banners come in handy. Big, portable, and most importantly, durable! Whether you’re going from one event to the next or you’ve got a break in between to recharge, a vinyl banner will last you for years to come. With our manufacturing process here at Holmes Stamp & Sign, our vinyl banner signs will not only survive years of use, but also feature fade resistant colors and designs. We’ve been in this business for over 60 years and take our work very seriously; that way when you got to take your banner out of storage five years from now, it’ll still look as great as it did the day you got it in the mail! Like with the 4th of July, we believe in the freedom of choices, that’s why we let you tell us just what you want your banner to look like. Just send us your artwork and we’ll do the rest!

We can’t be any more excited for the 4th a celebration of freedom and of our wonderful country! Over the years it becomes easier to forget just why we celebrate the fourth of July. It’s a great country that we live in, and the fact that our country was founded in the idea of freedom makes it even better.

So on this fourth of July, take some time to relax and enjoy knowing that you live in a country founded in the belief in freedom! Get out there and enjoy the sun, hamburgers, hot dogs, and your time with friends and family!

If you happen to live here in Jacksonville, and don’t really know what kinds of festivities we’ve got going on, head on over to iknowjax.com and find something fun for just yourself or the whole family!

We’ve Been Working Like Dogs!

This past Friday was Bring Your Dog To Work Day at Holmes Stamp & Sign! The dogs were barking, the laser engravers were engraving, and everyone was smiling ear to ear. With over 60 animal loving employee’s, we knew Friday wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, but for some this is the highlight of the year! And even though our factory floors and counter tops may had some out of place furry faces, don’t think for a second that we were too distracted to get your order out on time!

As much as we love our pets, everyone who works here is hard working and 100% dedicated to doing their job to the best of their ability. But if you want to know a secret, we think having the dogs around actually helped keep us happy and even more focused throughout the day. You may be wondering just how we came to that conclusion, well the answer is simple. The happier the employee, the happier the customer! Happy employee’s make better products! Our employee’s don’t cut corners or let flaws get past them, the overall quality of their work and the work of the company is just better!

Studies have shown that we’re not the only ones who think there is a connection between happy people and having pets. Over the past number of years there has been a tremendous surge in service dogs and labeling dogs as “comfort animals”. There is also a growing number of programs for returning military personnel exhibiting signs of post-traumatic stress disorder where the afflicted individual is given a dog. So far the experiment has gone well and as a result, the practice is gaining popularity.

And while it was great to get to watch and interact with so many of our own pets at work this past week, it’s easy to forget about all those animals out there without homes. Periodically we like to take up donations for our local Jacksonville Humane Society, because just as you might give away old baby clothes to someone in need, shelters are always looking for linens, toys, food donations and much more.

We’re so proud to be members of the Jacksonville community, and we applaud all the recent efforts of our animal shelters. Desperately working to become a no kill city, Jacksonville is going to need the help and support of this awesome community that we know and love so much. Many locals are showing their support with a custom dog themed address stamp. Having spent the past 60 years here, we don’t think that will be a problem for our amazing residents.

Want to get involved and help animals in shelters who are in need? Check out your local animal shelter or if you’re local Jacksonville dwellers like us, look in to what you can do to help out at the local Humane Society – even if you don’t want to adopt, there are still plenty of ways to do your part!

