Fireworks music

If anyone is looking for recent fireworks music, there is a song out right now by Katy Perry titled "Firework". HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

From the Texas Distribution Center

Just a quick update with what is going on here at Jakes' in Athens. We are unloading a ton of merchandise every day and shipping a ton out everyday. If you have not placed your order yet please do so soon. We Open in 13 days.................

Close-outs

The Indiana Distribution Center is offering Winter close-outs on selected items. Please contact me via email (jaredhicks@jakesfireworks.net) to receive this special close-out list.

From the Texas Distribution Center

Well I noticed on the Jakes home page that Mick Marietta sent his first Tweet................The world may be coming to an end. haha.

The Season is here folks! We are unloading 3-4 containers a day and have already started shipping! Get those order to me soon, as I am taking orders all the time, and as you all know the product is reserved based on when you get your order in and not when you pick it up. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that we all have a great Fireworks Sales Season!! As always call if you have any questions or concerns.

--Brian

Holiday Rush

We all hope that you enjoyed your family and friends at Thanksgiving. It is now time to get busy for those of you with a winter season. The winter price sheets were mailed out a couple of weeks ago and product is arriving on a daily bases to our distribution centers. If you have not talked to one of our friendly sales reps about your winter order, we encourage you do to so quickly to ensure that you get the items that you need.

As the new year approaches, we as very excited to what the 2011 seasons will bring. Keep posted so you can learn about all the new items and surprises Jake's will have for you this upcoming year.

We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a profitable New Years!

Happy Holidays

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to say hope you have a happy holiday season. For those of you who have a holiday selling season I hope it is prosperous too. If you need anything we are here for you.
Staci

From the Texas Distribution Center

It has been awhile since I have updated you'all so I figured as the season quickly approaches I would update you on the goings on since the season. In talking with most of my customers throughout the south it seems as though it was a pretty good season.......A long time coming. There were a few areas that did get rain on the 4th but I don't think that anyone really would complain and most everyone is saying that they had an average or above average season. Speaking of rain it would be a good time to start praying for some throughout the region. It is pretty dry throughout Texas and Louisiana but we still have plenty of time for the fall rains to come. Our Winter prices are being finalized as we speak and should hopefully be in the mail to you'all in the very near future. I will be in and out of the office this next month quite a bit so if you need to get a hold of me email would be the best (brian@jakesfireworks.net) or you can call the office in Texas and leave a message for Brody and he will help you. I will be in the Texas office for the upcoming season the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving Holiday through the end of the New Years season. I wish you'all the best in the upcoming season and as always if you need anything or have any questions please do not hesitate to drop me a line.

-Brian Hamilton

Planning ahead

The time is here to start thinking about your holiday fireworks sales season.

If you are planning to sell fireworks for the holidays, please get in touch with one of our helpful representatives to start planning your order and delivery now.

We have a good supply of a lot of the items that were new this year, especially in the 500 gram cakes. Excalibur should also be in good supply so make sure you order plenty of the number one selling artillery shell.

NFA 2010...........

We're back in the offices from the NFA in Springfield, MO and the repetitive theme during our follow-up discussions has been.....WOW! What a show, from the daily seminars, to the registration staff, the product demos each night and their outstanding pyro crew, the increased membership attendance and of course the NFA board, we were greatly impressed with the organization and level of professionalism presented by all involved. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing affiliation. And, as always, if you have any comments or suggestions for Jake's Fireworks to better serve you, please don't hesitate to let us know. Looking forward to next year..........

Preparing for NFA 2010

Hi everyone,
I am excited to say we are gearing up for the upcoming NFA tradeshow in September. We are ready to see some existing customers & hopefully meet some new friends. Hope to see you there & see what is in store for next year.

