Promotional products the coffee mugs, cups, T\u2011shirts, pencils, and all the other pieces of swag you pick up at local companies or community events don\u2019t just appear out of nowhere.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s someone behind every item, and for many businesses around the region, that someone is Don Herman. Don, a longtime Meadville businessman who knows specialty advertising inside and out.<\/p>\n
The products scattered across his workspace represent only a small portion of what he has helped create for clients over well over a decade.<\/p>\n
Don launched Best Foot Forward Advertising in 2015, working with microbreweries to supply branded glasses and company gear, and providing others with coffee mugs, golf towels, and a wide range of small giveaway items and gifts.<\/p>\n
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Much of the process now happens with just a couple of clicks, as he demonstrated how customers can search for swag on his website and order online.<\/p>\n
Don hopes to eventually situate his business inside Meadville\u2019s historic Holland Hall, a building owned by the Crawford County Historical Society that was once a family estate and later an Allegheny College fraternity house.<\/p>\n
The hall is undergoing a long\u2011term restoration, with plans for leased artist space on the second floor and a public\u2011facing first floor, though grant funding is still needed.<\/p>\n
Helping spearhead the project is Kevin Parsons, founder of Green Frog Studio, who also serves as Don\u2019s graphic designer. Together, they use an in\u2011house heat press for many of their orders, forming a partnership that continues to grow with the shared hope of new space and the ongoing experience of creatively serving others.<\/p>\n