Event Awards

February 12, 2021 by Tustin Awards Leave a Comment

Looking for a Plaque Award?

Lucite, plaque award, trophy, tombstone… Over the years, we have heard customers refer to awards by many different names. And if we’re honest, sometimes we aren’t exactly sure what a customer is looking for when they call or email us. But with a few simple questions, we quickly “break the code” and create incredible awards and gifts for every customer.

One common phrase our customers use when they contact Tustin Awards is “plaque award.” However, plaque award has a range of meanings depending on whom you ask. Here are a few different award styles people often select when they ask for a plaque award:

Wall Plaque

When someone asks for a plaque award, the first style which customers typically order is the wall plaque. Wall plaques are especially popular for people who don’t have a lot of desk or shelf space. They range in price from less than $50 for our budget-friendly Walnut Finish Plaque to hundreds of dollars for a completely custom plaque. Other popular wall plaque styles include our sleek Black Glass Plaque as well as our distinguished Polished Rosewood Plaque.

Perpetual Plaque

Another award style people also order when they ask for a plaque award is a perpetual plaque. Perpetual plaques include small individual plates that can be updated with winners’ names. They are popular for recognizing corporate achievements such as quarterly top sales winners, years of service milestones, and top customer service rep of the month. They are also popular among schools and non-profit organizations that wish to recognize gifts from donors. Two of our favorite perpetual plaques are our Walnut Perpetual Plaque and our Rosewood Perpetual Plaque. But if you are looking for something unique, we have other styles that can be completely customized.

Perpetual Plate or Metal Plate

Plaque awards can also sometimes mean a perpetual plate or metal plate. Perpetual plates are the small metal plates that are updated on the previously mentioned perpetual plaques. They are also commonly used on perpetual trophies for Fantasy Football and other tournament trophies. Alternatively, sometimes customers need a simple metal or plastic plate for other purposes like personalizing a jewelry box, labeling an electric box, and more. We can cut and engrave custom plates on-site, so let us know what you’re looking for!

Cast Plaque

The epitome of durability and distinction, the Cast Plaque is another award type people might order when they ask for a plaque award. Available in your choice of bronze or aluminum, cast plaques are custom made to order by a foundry. They are a popular choice for permanent recognition and are commonly used to identify historical monuments, honor donors at building dedications, and identification of city and government sites.

Desk Award

Lastly, customers have also used plaque awards when looking for a desk award (something that rests on a table or shelf). For budget-friendly desk award options, we usually recommend our acrylic awards because they have a high impact at a lower price point than other award styles. However, if you are looking for a desk award to honor an exceptional achievement (i.e. 1 Million in Sales, 25 Years of Service, etc.), then we recommend ordering a crystal award. Crystal awards are extremely impressive and worthy of outstanding accomplishments.

Looking for your next plaque award to recognize the high achievers in your life? At Tustin Awards, we have customer service professionals who are happy to help you find the perfect award or gift. Call, email, or visit our showroom to find your plaque award!

November 16, 2020 by ARN Leave a Comment

End of Year Awards Season Is Here!

It’s beginning to feel like End of Year Awards Season at Tustin Awards! And every day, we talk to clients who describe the tremendous dedication, innovation, and perseverance of their employees. With a new year on the horizon, now is a fantastic time to recognize those who have stepped up in big ways to support the continued success of your company.

Having been in the awards and engraving industry for over 40 years, we know that End of Year Awards Season may occur at different times depending on the company. For example, many customers combine their annual employee awards event with their company holiday party. Other clients wait until as late as March or April to ensure company data (i.e. sales figures, percentages, etc.) has been calculated before recognizing employee achievements from the prior year.

Whenever your End of Year Awards Season rolls around, here are a few things to consider:

Start Shopping Early
Create Excitement
Think About Delivery
Adding A Special Touch

Start Shopping Early

For the best selection and pricing, start your award search at least 3-4 weeks before your deadline. Standard production time for most orders during End of Year Awards Season is around 2-3 weeks after final proof approval (production times may vary depending on the award style, quantity, and number of engraving locations). However, we will do our best to meet any presentation deadline. For completely custom award styles or orders over 50 pieces, we recommend 5-6 weeks for design, production, and personalization.

Create Excitement

This year, many of our customers have shifted from in-person awards presentations to virtual ceremonies. Despite the change in format, most event and marketing departments still to send out formal invitations, company swag, gift baskets, party favors and more ahead of time to create excitement for the event. If you need help with any of these elements, call or email us for ideas! Or you can visit our promotional product page for inspiration.

