Builders, architects and designers, if you’re looking for the latest window and door products, Andersen Windows and Doors is high up on our list of manufacturers. The company’s 400 Series of windows provides a classic blend of engineering and craftsmanship, ensuring they are weather-tight, high quality and easy to install.

The 400 Series features a wide range of styles, from bow / bay and gliding to casement and double-hung, this collection has it all. And, no matter if you are designing a contemporary or traditional home, the 400 Series is available in five different exterior color options and two interior colors. In addition, Andersen’s 400 Series is energy efficient, a characteristic that has become increasingly more important to homeowners.

To learn more about Andersen Windows and Doors’ 400 Series, watch the video below.

Builders and developers have faced many challenges since 2008 when the housing industry was hit hard due to the recession. Many homeowners were forced to foreclose, which created widespread homeownership losses. As the economy is slowly but surely continuing to recover, builders and developers will be faced with new yet exciting challenges. One of these challenges being the drastic change in consumer housing preferences.

These changes can be welcomed in many ways, as they present opportunities for new forms of revenue and industry expansion.

The concern for childhood obesity has increased tenfold over the last few years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents during the past 30 years. And, the risks of childhood obesity can result in long-term cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. In addition, an overweight or obese child can feel the effects from a social standpoint, opening them up to ridicule and bullying from classmates.

In an effort the help prevent childhood obesity from continually growing, the USDA is seeking to rid school vending machines of junk food such as chips and candy bars in exchange for more healthy options like fruits and vegetables. The proposed rule, Smart Snacks, requires schools to uphold nutritional standards consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. If passed, the law would go into effect at least a full school year after final approval, allowing schools to acclimate to the new changes.

Under the proposed rule, food sold in schools must:

Designers and architects, are you wondering what new kitchen appliances are being introduced this year, to ensure your clients have the latest technology? Wonder no more, because ECPR set out on a mission to find some of the newest and most innovative kitchen appliances on the market. Scroll down the page to view three new products our team found most intriguing!

La Cornue’s CornuFé 1908 

The newest range in the La Cornue family, the CornuFé 1908 has a sleek, old-world look and features a patented gas vault oven and a 5-burner cooktop. This new oven range is made from enameled steel and measures 36” in width. In addition, it has a large, soft-close drawer that enables ample storage for racks, trays and other over accessories. The CornuFé 1908 is available in seven colors and three trim combinations. For more information about the CornuFé 1908, or to view other products from La Cornue, visit www.lacornueusa.com.

Photo Credit: La Cornue

Photo Credit: Kohler

LG Electronics’ HDTV Refrigerator 

LG Electronics; HDTV Refrigerator gives a whole new perspective on innovation. The side-by-side model incorporates LG’s fifth-generation digital television tuner to deliver digital broadcast to a 15-inch screen. It also includes remote-control operation, cable and DVD connection, and FM radio. On the left door is a 4-inch weather-center LCD display above the ice and water dispenser. For more information about the HDTV Refrigerator, visit www.lg.com.

Photo Credit: LG Electronics

These new designs are just three among many inventive products being introduced to consumers in 2013. New technologies are being designed everyday, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. Friends and fans of ECPR, which of these new products will you be incorporating in your next project?

Better Homes and Gardens  recently featured on its website, a slideshow of must-grow new perennials for 2013. The brand new varieties offer exciting colors and more flowers that will make any perennial garden the best yet. The slideshow includes a large array of varieties such as hibiscus, echinacea, sedum, and coreopsis as well as many other eye-catching varieties. Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’ from our client, Terra Nova Nurseries, was one of the many echinaceas mentioned.

Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’ Photo Credit: Terra Nova Nurseries

Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’ is part of the Supreme™ Series, which includes two other varieties, Echinacea ‘Supreme Elegance’ and Echinacea ‘Supreme Flamingo’. Terra Nova Nurseries teamed up with Blooms of Bressingham to create these heavy bloomers with strong saturation in its large, but proportionate flowers. Retailers, learn more about these beauties here. 

