Wikipedia has an interesting history about Valentine’s Day. It might spark some unique Valentine ideas for your sweetheart. What’s your favorite? A store-bought greeting card? Homemade Valentine? Chocolate? Handcrafted item? Jewelry?

What if your sweetheart romance is long distance? If your budget is tight, think small and light weight so the item can be packed in a bubble mailer or small box. And ship early – at least five to six days ahead to most US locations. Stores like Pak Mail offer packing and shipping services for items big or small, fluffy or fragile. Professional shipping staff can help you choose the most cost-effective method to ensure your Valentine arrives safely and on time.

Quick tips for Valentine shipping:

• Keep all receipts for gifts purchased.
• Come prepared. Information includes:
  • Ship-to name, address, & phone number;
  • Contents of the package being shipped;
  • Which items are fragile;
  • Value of the item(s) being shipped; and
  • When you would like the package to arrive.
• Ship a week ahead of Valentine’s Day.
• Perfume, wine, and liquor cannot be shipped.
• International & APO shipments require an itemized contents list for customs.

Shipping guarantees can be interrupted by inclement weather, so ship as early as possible to allow for possible delays.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Pak Mail!

Let the games begin! Thanksgiving is this week along with Black Friday and lots of shoppers. Our shipping store is decorated and extended holiday hours are posted. Our winter holiday ducks are in a row!

We have holiday tips for packing and shipping gifts from Colorado Springs. We stock a variety of boxes and packing materials for the “do-it-yourselfer.” Or we can free up your time for some holiday baking and safely pack your gifts for you. The gifts will be on their way to loved ones and you can check something off your list.

Do you want Santa to put your long-distance gifts under the tree on December 24? Here is a simple guide for 2013 Holiday Shipping Deadlines for UPS, FedEx, and DHL:

Mexico / Canada (DHL, UPS, FedEx)
Remember to allow for customs clearance.
Monday, December 16, or earlier

Domestic US (UPS, FedEx)
Ship earlier in the month if possible to allow for bad weather delays.
Tuesday, December 17 – Ground (1- to 6-day transit time)
Thursday, December 19 – 3-Day Air
Friday, December 20 or Saturday, December 21 – 2-Day Air
Monday, December 23 – Next Day Air

As 2013 rapidly draws to a close I find myself thankful. For what? My family, our health, a spunky going-on-3-year-old grandson, friends, a thriving business, creativity, travel plans… the list is long.

My hubby Jim and our son Jesse recently managed Pak Mail 232 sans “the boss,” making it possible for me to join my siblings for a long weekend in North Carolina in celebration of our parents’ 65 years of marriage!

Jim’s and my decision in 1975 to leave the East Coast and move to Colorado (Dad called us pioneers) forced us with our two sons to create our own holiday traditions. Instead of traveling the miles during the holidays, we made or purchased gifts for long-distance family and friends. Of course, then we had to ship them. The decision in 2008 to purchase our Colorado Springs packing and shipping store now keeps us home for the holidays for a different reason – shipping holiday gifts for our customers to their loved ones. Little did we know!

2013 Minck Family Portrait

A simple message to our customers – thanks!

August was a busy month at Pak Mail 232, especially the last two weeks. We conducted five pickups and shipped three pallets in one day, and prepped another two for departure after Labor Day. We shipped documents to India and other parts of the world, collectibles from an estate, furniture used in staging a home for sale, household goods across the US and also to Canada and Europe, and care packages to college students.

It came as a shock when owners Randy and Nancy Bolen of the Peak Grill closed their doors after 15 years in the restaurant business. They’ve been good friends and business neighbors since I bought our store in 2008. In talking with them, they cited a significant downturn since the Waldo Canyon Fire and then the Black Forest Fire.

The Race family will miss the Bolens and their friendly service and business camaraderie… and the Peak Grill’s BLT with homemade potato chips! We wish them well in their next venture.