Think About Delivery

To maintain the surprise of a virtual awards presentation, most customers have the awards arrive about a week after the presentation. We recommend allowing our shipping specialists to carefully pack and ship your awards to the individual recipients for added convenience and peace of mind (no one likes to receive a broken award).

Add A Special Touch

For a special touch, many clients provide personalized cards for us to insert into the individual award boxes. We can also include additional tokens of appreciation such as corporate branded journals, shirts, lapel pins and more. And we offer custom ribbon and gift box options to heighten the prestige of the award presentation. Adding these elements to your award presentation will amplify the significance of the awards and the appreciation the recipients feel when they receive them.

At Tustin Awards, we combine family business values with industry-leading expertise. We take great pride in creating high-quality awards and promotional products which bring joy to other people. And we look forward to collaborating with you on your End of Year Awards!

July 15, 2020 by Tustin Awards Leave a Comment

Shop Local At Tustin Awards For Your Orange County Custom Awards needs and more!

Providing Orange County custom awards, promotional products and on-site engraving for over 40 years.

How many times have you ordered an Orange County custom award only to discover that it wasn’t exactly what you thought you were getting? Or, maybe it didn’t arrive on the day you thought it would? Perhaps you even tried to call the online company but lost precious time navigating a phone tree without talking to an actual human?

At Tustin Awards, we get it! And we are here to help you avoid these online buying horror stories.

Spacious showroom displaying custom awards and promotional products

Since 1978, Tustin Awards has served Southern California with a customer-first approach. We have your best interest at heart!

When you choose Tustin Awards, you work directly with people who design, engrave, print, and assemble your Orange County custom awards in-house. A lot of online companies do not do any of this work themselves. They are at the mercy of another vendor and so are you.

Here’s why customers have been using Tustin Awards as their Orange County custom awards & promotional products source for over 40 years!

Customer Service
Showroom & Online Storefront
On-Site Engraving & Printing
Quality
On-Time & Safe Delivery
Fast Production
Community Focus
Value

Customer Service

We realize purchasing awards and promotional products can be a confusing and stressful process. Whether this is your first time ordering or you’re an experienced buyer, we will save you time and money by helping you find exactly what you need!

Whether you prefer to purchase in-store, via email, or using our online storefront, our customer service team will help you find exceptional awards and promotional products which align with your corporate branding, fit within your budget, and meet your deadline.

If you have any questions or need ideas, call us so we can help you in real time. Or email us, so we can guide you through the creative process. We also assist customers while they are on our website to ensure they find the right awards for their needs.

Showroom & Online Storefront

We recognize customers have different shopping preferences. For clients who people prefer to touch and see products before purchasing, we have a spacious showroom conveniently located in Tustin. Our brick and mortar store allows you to see products in-person to make sure they meet your expectations. It’s also a great place to meet with a recognition specialist to find new award and marketing ideas. If you have the time to visit our showroom, we strongly recommend it!

Some customers prefer to order online – we get it! With a few clicks on our online storefront, you can quickly place your order and move onto your next project. But, before production begins, your order is carefully reviewed by an actual human for any critical issues. For example, we often receive award orders from clients who forget to include details like the recipient’s name, presentation date, or logo. Or maybe the award someone ordered for the CEO of their company is only 5 inches tall (and a potential embarrassment). To save time and make sure your order is perfect, we will contact you to resolve any issues before production begins.

On-Site Engraving & Full Color Printing

At Tustin Awards, we offer on-site engraving, sand blasting (also known as sand etching or sand carving), as well as full color digital printing. We regularly engrave and print on materials including wood, glass, acrylic, aluminum, brass, marble, granite, and more!

With the latest in engraving and color printing technology, if something can sit still, there’s a good chance we can personalize it (but for human personalization, please call a tattoo artist).

Quality

Our exceptional quality and attention to detail has kept Tustin Awards in business for over 40 years. Because we engrave, print, and assemble our products in-house, we have complete control over the personalization process. We also have a minimum of three people inspect your award during and after production to ensure your order is flawless. While other companies often “cut corners” by using cheap materials or inferior engraving methods, we guarantee excellence at every price point.

For example, some online companies will sell laser engraved glass awards because laser engraving is a much faster process than sand etching. But when customers receive these laser engraved awards, they are shocked to discover that the engraved letters are hard to read or even flaking off. At Tustin Awards, this is a shortcut we will never take.

Tustin Awards producing exceptional awards for over 40 years

On-Time & Safe Delivery

In an era where employees routinely wear “multiple hats”, deadlines become tighter, and the margin for error is nonexistent, we do everything possible to ensure your awards and promotional product buying experience is a breeze!

