Cool Temps and Your Garage!

The temperatures are falling and winter will soon be here.  Many of us have already put away the summer patio furniture, garden accessories and more.  Now its time to put the bikes, golf and other warm-weather sports equipment away as well.  With winter, comes hockey season, and with hockey season, comes skates, helmets and other equipment.  Overall, winter means one jam-packed garage!

One method to combat the clutter is garage organization.  A series of special slatwall fixtures, designed for a variety of purposes, will help you organize and declutter.  You will even have room to move in a one-car garage! 


This horizontal bike rack also has storage basket for helmets and hooks for things like bike pumps and locks.  A vertical bike rack is also available.


The golf rack organizer allows you to hang 2 golf bags and 2 pairs of shoes.  The basket is handy for golf hats, balls or other golf accessories.

The multi-use sports rack is perfect for holding a variety of balls, soccer or baseball cleats and bats.  Mitts can also be stores upright.

The hockey sports organizer allows storage of skates with a basket for helmets and other accessories above.  This unit is also designed to hold hockey sticks.

These accessories are designed for use with GarageWares PVC slatwall system which is designed to support 60 lbs per square foot.  Traditional MDF slatwall supports a much lower weight of only 10 -30 lbs per slat.  But, these accessories will fit any slatwall system - just watch your weight load distribution.  With just a few accessories,you can make your garage into a functional and organized space.

To view the complete line, please visit our indoor garage at Unit 8 - 166 Saunders Road, Barrie .  www.facebook.com/garageorganization 

Grand Opening!

Today was our grand opening! 

We had a huge turn out for our networking event and people continued to flow in.  Mayor Jeff Lehman was on hand for the ribbon cutting followed by an appearance by ward councilor Jennifer Robinson.  Gina Sparrow from SNAP Barrie dropped by for a great group shot!  Too many special people in attendance to name - thank you all for coming out to support us.

Special thanks to Peter & Alec, Mind Your Manor for manning the BBQ, Gary Flemming, The Town Planner for helping with errands and extra thanks to Lee LaPosta, Stratus Home Solutions for helping from start to finish!  Many others also contributed and a huge thanks to them!  And another thank you to my hairdresser, Huyen (Gwenn) Lee for the great cut and style this morning.

We also celebrated Jeff's (Door Doctor) birthday!  (Check out his tiara!)

Well, I am exhausted  off to bed. 

Grand Opening October 13, 2011!

PRESS RELEASE                

GRAND OPENING OCTOBER 13, 2011 FOR NEW STORE IN BARRIE

Barrie, Ontario – Simcoe North Fixtures & Packaging is proud to announce the opening of their first storefront location at Unit 8 – 166 Saunders Road, Barrie (Mapleview/Bayview Drive) on October 13.  To launch the new location, Simcoe North has a full day of activities planned from 1pm to 7pm starting with an open networking session from 1-3pm (bring your business cards) and a ribbon cutting ceremony from 4-5 pm.  Appetizers & desserts will be offered all day with a BBQ starting at 5pm.

Retailers in Barrie and surrounding areas will now be able to purchase packaging supplies such as poly bags, kraft bags, reusable bags, tissue and ribbon locally, without the hustle and bustle of travel to the GTA.  A wide variety of store fixtures including custom acrylics, slatwall, grid wall, hooks, hangers, clothing racks and much more will also be available.  In addition, Simcoe North offers a wide selection of promotional products including trade show booths and custom printed bags & boxes.   Printing of custom signs, banners, lettering & displays on assorted materials (vinyl, banner, decals, chloroplast) up to 54” wide is done on-site.

Home owners will be amazed by the indoor garage organization display that includes operational garage doors provided by Door Doctor Inc., a company sharing co-working space with Simcoe North and whose product line will also be available for order at this location.  The garage organization system consists of a flooring and wall panel system made in Canada and manufactured by GarageWares of Woodbridge, Ontario.  This line includes an eco-friendly, recycled white PVC wall panel designed to withstand dusty & humid/damp garage conditions better than traditional MDF slatwall.  Custom accessories are available for everything from bike storage to complete hockey organization.  Loft systems are also available.

