2010 PGA Show

The 57^th PGA merchandise show concluded a month ago and now number 30 is in the books for Daphne’s! It was another good one for Daphne’s with lots to be excited about for the year!  It is crazy how quickly the show comes and goes after months of planning and anticipating.  We spend many months designing the booth, making appointments and other arrangements.  In the blink of an eye we are on the plane coming home recapping our successes and laughing about various show stories. ( We do have a lot of fun while we are there too!  ) 

We were very pleased with the showing and support of many of our longtime customers! We were thrilled to meet and obtain a number of new accounts as well. We had consistent traffic with continuous order writing and kept busy signing up new customers and meeting with those already established.   We feel that this year’s show indicates the start of a positive year for Daphne’s.  We were able to not only have increased sales from the previous year but some of the contacts we made and things that were discussed will be exciting. 

Here is a recap of some of the fun things that went on at the show for Daphne’s.

The staff new to the show were excited to watch the famous march of the peabody ducks at the hotel. 

We were thrilled to share with everyone a new line of head covers we will be carrying this year called MXM.  We are happy to offer head covers outside our zoo of animals.

We were excited to have NBC sports and NBC golf anaylst Dottie Pepper stop by the booth to film a commercial that will air before a PGA tournament.  Keep your eye out for this fun clip to air in March!

Jane, President of Daphne’s was interviewed by the PGA, and igolf.

 Our Hawk made a friend!

The staff of Daphne’s topped off the show by celebrating in freezing temperatures in Orlando’s famous ice bar!  We think this is needed back home in Arizona when the summer temperatures reach 120! 

Hats off to another great PGA Show! Thanks to the PGA for all their hard work in putting together a wonderful platform for vendors like us to showcase our products!  We’re already planning for 2011 and hope to see you there!

30 Years

Has it really been 30 years since I made my first awkward sales pitch for my unfamiliar product? My mom, Daphne, and I decided to make golf club covers on a suggestion from a customer who thought our puppets would look nice on her golf bag. So, pumped up with a bribe from my mom (“if you sell enough headcovers Jane, I’ll buy you a car”), loads of enthusiasm and no experience, I went to the Arizona Biltmore and made my first sale.At that time our company’s creative department, packing/shipping, accounting and all other departments were manned (or wo-manned I might say)  by my mom and me. We had a blast inventing our business as we went. Our corporate meetings were held at dawn around the dining room table with mugs of steaming coffee, pajamas and wild ideas flowing freely.In the beginning, fabric manufacturers wouldn’t sell to us because we were too small so we’d go to factory sales to get what we needed. Our craziest fabric trip was to Buckeye, Arizona which at that time was as remote as remote gets. We’d arrive at 5 in the morning and wait outside the gates with other customers while huge bags of fabric were set out in the parking lot by the factory employees. When the gate opened, people ran to gather the huge and enormously heavy bags. My job was to get to a bag and drag it to another until I created a pile that was just large enough for me to lay on top and claim as my own while I fended-off the other patrons. Needles to say, it got kind of rough and I learned quickly that speed and agility trumped aggression in the gathering of heavy things. As a teenager, I muttered the entire way there and laughed the entire way home as we regaled stories of near misses with aggressive consumers. The first real shipment of fabric that came to our house arrived in a semi which didn’t thrill our neighbors. We had the truck back to our front door and we unloaded the 60 inch tall fabric as quickly as we could before someone called the cops. The driver threw the bolts out as he wasn’t happy to be in a non industrial neighborhood and I was bowled over by them more than once. As I lay beneath the large rolls of fur like a squashed fish, my Mom would walk by and say “Jane quit mucking about” with a mischievous look in her eye.We’ve been fortunate with growth and over the years we’ve gone from a two woman show to a global company. Our processes are more refined and I don’t have to fight anyone for fabric any longer. We’ve run multiple shifts, expanded to over 65 countries, have meetings in professional attire instead of pajama’s and seem to have a computer program for every step we take. The crew at Daphne’s is the best of the best and all contribute idea’s to help us improve.What hasn’t changed is the joy of creating something that makes people smile. Our customers still call us with wacky ideas that become best sellers and they still advise us how to become a better company. We now get feedback from professional golfers on fit and finish, as they put their Daphne’s Headcovers through the rigors of life on Tour. We’ve come so far and yet we still haven’t completely fulfilled our vision. Daphne’s is the leader in quality and service but there are still so many designs to create, customers to meet and goals to shoot for.All I can say is bring about the next 30 years; I am  ready to jump on the pile!