As the industry leader in on-time delivery, we recognize that deadlines are non-negotiable.
Whether you have an awards presentation, graduation, fundraising gala, or retirement dinner, we consistently exceed expectations to make sure your awards and promotional products are the least of your worries!

Ordering from out of the area is extremely risky when hard deadlines need to be met.
More than a few times, we have had customers call in a panic because the awards or promotional products they ordered online from “Brand-X” were misspelled, too small, damaged in shipping, or poor quality. Their presentation is tomorrow, and the company they originally used either can’t or won’t rectify the situation. The fact is, if they would have shopped locally for Orange County custom awards they could have avoided this nightmare.

Fast Custom Awards Production

With on-site assembly and personalization, we guarantee speedy production, order accuracy, and high-quality products to meet your in-hands date. We will make every effort to meet any reasonable deadline.

Orange County Community Focus

When you shop at Tustin Awards, you are supporting the people in your neighborhood. Many of our employees have worked at Tustin Awards for over 10 years (some for 20+ years). We regularly give back to local community organizations such as schools, sports teams, and non-profits.

Value

When you add up all the advantages of buying locally from Tustin Awards, you will find that the value we provide blows the competition away. No one will provide you with better service or quality—we guarantee it. Save yourself the time, money, and headaches.

We are ready to start your next Orange County custom award or promotional product project! Shop local at Tustin Awards.
Learn more about us!

July 14, 2020 by Tustin Awards Leave a Comment

Why Employee Recognition Matters Now and How We Can Help!

In these difficult times, employee recognition means more than we can imagine.

The pressure employees have faced in the last few months to stay productive and healthy is tremendous. The sacrifice and dedication employees continue to demonstrate in the face of newfound challenges merits a well-deserved employee recognition program.

Employees working from home must remain focused despite unanticipated distractions. Zoom meetings with a baby in tow or answering emails late into the night is the new norm. Employees continue to excel while caring for children and loved ones.

Employees going into the workplace face increased risk of exposure. Restaurants, salons, grocery stores, and retail store employees never thought they would be front-line workers. Yet they consistently put their needs aside to serve others and help create a sense of normalcy. They perfectly execute heightened sanitation protocols to keep customers and co-workers safe. They may also take the brunt of customer stress with limited business hours, social distancing practices, etc.

Now, more than ever, those serving as nurses, doctors, police officers, and firemen deserve more gratitude than we can possibly give. These people work tirelessly to keep us safe and healthy. They continue to show up every day for our benefit despite increased risk, and they are truly heroes.

The need for employee appreciation is stronger than ever. Unfortunately, galas, awards presentations, and social gatherings have been cancelled or postponed. Companies and non-profits which had previously spent months planning these employee recognition events now have to put them on hold. This is forcing organizations to get more creative with how they acknowledge employees for going above and beyond. And this is where Tustin Awards comes in….

Need something fabulous on a budget? We have tons of great ideas!

Are you planning a virtual employee recognition presentation but still want real awards or trophies? We have you covered!

Whether you prefer the convenience of shopping online or the ability to “touch and see” products in a brick and mortar showroom, we are here to help. With over 40 years in the awards and promotional product industry, we have the expertise to make sure your order is perfect every time. We also have the capability to ship your awards directly to recipients. This ensures they safely receive the praise they deserve.

Don’t forget to recognize these special individuals as well:
– Non-profit donors continuing to give in the face of uncertainty
– Teachers selflessly serving their students
– Newlyweds who opted for a more intimate ceremony than planned
– And many more!

We look forward to helping you recognize the people in your life!

Contact Tustin Awards today and let’s make your employees feel special!
E-mail Us! or call (877) 589-9989

November 18, 2016 by Tustin Awards Leave a Comment

Awards and Trophies Make Great Employee Recognition Gifts

If you haven’t already, use this time of year to reward your employees with end of the year recognition awards and trophies.

Enterprising companies understand the value and importance of formally recognizing their employees. Over the last 38 years, Tustin Awards has made it their top priority to create quality awards and trophies for companies that value their fellow team members. Engraved plaques, etched glass or crystal awards, specialized acrylic pieces and promotional/corporate gifts are all great ways to show appreciation. We have just the right reward for all your team players.

Want to take your employee recognition up a notch?

We can help! Have you passed out the same award every year just with different information? Successful managers know that employee recognition is not just a “nice thing to do” for employees. This communication tool will reinforce and reward the most important outcomes people create for your business. Let this be the year you let your award do the talking for you. A unique custom award can help take it to another level. Let your employees know how special they are to the success of your business.

One of our recognition experts can guide you through the process. Contact us today!

Looking for a Plaque Award?