--Staci

From the Texas Distribution Center`

Well the season is finally here. Initial reports from the vendors across the state are that sales are better than they have been in a couple years. It seems as though most everyone got rain in the last couple of weeks and that has lead to higher sales numbers. If everyone would say a prayer, or step outside and blow to the south, and keep Tropical Storm Alex from coming ashore in South Texas that would be greatly appriciated! I wish everyone the best in the season and if you need anything more from us please let me know.
Thanks for the business!!
Brian Hamilton

Ghost Rider - 500 Gram Cake of the Day

Today's 500 gram cake of the day is the awesome World Class Ghost Rider. This 9-shot beauty features purple glitter mines with purple chrysanthemum breaks, silver glitter mines with willow breaks and green mines up to green chrysanthemums with crackling stars. You can watch the performance video on our Youtube channel here or for more details check out the item page here.

From the Texas Distribution Center

We are busy busy busy so I'm going to keep it brief. We are shipping and doing customer pickups as fast as we can. Looks like most of East Texas got a ton of rain yesterday. Here at the warehouse we picked up over 6 inches and parts of our county got in excess of 10 inches. This kind of slowed our productivity down a bit yesterday but we are still running on schedule. If you have not yet scheduled a pickup time or a delivery date please do so soon. We are open 7 days a week and if you can't get me on the phone just shoot me an email. I try to answer 3-4 emails in between phone calls. Only 13 more days till opening day here in Texas.................

Crazy for fireworks

Crazy. That seems to be the theme for June. We are pulling and shipping orders out at lightning speed, often working into the wee hours of the morning. Customers seem more excited about fireworks this season than ever before. Our existing product has the consistant quality our customers expect and the new items offer beautiful vibrant colors. Wishing you all a safe and sucessful season!

Touchscreen App now available on jakesfireworks.com

It's no secret that in today's fireworks business, having product demonstration videos in your stores is a key to selling more merchandise. Its easy to forget that a lot of people only do this once or twice a year, and for them, remembering effect styles doesn't come as naturally as it does for us. We here at Jake's have tried to make this as easy as possible by supplying you with tons of product videos on our website, www.jakesfireworks.com, in many different formats to suit all needs. Now we are bringing you a new tool.
If you point your web browser to www.jakesfireworks.com/touch you will see a Flash-based VOD (Video on Demand) interface for displaying product demo videos to your customers. All you need to run this is a computer with internet access and a web browser with flash installed. Pair this program with a simple touchscreen monitor and run your browser in full screen mode and voila! Fully functional touch-screen kiosk for your store. We hope this proves to be a useful tool for you.
Enjoy!
-Ben

Another Satisfied Customer.......

I had a great email from a new customer and wanted to share his story with you. This comes from Brenton in KS.

" Mark, Words can't even describe how thankful I am for being able to do business with such a great company! I have never been to a product demo where I was treated so well, and your customer service is second to none. We got our product in today, and might I say this is the first time that I have received everything that I ordered from a company! I have done business with several other companies in the past years but none of them have been able to grant the respect and customer service that I received while working with you guys. I can guarantee a repeat customer for years to come!"

From the Texas Distribution Center

Just want to give you'all an update on what is going on in Texas. There were some good showers and rain that moved through most of Texas this last week but we still need more. As of this morning there were 5 counties that were above the 575 KBDI threshold Presidio,Ward and Winkler in West Texas and Rusk and Gregg in East Texas. You can go to the following web addresses to keep yourselves abreast of the latest info. http://webgis.tamu.edu/tfs/kbdi_daily/dryctif.png for counties over the 575 mean or http://twc.tamu.edu/InteractiveMaps/KBDI.aspx for your counties KBDI. June 15th is fast approaching and is the last day that by Texas law counties over the 575 KBDI mean can enact stick rocket and missile bans if they vote to. So let's all continue to keep praying for more rain.
With that out of the way starting tomorrow the last of the new items will be arriving here. We are unloading 2 or 3 containers a day starting Sunday through Wednesday. So we should be good. The trucking lanes are filling quickly so if you have not yet scheduled a day to receive your orders please do so quickly. We are open 7 days a week so please give me a call at the office 903-264-2264 and we will get your orders to you. I hope all is well with everyone and wish everyone a very prosperous 4th of July season! The season opens in 19 days..........
Brian

