» websites

Client Kudos: Hydrovac Industrial Services

Haley Montgomery — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:21:23 +0000

Congratulations to our long-time client, Hydrovac Industrial Services, Inc, on the launch of their new website! This website redesign came on the heels of a corporate brochure update and the need to give their online presence a fresher look.

Hydrovac offers state-of-the-art and high-tech industrial services to a variety of industries. As a leader in the industrial services field, their training methods, high-quality equipment and unmatched execution and company culture is quite impressive. Their marketing efforts were overdue for a website that matched the progressive approach they take to providing services like industrial vacuuming, hi-flow, watercutting, bioblasting, video inspection and more.

Dux D’Lux worked with the Hydrovac team to create a new look for the website that offered more visual appeal with the use of eye-catching colors and more photographs of the company in action. We also revamped the information in the website to reflect changes in the company services and to boost the site’s exposure in search engines.

Kudos to Hydrovac Industrial Services, Inc! It’s been a pleasure working with you through the years.

Weekend Waddle: American Life in Poetry

Haley Montgomery — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:00:14 +0000

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? The Academy of American Poets established the month-long national celebration of poetry in 1996. More than just fulfilling those high school English credit requirements, poetry is a stunningly creative endeavor that can open our eyes to see familiar things in a new way. There’s something about the combination of well-chosen words and phrases that offers a fresh and personal perspective on common experiences — even shared experiences. That’s the beauty of poetry.

If you’re like me, much of my absorption of poetry ended with what I read in English and American Literature classes in college. However, I recently discovered a program that opened my eyes again to the power of verse as well as to some of the amazing contemporary American poetry being produced today. In celebration of National Poetry Month, I thought you might enjoy a little weekend waddle through a wonderful repository of current poetic work…

The American Life in Poetry project is an endeavor that seeks to highlight and promote contemporary American poetry. Each “column” reveals a selection and introduction by 2004-2006 U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser. The columns are available to newspapers and other online media outlets (like blogs) for publication. The project is supported by the Poetry Foundation and the Library of Congress. I’ve enjoyed being on the ALP email list to receive the columns in my inBox. [You can sign up at the website link above.] The weekly offerings of short, but often poignant verse have been a welcomed does of quality writing and beautiful imagery as I’m weeding through my normal email fare.

Here are a few of my favorites from the archives. Enjoy!

Bach in the DC Subway

Weekend Waddle: Green by Design

Haley Montgomery — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:00:28 +0000

I don’t know about you, but when I’m not chasing my munchkins or pairing up the 6000 clean socks from the Montgomery dryer, I sometimes use my weekends to catch up on reading. You know–reading for pleasure–that honored past-time that seems to get pushed out of my schedule during the regular work week. I usually try to feed my mind with something other than what I see everyday in Dux land. A shift in perspective (and even subject matter) is always refreshing and tends to stimulate creativity and new ideas. My reading du jour may harken from trips to the library, examples of intrigue borrowed from the Queen’s burgeoning bookshelves, a host of random magazines I pick up at the grocery store, the current selection my reading partner and I have chosen from too many views of the NYT Book Review or the infinite number of possibilities from the internet. Granted, I usually enjoy something that I can hold in my hands. There’s something special about the feel of pages and the process of turning them that makes me know I’m reading.

HOWEVER, I’m not one to shortchange the fun that might be available through reading the virtual world we live in. (And if anyone wants to send me an iPad so I can test that fun quotient, feel free to get UPS right on it.) SO, this weekend I found some reading inspiration from an unusual source. Drumroll… Facebook. It’s true. Several weeks ago, through some networking sequence of friend-of-a-friend or fan-of-a-fan or Facebook’s handy suggestions, I found myself among the fans of the GREEN by DESIGN page. Since then, I’ve been noticing their posts in my feed and the great photos and links to their blog. This weekend, I decided to check it out more closely, and wowza!

The San Francisco-based Green by Design blog centers on the the world of fashion and design and offers a glimpse at innovative, high-quality products, designs, companies and stores that are “green” minded and “green” committed. Highlighting eco-fashion trends, sustainable products and ideas for recycling, the blog is a wealth of inspiration and sustainable bliss.

According to the website, these guys see themselves as…

A trusted source of green ideas, Green by Design provides an environment in which people can learn, be entertained, and be inspired. We look at the core of being green: To not just conserving more, but consuming less.

While we certainly know that we can’t shop our way to a sustainable planet, but if we combine educated choices with consistent action, we’re on our way to making a real difference in the state of our planet.

I hear ya! AND, I’m reading you. I’m loving your featured products and labels. I’m inspired by your mission. Just take a look at some of the features I browsed this weekend. What’s not to love? Seriously.

