“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

The world has lost a visionary.  The design world has lost their champion.  Mr. Jobs, you made our company possible.  We mourn your loss.

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Tags: apple, steve jobs

Tomorrow Kristin and I travel to Alabama to kick off our College Tour events!  You can follow our adventures on Facebook and Twitter where we will be periodically updating as we travel from Alabama to North Carolina!  We are super excited to have the opportunity to visit all of these college campuses and spread the word about RIU!  According to good ole’ MapQuest we’ll be on the road – in total – for approximately 12.5 hours!!  Here’s hoping Kristin made that killer playlist on her iPod!  Kristin and I are also hoping to visit some of our other non-collegiate retailers along the way – so if your store is on our route you might just get a surprise drop-in from RIU!

Tags: BTS2010, collegetour, riu, riutour

We are so excited to share with you all the launch of our Spring/Summer 2010 product line!  We have some great new prints and products that we know you will just love!  Think the best beach essentials, great graduation gifts, new lap desk designs and more!  The majority of our new products will be shipping in January and early February – just in time for those winter getaways and spring breaks.  So be sure to head on over to our website to see the all of the newness.  Feel free to post comments here about the new collection.  We’d love to hear what your new favorite, print, style or must have is!

Tags: beach totes, beach towels, room it up, spring/summer 2010

Here at Room It Up we wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a very happy holidays!  We are truly thankful for every single one of our customers, retailers, fans, etc… it’s because of all of you that we continue to challenge ourselves every single day to bring you some of the very best prints, products and service around.  Here’s to hoping you have a wonderful and safe holiday season and we will see you in 2010!

*oh, and just in case you’re wondering – the little malti-poo in the santa suit is Louie, our CEO Jamie’s dog – isn’t he cute?

Tags: happy holidays, room it up

Bora-Bora Island

Earlier this month Pantone, the all-knowing color guru, announced its pick for 2010 color of the year:  Turquoise.  On their website, Pantone describes the color as the following:  “Turquoise Transports Us to an Exciting, Tropical Paradise While Offering a Sense of Protection and Healing in Stressful Times.”*  We, at Room It Up, couldn’t agree more, and as it turns out the vast majority of our new prints for Spring Summer 2010 feature that very color!  Just another reason to get excited for the new prints and products we have in the works for the upcoming season.  *Quote property of Pantone LLC

Image Source:  Pantone LLC

Tags: color of the year, turquoise

….The Holidays of course and right now we are offering some great promos, to make that holiday shopping just a lil easier.  Check out our free shipping offer (FREESHIP2009) and 25% off New Dot and Camo with promo code:  NEWDOT25

In case you needed a friendly reminder:

4 Days Until Hanukkah!

18 Days Until Christmas!

Tags: christmas, hanukkah, holidays 2009, promo, room it up

With the holidays upon us our website is beginning to see more and more traffic each day.  In an effort to serve all of our customers the best that we can, we recently added a new feedback feature on our website.  We want to hear from you and what you think about our website and product line.  We are always making changes to ensure that doing business with us is the very best it can be.  So please, take a few moments and tell us what YOU think.  You can navigate to the feedback feature by visiting the Room It Up website and click on the “Give Feedback” icon on the lower right hand corner.  Thanks and please know that all of your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated.

***Stay tuned for a fun giveaway to get everyone geared up for the holidays!  If you haven’t already – be sure to subscribe to the blog so you can be one of the first to know!!

Tags: feedback, promotion, room it up, room it up giveaway, room it up suggestion

I recently gave my friend Julia a monogrammed solid purple cozy fleece as a gift.  She loves anything with her JRA monogram so I figured this gift would be a big hit.  Turns out I was right and she loves the blanket so much she has decided to purchase a few for family members for the holidays!  Below I have listed all of the reasons why the Cozy Throws make a great gift this Holiday Season.

1. Multiple solid colors and fun prints to choose from.  We have a color or print for anyone!
2. Jungle Madness.  My personal favorite, Jungle Fun, has be selling fast!  Who doesn’t love animal prints?  Pick up one today before they’re gone!
3. The perfect blank slate for personalization.  The blankets are perfect for showcasing you name, favorite team or monogram.  While we don’t offer monogramming services, you can always find a RIU retailer near you (on our locator) that may personalize, or take one to an embroiderer in your town.  If you need help tracking down one, we can always see if we can help track one down for ya.
4. Not only are they great for using at home, they make the perfect travel companion.  Great for taking on your next road trip or on your next plane adventure.  (Not to mention ours are so much more fashionable and cozy than those questionable ones they hand you on the plane!)

