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Albums INC
Michelle Cordello Transcript Page
Michelle Cordello Expert PageANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio Photography Spotlight is brought to you by morephotos.com bring photographers to the web to sell, display, and proof images since 1998. Welcome to the VTalk Radio Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: Today we are in the studio with the director of marketing and creatives, Michelle Cordello, of Albums, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio. You're listening to VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight, I am your host, John Bentley. Michelle, thank you for joining us today on the Photography Spotlight.
MICHELLE: Thank you so much for having me.
JOHN: Now you guys are in the photo album business down there, can you give me a little idea of your company?
MICHELLE: Sure. Albums, Inc., is a wholesale distributor of professional photographic packaging. We've been around for about the last 34 years. We were actually started by a gentlemen who was an amateur photographer and was having a difficult time finding a source to buy photo albums and frames and different packaging options for his blossoming hobby. So that's how we actually begun.
JOHN: So you guys are the largest wholesaler of professional photography supplies, is that correct?
MICHELLE: Yes, that is.
JOHN: Now I'm looking at your website and you've got just a vast amount of products that you offer to the professional photographer. A number of the things that I see anywhere from background material to certainly digital paper, other supplies from photo finishing and retouching. Boy you guys about cover it all don't you? We do, we have always tried to be a one stop shop for both the freelance, amateur photographer as well as the professional photographer. Anything that you need for photography after the picture is taken that is what we supply. We try to have a very wide variety of products to suit each customer's each individual needs for their business. Anything from small photographic packaging like boxes, bags, any studio supplies like the background papers, things of that sort in addition to all the way up to the flush mounted, custom made albums that are so popular today. We try to have a little bit, or a lot for everyone's needs and we probably carry over 11, 000 products at this point, and those are just products that actually are stocked in our distribution centers. That probably doesn't include all of the custom options that are available today which we have I believe six full scale custom album lines. So we try to have as much as we possibly can to suit the demands for today's photographer.
JOHN: Well, Michelle, let's talk about those six custom album designs that you have. Can you kind of go through each different one for us?
MICHELLE: We actually started many years ago. We were one of the first distributors to actually carry a custom made album line and one of our manufacturers, Renaissance, actually partnered with a group of New York photographers to develop their Renaissance The Book album line, and it is actually made in New York at their Port Chester facility. They've been developing that line for many years now and really out of all the lines, I'd say it's probably one of the most comprehensive lines out there today in the way of materials offered, sizes, options and services that you can chose for your particular album. Everything is done in house at their Port Chester, New York, facility, and they definitely are very, how should I say, very experimental in the materials and the options that they offer their clients today. It's very, very different album than what was available probably, gosh even seven/eight years ago just in terms of the options and the colors and the materials. We also work with a company from Australia, Jorgensen Albums, Australia. Again, very different, unique materials, options, and he also specializes in doing a custom, matted album which is using the traditional matting, but in a very contemporary, modern fashion. Beautiful materials, a high end product and he very much speaks to a certain segment of the market, and continues to make improvement to that line. We work with Leather Albums Designs or LAD with their prestige line. It's a smaller custom line, but they have a very attractive materials that are made over in Italy. The album is actually produced in the New York area as well. They also offer a couple of different options as far as how to actually get the digital prints mounted to the page. You can either have a processing lab do that for you, or you can chose to do it for yourself. We also have our in house line called Pro-Craft Designer Series which is unique in the fact that you can actually get a digital image wrapped around the cover and it's a unique material that's very durable, and again a couple different options therein. I'm probably leaving a couple out, because we have so many, but we really have tried over the years to continue to look for new and exciting options in the way of album design working only with quality manufacturers that have been in business for several years and have really mastered their manufacturing capabilities and are committed to providing a professional level product to photographers out there and that will stand behind the quality of the product and continue to develop new and exciting ideas.
JOHN: We are in the studio with Michelle Cordello. She is the director of marketing and creatives, at Albums, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio. Michelle would you kindly give your website and contact information for our listeners?
MICHELLE: Sure it's www.albumsinc.com or you can go to our other site called www.albumsinc360.com which is an offshoot site that has more community atmosphere, and we can be reached at (800) 662-1000.
JOHN: Once again, we are in the studio with Michelle Cordello, director of marketing and creatives, at Albums, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio. You are listening to VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. We'll be right back after these important messages.