Find these in Green by Design blog posts about:

Bags made from coffee burlap by the Wren

Conifer, a San Francisco boutique meeting the green standard

CLOTH, a new accessories label supporting displaced women

Client Feature: Frank Wall Enterprises

Haley Montgomery — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:12:04 +0000

Eco-friendly products for the pool construction industry

When Frank Wall called Dux D’Lux to inquire about our marketing services, the first question he asked Haley Montgomery was, “Are you the girl who likes frogs?” The Queen had included a blurb about Haley in our company newsletter explaining her love of watercolor painting and the collection of frogs on her desk. The tidbit sparked Frank’s interest because he was looking to create a point-of-purchase display for one of his product innovations featuring a watercolor frog. That was over 10 years ago, and Dux D’Lux has been helping Frank market his inventive products ever since!

In 2008, Frank began a new company called Frank Wall Enterprises for which we were excited to design a great website! The company’s mission is to provide innovative products to the pool construction industry based on Frank’s 30+ years of experience as a successful pool builder. He seeks out products that will make the construction process easier for the builder and offer the best innovative options for their pool customers. He’s recently highlighted some exciting products that are environmentally friendly!

Frank’s flagship product is the AquaForms forming system. This re-usable aluminum modular system allows builders to create building forms for their pools much more quickly, saving the additional time and resources required in hand-building pool forms for each construction project. Dux D’Lux was able to consult with Frank on the naming of the product as well as design the logo.

Additionally, Frank Wall Enterprises also offers

FLEXI-Forms, a Flexible concrete form board to form and pour concrete pool decks, sidewalks, patios, driveways and any concrete surface with curves and tight radiuses. The plastic FlexiFORM board is manufactured with 100% recycled HDPE plastics — the kind found in milk bottles! In fact, one roll of FlexiFORM is made from 129 plastic milk jugs! Unlike other types of plastic, HDPE is the most environmentally stable — giving off no harmful fumes into the environment. The Healthy Building Network recommends HDPE resin-based products as the most environmentally friendly plastic building materials.

Way to go, Frank! Thanks for providing your industry with environmentally sensitive product solutions. Oh, and thanks for asking us about our frogs!

Eco-friendly products for the pool construction industry

When Frank Wall called Dux D’Lux to inquire about our marketing services, the first question he asked me was, “Are you the girl who likes frogs?” The Queen had included a blurb about me in our company newsletter explaining my love of watercolor painting and the collection of frogs on my desk. The tidbit sparked Frank’s interest because he was looking to create a point-of-purchase display for one of his product innovations featuring a watercolor frog. That was over 10 years ago, and Dux D’Lux has been helping Frank market his inventive products ever since!

In 2008, Frank began a new company called Frank Wall Enterprises for which we were excited to design a great website! The company’s mission is to provide innovative products to the pool construction industry based on Frank’s 30+ years of experience as a successful pool builder. He seeks out products that will make the construction process easier for the builder and offer the best innovative options for their pool customers. He’s recently highlighted some exciting products that are environmentally friendly!

Frank’s flagship product is the AquaForms forming system. This re-usable aluminum modular system allows builders to create building forms for their pools much more quickly, saving the additional time and resources required in hand-building pool forms for each construction project. Dux D’Lux was able to consult with Frank on the naming of the product as well as design the logo.

Additionally, Frank Wall Enterprises also offers FLEXI-Forms, a Flexible concrete form board to form and pour concrete pool decks, sidewalks, patios, driveways and any concrete surface with curves and tight radiuses. The plastic FlexiFORM board is manufactured with 100% recycled HDPE plastics — the kind found in milk bottles! In fact, one roll of FlexiFORM is made from 129 plastic milk jugs! Unlike other types of plastic, HDPE is the most environmentally stable — giving off no harmful fumes into the environment. The Healthy Building Network recommends HDPE resin-based products as the most environmentally friendly plastic building materials.

Way to go, Frank! Thanks for providing your industry with environmentally sensitive product solutions. Oh, and thanks for asking us about our frogs!

Wednesday Websight: SAAC

Haley Montgomery — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:19 +0000

The Starkville Area Arts Council is one of the stellar organizations within the Starkville community that is committed to promoting and enhancing our burg’s top-notch quality of life. We’ve been working on the marketing program for the Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau for years and like to use the phrase, “small town charm and big city opportunities” to describe our locale. We’re proud of the diverse options available in our little Southern town, and SAAC is certainly a big part of Starkville’s vibrance!

Dux D’Lux recently completed a re-design of the SAAC website to give the organization’s online presence a fresh (and more cohesive) look, as well as expand the opportunity to showcase area Arts opportunities and working artists. The new website not only offers an updated color scheme and site organization, it also includes expanded information about SAAC sponsored events and links to regional arts venues. One of the great new features in the re-design is an online member artist gallery showing examples of some of our community’s excellent artists with contact information for commissions and gallery showings.

As a companion to the newly designed starkvillearts.org, we also implemented an Arts News blog to be used as a vehicle for more quickly updating members and the public about news and events. The blog is designed with a “look” similar to the website and will hopefully serve as an arts resource for our community. Go subscribe for SAAC info!

Speaking of news on great SAAC happenings, the annual StarShine fundraising event is coming up August 7-8, and it looks yummy! Check out the StarShine page and call to book your tickets. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to support the Arts in Starkville, and the organization that makes it happen!