So go ahead and check out our cozy fleece selection today!  Not to mention, if you pick up a couple you can qualify for the free shipping!!  What’s not to love about that?

Tags: cozy fleece, gifts, great holiday gifts, holiday 2010, riu gifts, room it up

I know, I know… we just got done with Halloween!! (PS: Where did October go!?! – I for one sure don’t know!)  However, as I walked in our local mall this past weekend I couldn’t help but notice all of the big holiday displays in the store windows.  Maybe it’s just me, but I love this season (even if we don’t get the snow that was pictured in the Gap’s window!) and while you may just be finishing off all of that candy, and packing away all of your Halloween costumes, decor and more, let’s face it:  the Holidays will be here before you know it.  No matter what holiday you celebrate the gift giving season is all around.

At Room It Up we are bound and determined to make sure your holidays go a whole lot smoother when it comes to buying the perfect gift for those on your lists – and the shelves for your stores for all of you RIU retailers.  So do yourself a favor and shop early – we’ve got a great selection on our website that you just have to see for yourself.  I for one am going to be giving my friends a selection of flat iron cases, lap desks and cozy fleece. Prefer to shop by price-point?  Today, I collected a list of gifts ranging from under $20 to $60 – so be sure to check those out as well.

Remember the Holidays are for having fun and spending time with family and friends (well, mostly along those lines, right?) so do yourself a favor and shop early!  Your sanity will thank you later come mid-December!  An added bonus?  The majority of our best sellers are currently in stock and ready to ship!!  So if this all wasn’t a big enough motivator to get you ready – look below for my countdown!!

39 Days Until Hanukkah!!

53 Days Until Christmas!!

Tags: 2009, holiday 2009, room it up

Sorry to all for the couple week hiatus from posting on our blog.  Check out below for a quick rundown of the fun and exciting things that have been happening at our Stuart, FL HQ!!!

1. Our Facebook presence has grown to over 1,000 strong! We were so excited we created a special promo just for Facebook friends and fans.  Have you joined yet?  If not, head on over to the Room It Up Fan Page and connect with us today.  As always, we are always looking to hear feedback from our loyal customers, like you.  We think that our fan page is a great place to gather some of your insights so keep up the posting!
2. The Holidays are here! Okay, it still may be only October, but our office is already starting to feel the Holiday buzz.  We are encouraging all of our great retailers to stock up early this year for the best selection of our products.  Retailers, if you haven’t already taken advantage of the shipping promotions be sure to do so soon… they expire at the end of this month.  Click here to view a copy of our Room It Up Holiday 2009 Catalog.  The majority of our best selling products are currently in stock and ready to ship, so go ahead and get shopping!  Need some more inspiration?  Check out what Christie from the blog Simple Finds will be getting from RIU this holiday season for the loved ones on her list.
3. Tennessee is on our mind. November 4-11 Fred, our Director of Sales, and I are heading up to Tennessee for the International Gift Exposition in the Smokies.  We are excited to show off all of our great products to the great Zoo, Aquarium and other various attraction retailers that are going to be there.  Are you heading to Sevierville this Novemeber too?  If so, be sure to check out the Room It Up Booth at spaces 1207/1208.  I for one can’t wait to see the change of seasons and have a taste of fall weather!
4. Spring 2010 is in the air! We are working hard to create one of the best new product launches ever for this January.  We know you are all excited to see what’s next and let me tell you, from what I’ve seen thus far you are all going to LOVE it!  Loads of bright colors and new designs that are just going to scream fun!  We always want to keep our loyal fans and customers in the know.  Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook and Twitter Pages, as well as our blog to be one of the first to see what’s new!

Well, looks like that’s it for now!  Remember to check back often for more news and updates.

Tags: 2009, holiday 2009, iges show, in-stock, Retailer, room it up, room it up holiday, shipping promotion, spring 2010, what's new