Ownership and continued growth of a packing and shipping business keep my creative juices flowing. In addition to daily operations, I often ask myself: Should I create new pages for our website? What form of online advertising should I use? Should I start a packing and shipping blog? What will I write about? Which meetings will I attend this month? What will I say in my 30- or 60-second speech? These are all legitimate questions. With the response to each comes a resourceful plan of action. Results? New faces appear in the store.

But what about my vision outside of my business? How do I find – or is that “make” – time for my artwork? How do I bring a similar creative focus to my yarn spinning, knitting, and weaving? It’s a constant battle… sometimes a battle cry. Some of my inspiration comes from Cass Mullane, a business coach and owner of Prosper Creatively. She has a passion for teaching business plans for right-brained people. She has an equal passion for her fiber artwork. And now she’s sharing studio space at Cottonwood Center for the Arts and is the owner of Planet Cass.

With Cass’ lessons in mind, on the July 4^th holiday Sunday I awoke with a plan for the day. Note I said “the day.” Baby steps are good. The plan? Exercise, eat breakfast, and wash the three small bags of Merino wool (some in my closet for a year). So I walked, enjoyed eggs and waffles with my husband, and spent the next five hours washing the wool. It worked! Now I’m prepping the wool further for spinning a fine lace-weight yarn.

My list – scan family photos and Dad’s WWII letters, spin yarn, create and knit sons’ sweaters, design small nature tapestries, reupholster chairs in our fifth wheel, finish needlepoint – can be overwhelming when placed on top of what I do for Pak Mail. Perhaps “alongside” with small planned steps is the way to go. I’m still learning.

How do you balance your business and personal creativity?

May 30th I attended the  Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce after-hours Meet & Greet, hosted by Tracy Miller at her Manitou Springs gallery on Ruxton Avenue. Awesome gallery, by the way. Patrice, a business associate from the chamber, asked about shipping a Star Trek Next Generation collection from Maryland to Colorado — perfect timing with the release of the new Star Trek movie. Her son will be the recipient of this collection of figures, a transporter room (pictured) and other sets, and a Star Trek telephone that his uncle used in his office for a few years. Patrice wanted to know if it would “cost a fortune” to ship the three or four boxes of collectibles.

The answer is “no.” Simply make sure all the items are securely and professionally packed and that you have an accurate value for the collection and each box being shipped. Unless the collection absolutely needs to reach its destination quickly — or has a high dollar value — ground shipping with UPS or FedEx is the most cost effective. For international shipments, DHL fits that bill. If the collection is very large — six or more large boxes, shipping on a pallet by LTL truck may be the best.

For all you Trekkies, new and “old,” and for anyone with an awesome collection like this, it’s good to know the most cost-effective way to ship these treasures. Choose the best option for your wallet. That leaves some extra money to see the new film a few more times!

Star Trek Next Generation Collection

Everyone’s heard about the devastating tornadoes ravaging parts of Oklahoma.  It seems to be one weather disaster after another on the daily news, with no relief in sight. However, there is light in this time of darkness — a home in the path of destruction in Oklahoma survived amid mass wreckage because of its durable construction. See the full story covered by our local KRDO 13 News station here. This particular house was built with Tegrant Protexic ICFs (insulated concrete form), which is highly wind and fire resistant.  The hollow blocks of Styrofoam are supported by rebar and filled with concrete.  Tegrant uses recycled Styrofoam to make its products.

Something unique about Pak Mail is that, in addition to packing and shipping, we also accept clean Styrofoam for recycling! We bag the Styrofoam pieces that people bring in and take them around the corner from the store to Tegrant. Instead of sending this non-biodegradable material to the landfill, it’s re-manufactured into concrete forms. The Oklahoma home constructed with this building product withstood one of the most devastating tornadoes in recent memory. It’s just one way Pak Mail helps out not only our local community, but the national community as well. We’re humbled to know that a local business we donate to has made an impact in a time of grief. Many Coloradans are starting to look into building homes with the Tegrant form because of its fire-resistant and insulating properties.

Did you receive a shipment of fragile items protected with Styrofoam? Not sure what to do with this packing material? Bring it to Pak Mail! If we can’t re-use it in our packaging, we’ll recycle it with Tegrant and make it count for something!