Lorena asks:
“Do canvas prints help with acoustics?”
Hi Lorena,
That’s a great question. Canvases are excellent at absorbing sound. The canvas itself is a woven fabric, stretched over a wooden support with a hollow back. It’s excellent for acoustics especially when compared to a traditional print framed with glass or plexi.
Best, Tom
It was Charles Lamb who said: Of all the sounds of all the bells, the most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year.
Indeed, 2009 is behind us, and 2010 lies ahead! This week is a new beginning! At Canvas on Demand, we strive every day to brighten lives with canvases. Our New Year’s resolution is to increase the lives we touch daily, making the spaces and places of our customers brighter and lighter with images and memories that are dear to them and those they love. Happy New Year! Joe and Tom (Co-owners)
Tom and I would like to take this opportunity to send warm holiday wishes to our Canvas on Demand family–our amazing and dedicated staff and our thousands of wonderful customers. We truly value each and every one of you as a gift to us!
Joe and Tom
I recently recieved a testimonial from Richard who had asked us to create a canvas of a family relative. The canvas was actually created from the photo of an original oil painting. He told us that the color rendition was much more vibrant than the original art work and that the canvas even picked up the brush strokes of the original painting.
Richard couldn’t have been more pleased! He said: It was terrific! And the service was great. I had problems with the initial downloading of the file, and your representative assisted me with an alternative method of uploading the file. The canvas and framing is excellent.
Thanks Richard for taking the time to contact us. Messages like yours make us love what we can do for our customers! Tom
Photo of painting of a family relative. Terrific!
Did you know that many of our customers have applied to become Canvas Crazies? That’s right. They are so crazy about our canvases that we honor them by sending them a fun Canvas Crazy kit. Occasionally Mom even challenges them to do something fun and entertaining. This holiday season, Mom asked them to give away as many Canvas on Demand Gift Cards as they’d like. And wow, have they come up with some great ideas for distribution. Some are handing them out at work, others at church, and many more are stuffing them into stockings and greeting cards.
Well, Mom just sent us this little story about one of our Canvas Crazies from Texas. Her name is Lisa. Not only did she explain that she will use these cards to encourage lots of children, but she sent us photos of the handmade Christmas blessing stockings that will hold them.
Lisa explained to Mom: I’m giving them to young friends, a few co-workers, and to Mikey, a 13-year-old boy in Florida who was badly burned. It’s just my way of encouraging them and blessing them…Lisa
Stories like this one remind my business partner, Joe, and I just how blessed we are to have some of the best customers on earth. Lisa, keep up the great work. You are making the world a better place, and we are glad we could assist you! You are an inspiration to us. See the photo below of Lisa’s handmade blessing stockings! Tom
Lisa Blessing Stockings
Thanks, Tom, for passing along that great Gift Guide Alert to parents. Here’s another terrific idea from AOL Living for a pop art placemat. How cool is this? Joe
http://www.holidash.com/christmas/gift-guides/personalized-gifts
It’s the Holiday Season, and boy are things cranking up here at Canvas on Demand! This truly is our “Most Wonderful Time of the Year!” Joe and I thought that our customers who are also parents might enjoy this link. Check it out for your kids! Tom http://www.parenting.com/gear-gallery/Gear/Holiday-Shopping-Coupon-Code-Gifts/9/
Darrell asks:
“Hey guys, what is the best way to hang a canvas, and do you provide materials?
Hi Darrell,
That’s a great question. The best hanging method depends on what size canvas you order. The good news is we provide the appropriate hardware based on size.
For smaller canvases, under 16×20 we attach a sawtooth hanger. These canvases are very light, the sawtooth makes it easy to hang on a small nail or tack.
Sawtooth hanger
For larger canvases we include a set of beehive hangers. These are an ingenious invention. The beehives are attached to the back of the canvas with two screws and the supplied hanger is tapped into the wall. The unique honeycomb design allows the canvas to repositioned on the wall for straightness and alignment with other canvases.
Beehive Hanger
Plus, you have the optioned for a dustcover and wire hanger. For a modest cost we will adhere a paper backing to the canvas, attach a hanging wire and include rubber bumpers and courtesy hanger.
Finished backing and Hanging Wire
I hope this answers your question, call us at 800-801-6312 if we can be of further assistance.
Thanks,
Tom
Dawn asked this question:
“Hi Tom and Joe! Last year I purchased a canvas for my poor cleaning lady that has a son serving in Iraq. I want you to know that tears streamed down her face when she opened her 16 X 20 photo of her son in uniform preparing for war. He is now stationed in Iraq. My cleaning lady (whose husband has been unemployed) does not have a computer that she could even e-mail her son. I thought perhaps you could award him with a free canvas that he could send home to his parents. I don’t think you were having this promotion last year. Your company personally called and we really had to work making the photo (with a distracting background and with much cropping) into a masterpiece. I will give you his address in Iraq. By the way, are you having Christmas discounts or promotions this year? ”
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for the nice note.