Simcoe North is a family run business owned and operated by Rebecca Palmer and Shawn Palmer.  It is the first business of this nature located outside the Greater Toronto Area.

For further information, please contact Rebecca Palmer at 705-230-7637 or Rebecca@simcoenorth.ca

Press Release Keywords: slatwall, grid wall, bags, packaging, tissue, ribbon, garment boxes, boxes, store fixtures, garment racks, hangers, displays, POP displays, garage organization, printing, wall systems, home organization, garage flooring, co-working, Made In Canada, Eco-Friendly

It may be July but my mind is on Christmas!

Temps are soaring, sky is bright blue and the sun is shining upon us.  For many, it means vacation at the beach, cottage or anywhere outdoors; for those in retail, it means time to think about the holiday season!

As July quickly turns into August, retailers must start thinking about holiday packaging, sales and decorating.  Many retailers offer festive bags (kraft, plastic or reusable) to their customers.  Some may also choose to add tissue in shades of red, green, silver and gold or ribbon in similar hues.  Holiday sales may also require special banners or signs announcing sales and specials.

Most of these decisions do not have to be made today but you should start thinking about it.  If you want to customize reusable bags or ribbon (or any packaging), it may take several weeks or even up to 2 months (think October/Thanksgiving) to receive your order.  Same goes for special holiday items.

Bagged to go!

Most retail stores package purchased products in some form of bag whether it is the customer's own bags or your own store bags.  Thus, store owners must think about what their customers will prefer.

There are kraft bags (paper), plastic bags, reusable bags (various materials) all available in a wide variety of colours, materials, thicknesses and even patterns.  How will your bag reflect your store?

Many high-end boutiques choose thicker, coloured plastic or kraft bags emblazoned with their logo.  This suggests the client should be proud to display the bag and also offers advertising to the business as the customer carries the bag with logo.  Grocery stores and markets are jumping on the reusable bag bandwagon and offering customers reusable bags, again emblazoned with logo.

Personally, I prefer the customized reusable bag as this bag will be reused again and again at various locations thus providing continuous bag recognition. Reusable bags are unlikely to suffer the fate of plastic bags that subsequently are collected and used for trash or canine clean-up.

So.  think about your bag options and give us a call.  You will be amazed at your choices!

Take care of your slatwall investment!

For many retail store owners, slatwall is the base of your store design. It is available in a variety of colours and finishes but, unlike paint, it is difficult to quickly repair a small damaged area as a section of broken slatwall may cover up to a 4 x 8 section of your wall.  Thus, you want to take care of it to prevent unappealing, broken slatwall.

The best way to protect your slatwall is to purchase metal inserts which strengthen each bracket.  Next, ensure you stagger your shelves, brackets and other accessories so that weight is distributed evenly and on more than one row.  Overloading your brackets and shelves is the easiest way to damage slats and cause what could be a costly repair!

Another option may be to examine new plastic slatwall systems (available in recycled white, grey, black and wood grain) that consist of individual panels mounted directly to the wall.  The design of these panels greatly increased the weight-load.  Currently, our plastic slatwall panels are marketed for use in the garage (www.garagewares.simcoenorth.ca)  but could provide an alternative to traditional MDF slatwall.

With proper use, your slatwall will maintain its beauty for years to come and provide the perfect backdrop for your products.

For all you auto fans!

This weekend is the 41st anniversary of the Automotive Flea Market at Burl's Creek (just outside Barrie) http://www.burlscreek.com/?page_id=10

At this event, you will find an amazing array of  classic auto parts, automotive accessories and even antique furniture!  We will be featuring our Canadian-made, recycled white PVC slatwall system and tile flooring, perfect for giving your garage that "finished" look! 

The weather should be great so come out and enjoy!