Going Green – In Honor of Earth Day!

Here at EXCLAMATIONS!, we pride ourselves on the little things we can do to help sustain and show our appreciation for our earth’s environment.  The celebration of Earth Day is a great time to take stock of the things we can do everyday…every little bit counts!

We practice the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle on a daily basis!
We conserve energy and protect the earth in the following ways:

REDUCE

Our showroom, offices and restrooms operate on lighting that is motion activated. With this system, the lights turn on and off automatically – this is both eco-friendly and economically friendly!

Our production area, shipping area and warehouse are illuminated primarily by sky lights. This helps us conserve energy, as the regular lighting is rarely used.

REUSE

We reuse packaging and shipping materials in packaging our gifts and gift baskets for shipping. This includes reusing packing peanuts, bubble wrap and newsprint.

When we receive new inventory, the boxes are often saved for safely packing our gifts and gift baskets for hand-delivery and carry out.

We love water, but don’t love wasting precious resources by throwing away plastic cups and water bottles. We use eco-friendly polycarbonate water bottles and reusable drink ware – everyday!

After our hand tied bows are made, we always find useful and creative ways to use our scraps of ribbon. There really is a way to bring it all to life…we are resourceful!

RECYCLE

We recycle…a lot!  Our outside trash bin features a dumpster for trash as well as a receptacle for recyclable materials.  We recycle all surpluses of paper, plastic, catalogs, phone books…and more!

Did you know? We can help you promote your business or brand with hundreds of unique eco-friendly products! Our enviromentally concious product line features recycled, biodegradable and organic items, as well as hand-powered and solar electronics!

From smaller, low cost items for event goody bags, to re-usable totes, bamboo USB drives, and more – our complete selection of eco-friendly giveaways and promotional items demonstrate your commitment to the environment while showing off your company logo and brand!

Earth Day should be celebrated everyday - GO GREEN Today!

Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets and Gifts – Think Outside the Vase!

EXCLAMATIONS! Gifts is honored to have the opportunity to feature our Valentine’s Day Gift Collection on NBC San Diego News in the Morning! Claudia Johnson, President of EXCLAMATIONS! featured unique Valentine’s Day, gift ideas, new gift trends and some of our best selling gift basket designs! 

Let us make your Valentine’s Day extra special!  We can help you Celebrate with Gifts from the Heart!  For Valentine’s Day and every day, we have exciting gift ideas at every price point – from adorable drop off gifts to fresh baked treats & hand decorated cookies, stunning gift baskets & everything in between!

Gift This! Holiday Gifts, Custom Gift Baskets and Lots of Fun!

Hello 2010! After an exciting and very busy Holiday season, we are thrilled to share all kinds of updates & news! As the holiday season approached, our blogging had to take a back seat to our distinctive & personalized holiday gifts, impressive gift basket designs, party favors for holiday festivities and events, unique branded employee gifts…and so much more!

In November and December we received pallets of amazing gourmet treats, commissioned gourmet food vendors to create delicious confections exclusively for EXCLAMATIONS! Gifts, hired an awesome crew of holiday helpers, custom designed hundreds of holiday gift baskets and gift stacks, hand-tied hundreds of bows, then delivered and shipped all of our creations throughout San Diego and the United States of America!

We are always honored and grateful to assist & represent our valued clients during this special season.

Here’s to the new decade! In 2010 we are proud and truly thankful to be celebrating 17 years in business!

A San Diego Gift Basket Company Starts with a Dream – Our EXCLAMATIONS! Story

We are honored to be featured in a popular gift basket industry magazine! This fantastic article by author Gayle Gallager tells our story…how we began, what we believe in and where we are today!

Our Story – A San Diego Gift Basket Company Starts with a Dream

If not for the real estate recession in the early 1990’s, Claudia Johnson might still be working for a building developer. But the recession did happen, and the San Diego developer she worked for slowly downsized from 160 to less than 12 employees. Johnson made it down to the final dozen before the inevitable ax fell. That was when she had her first experience with unemployment checks. And that’s when-with her very last one (a whopping $200)-she started EXCLAMATIONS! ” I was shopping with my mom after I received that last check,” said Johnson, “and we passed by a florist going out of business. They had a bunch of burgundy baskets with gold accents, and they inspired me. I told my mom, ‘I’m going to start a business.’ I bought those burgundy baskets and there was no looking back.”

Of course…that was just the beginning. This isn’t a from-unemployment-to-instant-success story. No, this gal paid her dues. One of the fascinating things about Johnson’s story, however, is that she paid her dues with cash every step of the way. “If I couldn’t pay cash for my inventory, office supplies, etc., I just didn’t buy them!” said Johnson. “In the beginning, my budget was so tight,” she said, “that most of my shelving, tables and other office furniture came from companies that were moving or going out of business.”

Goodbye Guestroom, Hello Showroom!
It was, to which many small business owners can relate, a humble beginning. “For three years, I operated out of my guest room, the hallway, and a couple of closets,” said Johnson. Then came the first move into a 500 square foot commercial space. The business grew, and two years later there was a second move to 1,200 square feet. More growth over the next year required a third move to 3,200 square feet. The moving part of this story isn’t over yet, so keep reading. Throughout this time, Johnson has kept a strict rule about her space. “I’ve chosen to operate my business from traditional business parks,” she said. “My shop is open on weekdays by appointment only.”

She also practiced a no-debt policy throughout her growth spurts. “Working on a cash-only basis forced me to fine tune my work spaces without overspending,” said Johnson. Not only did Johnson stay out of debt during her business’s growth, she saved money too, eventually having enough in 2001 to qualify for an SBA loan. This leads us to her last move-into the 5,000 square foot building she purchased with her SBA loan. “It truly is amazing,” said Johnson. Ironically, when she was renting her first space of 500 square feet, she met another tenant a few doors away who thought of her business as a “hobby”. In fact, he used to marvel at how she could possibly achieve success creating gifts. Eventually, he relocated and she lost contact with him. That is, until she bought the building that he had moved into! He was now giving her a monthly rent check and was quite shocked to learn that Claudia was now his landlord! EXCLAMATIONS! to grow and when his lease came up for renewal, he moved out and she took over the entire 5,000 square foot building! “Today my shop features a gorgeous showroom, executive offices, a production area and a shipping department, said Johnson.” Someday her building will…

Read the rest of this entry »