Practically everyone who has ever begun a career in the engraving business without having grown up around the trade has their own unique story to tell. That’s certainly true of Lori Champagne, a gifted artist and well-known engraver who owns A Action Awards/Champagne Recognition in Carlsbad, CA. In fact, she credits The Muppets for sparking her interest in engraving. “When I was in high school, if you had a B average or better,” says Champagne, “they let you skip the final two months of the school year, including finals, and work.” Many of her friends worked in doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, but she took a different route—a very different route. “I worked as an intern with Jim Henson’s Muppets,” she said. “I think I was the first, and possibly the only, intern hired to work in the workshop. There have been many interns since, just not building Muppets.” How, then, does a job as an intern for a media company trigger a career in engraving? “I found a creative world I had never experienced before and I learned I could do anything in life,” she recalls. Of course, she didn’t leave The Muppets and go directly into engraving. It was more of a long and winding path that led her through that door. Champagne went to college and obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Missouri. From there she went on to the Center for Creative Studies, connected to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and then went on to receive her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Champagne said she began working at newspapers, including the Kalamazoo Gazette, the San Diego Union Tribune, the Colombian, Columbia, Missourian and the Birobidzhaner Shtern, a newspaper in Russia, but she soon realized that wasn’t quite the career she had in mind. “I felt that the journalism world was just too restrictive for me,” she said. “I didn’t have the freedom to do the things I wanted to do.” Champagne also worked in various frame shops from high school (late 1980s) through 1994 designing and creating custom frames, which allowed her to unleash the creative mind that was screaming to get out. “It opened doors for me in the workplace that allowed my creative juices to begin flowing,” she said. After 15 years in the business, she began to explore other avenues. |
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“After my husband became injured, we decided that it was time for a change,” says Champagne. “He needed a place where he was capable of working, and I needed a place where I could let my creativity take over.” She said she looked into several markets, but found engraving to be the best option because, in her mind, the industry needed a little more creativity which she felt she could provide and she saw the awards market as being somewhat recession-proof. Now, if you’re in the award business, you may think a statement like this sounds somewhat naïve, but Champagne clearly defends her point of view. “I’m not saying that every award shop will be a success,” she says, “but even when the economy is down, companies will still buy awards for their employees because awards are relatively inexpensive yet they motivate workers.” Champagne didn’t just rush out and start an engraving business armed only with her positive outlook, however. Like all successful entrepreneurs, she came up with a savvy business plan first, then in 1995, at the age of 30, she bought A Action Awards in Carlsbad, CA, from its original owner, Jayne Hall. When Champagne took over, she changed the name to A Action Awards/Champagne Recognition. “I put Champagne Recognition in the store name because it describes more of what we do. However, I kept the A Action Awards for two reasons—to remain in the front of the phone book and because the name had been around for many years and people were familiar with it.” Like many newbies in the industry, Champagne had no experience in the R & I industry. “I was completely clueless when we first began,” she says, “but I would have to say our inexperience actually helped us more than it hurt us. We simply didn’t know what rules to break and what rules not to break.” It didn’t take long for Champagne’s creativity to fully kick in. Within two years after purchasing her business, she had won her first award in the engraving competitions held at the annual ARA Las Vegas Show in 1997. There have been many more since that time, but Champagne says she doesn’t keep track of the numbers. “I was not raised to boast about my accomplishments, but rather to do my best,” she states matter-of-factly. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of the work I and my employees produce and I’m happy with the accomplishment, and if we place in a competition for our work, that’s great.” But Champagne says the thrill for her is more about the creative process involved in making a unique product than it is with the accolades she receives after the fact. |
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“My parents told me that when you reach success, you can’t stop there. You always have to challenge yourself to do better on the next project.” And that’s the philosophy that Champagne brings to every award she creates. “I love creating the award—the brainstorming, the building, the finished product,” she says. And, according to those who judge the award design competitions, she’s pretty good at what she does. A Action Awards/Champagne Recognition has won 17 first-place awards in various categories. To put that number in perspective, Champagne explains that her shop has never had many employees—no more than three at one time, in fact, since she first began. “Many of the other shops that enter these competitions have more than double the number of employees I have,” she says. Champagne says she considers “the best engraving shop in the world right now” to be Columbia Awards, located in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. At the 2007 ARA Las Vegas Show, she said they won more first place prizes than any other shop in the world. “Their work is without a doubt exceptional,” she says, adding they have 10 or more employees. “My shop has two, including me,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, they are exceptional at what they do, but numbers-wise I am proud to be standing next to them.” The process for creating awards for customers is just as unique as the final product. Champagne said when a customer comes to her for an award, it’s important to gain as much input from them as possible. “We’ll chat with them about who the award is for, what task they are honoring, where they want the award to be kept, what the company does, what the logo looks like, practicality of sculpture vs. plaque vs. item of use (bookends, clock, etc.),” says Champagne. “We also send a variety of layouts to the customer, allowing input all the way through.” Having said that, Champagne says some of their long-time customers who know what they’re capable of will simply give them a budget, some text and some background information on the award and let them create an award sight unseen. “We create it any way we want, and they receive an award that’s creative and probably like nothing they’ve ever seen before,” she says. |
