If we printed your shirts and you'd like your group to be mentioned here, contact us to find out how to be included in our blog.

It's finally starting to feel like summer around here! If you're from Central Illinois, you know what I'm talking about, it's been a long time coming. This hot weather is definitely keeping my water bottle within arms reach at all times, which is probably needed anyway.

You may or may not know that we have some pretty great specials running right now. It's been awhile since we've done this, so it's kind of a big deal. Appropriately enough, three of the items we're currently featuring, and giving you some awesome pricing on, are different types of water bottles. The one in the picture is our 21 oz. Mega Mouth Sport Bottle.

I don't think I really need to connect the dots here for you, but if you're looking to get your name out there—water bottles are being used by everyone everywhere. So why not make sure that while they're cooling off, someone's looking at you (errr, your business)? To find this special, as well as others, view our specials page. Stay cool out there!

Have you been to a conference lately? If you have, I hope it was as much fun as the one I recently returned from in Los Angeles, California—Magento Imagine. There's something exciting about learning while surrounding yourself with those of a common interest. In my case, it was also a blast to put so many names to twitter handles and forum avatars.

Conferences are in full swing, everywhere you look. If you're at all a part of the behind the scenes crew, you know it takes quite a bit of foresight and planning to pull off a successful experience for all those attending.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying lanyards are the most important part of a conference, but who can deny that they're a fun takeaway? Badges are inevitably necessary, and lanyards make for cheap souvenirs for attendees and advertising for a sponsor or the company organizing the event.

While they come in all colors, widths and styles, the one pictured here is a 1-inch wide polyester lanyard includes breakaway neck clip and detachable plastic clip with a wide metal swivel hook. Get creative and organized to figure out what your needs are so you're prepared for the next big event!

If you haven't noticed price increases everywhere around you, then you've probably been living under a rock—or playing your Xbox a bit too much. Just yesterday, the New York Times released an article regarding commodity cost jumps in nearly every industry. Companies, us included, have worked hard to absorb these increases without increasing retail costs during a recession, but the cost pressures are increasing. Large brand names such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Hanes Brands and the Jones Group are all reluctantly raising prices this year due to unavoidable costs. As this effects a large part of what we do here at Minerva, I’ve been following this topic for a while now, reading several news articles and blogs.

Booming, Inc. claims, "Cotton has officially earned its nickname as North America's 'white gold'." This isn't surprising. Think about it. How many t-shirts do you own from various activities you've been involved in? It took me my entire college career to wear out my t-shirt collection from high school and four years later I’m still wearing my college tees to the gym. We sometimes go crazy over t-shirts, and they're only a fraction of our total cotton use.

Unfortunately, if you reflect over the past decade, cotton prices are nearly at their peak. While the original cause is likely related to severe weather conditions in both China and Pakistan, the world's two large cotton producing countries, other factors include increased demand and increased labor costs. The Wall Street Journal labels Chinese hoarders as one of the biggest concerns. Several Chinese farmers began to stockpile cotton on their homes, some as much as 7,700 pounds, hoping for an even larger return down the road. Terry Townsened, executive director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee, notes that it's difficult to even know exactly what the situation is as several large players in the cotton industry do not publish data on their stock which leads to an endless source of rumors and speculation.

On a more positive note, this fabric of our lives is anticipated by some to stabilize around September of this year. Either way, we want to let you know that we're doing all we can to give you the best competitive edge and keep your costs low. Bear with us!

"This is our 3rd round of shirts created by the talented staff at Minerva. The customer service we have received is AWESOME and the turn around time for receiving our shirts was amazing. The players, parents and adminstration of Lincoln Jr. High are always very impressed with the final product. Their prices can not be beat."
—Sherri Sparrow

Thank you Sherri, and the Lincoln Lady Trojans, we're glad you enjoy your shirts!

If we printed your shirts and you'd like your group to be mentioned here, contact us to find out how to be included in our blog.

Brrr! I don't know about you but I've spent more mornings scraping my windshield lately than I'd prefer! A friend visiting in town from Tucson, AZ, even mentioned it's been getting down to 29 at night there and they're expecting snow flurries by the end of the week! Apparently moving down south won't even eliminate winter! Whatever happened to this "global warming" issue we're allegedly having?

Needless to say, I'm definitely glad that I do have an ice scraper, and a rather nice one at that. I clearly remember friends in college from warmer climates trying, rather unsuccessfully, to scrape their windshields with CD cases (funny how that dates the situation a bit) because they simply weren't prepared.

Need an idea for a good gift promo? If you hadn't guessed it by now, ice scrapers! Make sure your clients are prepared for winter and can tackle those tough icy windows. The level of sophistication is largely up to your budget as they can range from simple value scrapers, to deluxe scrapers with brushes, to all out telescope scrapers. Choose the color for them to best remember you by, get your logo ready, and get your orders in so you can start effectively getting rid of that ice!

And just because I can't help myself ... "Ice, ice baby!"

Season ticket t-shirts are a newer trend that we've seen start to pick up in local area schools. It's quite simple, really. Design a spirit wear t-shirt exclusive to your season ticket holders and build into the cost of the shirt what you'd like to raise per attendee. Obviously you're going to want to lower it enough for it to be enticing but still high enough to fund your teams. Not only does this help raise attendance, but it also puts even more of your fans in school colors as they'll need to wear their shirt to get in!

Details to use season ticket t-shirts vary depending on the school. Some schools only allow students to purchase the shirts, similar to student pricing on tickets. You may want to offer a season ticket t-shirt for non-students as well. Another idea we've seen take place is to let your season ticket t-shirt holders know that occasionally, as a thank you to their dedication and support, they will also have opportunities for free pizza or prizes. Be creative and get your fans in the game!

It's the perfect time of year for adventuring outdoors—which is pretty difficult without a good sports bottle. This single-wall construction stainless steel bottle has a twist-on lid with loop for easy carry and plastic liner at drink opening. At 7-3/4"H x 2-3/4"W it can hold 21 ounces of water to help keep you hydrated!

This item makes a great promotional piece or gift for any group of outdoor lovers. Even those who prefer to stay inside and keep cool will appreciate having a great water bottle right within reach.

The Canoyon Sports Bottle is on sale now through August 31st, so grab them while it's still hot! If this particular one is not your style, ask one of our sales representatives to help you find the sports bottle right for you and your occasion—not only are they knowledgeable in our many product linesm but they're also eager to help!

"We wore the shirts you made and had a blast!
Thank you very much :)"
—Stephanie Zimny

If we printed your shirts and you'd like your group to be mentioned here, contact us to find out how to be included in our blog.

Have you ever been heading somewhere exciting and at the last minute realize you have nothing to take with to keep drinks or food cool? It's happened to me quite a bit which makes me think quite a few people could benefit from a cooler bag. Let's be honest, even if you already have one (or two or ten) it can never hurt to have another for when your favorite one is unavailable!

We have access to large variety of cooler bags from six cans to 36 and probably other sizes above and below. With various pocket configurations and color combinations, there's a really high chance we'll find the perfect one for your group or organization. All you have to do is give us a call to let us know what you're looking for and we'll do all the research for you!

Get creative—these bags are great for any occasion: a company promotional gift, a thank you gift for a donation to your non-profit organization, a a fundraiser for a school or team, a family reunion ... the sky is your limit!