The premier artillery shell in fireworks, our 24-shot World Class Excalibur Artillery Shell, has been named in June's 'Men's Journal' magazine as a necessity for a perfect summer. The article, "Do Summer Right" outlines everything from how to throw a backyard bbq, to taking a cross-country road trip, to finding that perfect summer swimming hole, and, of course, putting on your own fireworks displays. For that, Excalibur is a must have. The June/July issue of Men's Journal is available in stores now. You can also check out their website at www.mensjournal.com

From the Texas Distribution Center

Just an update on what is going on here at Jake's in Texas. It's hot, really hot. Some of East Texas and Western Louisiana got rain yesterday however the southeast portion of Texas and Southern Louisiana are drying out quick. As of this morning there were 3 counties in Texas with KBDI means over the 575 threshold (Jasper, Newton, and Orange) We still have time for rain and we all need to pray for it as the June 15th deadline for banning stick rockets and missiles in Texas is right around the corner. I heard yesterday that Ector county in West Texas issued a missile and rocket ban even though the KBDI mean index was 347.......... If you hear of any of the counties around you'all be sure and let me know and I will pass it along. As of today this is the only one that I have heard of.
I have had many many many complements on the new website. Everyone should thank Ben Turner and his staff for an absolutely wonderful job. It was over a year in the making with countless hours spent staring at computer screens. So job well done! If there is anything that you would like added to the site or anything that you can think of that would help make the site better be sure and shoot us an email or just comment on this blog and we will do our best to get it done.
Order shipping is in full swing here with customers wanting to use this Memorial Day Weekend to get their orders divided up and ready to go to the stands. If you have not already placed your orders remember the sooner you get it to me the better chance you have of getting everything that you want. If there is anything that you would like for me to talk about send me an email to brian@jakesfireworks.net or just add a comment to the end of this blog.
I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend and I'll continue to keep you posted here on the blog from time to time.
-- Brian

From the desk of the sales manager...

Memorial Day Weekend is rapidly approaching and the “Official Start” of the 2010 Fireworks Season will soon be upon us. Our distribution centers located in KS, OK, TX, IN, KY and SC continue to receive inventory on a daily basis. We have shipped orders to all corners of the US this week. It is truly amazing to talk with people from all over the country who have different laws, types of locations (stands, trailers, tents and buildings) and different needs when it comes to our products. Additionally, our industry has some of the most innovative and creative business men and women on the planet.

We continue to work with our vendor and suppliers to deliver the highest performing consumer grade products currently being produced. However, we always welcome new ideas or suggestions for new products. We are already ordering for the 2011 season and would like for you, our customers to tell us what types of fireworks or effects of fireworks you would like to see us develop and manufacture.

The Zeus Is Loose!

We are excited to add a brand new artillery shell kit to our line-up this year. Check out the brand new Zeus. It has 24 assorted shells with 36 different breaks. The neon wrap on the shells is definitely eye catching. Packed 2/24, it's a great addition to our already impressive family of artillery shells.

Shipping Time

As orders continue to roll in we are also seeing orders rolling out in semi trailers. If you think you are ready to take your order, please contact your shipping warehouse to get the process started. As the season gets closer the trucking lanes get more congested. It is better to have it early, giving you more time to sort and price it.

Those of you who have not ordered it is still not too late. Give your favorite sales person a call and get your order placed. May is almost over and the reality of June will be upon us. Don't be caught off guard.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming Memorial weekend. Have a safe and fun holiday!