For those reading our blog who are garden center retailers, you do not want to miss out on purchasing these varieties to have in your garden center for 2013. Consumers will see these lovely new plants on Better Homes and Gardens’ website and you will not want to miss out on stocking these trending perennials for spring gardens. No matter what type of retail you might be working in, it is important to stay abreast of consumer trends and demands in your related industry. This will help you keep up with competitors as well as reach your company’s sales goals.

A note for our landscape designer blog readers, many of the plants featured by our editor friends with Better Homes & Gardens magazine are popular trend-setters. So, keep them in mind as you begin to plan your clients’ landscape designs for spring. – For everyone else, these plants just might add some living color to your own lawns and gardens in 2013. 

Be sure to check out several of our top picks from Better Homes and Gardens’ selections below. Also, if you want to view the whole slideshow visit its website.

Belamcanda ‘Gone with the Wind’ Photo Credit: Plant Delights

Hibiscus ‘Heartthrob’ Photo Credit: Perennial Resource

Lavender ‘Phenomenal’ Photo Credit: Garden Plants

With a new year ahead of us, it means many new and exciting opportunities to look forward to here at Eberly & Collard Public Relations. One that we are thrilled about is the addition of our most recent client, Kimberly Grigg of Knotting Hill Interiors. Many of you who read our blog and keep up with our social media sites might recognize her name from the Southern Vernacular Architecture and Southern Interior Design Panel our team hosted at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC) in October.

Kimberly Grigg is the talented and much sought-after lead designer of her firm called Knotting Hill Interiors. She also owns a retail store in Myrtle Beach, SC, of the same name. Kimberley believes her design mission is to create living spaces that are genteel, welcoming, comfortable, and authentically expressive of those living in them. One of the many traits we admire about Kimberly is the fact she forms a relationship with every client and brings fresh and inspired ideas that are responsive to each client’s needs and visions. Whether working on an entire home renovation project or planning the interior design of a new room or guesthouse, she has earned a reputation of delivering on all of her promises along with a dash of flair and fun.

To learn more about Kimberly Grigg and Knotting Hill Interiors, please visit her website or check out her blog. Also, be on the look-out for more posts about projects and events featuring Knotting Hill Interiors as we kick-off publicity and speaking engagement planning for Kimberly during 2013.

Have you noticed that Twitter recently revamped its website, making it easier for new users to navigate their way through the site? The previous, rudimentary design layout now features a sleek design, and makes for easy use. Each profile now presents a “Facebook” style timeline, which includes recent tweets and accessible information such as followers, images, lists, and favorite pages.

The “Home” page provides all the old features, with a few new and improved updates. For example, each tweet in the news feed can now be opened, allowing you to view the intimate details of the tweet, including those who have re-tweeted the post. Also, at the top left corner, users will see two more new features, the @Connect and #Discover tabs. The @Connect tab allows users to view all interactions, mentions, follows for an account. Thus, making it easier to communicate with and follow new and existing users. The #Discover tab enables users to view trending Twitter topics in a whole new way, based on a user’s connections, location and language.

So why the redesign? ECPR has its own take on why Twitter revamped its social networking site. The new Twitter seems to look a lot like Facebook’s Timeline. And, with other social media channels, such as LinkedIn, becoming more popular, Twitter’s redesign comes at the right time. The new design seems to entice users to “tweet” from Twitter, rather than from third-party sites like HootSuite. In addition, the new design could be related to a user’s eye movements. Twitter designers may have strategically placed items in locations where users focus their attention the most, including the top left of a page, as well as photos within tweets (which are now viewable directly in the news feed). Also, along with the new features, Twitter has launched “brand pages” for companies who are advertisers. In creating these “brand pages,” Twitter is making an effort to increase revenue through advertisers.

What do you think of the new Twitter; is it more user-friendly, or simply a way for Twitter to increase profits from advertisers? Please post your comments below, we would be happy to learn your thoughts on the new Twitter.

Poinsettias are a national phenomenon during the holiday season, but the history of these plants is not commonly known by consumers. In this blog post, the ECPR team will uncover the history of Poinsettias. Given the fact we have written about and publicized thousands of plants over the years, we thought a look at the story behind Poinsettias would be quite appropriate for our blog. We hope our friends and fans find the history of these holiday plants as fascinating as we do!

