Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Nowadays, more and more people are coming to the conclusion that religion is outdated and has little, if any, place in modern society. It’s being taught less and less in schools, busy family life makes it difficult to attend weekly services, and every day, there are new arguments against religion in general. But instead of fading into the background, religious institutions, including some amazing synagogues in the Washington DC area, are finding new ways to not only stay relevant but continue to be an integral part of their community. In today’s technology driven society, these establishments are getting their online groove on to stay current and grab the attention of the younger generations.
Here are the top five most active synagogues around Washington DC making sure that everyone gets involved.
5. Temple Micah
Temple Micah prides itself on being a ‘teaching, caring and doing’ congregation and maintains an active role in the local community. Although the temple doesn’t take an active role in social media, it does maintain a well-designed and easy to use website which covers the usual topics regarding the synagogue as well as topics ranging from Israel to online games. More importantly, the focus remains on social action and Temple Micah’s Roll-Up-Your-Sleeves-and-Get-To-Work attitude makes up for the lack of Twitter and Facebook presence.
4. Adas Israel
Adas Israel is a well-known synagogue in Washington DC, as it is the largest conservative synagogue in the area. The roots and leanings may be conservative, but the synagogue also maintains a healthy and active interest in its members and the community at large. Social media savvy, Adas Israel keeps active on Facebook, Twitter and Blogger in order to keep in touch with members and reach out to the community. The members also host groups for young professionals and special series events like their Hanukkah Festival which features concerts, parties and guest speakers.
3. Temple Sinai
Temple Sinai offers members and the public plenty of ways to get in touch and stay involved with programs. The congregation is Reform Jewish and the temple members have adopted the Biblical command ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue’ as their unofficial motto. The temple is active on Facebook and also offers live streaming services for those who can’t make it in, as well as archived sermons and services from High Holy Days. Now there’s no excuse for not getting to services, since it’s as simple as logging on to the Temple Sinai website.
2. Ohev Sholom
Ohev Sholom gains much of its clout from being the National Synagogue. Its Orthodox congregation embraces newcomers both as new congregation members and religious converts. It is active online through social media sites like Facebook, and offers its own streamlined website. The synagogue also carries its active social presence over to many physical outreach and social programs. Ohev Sholom hosts regular Shabbat Hannukah Dinners for new members, and for those who enjoy their worship activities to be a bit more casual, it also hosts annual Thanksgiving football parties. Ohev Sholom makes a successful play at bringing Orthodox traditions and perspectives into the 21st century for a modern day congregation.
1. Sixth & I
Sixth & I takes an incredibly active role in social networking, community outreach and member activities. Its activities schedule runs rampant with social get-togethers from Food for Thought, which discusses traditional teachings in context for modern life, to an evening with futurist and best-selling author, Ray Kurzweil, and everything in between, including concerts and comedy shows. The website is by far the most youth focused and offers live streaming of events, as well as an easy way to stay connected on Facebook and Twitter, with fun and fresh updates. Sixth & I reaches out to members and the general public by offering free tours and public events aimed at creating and maintaining an open dialogue about religion and culture both on- and offline. Don’t be a fool, stay in Shul!
Tags: Hanukkah cards, Hanukkah traditions, Jewish holidays, Jewish temple, religious holidays, social media, Washington DC synagogues
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Monday, December 9, 2013
Sending out holiday cards at the end of the year has been a private tradition since the first card was sent out in 1843. It began with a lovely, hand illustrated card; sure that card was soon printed thousands of times and sold for a shilling each, but the sentiment was there. Since then, the greeting card industry has flourished and greeting cards can now be found for every conceivable holiday. But, while it’s nice to receive a card, any card, there’s always a little something extra to be said for the non-commercialized, custom made card.
Custom Holiday Cards
Sending holiday cards out among family and friends has always been a popular tradition, but more and more, large corporations and small businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. And, why not? Kindness Sells. We’ve all been touched by the holiday or birthday card sent from our dentist, am I right? You’re not about to change dentists after that. Well, the same goes for the massive corporation that sells ergonomic office chairs. If they can get in the holiday spirit of giving and send out a little festive greeting to their customers, those customers just might stay loyal and order more chairs.