From the Texas Distribution Center

Just a update on what has been going on down in the Great State of Texas.
We have more fireworks in stock right now than I have ever had!! With the exception of just a few of the new items we are ready to start shipping your orders when you are ready to recieve them. This year could be that year when you get all your stuff in early and are ready to go when the season starts!
Our production line is up and running full blast. We have been assembling Excaliburs, Sir Lancelots, King Arthurs, Goliaths, United We Stands, Merlins and Trilogys. The new Zeus artillery and Armageddon assortments are on tap to be built the first of next week.
All in all it looks to be a great season. Most of the state got some significant rainfall in the last couple of days and in the long range forcast it looks like there are good chances all of over the state on Memorial day weekend. The San Antonio and Austin areas look better now than they have looked in a few years. Lets keep our fingers crossed. I just checked the KBDI indexs for the state and it looks good. There are no averages that were above the 500 mark so a few more good rains and we are home free.
We are working 7 days a week so please do not hesitate to give me a call or drop me an email if you have any questions at anytime.
Looking forward to a great season,
Brian

Orders are coming in & going out left and right. Containers just keep coming as well. Busy busy time.
Also just a reminder that the Arkansas Memorial weekend pick up deadline is today at 5pm so get those orders in.

Indiana close outs

The Indiana distribution center is offering close-outs on War Dance, Can You Handle It, and Megatron. Give us a call or shoot us an email for details.

July 4th upon us

As we get ready to close out another May, I can't help but to think how close we are to the 4th of July. It seems crazy that we have spent the entire year preparing to do the bulk of our sales in such a short period of time. We are prepared for a big year this year and are excited about the possiblities!!

A Guide to Stacking Roman Candles

Reflections On 15 Years in the Fireworks Business

Today, as I sat at my desk troubleshooting complex website problems while staring at a computer monitor larger than the TV that occupied in my parent's living room for most of my childhood, it suddenly dawned on me how far Jake's has come in the time I have spent with the company. Next month, amid the hustle and bustle of the summer heat and the retail season, I will turn 30 years old. Pomp and circumstance aside, this conjures the realization that this will be the 15th birthday I've spent among the endless rows of One Bad Mothers and Excaliburs. 15 years since that first fateful summer adventure. 15 years of treasured memories and countless friendships. Wow...Where has the time gone. Not normally one for sentiment, I am prompted to reflect here today on a life truly defined by fireworks, by the fireworks industry, and the people who make who make it great.

My trip down memory lane started as most do... in a shoebox. A great big giant shoebox filled with pictures, like the Polaroids snapped below. The one on the right is of the first tray assortments that we ever made on our own. The one on the left is of Jake's son, Jacob, hard at work on the night shift :)

Digging deeper still, I found some great shots the pre-date even my time at the company. Here is the original sign that sat out front of the 4th Street offices. This sign remains a fixture of Lonestar Corner even today, though it is slightly faded these days.

I can also remember when this rounded out the entire product line:

Here is a great shot of Jake years ago inspecting the production of W515B artillery shells:

I have a ton of great photos from past China trips that I plan on posting to main website as soon as I get them scanned in. Be sure to watch www.jakesfireworks.com for updates.

That's really just a snapshot of the memories that I have from this place. I could go on and on about summers on the tent crew & Decembers in Louisiana, but really, none of that matters. In the end what matters matters most is the people. I have been fortunate to spend 15 years of my life working for a company that embodies the true definition of a family business. In that time I have watched the company grow from a small one building shop to a dominant world-wide force in consumer fireworks. Yet on any given day you can still find John Marietta delivering fireworks in a Semi, you can still find Jake pouring over the tedious details of every customer's order, still find Mick somewhere in the warehouse with a cell phone glued to his ear and a case of something new and exciting in tow. At Jake's we care. We care about the quality of our products and we care about the quality of service we provide to our customers. These are the values that the Marietta's carry with them and instill in their employees every day.

I hope you have enjoyed my little trip through history no matter how brief it has been. I hope you enjoy the new jakesfireworks.com. We have put an enormous amount of effort into bringing you, the customer, yet another level of world-class service with it. Have a great fireworks season!

-Ben

Amazing New Lanterns

Check out our unbelievable deal on colored Sky Lanterns.

They can be sold all year long.

Available in an assorted case with: Lime Green; Orange; Blue; Purple; Red and Yellow.

So what do you do the rest of the year?

Anyone who works in the fireworks business has been asked this question. When I started at Jake's last Fall, I would have asked the same thing. Then I got thrown into the fire of the Winter season. I have never again wondered what we do the rest of the year.