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One of Champagne’s most memorable creations, she says, came from a request to build a custom award for a Soap Box Derby race. She said she went online to research plans for making a soap box car and that’s when the ideas began to flow. “I started building layers from the bottom up. I used recycled plaques, stacking them to make levels,” she said, adding the final product, which looked more like one of the race cars than a trophy, continues to be one of her all-time favorite awards. Creativity is vital to Champagne’s success and she says she starts every project by using her imagination, not by limiting herself to the confines of a traditional plaque or trophy. “My ideas come from my imagination. I like to see what’s out in the world and go from there,” she said. Champagne says one of her favorite materials to work with is acrylic, mostly because it’s easy to cut and allows for more creativity in making different shapes and unique awards. Her favorite part of engraving, however, is using a laser, which she says is more fun than other engraving methods, and extremely versatile, lending itself to much more creative ideas. The story of how Champagne acquired her first laser is interesting, to say the least. “I was in an engraving contest and the first three prizes were laser engravers,” she says, adding they placed third. For this contest, she entered another one of her favorite award creations. “I don’t know if it’s because it essentially won me my first laser, but the eagle award I submitted is one of my personal favorites.” Champagne says she wanted to submit something very different—something that would really stand out. “I didn’t want to use glass or acrylic, so we came up with the idea to use paper,” she recalls, adding she went to a high-end art store and bought different types of paper with different textures. “I lightly spray-glued the paper onto cardboard and then cut that with the laser to create feathers,” she said. “We then created the beak out of glass and also made a nice display case, which rounded out the award.” As mentioned, the eagle award took third place and A Action Awards/Champagne Recognition added its first laser engraving machine. While Champagne says she was impressed with the capabilities of laser engraving, the laser she had won was not quite the right fit for her needs, so she sold it and bought a 75-watt Epilog laser instead.
Adding a laser system to A Action Awards/Champagne Recognition was more than just a practical business decision that has paid huge dividends. According to Lori, it has made some pretty hefty contributions to her personal life as well. “I love to host costume parties,” she says, “and I always use the laser to create costumes and props.” If you think that’s different, Lori says she has also used the laser to carve pumpkins and engrave decorative scenes on the top of pies. While she admits using a laser is more fun, she still believes that rotary engraving produces better results. “The look of traditional rotary engraving, in my opinion, is 10 times better than you get with the laser,” she said. “It’s the range of capabilities of a laser that simply can’t be beat.” Just as Champagne’s creations are anything but traditional, the same can be said for her management style. The sign on her store reads, “Open at 8-ish, Close at 5-ish.” And, she says, she doesn’t have set hours for her employees. She allows them the flexibility to come in anytime between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and stay until they feel their day is complete, typically about 6-8 hours a day. Her managing techniques may be unique, but it works well for everyone involved and that, she says, is one of the keys to running a successful business. “I soon realized the importance of motivating and encouraging employees,” said Champagne of managing a business. “The happier they are, the better their work will be.” And keeping her employees happy has become a high priority for Champagne. Each day when workers leave, she gives them a personalized thank you for a specific thing they did that day. During slower periods of business, she allows them to decorate the room in which they spend most of their time. “I believe that people work better in an environment where they feel comfortable and at ease,” she says. Ailene Bonner, Champagne’s sole employee at the time, is a huge advocate of Champagne’s managing techniques. “She’s the best boss I’ve ever had,” Bonner says. “She’s very good at letting staffers do what they’re good at.” In addition to the positive feedback she gives employees, Champagne also provides lunch once a week, takes workers out for an occasional dinner and allows them to take a personal day every few weeks. “I guess I’m doing something right,” Champagne says, “because Aileen lives 30 minutes from the shop and she comes to work everyday.”
Champagne says she doesn’t do much in the way of marketing and advertising her services, but whatever she does seems to be working. “I don’t have a (retail) website,” she says. “I probably should create one, but with my type of business I feel like that could limit my customers’ aspirations for an award.” What she means is that she’d rather sit and talk with a customer to learn exactly what they’re looking for in an award. She doesn’t want a customer to go to a website and feel as though they have to choose from only a select group of awards. “I feel like having a website could limit my creativity,” says Champagne, but adds she does have a site where she strictly provides photos and information about her company’s awards that have received recognition from the industry. As for advertising, Champagne believes word of mouth is the most effective, not to mention the least expensive, technique. “I have my listing in the Yellow Pages, but to be honest, word of mouth is my greatest advertising asset,” she says. Repeat business is another area in which her shop tends to benefit, she says, adding most businesses, even if they have a new person handling their employee recognition program, tend to buy from the same awards shop year after year as long as they are happy with the product they’re getting. Champagne is passionate about her creativity and the kinds of awards she produces, but that passion is elevated to another level when it comes to creating awards for children, especially when it’s related to academic achievement. “I’ll outright give a better price for awards given to kids for their school accomplishments than I would for the employee of the month at corporation X,” she says. That’s because she believes this type of recognition is a key factor in helping to boost their self-esteem. “When I take orders from schools, I’ll often suggest that they give awards for the most improved student,” she says, “because I believe it’s important to reward effort, especially for really young children. Many people who are the best at something are best at that thing because it comes naturally,” she adds, not necessarily because they’ve worked hard at it. “Rewarding effort is the key to building self-esteem.”
It’s no surprise that Champagne enjoys a challenge, as evidenced by her creative works of art. Therefore, it should be no surprise that when the time came to redesign the area she used for a showroom it, like her awards, would look like no other in the business and receive the praise and recognition of industry experts.
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