The art and profit of clip magnets

As a student at Rhode Island School of Design in the early 1980s, Gail Ahlers had a professor who stressed the importance of promotion and publicity. The goal, he said, was to have your postcard on every refrigerator in America.
A great concept, Ahlers thought. But even better, what if her designs held up the postcards? Today, Ahlers is on her way to achieving that goal with Ahlers Designs.
When Ahlers founded the company in 1989, four years after earning her B.F.A. in light metals from RISD, she focused on upscale jewelry. But over time, she diversified to design and manufacture a wide array of retail products and corporate gifts, including vitamin cases, mirror compacts, business card cases, belt buckles and her best-seller, clip magnets.
The items are sold in retail stores and online at www.AhlersGifts.com.
The transition seemed natural for Ahlers. Not only did it allow her to expand her business, it allowed her to showcase her passion for metals.
“I love metal – the durability, how you can form and manipulate it, and how it forms a strong, permanent structure,” Ahlers said. “I like to make things that are well made.”
She has grown the business to include housewares, creating items including magnetic clipboards for placement inside cupboards and light switch plates.
The corporate gift portion of Ahlers Designs began in 1995, when she took on a project for a Connecticut-based bank. Ahlers said that she was anticipating the company would order 500 pieces from her, but she ended up being asked for a run of 3,000. The next year, the company ordered another 7,000 pieces.
Ahlers said that she has fielded jobs as large as 24,000 pieces and as small as one retirement broach.
Among others, she has been able to land corporate clients that include WRNI, RISD, Health Care for the Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, Teknor Apex and House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox.
Ahlers Designs also has been able to expand the range of motifs it offers its customers. Collections that the company offers include gems, professions and hobbies, pets, music and abstract designs.
Despite come challenges, the entrepreneur continues to put her company in a position to grow. Last year, Ahlers moved into the Hope Artiste Village, a rehabbed mill in Pawtucket, after being forced out of her space in East Providence, which was located in a building that is being rehabbed into condominiums.
In the new space, Ahlers and her staff of four assemble pieces of the company’s products, which are all manufactured domestically. It’s also home to all of the firm’s inventory and the place where all orders are filled.
To Ahlers, not only did the artist-focused mill complex make sense as a place to do the daily work, it also represented a chance to base her company in Pawtucket – a community she said treats its artists and businesses well and nurtures them as they grow.
“It’s just a great place to manufacture,” Ahlers said.
(The location also helped the company land some product placement in the feature film “27 Dresses,” which was shot in part in the Hope Artiste Village.)
She also hopes that a freshly received national certification will aid her business.
In May, Ahlers Designs became officially recognized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a designation that will open more doors to top corporations. Not only does the WBENC certification raise the awareness of Ahlers Designs, but the associated tax benefits for companies doing business with the company will make it more appealing to large corporations.
It’s already paying off. At a recent conference in Los Angeles, Ahlers was able to link up with Raytheon Co., which engaged her to design coasters as gifts for an upcoming party the defense technology giant is having.
For a company that has primarily found business through word of mouth and people visiting its Web site, the extra promotion is a big step in the right direction.
And it is one step closer to Ahlers’ goal of becoming known as the “Clip Magnet Queen.”
“I’ll know I made it when my magnet is holding up everybody’s postcard,” she said. “Preferably mine.” •

Ahlers Designs
Type of Business: Manufacturer of retail items and corporate gifts that include clip magnets, business card carriers and house wares.
Location: Hope Artiste Village, 1005 Main St., Pawtucket
Owner: Gail Ahlers
Employees: 5, including owner
Year founded: 1989
Annual Revenue: WND