Why you want to go to the Made in NH Expo each spring
Originally written Friday, March 24, immediately after exiting the exhibit floor
The Common Man chefs (locations in Concord, Merrimack and Lincoln) are serving up crab cakes accompanied by delectable sauces for $2 each, all proceeds benefit CASA, the nonprofit advocates for neglected children. Reason enough to drop in and experience the creativity and industriousness of the NH manufacturing community, but there are dozens more inducements.
Here’s a quick sampling from a walk through the 150-booth expo. Books that keep readers turning the pages well into the night are written in NH (Hookset). Candles that melt into sensuous massage oils are made in NH (Hollis). Maple syrup and maple cotton candy are made in NH (Temple). Blueberry tea is brewed in NH (Raymond).
Each of these products is better with a label. Many exhibitors make their own labels, on the cusp of, or well past, the volume at which money could be saved by working with a higher-volume label producer like Amherst Label.
A walk through Made in NH is a graphic design treat and a label manufacturing learning opportunity. Labels of every size, shape, color and material call attention to products made with love in NH. Ingredient lists, legally required information, contact and location are clearly conveyed. Labeling plays a huge role in the visual appeal and presentation of products at the expo.
As the marketing director at Amherst Label, I want all of the exhibitors to turn to us for their labels. I want to be their label company! I want to save them money on their runs and produce professional labels that reflect the integrity of their products. I get excited knowing that if everyone partnered with Amherst Label, their labels would be environmentally respectful and graphically excellent. So that is one reason I enjoyed the show so much.
But if I were not a marketing MBA with a 30-year background in graphic design, I would still be excited at this expo. Because every product exhibited is made in NH. Made by members of our local communities using fine local materials and ingredients, and state-of-the-art techniques. World class products made locally. It’s a chance to be very proud of our state and its products, including people who live and grow here.
At the helm of the Made in NH Expo is Heidi Copeland, a product of Clark School in Amherst, NH, and Milford High School (MHS). In the reception area I ran into Heidi—we were classmates for 12 formative years. Joining me moments later was Fred Ruonala, also a member of MHS graduating class of 1973. All three of us, made in NH.
I hope everyone goes and has as much fun as I did.
Made in NH Expo link: http://millyardcommunications.com/index.php…
Two products of Milford, NH: Ruth (Simpson) Sterling and Fred Ruonala.
Classmates of the Expo’s organizer, Heidi Copeland of Business NH Magazine.