Poinsettias originate from the most southern regions of Mexico and Central America. Ancient Aztecs first discovered the plant species blooming in tropical highlands one winter, and named it Cuetlaxochitl, which means “flower that grows in residues or soil,” in the Aztec language of Nahuatl. Originally, the red leaves of Poinsettias were used to dye clothing and produce a form of cosmetics, while the milky-white sap was used to help reduce fever temperatures.

Photo courtesy of Foxcrawl.com

Poinsettias were first thought to be associated with Christmas back in 16th century Mexico. It is believed that a young girl, too poor to afford a gift for the celebration of Christ’s birthday, gathered weeds from the side of the road and placed them in front of her church altar. The crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds into beautiful poinsettias. Later, during the 17th century, Franciscan priests, who resided near Taxco, located in the Mexican state of Guerrero, were said to have used full blooming Poinsettias as part of the nativity precession. The star-shaped leaf pattern is thought to have symbolized the Star of Bethlehem, and the red leaves were said to represent the blood sacrifice though the crucifixion of Jesus.

In 1828, Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US Ambassador to Mexico, discovered the crimson-red plants while visiting the Taxco region. Enraptured by its beauty, Poinsett sent clippings of the plant back to his home in Charleston, SC. He then began propagating them in his greenhouses and sending samples to his friends. In 1833, German botanist, Wilenow gave the plant its botanical name of Euphorbia pulcherrima. It was in 1937 when the plant had been renamed to Poinsettia by William Hickling Prescott, wishing to honor Dr. Poinsett. Today, many professional growers cultivate Poinsettias, making them widely available to retailers and their consumers almost everywhere. Consider purchasing these beautiful plants this season for their gorgeous appeal as well as to support the growers who make them accessible.

The World of Concrete show is just around the corner. Set to take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 24 – 27, 2012, the show is the industry’s only annual international event dedicated to commercial concrete and masonry construction suppliers. With more than 1,300 companies exhibiting at the show, approximately 50,000 attendees will be in search of the newest products and technologies on display. Industry professionals such as commercial contractors, concrete contractors, construction managers, designers and specifiers, general contractors, masonry contractors, residential contractors, precast/prestressed producers, architects, and more will be roaming the 50,000 square-foot showroom this year.

In addition to new product displays, a number of educational seminars, demonstrations, competitions and special events will take place throughout the duration of the show. Show goers will have the opportunity to learn how to lay concrete floors, repair concrete and measure performance and productivity as well as learn about how to use social media channels to customize marketing strategies. To view the full schedule of events and seminars taking place at this year’s show, click here.

The unlimited number of networking opportunities and educational experiences enables exhibitors and industry professionals to strengthen connections and capitalize on new trends for 2012. For those of you who are attending World of Concrete, visit the show’s website at www.worldofconcrete.com for detailed show information, travel and lodging suggestions and floor plans.

For those of you who don’t already know, The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has set to out to redefine the term “public relations.” The term, last updated in 1982, is significantly out-of-date. With new methods of communication and technology, public relations has evolved into more than just one-way communication. For starters, social media has become one of the most prominent tools in public relations and marketing. With channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and Flickr, companies have a way to interact and engage with consumers on a more “human” level. Thus, increasing brand personification, recognition and loyalty.

On November 21, 2011, PRSA began accepting definition suggestions from industry professionals, academics and students to help redefine public relations. For submission information, click here. Once the deadline closes (December 3, 2011), the top definitions will be chosen on December 5, and voting will begin.

In light of this opportunity to redefine the art of our profession, the ECPR team came up with our own definition as industry experts.

“Public relations is a series of strategic approaches, tactical campaigns, and disseminated messages purposed to build two-way communication that advances brand or corporate perception by key constituency groups.”

Friends and fans, tell us what public relations means to you. Do you agree with our definition? Please feel free to post your comments, ideas or questions below. We look forward to receiving constructive feedback. Also, stay tuned to our social media channels as we follow along on PRSA’s journey to redefine public relations.