In my posts, I hope to share what this business looks like through the eyes of someone new to the industry. I want to share the things that I find amusing, strange and downright odd.

Back to the question of what do you do the rest of the year. Well, in addition to the regular season that most people think of when they think of fireworks, we of course have a winter season in the Southern states. This was something that I would have never thought about since I have always lived places where you would be crazy to want to to be outside shooting fireworks on New Years Eve.

Of course the winter season is not as large as the Summer (I am assuming, but I think I am safe here) but it is still big enough that it takes a lot of time and manpower to make it happen. I also went and worked in a retail store in Louisiana for a week. This was an excellent learning experience for me as I not only learned about the product but more importantly I learned about our end customer. I think a lot of people in a fireworks store or stand fall in to two classes, the true pyro who just loves fireworks and then the person who is there buying out of obligation because they are going somewhere where everyone is bringing fireworks.

The true pyros are the guys who come in with a list of all their favorites from the last year and know exactly what they want. They probably taught me more in that week than anything else. The people who don't know anything were the ones who made me then apply that knowledge to be able to truly help them find something not only in their price range but also that would be impressive at the party to which they were headed. Luckily, with World Class and Boomer brands, we have great products in all price ranges.

One of the hardest questions to answer is what do you like. Fireworks are one of those things that everyone has an opinion on and everyone's opinion is right. It's about what you like. Some people would shoot artillery shells all night, while other people like fountains. For some Saturn Missile Batteries are a vital part of any shoot while for others there is an intense dislike for them.

For me, I like the 500 gram cakes and I like the ones that have a lot going on in terms of effects. For that reason I dont think you can ever go wrong with Loyal To None

I think one of the most surprising things to me so far is the sheer number of novelty items that exist. I know these are important for the kids but when I was a kid we always got sparklers and firecrackers and maybe a couple of tanks if we were lucky. Now you could keep the kids busy all day with the large variety of items available. I absolutely love the new Chicken Blowing Balloon. Its a goofy little thing that everyone loves because it is different. And as a father of a 7 year old boy, I know he will like it.

And that, more than anything, answers the question of what we do the rest of the year. Product development and testing, trips to the factories in China, all the work of manufacturing and importing is a year round endeavor. In order to have the best product in the warehouse and on the shelves for next season you have to start working on it a year ahead of time. That is what truly makes us World Class.

Off and Running!

We hope that everyone enjoyed Mother's Day and got to spend some quality time with the family. With that being said, the official fireworks season is underway.

By the looks of the orders coming in it is obvious that you all are lovin' the new products, as well as the items from the past, we displayed at the shoot offs this season. We encourage you to get your orders in as soon as you can. Contact your salesman with any questions that you may have.

We would also like to thank all you that have commented on our new website. We are very excited about all the possibilities that it allows. Be sure to check it daily to see the "Minutes with Mick" and our daily blogs.

Good luck to all this season and we look forward to assisting you with your fireworks needs.

Patriotic Truck

Hey everyone, just wanted to share some amazing pics I snapped of a semi tractor-trailer that was picking up at our Pittsburg, KS facility the other day. Every inch of this truck has been customized right down to the most meticulous of details. The patriotic design makes you proud to be an American, and it really gets all of us here at Jake's fired up about the 4th of July! You can check out the pics over on our website at http://www.jakesfireworks.com/usa-truck. I hope you enjoy!

-Ben

New U.S.A. Package!

The new U.S.A assortments just came in with the 5 layer cardboard design instead of the three layer used in the past. We also changed from a post on one side to having a post on both sides. This gives the new box over double the strength. The bottom also has a new design to keep items from smashing during display.  The back of the box is also new with extra warnings.

 

 More new product developments to come.

--Jake Marrietta

From the desk of the sales manager...

Tomorrow concludes the 2010 Jakes’ Fireworks Shoot-Offs.  Our final Shoot-Off will be held in Russellville, KY tomorrow May 8th.  We have had over 1500 attendees at our Shoot-Offs this year in KS, SC, TX and IN.  The overwhelming response from our attendees has been “Best new items they have seen in years”.  Another customer sent an email which stated “Jake’s Fireworks surpassed the competition this year in New Product Development Effects and Colors”.  We appreciate the compliments and will continue to work in China and the US to ensure we bring the most innovative, highest quality and top performing products to our wholesale and retail customers.

This week our warehouse crews have been busy shipping Excalibur - the #1 Canister Artillery Shell in the World, Goliath, Zeus, United We Stand and MOAB.  Our staff in China has visited several factories and vendors working on our 2011 Product Line-Up.  Our retail team has been finalizing groups and organizations to operate our tents, stands and buildings for the 2010 Retail Season.  Ben Turner and his IT staff continue to develop, edit and produce materials for our website.  Please let us know of any suggestions or additional content you would like on our website.

In closing we hope all of you have a great weekend and especially would like to wish all the Moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Internet ordering is optional

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder that we would still love for you to call, fax or email your orders.  You do not have to order online.  It is just a tool for our more technology driven customers. We will take your orders any way you prefer to give them.

Texas Retail Permits

The Texas Retail Permits for this year are in. Ashley will be taking care of filling them out this year. She starts on Monday May 1oth and will be happy to assist you. This year you can fill them out electonicly on this website by going to the Media & Tools above then click on Permit Application. On that page please click on the line that says "Click Here For Texas Permit Application". Then fill in all the necessary information. It immediatly gives me that information and I can pass it right along to her. If you can please do these as early as possible we have tons to fill out for you'all and I want to make sure we get them to you in a timely manner. As always we have all your old permits on file here in the office and would be more than happy to assist you over the phone. 903-264-2264

New website & products

Hi Everyone, If you have not viewed some of the new item videos please do. Some of my new favorites are Rattler, Gorilla Warfare, Ghost Rider, Joe Six Pack, & Poison. Old favorites you should check out are Midnight Sunburn & American Celebration. Post on comments your favorites.

A Word From the Webmaster

Hi All,

Just wanted to take a minute and say thanks for making our new website launch a huge success. I also wanted to thank you all for the great suggestions you have made over the past few days. We will be continually make improvements to our website in an effort to create the ultimate user experience and your feedback will help us to do that. In the works already, we are working to create live order changes and substitutions to help you track your order down to the last detail. We are also working on a export tool that will allow you to export your orders to excel once you have placed them. These, along with many other improvements, will help to make your shopping experience with us simpler than ever.
I also wanted to address some concerns with the credit card payment method. I want to assure our customers that nothing has changed in regards to the policies regarding credit card processing. We will never charge your card until the order is ready to pull and ship and we will always contact you to confirm the details first. I hope this clears up and concerns and confusion.
As always, my mailbox is always open for comments and concerns (and even praise ;) if you have anything to share.

webmaster@jakesfireworks.com

Remember -- Order Early

Here at Jakes our system of inventory management is all about ordering early! When you place your order the items that are in stock at that time are assigned to your order and held for you until you pick your order up. If you order early we may not have all of the items that you ordered in yet, however as the containers roll in that product is assigned to the earliest Sales Orders first. It does not matter when you pick it up. So the earlier you order the better your chance for getting all the high quality World Class items that you want! Get those orders in early!

Texas 2010 Demo was a HUGE Success

I want to thank all of the wonderful Jakes Fireworks customers that turned out for the 2010 Demo in Athens this year. The turnout was unbelievable and blew away the amount of people that we had at the previous years! I hope you all enjoyed the new product line and look forward to hearing from you in the upcoming season!
Brian Hamilton

2010 Texas Demo

Don't forget to attend our Demo in Athens, Texas this coming Saturday, May 1st. Please remember that the Dinner is at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center on the East side of Athens Just off the loop rather than the office. See you there!

Welcome

Welcome to the official blog of Jake's Fireworks!  During the next few months our sales representatives will be posting from all over the United States, detailing our exciting new products for the 4th of July season.  Stay tuned for more updates!