Our Story
In 1945, Irving Letchinger and Leonard Sofo, two concert violinists from the 144th Army Band in Illinois, created a revolutionary new product: a plastic chin rest for the violin. Hence the name of our parent company, Plasticrest Products. They quickly experienced the limited market for this product and diversified - by manufacturing fancy jewel boxes from surplus windows from World War 2 bombers.
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My father was their first employee, and eventually became plant superintendent. When I was 12 - and begging for a new, electric guitar - my dad put me to work in the shop, at $0.75 per hour! This lasted for a couple of summers before I was unceremoniously relieved of my duties!
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Off to college I went, and the first 14 years of my career were spent in the cosmetics industry, in a variety of manufacturing, sales, marketing and merchandising functions. Why do we hold cosmetic packaging in such esteem? This is why. In 1989, with support from the City of Chicago, my dad and I bought out Irving and Leonard, and the rest is jewelry packaging history.
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For the better part of 78 years, this family business has been building and importing the finest jewelry packaging products, including custom jewelry pouches, jewelry organizer trays, presentation boxes and Euro Shoppers.
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We focus on the mid-to-high end segment of the market, and our products are handmade from the finest materials, including Ultrasuede, Charisma Suede, Silsuede, Kenized Flannel, Integrity Leather, Skivertex, Pellaq, Silktouch Nuba and others. We feature more fabrics and colors than any manufacturer in the industry. There are no cookie cutters in our factory.
At Signature Jewelry Packaging, form follows function. There are few superfluous bells and whistles. Our packaging is classic, elegant and timeless. It will build your brand and your business, and make every jewel look more expensive and precious. It will help close more sales, thrill every recipient at the gift giving moment, minimize returns, and pave the way for the next sale.
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If you are one of the thousands of customers we've worked with over the past 78 years, we'd like to thank you for your loyal business. If you're shopping for something new and exciting, or just want to visit, please feel free to contact me personally.
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Best wishes in 2023!
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Bob Pauly
Owner
800-828-2163
Our Business Model
Jenny sews our tricky fabrics - Ultrasuede ST, mainly - and one day she tearfully approached me and cried "Bobby, I have to quit - I have to babysit Scottie!" And before I could regain my composure, she blurted "Let me bring my machine home!"
Working from home? This was pre-Covid. Despite my reservations, despite my control freak nature, we drained the oil from her Juki, dismantled it, packed up a box of fabric and some thread, and delivered them to her home. "Call me when you need more," I said.
And a business model was born. While Scottie was napping, after dinner's dishes were put away, Jenny rejoined her Juki. In the comfort of her home. On her schedule. The next morning she called, and I picked up a box of finished pouches, just like the ones done in the shop. And I delivered a new box of fabric blanks to be sewn.
Sewing pouches requires good, old-fashioned hand crafting - there's little automation - and right now, we have our machines in the homes of qualified sewers across the Chicagoland area. Yes, fabric still needs to be sheeted, clicked and branded by sophisticated machinery and operators in our shop - inspections, too - but the blood and guts of our manufacturing - the sewing - occurs in peoples homes, while babies sleep.
When you buy our pouches, you are supporting grandmas and grandpas who ain't done just yet, you are helping some kids pay their way through college, and you are providing moms and dads meaningful employment when child care defies 9-5 convention. Your pouches are hand crafted by a team of proud people who really enjoy servicing you.
Yeah, I realize this blog post blows our cover of being an international conglomerate, but I'm guessing you already knew that.
Thank you for supporting our products and company, and most importantly, our people.