The Perfect Gift For Your Graduate

With a new graduation ceremony listed seemingly every day in our papers and online events category here in Jacksonville, we’ve all got graduations on the brain! Being a family friendly business, we’re used to seeing our employee’s kids around the office from time to time, or drawing masterpieces on our massive whiteboard in the break room. We’ve watched these kids grow up! And we know that we’re not the only ones who can’t believe how fast time flies when we see or hear that they’ve reached a new milestone in their life. These day’s it seems like there’s a graduation for everything but at the same time, maybe it’s for the best that we find more things in life to celebrate.
So with the end of winter and the beginning of summer (because let’s face it, there wasn’t really a spring this year here in Jacksonville), graduation season is officially upon us and we’ve got more last minute graduation gift orders than we know what to do with! And unlike in years passed, now regardless of where you or your student is in their academic careers, a graduation of some sort won’t be far off. Now they may not all feature the traditional cap and gown, but nonetheless they are still very important. But of all the graduations, few are more important or more momentous than high school and college graduations. Finally considered a legal adult and ready to enter the job force and start making money- it’s an exciting time for recent high school and college grads. Well, college grads may find themselves every bit as terrified as they are excited but they’ll just have to take one day at a time, and have faith that all of their hard work will pay off soon enough.
Once they’ve successfully landed a job, it’s important that they receive positive reinforcement and feedback just like when they were in school. For young kids and grown adults, positive reinforcement and recognition for a job well done is crucial success and we here at Holmes Stamp & Sign couldn’t agree more.
But as is the case with most major graduations it’s normal for families to throw celebratory parties and give gifts. And while both you and recent grad knows (or is soon to find out), money is always a most welcome gift. But that can’t be it right? There’s got to be something else that you can give that will help them start their new life!
What you really want is to give them something that you know they’ll be able to use for years to come. Maybe even something small that they can carry with- something they’ll actually use. We know that these major graduation ceremonies are a once in a lifetime experience for your graduates and that they deserve something special for all the hard work that they’ve put in over the years. So what can you get them that say congrats on a job well done?
Holmes Stamp & Sign is here to help! By far one of our most popular products is our signature stamp! Great for signing and cashing checks on the go, or signing quick cards when you can’t find a pen, a signature stamp will get tons and tons of use whether it’s just with everyday use or to help out at a new job.
All of our stamps are made with the best quality parts and will last for years and years to come! Sign up with our site today and receive a coupon via email!

One Spark Comes To Jacksonville and Holmes Stamp is Here To Help!

Once a year the downtown Jacksonville streets are taken over by the famous One Spark event. Various venues and ‘creators’ come together in hopes of raising money for creativity, innovative ideas, bright shining new concepts, and just all around good causes in need of funding. Over the years, we’ve seen One Spark come and go and while we tend to be a great big bunch of do-gooders, we realized we didn’t seem to be doing too much good.

So this year we decided to do something a little different. We got together with our own set of ‘creators’ (we humbly call them our Marketing Team) and put together a collection of products specifically designed in mind for the One Spark Creators. Regardless of what you’re hoping to get that precious funding for, we’re here to help you get noticed and be memorable when it comes time to securing those all important votes!

And with happy customer shout-outs like this one and our production area full of One Spark products, we must have done something right! Our goal here at Holmes Stamp & Sign is to not only provide our customers with great products but to also provide them with the things that they need at a reasonable price. Feel like you’re too late to grab on to a great deal? Think again! Most of our orders are shipped the next business day! Granted some items like our One Spark Custom Banners, may take a little more time but if you’re tight on time don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll see what we can do for you!

Holmes Stamp & Sign has been a part of the fair city of Jacksonville since its inception over 60 years ago! And when you combine our love of our home town with getting to foster the fundamental ideals of community, creativity, charity, and innovation- what more could we possibly ask for?

The Faces of Holmes Stamp & Sign

Over the years, people may have come and gone but the underlying ideals and principals behind Holmes Stamp & Sign have remained the same. Throughout the course of our astounding 60 year history, we have survived endless political debates, societal changes, and massive cultural shifts. But did we fight them? No- we welcomed them.

In a world where so much stress and emphasis is placed on attributes as basic as one’s physical appearance, to far more personal matters regarding one’s sexual orientation- we choose to see nothing more than great people, with great ideas, coming to work every day for a great company.

We dare to be different. We are firm believers in diversity, and that it is diversity that breeds creativity and innovation- aspects of our world of business, marketing, and manufacturing that are so crucial on an everyday basis.

There is no question that we exist in a world that is constantly changing; but our beliefs in acceptance, and commitment to the ideals of creativity and innovation are what separates us from the rest.

Here at Holmes Stamp & Sign we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and work hard to bring you the best quality products and customer service we can manage and also to promote equality, diversity, and acceptance both at home and in our community!

So who are we? We’re real people. Get to know us!

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Tigers Visit Holmes Stamp & Sign

Lion, and tiger’s, and bear’s! There’s no place like home for us here at Holmes Stamp & Sign in Jacksonville, FL. We’ve got the sun, the sand, the surf, an eclectic downtown and beach atmosphere- not to mention a seriously amazing Zoo!

So when that same Zoo comes to us and asks us to deliver them a quality one-of-a-kind engraved wooden sign for their new Land of the Tigers exhibit, how could we possibly refuse?! We couldn’t wait!

See the city’s latest furry residents now at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens!