The Dunstan Group

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Longer Days, Shorter Sleeves: Here’s to the Polo Shirt  

Spring brings longer, warmer days, and that means short sleeves, and an often times more casual approach to conferences, sales meetings, and yes— golf tournaments, company picnics, and other warm-weather get-togethers where even business casual is too stuffy or just too much. Enter, the polo shirt; it’s the perfect pick for most every function this time of year. Here are some of our new favorites at The Dunstan Group:

adidas Heather Block Sport Shirt: A vintage look to the classic polo, but with up-to-date styling and modern materials to match. This cool-wearing polyester fabric from adidas is a warm-weather favorite you’ll want to wear all season long.

Izod Confetti Sublimated Sport Shirt: Make every occasion cause for celebration in this new polo from Izod. All-new polyester-spandex blend for all-way stretch fit, stretch fit seams, and a three-button front for good looks no matter how much you’re on the move.

OGIO Orbit Polo: Lightweight materials with heavyweight attention to detail. The Orbit Polo from OGIO is ready for spring and summer weather, thanks to the double-knit jacquard and built-in stay-cool wicking technology. Set-in open hem sleeves offer freedom of movement for any activity.

Cutter & Buck Forge Polo Shirt in Pencil Stripe: This is everything you’d want in a polo shirt, and a little bit more. Moisture wicking fabric, UV protection of 50+ UPF, pencil stripe jersey fabric, self-fabric stand-up collar, and 3-button placket front.  The straight hem works tucked or untucked, too.

Cool New Gear for Spring 

Who says you can’t take it with you, right? We see new product every day that proves you can do just that — and keep it cold (or hot) along the way. Coolers and drinkware are year-round favorites for clients and friends here at The Dunstan Group. And as the weather begins to warm, they really do become hot commodities! 

Gameguard Waterproof Cooler Bag

Our Cooler Bags are known for leaving others in the cold– and this style takes it a step further. The exterior of this bag is constructed using a new waterproof fabrication and includes the addition of a waterproof zipper. Engineered using premium high-density foam, our 32-quart bag easily fits 48 canned beverages — or 36 cans plus two 10 lb. bags of ice. This bag includes a shoulder strap with quick- release clips and front pocket for dry goods. The smooth, easy-to-clean surface repels water, is incredibly durable and collapses for easy storage.

RTIC 8 Can Day Cooler 

The RTIC 8 Can Day Cooler has plenty of room to store what you need to keep cool for up to 24 hours. The outside is made of heavy-duty polyester & the inside utilizes a high density insulation. Includes an adjustable shoulder strap for carrying comfort. This cooler bag has two places to store water bottles, extra snacks and small gear—a zippered pocket in the front and two mesh pockets on the sides. Antimicrobial, product-protecting properties are built into the flexible lining to resist odor, mold and mildew, making it easy to clean between uses.

Palermo

This 18 oz double-wall 18/8 stainless steel thermal tumbler keeps your drinks cold (or hot) for the long haul. The Palermo Tumbler features vacuum insulation, a stainless steel rim, and a clear push-on lid with sliding closure for leak-resistant travel. The powder coated finish comes in tons of colors to match your team, group or company logo. Gift box included!

H2go Journey

The H2Go Journey looks as cool (or hot!) as it performs. This 25 oz double-wall 18/8 stainless steel thermal bottle has copper vacuum insulation for maximum temperature control. The H2Go Journey includes a stainless steel insulated lid with a carrying handle for easy use. The stainless steel rim and base accent the powder coated color finish. Comes with a gift box, too! 

Hudson

Looking for a smaller tumbler that still makes a big impact? We love what this Hundson insulated tumbler delivers! The 12 oz double-wall 18/8 stainless steel thermal tumbler features copper vacuum insulation and includes a push-on lid with thumb tab. The dramatic top-to-bottom finish gives it a “wow” factor that’s sure to impress. Gift box included with this one, too. 

Naturally, these coolers and tumblers look even better and make a long-lasting impression when decorated in your team or company logo and colors. In fact, we’d be willing to bet the drinks stay even cooler, too. Call us for an appointment to pop by The Dunstan Group showroom to see even more great examples! 

 

The Umbrella: You’ve come a long way, friend

The good old umbrella might seem like a tried-and-true invention, but it’s come a long way from its not-so-humble beginnings as a status symbol in ancient China. As the story goes, the more elaborate, the more honor and influence its owner had. But the Chinese didn’t have the market cornered on the first umbrella. There’s evidence of the umbrella in artwork from thousands of years ago from Egypt, Syria, Greece, and the Roman Empire. 

Since then, the umbrella has grown from status symbol, to accessory, to necessity— with inventors trying to improve upon the design. An article in The New Yorker says The US Patent Office has received thousands and thousands of patent applications attempting to improve the umbrella. 

One of the design improvements we’re most excited about here at The Dunstan Group is the inverted umbrella. What a great idea! An umbrella that folds the “wet side” onto itself, keeping it away from your clothes, car, or wherever else you’re headed to get out of the rain. Made even better that we can customize these inverted umbrellas with your logo and colors for a truly unique presentation. 

Want to see more umbrellas and other great ideas to wow your clients, team, or customers with branded merchandise and apparel from The Dunstan Group? Stop by our showroom, or send us an email to get started. 

The Dunstan Group joins Young Black Leadership Alliance for Day of Service

When the Young Black Leadership Alliance (YBLA) adopted Hidden Valley Elementary School for its Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service, The Dunstan Group answered YBLA’s call to help.

The Dunstan Group partnered with YBLA founders John and Tammy Martin to help dress Hidden Valley students for success, with a donation of 150 collared uniform shirts. Hidden Valley is a uniform school, and shares YBLA’s mission of high expectations for students as future leaders. Among the expectations for Hidden Valley students are to say, “yes, sir,” or, “no, sir,” (or ma’am), to make eye contact, and to show respect with positive gestures. Similarly, YBLA’s leadership programs develop young African Americans into leaders for today and tomorrow, simultaneously preparing them for college and careers while encouraging them to mentor younger students.

The Dunstan Group was enthusiastic about helping two organizations with such community-minded missions. The company also provided YBLA with 500 string bags with the YBLA logo to give to the students for the MLK Day of Service.

“We’ve worked hard for many years to define our uniqueness in the marketplace, and we’re finding it in the service of others,” said The Dunstan Group President, Scott Dunstan. “This partnership represents one more way we’re accomplishing our community involvement goals, which is so important to us.”

And they’re in good company, too. YBLA leaders met with recently-retired Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, about his support of YBLA. Peppers is donating a portion of the proceeds from his Sneaker Charity Ball to the YBLA.

“We are so grateful for his support!” said YBLA about meeting Julius Peppers and his generous donation.

And although the team at The Dunstan Group doesn’t run or tackle like Peppers, they are always ready to answer the call for the community. YBLA founders John and Tammy Martin are big fans of the Dunstan Group and cheered its donations to their MLK Day of Service.

“Scott Dunstan and the wonderful team at The Dunstan Group have been a tremendous blessing to YBLA,” said the Martins. “From the very first encounter with Scott and his team, our experience has been nothing shy of receiving kind-heartedness, professionalism, and a true commitment to the Charlotte community.”

The Martins point out the long history of community service by both the Dunstan Group and YBLA.

“As a non-profit organization in Charlotte for 13 years, we can honestly say The Dunstan Group has been instrumental in lowering our cost on merchandise and has helped push our mission forward of building leaders by donating uniforms and negotiating a lower rate for drawstring bags to our biggest community service project on MLK Day. Aside from that, Dunstan has been wonderful to work with in designing and selecting merchandise; waiving fees, and making sure we received merchandise on time even if it meant personally delivering a package to our house,” added the Martins.

Now that’s service!  “Overall, The Dunstan Group is and will continue to be a strong partner for YBLA and many other businesses in the Charlotte community!” 

Want to know more about the Martins and the Young Black Leadership Alliance? Listen in on this episode of the award-wining Brandbuilders Podcast! 

BrandBuilders Podcast Brings Home Hardware from Vegas

The Dunstan Group and their BrandBuilders Podcast came away big winners in Las Vegas! Scott Dunstan and Brian Young are two happy hosts, after the company’s popular podcast was named a Silver Winner at the PPAI Pyramid Awards in Las Vegas. The BrandBuilders Podcast won in the technology category recognizing blogs, podcasts, and digital news.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is the things people are talking about in the parking lot, but don’t always make it to the light of day,” said Scott Dunstan, co-host and president of The Dunstan Group. “We’re proud to have those discussions — sometimes popular, sometimes unpopular — but we bring things to the forefront, which I think is important.”

Scott and Brian have recorded more than 75 conversations with friends, clients, and community members who have created a brand or made a difference. The Dunstan Group created the BrandBuilders Podcast around their belief that every brand, business, event, or special project has a story that goes deeper than its stated mission, marketing, or product. The BrandBuilders Podcast is a forum to tell a business’s or entrepreneur’s story about the struggles and inspiration that comes from building something bigger than themselves.

The success of the BrandBuilders Podcast prompted The Dunstan Group to invest in the BrandBuilders Podcast Studio at the company’s headquarters on Morehead Street in Charlotte. The in-house studio allows Scott and Brian to share their guests’ stories in a way that takes the company’s community-building focus to a new level. The Dunstan Group understands the platform is like being entrusted with an incredible superpower that can educate, inform, entertain, and connect our community for the greater good. Podcast number 76 was the first to record there, continuing the tradition of making connections that are bigger than just doing business.

PPAI is the premier media brand covering the companies, people, ideas, and information that impact the promotional products industry. PPAI Media’s three industry publications provide timely news, expert commentary, and practical content help the branding industry. Scott and Brian attended the PPAI Expo to learn about the newest products and brands they can offer Dunstan Group clients in 2019.

An all-new episode of the BrandBuilders Podcast drops each Friday. Episodes can be found at http://dunstangroup.blubrry.net or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Brand Builders Spotlight: Ability Experience

One in a series of case studies highlighting creative projects, imaginative clients, and remarkable results. 

 

The Client:

Ability Experience is the non-profit, philanthropic service organization created by the national Pi Kappa Phi men’s fraternity. Their goal is to support and provide activities for persons with disabilities in a way that changes how they’re viewed.

The Big Idea:

One of their popular fundraisers is “Beardsgiving,” when fraternity members and alumni spend the month of November cultivating great beards as part of an online fundraising campaign. Leaders thought adding incentives might motivate the men in fundraising, but they needed to do it in a way that would “balance cost with cool” as a non-profit. We showed them a mix of merchandise, both traditional and new, that could meet their needs and exceed their expectations.

The Reaction:

The hats, speakers, mugs, gear bags, and shirts really nailed our goals and we were thrilled. This year we had a record number of guys receiving fundraising incentives, especially at the higher levels. While we work hard to increase the number of registrations we have from across the country, our success lies in how we are able to maximize the fundraising for those that sign up. We absolutely love working with Scott, Brian and MacLean and appreciate their work to impact our mission!

-Basil Lyberg, Ability Experience

New Year — New Location

The BrandBuilders Podcast is moving to a new home!

Starting in January, the Dunstan Group will record its popular BrandBuilders Podcast with hosts Scott Dunstan and Brian Young in a new studio built into its headquarters on East Morehead Street near uptown Charlotte.

Co-host Brian Young says putting the studio right in the home office takes the community-building mission of BrandBuilders Podcast to a new level.

“They can see our work, too!” says Young with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas. “It’s a neat way to know and grow our business, while we learn about other people’s brands.”

But Young is quick to point out that the BrandBuilders Podcast is about more than business — it’s a way to tell stories about people in the community who have added something special to the world we live in. They’ve taken a risk, started a brand, built a business, and created something no one else has. Each week, guests’ stories of hard work, struggle, failure, and success open our eyes to possibilities in our own lives and neighborhoods. 

“It’s made our clients, our friends,” says Young. “It’s been a way to break away from daily distractions of our phones, email, and work, and have a one-on-one conversation for a few minutes about what makes an individual or business a special part of our community.” Some of the guests are clients, others are simply interesting people pursuing interesting new ideas, or who have great stories to tell.

Young and Dunstan recorded the first BrandBuilders Podcast in August 2017 with their friend Josh Jones, of Jones & Hedges Custom Builders. Josh’s story of building a business in a down economy, then learning his young daughter, Libby, had leukemia, pulled at everyone’s heartstrings and set the tone for the soul of the podcast. Then and since, the conversations have not been all about business — they’ve been about friendships, relationships, and community. 

An all-new episode of The BrandBuilders Podcast drops each Friday. Episodes can be found athttp://dunstangroup.blubrry.net or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Episode number 76 will be the first to record at the home office of The Dunstan Group at 1200 E. Morehead Street.

Like Morehead Street, relationships are a two-way street. This new turn will allow guests of The BrandBuilders Podcast to get a better understanding of The Dunstan Group’s mission — which is not just providing big ideas and branded merchandise and apparel, but building relationships that last. 

Cutter and Buck: Make it Your Own 

Did you know? One of your favorite name brands can be personalized with your logo, brand name, and colors? You’re probably already a fan of Cutter and Buck, but now there are even more reasons to love this iconic active lifestyle brand. From golf gear to outerwear, shirts, sweaters, and more… the entire catalog of Cutter and Buck is available through The Dunstan Group. 

Why Cutter and Buck? 

In 1990 Cutter and Buck began creating top-quality sportswear for the golf course and other active lifestyle pursuits. Today, they design clothing and outerwear that spans your whole lifestyle – keeping you polished and professional at work, comfortable during downtime and trail-ready even in ever-changing weather like ours.

Here in Charlotte, the city buzzes with business of all sorts, a thriving arts and culture scene, pro sports, shopping, and incredible restaurants. And within a short drive, we’re just hours from some of the country’s best beaches, the mountains, and a world of places to discover in between. Outfitted in Cutter and Buck from The Dunstan Group, you’ll be ready to roll from the office to out there— wherever “out” is for you. Better still, you can customize Cutter and Buck to outfit your team, your employees, or group to make it your own.