It is difficult to walk into any shop in a major beach town without finding an assortment of products that bear the name of the town or nearby beaches. Seaside retailers have to make sure their selection of souvenirs with a location name are unique, well designed and well crafted to appeal to today’s shopper who has boundless choices for where they spend their souvenir dollars.
According to Greg Robitaille, founder and CEO of Xplorer Maps, Missoula, Montana, maker of hand-drawn maps featured on a variety of products, “People are looking for more unique, original and custom products when they travel.”
Mark Gimbel, owner of the retail store Windjammer Emporium in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, can attest to this. He estimates 80% of his store is made up of name-dropped merchandise, including, ornaments, ship models, mugs, sweatshirts, T-shirts, salt/pepper shakers and shot glasses.
Gimbel does what he can to offer unique merchandise as he sees the importance of those efforts at the register.
“We do custom items with name dropping on them as a direct import in order to have unique items. This generally means two to three years of inventory, but it is worth the investment,” he says. He adds that he has tried to get some of his vendors with great looking coastal items to offer name drop but not all of them will add it.
Products from Monda, like these pins, can be customized to a specific location.
But luckily for Gimbel and other retailers looking to offer unique location-mentions on their merchandise, there are a number of wholesalers who do offer items that can be customized to a location.
At Xplorer Maps, for example, retailers can choose from note cards, magnets, coasters, playing cards, stickers, drinkware, tote bags, fleece blankets and more to feature its maps designed to “connect people and place.”
ALL ABOUT LOCATION
The Monda Company also does customized products that include location names. Kristyn Wuebbolt, founder of The Monda Company, describes the company’s popular Monda Pins as a “travel and collect pin concept.”
“We’ve designed pins for hundreds of major landmarks and cities around the world, for people to travel around the world and collect,” she explains. “To make it even more fun, the company has a mobile app, which collectors use to track their pins, discover new places and to find stores where they can grab their next pin.”
She adds that Monda is always keen to add new locations to its map. “While we create a lot of custom truly localized designs, we also offer an easy way to personalize our designs by swapping out the destination,” she adds. “For instance, our Meet Me in tote bag concept, consists of our 100% cotton premium tote bag, containing a catchy phrase ‘Meet me in’ whereby, you can easily swap out the location and coordinates printed on the bags.”
Eden Souvenirs can custom print any name drop or logo on most of its products, says co-founder Meyer Cohen. Anything with turtles tends to do well in coastal areas, he says, which is “usually magnets, keychains, shot glasses and mugs.”
Cohen foresees gradient fun and young colors “to be popping for this coming year, especially soft pastels.”
FOR EVERY PURPOSE
For Impulse Souvenirs, Kent, Washington, magnets reign supreme in the name drop and custom category. James Melley, national sales manager, says the company’s magnets featuring a UV print with soft enamel coating are a top seller. The company’s offerings also include keychains, bottle openers, patches, stickers, pins, caps, beanies, tote bags and T-shirts. All can feature unique designs including the location name.
He says, “Our customers regard Impulse Souvenirs as an end-to-end supplier, from custom art exclusive for their location to recommendations for merchandising and quality products and on-time delivery.”
Customers consider Impulse Souvenirs as an end-to-end supplier for custom location-specific art.
Ornaments, drinkware, magnets and mini dishes are among the many products offered by Cape Shore, Yarmouth, Maine, and adding the name drop is something Tara Merrill, marketing manager, recommends retailers do. “Adding a name drop elevates the product; it takes it from a pretty, well-designed item to a must-have souvenir,” she says. “In our experience, a product with a customization will always out-sell similar products which aren’t name dropped.”
Cape Shore has launched 167 new products for 2025 and some of the quick front runners are its picture frame ornaments, gingerbread ornaments, emblem mugs, snow globe magnets and tea towels.
“We have seen a push for retro/vintage items such as snow globe magnets as well as sophisticated items with classic colors and clean lines such as our Emblem mugs,” she says.
NAME-DROPPING NOEL
Christmas-themed souvenirs are a great way to combine Santa and sandy locales. Honolulu-based Joseph K sells regionalized Christmas ornaments as souvenirs.
“We call them memory ornaments,” says Karen Sotomura, president, Joseph K. & Co. “Each place that is visited will be remembered every year during the family tree trimming time.”
Joseph K ornaments are designed to have destinations name-dropped or the names of the customers done by hand in stores as an added service.
Sotomura notes, “For 39 years we have been designing ornaments for the tourist/resort markets. We bring out wholesale and retail new designs twice a year. We always see regionalized ornaments sell the best.”
The biggest seller for The Cottonseed Marketplace, Tampa, Florida, is the Sandkeeper Christmas ornament. “They are designed to hold a very small amount of sand as a vacation keepsake that really connects the customer to a place and time,” explains Carrie Perkins, co-owner.
Until recently, The Cottonseed Marketplace had primarily focused on tropical climate themes, but new Sandkeeper ornaments that are tailored toward lakefront and northern coastal communities are in the works.
“We are very excited about the versatility of these keepsakes to adapt to specific locations,” says co-owner Joe Perkins.
Beacon Design’s popular banner name-drop collection allows retailers to personalize items with their unique text, creating memorable souvenirs for coastal visitors, according to Christine Duong, marketing associate.
“Our Blue Crab and Great Blue Heron name-drop keepsakes are top sellers for coastal retailers,” she says. “These items feature elegant designs capturing coastal essence with customization options.”
Locational customization can be available on a variety of products, including this wooden lighthouse magnet from The Cottonseed Marketplace.
Beacon Design is introducing new name-drop pieces for 2025. “This exciting lineup includes both reimagined classics and innovative new designs, offering retailers a fresh array of customizable options to captivate your coastal clientele,” says Duong.
Mother Moose Gifts and Gear offers original designs from Montana artisans in the form of ornaments, magnets, snow globes, bobbleheads, keychains, and bottle openers to name a few. Starting in 2025, a dozen sculpted ornaments of some of the most popular sea life animals will be available.
“We love custom requests and bringing our customers’ designs to life,” say owners Scott and Kelcee Gurnsey.
TALK OF THE TOWN
TownWear has seen success with its range of products that are all about localization. Products include T-shirts, long sleeve tees, hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts and other apparel that range from newborn to adult.
“We also have baseball caps, cozy fleece blankets, decals, tote bags and postcards. There’s something for everyone,” says Jessica Medeiros, vice president and operating manager of the Mattapoisett, Massachusetts-based company. TownWear’s adult tees and hooded sweatshirts are its bestsellers.
“Our retailers love that they can completely customize their artwork to showcase what is loved and cherished by their community,” adds Medeiros.
The company just released its cozy fleece beach blanket, which is gaining traction, according to Medeiros.
Town Pride offers one of the largest selections of name-drop products in one place — “everything from note pads to charcuterie boards, to knit sweaters, all made in the USA,” says Tamara Moran, president of the Yarmouth, Maine-based company.
“Our knit sweater collection is our top selling collection. Our retail partners tell us that our collection has tremendous sell through.”
Moran hints that Town Pride has many new styles and designs coming, “a few of the ones we are most excited about are our new custom icon cardigans and dog sweaters.”
It seems just about every gift and souvenir category is covered with name-drop and custom location options. If you can help your customers find that connection to the location they are seeking with your merchandise mix, they’ll show their appreciation with a purchase.