Time To Be Thankful

Here at Daphne’s over 50% of the employees are part of Facebook. (Some more active than others, but over 50% at least have an account.)   For those of you who aren’t with the times, Facebook is the most used social networking site.  Users have a personal profile and update things about themselves.  Users can find friends and send messages back and forth in an effort to keep in touch as well as follow their favorite artists, companies and charities on their pages.

If you were to log into a Facebook account between now and Thanksgiving, you would find members posting their status daily as “something they are grateful for”.  In continuing with this “theme” and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we wanted to share with you some of the things we here at Daphne’s are thankful for.

Jane and Steve - Owners

Jane is thankful for an awesome team, the greatest customers on the planet and for chocolate. 

Steve is thankful for a great team to work with, the new designs and that Jim now holds the rock.

Jim, Bruce and Terese - Regional Account Managers

Jim is thankful that he was the recipient in the office of “the rock” that has lead him down the straight and narrow path of life.

Bruce is thankful for his family and for their love of who he is.  

Terese is thankful for faith and family and that since Lori joined the team, she is not the one who talks about her dogs the most anymore.

Jennifer and Lori – Office Manager and Front Office Associate

Jennifer is thankful for her health and the health of the ones she loves.

Lori is thankful for her job and her two golden retrievers

Allison,Charlene,Sammy,Loan and Sophanny – packing and shipping

Allison is thankful for the backbrace that Charlene gave her to use on container days.

Charlene is thankful for her family, her five kids, 1 grandchild and 1 on the way.

Sammy is thankful for her scholarships and an opportunity for an education. 

Loan is thankful for her family and her job.

Sophanny is thankful that her husband is back at work and for her family.

Janina - Embroiderer

Janina is thankful for 25 years of working for Daphne’s!

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!  There is so much to be thankful for and we are all thankful to be a part of the Daphne’s team!

Please follow us on Facebook and become a Fan of Daphne’s.

Daphne’s Headcovers, First Book and Toothbrushes

I am voracious reader and I come from generations of voracious readers which is why partnering with First Book should have been my idea…but it wasn’t.

I try not to talk about business to my kids all of the time but Steve and I do share the “interesting stuff” like when the dumpster caught on fire or when Aspen (our Golden Retriever that comes to work with us) nearly vomited in a guests lap–you know that kind of stuff that really grabs a kid’s attention.

When I told my kids that we wanted to help some charities that were important to all of us at Daphne’s, they were intrigued. When they read the list of potential organizations they latched on to “First Book” like Gila Monsters.

In our house, my kids have carte blanche on two things- books and tooth brushes! If they ask for either, the answer is always “YES!” The more we learned about First Book and their mission to get books to kids in need, the more we were interested.

My daughter gathered her old books to donate and my son kept asking “are there really some families that don’t have any books?” This was said while eyeing our over flowing book shelves.

So, I reached out to First Book ( www.firstbook.org) and asked if we could help. As a result, we were lucky enough to partner with the twenty year-old organization. The people at First Book were unbelievably nice, even though they didn’t have the slightest idea what a golf club cover was or why it would resemble an animal.

Together, we share a love of reading and the joy of watching a child discover a new friend via a book. First Book has delivered more that 65 million books to kids in need.

 My Mom and I started Daphne’s to buy a sailboat and it’s led to a 30 year career. Teaching my kids to read was one of my greatest accomplishments. I never dreamed it would lead them to guide me to First Book.

I wonder where the toothbrushes will lead us? I will let you know.

Fall+Fun= Football Season

This is a great time of year. The weather is starting to get cooler, even here in Arizona – the Holidays are coming up and it is college football season!   