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ANNOUNCER: We now return you to the VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: We are back in the studio with Michelle Cordello, director of marketing and creatives, at Albums, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio. They are the largest wholesaler of professional photography supplies and I'm your host, John Bentley, and we're talking about photo albums. Welcome back to the program, Michelle.
MICHELLE: Thank you very much.
JOHN: Now a couple...one very important aspect of your business is, especially from the professional photographer's viewpoint, is the turn around time it takes for them to get the products.
MICHELLE: Yes.
JOHN: Tell me, what is your turn around for your basic album designs?
MICHELLE: Ok, one of the things that we actually pioneered in the industry is on all of our stock products which is the 11,000 plus products I was talking about earlier, we actually offer same day shipping on any order that comes in the door before 4:30. We pride ourselves on trying to ship the order complete and make our customers happy. So whatever we need to do to get it there including getting in a car and driving it there is certainly willing and happy to do so we try to get the orders as quickly as possible. On the custom products it's anywhere from three to possibly eight weeks depending on the complexity and the materials used in the album design, but usually the standard on a custom made album is about 4 weeks.
JOHN: Well I gotta tell you, that's unbelievable to think that you can do a turn around in one day on your basic album, that's pretty impressive.
MICHELLE: Yeah, and one of the things why we have such a wide variety of products is that a lot of people are always looking for the new and different options for their packaging and to market their studios and there are so many different off the shelf options that are available, especially with today's design and emphasis on digital composite. There are so many products that are available whether it's the peel and stick album or a slip in album that can be designed by the photographer and then actually you place the order and the next day you have it, and you have a beautiful, beautiful digital album that you can deliver to your client in less than a week, and that's one of the things that we're most proud of is trying to stay current with the trends that are in photography to be able to offer products to photographers that they can fulfill them quickly.
JOHN: Now do you also do drop shipping directly to the photographer's customers?
MICHELLE: We can if that's something the clients requests. We can certainly do that. We have many times...it's basically whatever the client wants and however we can service their account to their requirements; that's what we do.
JOHN: Now you don't just stick with photo albums, you also have other products that you offer for the photographer like folios.
MICHELLE: We have a full line of folios. We have photo mounts for the school sports and events photographers. We also have a full line of custom framing and matting including custom framing and assembly service meaning the photographer can ship us their print. They can specify their framing and matting and within less than a week we turn around a complete piece of artwork to the photographer. So we try to have as many options for the photographer. They can get as involved as they'd like in the process or they can just simply choose to ship us the print, and we'll turn around a completed piece of art work.
JOHN: Another very interesting thing about Albums, Inc., is that you are an employee owned company. Is that not true?
MICHELLE: Yes, that's correct. Our original founder, Howard Shuman, decided to retire over ten years ago. As a gift to the employees who helped him build the company, he decided to give the company back to all of the employees, and we are 100% employee owned and it's something we're very, very proud of. We're a very family oriented company. We have many generations working inside the company. As many as 3 or 4 generations, in fact, and we're a close, tight-knit family and we consider our clients part of the family as well.
JOHN: Now what do you think makes Albums, Inc., unique and what separates you from the competition?
MICHELLE: I can definitely say it's our people. The people who work here and also the services that we provide. We try to go above and beyond what's normal or what's expected and try to exceed customer expectations. Whether it's going into a studio to help a customer put together their show room, paint, put together price lists, or just offering the every day support, you know, to our client who in today's age are finding the demands of digital and the changes in the photography industry very challenging, and we try to be their business partner and provide support and service in every way that we possibly can. So I definitely would say that that's something we're most proud of, and we're very happy we get the opportunity to continue to do that.
JOHN: Well, Michelle, before I let you go, will you kindly tell our listening your website and contact information again.
MICHELLE: Certainly, you can reach us at (800) 662-1000 or at www.albumsinc.com or www.albumsinc360.com.
JOHN: And what about a phone number?
MICHELLE: (800) 662-1000 anywhere in our country that's our toll free line.
JOHN: Excellent.
JOHN: We have been speaking with Michelle Cordello, director of marketing, at Albums, Inc., the largest wholesaler of professional photography supplies. They are based in Cleveland, Ohio. You've been listening to John Bentley and VTalk Radio's Photography Spotlight. Thanks for joining us today. Everyone have a good afternoon.
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