Now, replace the generic commercial card with a unique custom card that truly represents that company and, wham!, that will definitely make an impact. I mean, there’s nothing cuter and more heartwarming than a handmade card from the fingers of your marker or paint covered five-year-old, but as far as hand-designed corporate cards go, there are ways to give your customers the warm fuzzies.
Why it Works
According to research done by Hallmark, 75 percent of the 1.5 billion people who send cards do so because they know it makes the recipient feel good. It doesn’t take someone with an MBA to understand that when customers feel good, they’ll be more likely to spend more and stay loyal to a specific brand or company. Companies caught on to this trend early and have since stepped up their game to connect on a more human level with their customers. Even in the age of e-cards, text greetings and every other electronic way of communicating, old fashioned paper cards still rank as the go-to holiday greeting.
But, not all paper cards are created equal. You can easily spend a buck a card for a large quantity at Vista Prints, but what are the chances that someone’s going to be so moved by that card that they keep it forever? Or even bother to show it to their friends or colleagues? Spend $5 on a personalized, custom card though and that person now has a treasured keepsake. Little personal touches like shiny or matte paper, foil stamping, an image that represents your unique personality or that of your business – these are the things that stand out.
Businesses Just Wanna Have Friends
Company business cards got their foot in the door thanks to the not-so-humble salesman. Where everyone else used holiday cards to reach out to family and friends, clever salespeople have always known that the more you keep yourself in front of a customer, the more likely they’ll spend their money with you instead of the other guy. And each year, they were proven right. Sending cards, free calenders and other holiday nick-knacks that tell a story about their business has been a sales staple for nearly as long as there has been a sales department.
Companies as a whole began to catch on to this trend and, beginning rather unofficially around the late 1970s, company themed holiday cards became increasingly popular. Year upon year, businesses saw a spike in sales, higher customer retention or a mix based, in part, on having sent out a simple holiday greeting card at the end of the year.
Now corporate business cards have become a big business in their own right. Companies can now choose from traditional cards meant to convey a more somber view of the holidays all the way to modern, hip and even irreverent cards meant to celebrate the holidays without taking themselves—or the season—too seriously. But the most impactful holiday card is the one designed by the business owner himself. This has made many companies feel a bit more human to customers which, in turn, gives these businesses the same result that has always topped their own Christmas Wish List—more sales and happier customers.
Tags: Christmas, Christmas cards, corporate holiday cards, funny holiday cards, greeting cards, holiday cards, office greeting cards, winter holiday cards
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Saturday, November 16, 2013
Click on an image below to launch slideshow.
Coral and Waves Letterpress Wedding Invitations
- Customizable
- 100% cotton paper
- Matching pieces available
- Minimum order quantity 50
A Different Kind of Beach Theme Wedding, Coral and Waves
Our client came to us and wanted something a little different but her wedding invitation had to include waves, coral shapes and a monogram for her and her future husband. She loved the look and feel of letterpress and wanted texture and a touch of gold foil. With that in mind, we inserted a design pattern of waves into a quatrefoil border which raised the center panel giving this set the desired textured. Now that the main invitation design was complete all we had to do to pull it all together is add some design elements to the other cards including coral inks. You have to admit everything looks better when it is letterpressed.
Recently we decided to play around with the way that we display our invitation designs on the web and thought that stop motion would be a fun experiment. There’s sound to this video so if you’re in an office make sure your speakers are turned down as to not alert your coworkers that your searching for the perfect wedding invitations.
-Gold Foil and Aqua Letterpress Invitation
-Aqua Letterpress RSVP
-Coral Letterpress Rehearsal Dinner Card
-Coral Letterpress Rehearsal RSVP
-Coral Monogram Envelope Liner
-100% Cotton Envelopes
ENJOY THE STOP MOTION VIDEO CREATED IN OUR WASHINGTON, DC STUDIO! Comments Welcome!
Coral Theme and Ocean Waves Invitation from Heather Noss on Vimeo.
Tags: custom invitations, foil stamp, foil stamping, letterpress invitations, personalized invitations, wedding announcement
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