I am a big college football fan.  I loved going to the home games to support my team. Even now, although it’s a long trip, I make it back to Mizzou for a game every year.  There is something really special about being in a stadium full of fans dressed in team colors cheering on your team.  I know I am like many others, and we are always finding ways to show our spirit anyway we can.  From the stickers on our cars, key chains, bottle openers that play the fight songs to floor mats, there is no mistaking where we went to school. Even our dogs (mine included) support our teams with their collars and leashes. Yes I know some of us may take it a little too far! But I don’t think so. 

Daphne’s lets us support our teams in one more way - on our golf bags! What better way to support your team than on the golf bag!! With Daphne’s you can show your true colors, whether you are a Colorado fan (Go Buffs), a UT fan, (Go Longhorns) or an Oregon State fan (Go Beavers), you can support your team. As a former Missouri golf team member and Mizzou alum, the tiger is a perfect fit for me!   

Friends in Golf

I’ve been talking to my son lately and advising him to pursue something that he truly loves to do as a career .  While I spewed this unsolicited advice, I began to think about what it is that I truly love about being the President of Daphne’s Headcovers.

In addition to bringing my dog to work and having an office cat, I love the creative interaction with nice people.  I am constantly astounded by how different people can be and how interesting and kind they all are.

My friendship with LPGA pro Beth Bader came about on a driving range as a result, I think of my inability to hold my toungue.  Beth was talking to a mutual friend about the Susan L. Bader Foundation she and her sister had founded in memory of their mother.  I was so moved by their efforts (I lost my mom Daphne to cancer and didn’t do anything as noble as this) when I blurted out “I want to help”.  Beth looked surprised and we began to talk, the purple hope dolphin was created and a friendship was born.

Another great friendship came along when I was being interviewed for a magazine by writer,radio personality and producer Frank LaRosa.  Despite all my planning, my two year old woke up and climbed on my lap right in the middle of the interview!  Needless to say, it wasn’t the smoothest interview I’ve ever done. It took twice as long, Frank had to repeat many questions and I was frequently distracted and lost my train of thought.  The end result though was a fabulous article on Daphne’s and a long term friendship with Frank, who after being introduced to the best and the worst of me, was able to make me laugh, talk openly and write and amazing piece.  He was kind, patient and used his amazing talent to find great content in a very messy interview.

Since I’ve basically grown up in the golf business I can’t comment on other industries, but I must say that I feel lucky and grateful every day to work around a game that I love with so many nice people. 

Fall PGA Merchandise Show

As the regional account manager with Nevada as part of my territory, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Fall PGA show in Las Vegas.  Although I have been a PGA professional for almost 10 years, I have never attended one of the merchandise shows so this was exciting.  I must admit I was anxious.  Much like standing on the first tee of a course you have never played and not knowing what lay ahead, I didn’t know what to expect. 

It turned out that I was pleasantly surprised with how efficiently things went, how many nice people we encountered and actually how much fun it turned out to be.  We had one day for set up and making sure the animals were brushed and looking their best. Yes, we brush the animals. They get “bed head” too! It’s good that we didn’t have to feed our animals because we brought the whole farm! 

Two days of the show went fast but smoothly.  It was so nice to put faces with voices I had been dealing with on the phone.  I have always known, but golf professionals and people who work in the golf industry are nice people.  

I knew when I started with Daphne’s Headcovers that I was joining a great company, but it became more apparent to me when I was at the merchandise show.  I had so many people come up to us and say, “your animal headcovers make me smile”!  What more can you ask for than to work for a company that makes people smile and has fun while doing it! Now if only we could find a way for people to play golf like Tiger by just carrying the tiger headcover!

I am already looking forward to the bigger show in January…now I know what to expect and rather than being nervous, I am excited! Excited to expose more of the industry to our animals and excited to meet even more people in our industry.

Daphne’s Talking Dog

Introducing our first talking headcover!

Daphne’s Summer tour

We’re starting a 5 week journey to talk to our customers.