Our operation Hi Mom / Hi Honey program is all year now. Your friend’s son can go to:
http://cool.canvasondemand.com/category/operation-hi-mom-honey/operation-hi-honey/
And click on the register button.
We have quite a few specials running this holiday. Are you signed up for our newsletter? Click on this link to sign up. http://www.canvasondemand.com/info-newsletter-signup.asp
In the meantime, we’re goign to send you a coupon for $25 off your next order.
Thanks, Tom
Tom and I are passing this note from Lisa to all our employees at Canvas on Demand. Thanks, Lisa, for taking the time to make our day. And thanks to our great and caring staff for you work and commitment to the Operation Hi Honey program. We are proud of all of you! Joe
To everyone at Canvas on Demand: I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You don’t know what this has meant to me. I will cherish this canvas and the thoughtfulness Canvas On Demand has in honoring our troops…and your understanding that the service member’s sacrifice extends well beyond the battlefield.
Many Blessings from our family to yours…Lisa
Tom and Joe, co-owners of Canvas on Demand, share an entrepreneurial spirit, a genuine interest and concern for their customers, and a commitment to their family and friends. Both partners’ exposure to entrepreneurship stems from close relationships with their fathers. Tom worked after school at the family printing business in upstate New York, while Joe was in Indiana working in his dad’s building-supply company. The two would tagalong with their hustling fathers. Joe and his dad traveled by car between cities in the Midwest. Tom and his dad traveled by train to NYC to call on ad agencies.
But Tom and Joe’s fathers could never have imagined a business where thousands of people could go online, upload a sentimental photo, and in a few days receive a beautiful canvas artwork. But the lessons the fathers had taught their sons,to have the perseverance to make the extra call, to be optimistic, and to understand that the real joy in business is developing relationships,are the very traits that have made Canvas On Demand a success.
Tom and Joe knew each other for a few years before taking positions at the same dot.com company as VP of Marketing and Director of Sales respectively. The experience was exhilarating, but the company wasn’t theirs. They had a burning desire to create a business of their own. So they left their secure positions…and launched Canvas on Demand.
THEIR PHILOSOPHY: From the onset, Canvas On Demand worked hard to create direct relationships with customers through their website. One day Tom and Joe saw their FedEx representative, Meghan,who had just received her own order,sitting in her car sobbing. Her canvas had so captured the beauty of her children that she was overwhelmed! The owners were greatly touched, and from that moment on, they created every canvas with Meghan in mind.
They built a website friendly enough that Meghan would feel confident visiting it. With Meghan in mind, they set goals for high customer service. Customers were encouraged to talk directly to their friends at Canvas on Demand for second opinions and advice. Orders were attentively reviewed before processing. Often clients were contacted with suggestions and free upgrades,just as if each customer was their friend, Meghan!
The goal is to exceed customer expectations. They were determined that each canvas would be an improvement over the photo submitted. Orders are carefully packed and shipped within three days. If customers call with an issue, they are sincerely thanked and offered a re-make. The objective is to absolutely delight each customer.
Tom and Joe embrace the concept of “doing well by doing good.” Every product awareness campaign aims at benefiting others. Example: During Operation Hi Mom and Operation Hi Honey, overseas troops are offered,absolutely free,a canvas they can send to their mom for Mother’s Day or to their spouse on their anniversary. In conjunction with Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Canvas on Demand agreed to produce 1,000 mural canvases with all proceeds benefiting Camp Heartland, a summer camp for families affected by HIV. In fact, every 501C3 non-profit in America is eligible to receive a $100 gift certificate for a canvas to raffle or auction as a fundraiser.
Tom and Joe’s personal life motto is a quote by Winston Churchill: You make a living by what you earn; you make a life by what you give.
Tom is a native of Mahopac, New York and a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology. Tom has spent much of his career in business development in the commercial printing industry. Prior to Canvas On Demand, Tom was the Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising for a large online retailer. Tom is proud of his family that includes his lovely wife of 26 years and four great kids. Tom spends his free time on his bike (the kind you pedal), on his kayak, playing golf, or watching ACC basketball.
Joe was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He received his undergraduate degree from Ball State University with a major in entrepreneurial studies. His MBA is from Boston College. Prior to Canvas On Demand, Joe has been involved in numerous successful technology start-ups. He is extremely proud of his family-his lovely wife and their three delightful daughters, Joe enjoys a variety of redneck pursuits including hunting, fishing, and watching Nascar.