We Remember Our Ultimate Memory Maker

    Chuck Dahlgren, our beloved Founder & CEO, passed away on Monday, October 10, 2022.

    Our hearts are broken.

    Charles Parks Dahlgren (February 22, 1952 – October 10, 2022) passed away at age 70 from complications during heart surgery. He was known as Chuck or Charlie. He was born in Olivia, MN, and grew up in Bird Island, MN. Chuck attended Concordia College and then farmed in Bird Island through 1982. In 1982, he enrolled in college again and obtained a degree in accounting in 1984, after which he became a CPA. He worked as an accountant and then as a Chief of Operations for a construction company before purchasing Ice Nine Glass Design in 1992. Ice Nine Glass Design was renamed to Crystal D, and it is where he made his impact on the world. His biggest accomplishments were found in his relationships with family, friends, coworkers, and employees that he called Memory Makers. Chuck was known for his passion for his work, drive and determination, love of learning, constant personal development, faith in Jesus, and love of family and the lake.

    He is survived by many. Jeanne Dahlgren, his beloved wife; three daughters; and many grandchildren: Audra and Matthew Lehnert, and their children, Nolan, Ryan, Ruby, and Grace; Bridget Dahlgren and her daughter, Madison; Crystal and Garrett Hoelzel, and their children, Olivia, Boaz, Viviana, Simeon, and Malachi. His siblings: Suzi and John Nelson, Rick and Margaret Dahlgren, Patti and Ron Peterson, Nancy Jurgensen, Kathy and Tom Krantz, and Gretchen and Howard Anderson; along with dozens of nieces and nephews.

    A funeral and tribute to Chuck’s life is planned for Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 2pm at Vadnais Heights Commons, 655 County Rd. F E., Vadnais Heights, MN 55127. All are welcome. Condolence gifts can be sent to Vadnais Heights Commons on October 25 between 9am and 11am.

    If you’d like to send condolences to the Crystal D Memory Makers and/or Chuck’s family, please use one of these options:

    Private Voicemail: 651-925-3499
    Private Email: DahlgrenFamily@crystal-d.com
    Flowers & Gifts: 505 Atwater Circle, St. Paul, MN 55103

    50 Out of the Box Ideas for Selling Crystal Prints

    With the continual upgrades to the smartphone, more and more people are embracing photography. 1.2 trillion photos are posted to social platforms each day, creating vast amounts of visual data stored on mobile devices. Compare that to the 80 billion photos taken by traditional cameras almost 20 years ago. Technology has made it easier for people to take photos and print them without sacrificing quality.

    Enter a new product from Crystal D — IllumaPix™ Crystal Prints. It is the perfect solution for creating custom prints for any industry. IllumaPix™ is a popular choice for appreciation gifts, employee recognition, wall art, signage, and more! Continue reading…

    Day to day. Informal. Formal. How do you recognize?

    How Do You Recognize? Three Types of Recognition

    The dictionary defines recognition as “the state of being recognized,” which is not exactly helpful. To really understand recognition is to understand what the purpose is. Employees who feel good about their jobs tend to perform at a higher level.

    Your company can become more successful when you recognize and reward performance that matches your corporate goals. There are three types of recognition that you can use to help your employees reach those goals: day-to-day, informal, and formal. Continue reading…

    Podium

    How to Present Employee Service Awards

    Employee service awards are designed to recognize a deserving employee for years of service and/or dedication to the job. This type of corporate award is common in most businesses and has many benefits. However, business owners and managers hesitate to use employee service awards to their advantage because they don’t know what to say to their deserving employee. In fact, the number one reason why managers don’t recognize their employees is because they don’t know what to say!

    The good news is that it is very easy to figure out what to say to an employee during an awards presentation. Managers and business owners should not let this stop them from presenting employee service awards.

    Bob Nelson is one of the first individuals to research how to present a recognition award. He recommends a few very simple steps outlining what to say in his book, The 1001 Rewards and Recognition Fieldbook. Continue reading…

    Not-So-Scary Awards

    Daisy the Distributor and the Not-So-Scary Awards

    Daisy left the magical four-story building and started to make her way out of the forest because she needed to head to an appointment with one of her top clients. The meeting would be about the client’s new custom award project. Although she felt confident with Crystal D as her supplier of choice, she wasn’t confident about custom awards.

    “These always take SO long,” Daisy thought to herself. “And the process is incredibly complicated. But my client has to have something amazing. They need to feel ‘The WOW Effect’™ that Crystal D provides.”

    As Daisy made her way through the forest, it started getting dark. “This is not the way back to the city,” Daisy said out loud. Suddenly, a tree to her left burst into flames! She heard a cackle from within the forest, and a horrible, ugly witch came walking through the flames. Continue reading…

    Retirement Awards

    Break the Mold of Ordinary Retirement Gifts with Something Extraordinary!

    Retirement is a big deal. A person has worked hard, and now it’s time for them to relax and enjoy life. Don’t let this occasion pass by! Celebrate your recipient and all of their accomplishments. But how can you make this truly meaningful?

    Traditional retirement gifts are clocks or watches or plaques. Nothing super unique. Let’s change the status quo from boring and predictable to personal and colorful. You can combine the sparkle of crystal and the color of photography to create a one-of-a-kind retirement gift. Continue reading…

    Excited Woman

    A Tale of Two Recognition Events

    At Crystal D, we know that there are good recognition events and bad recognition events. We want to rid the world of the bad recognition events, and to help combat those, we’re sharing stories of good and bad recognition events.

    We’ve already given you examples of a few good recognition events, so now we want to show you how two different events had two drastically different reactions from the recipients.

    *Names have been changed to protect the innocent. And the guilty company. Continue reading…

    Daisy the Distributor

    Daisy the Distributor and the Three Awards Suppliers

    Once upon a time, there was a distributor named Daisy. Daisy was in search of an awards supplier to help her find the very best awards for her top clients. She searched around the promo products industry to find the right fit, but no one was quite right. To help clear her head, Daisy headed out on a walk. Maybe inspiration would strike on the way.

    Daisy headed out of her office in the big city, intending on just circling the block, when she suddenly found herself in a lush forest. Unexpectedly surrounded by beautiful greenery, Daisy kept walking as she enjoyed the change of scenery.

    After a short while, she stumbled upon a four-story brick building. There was no sign indicating what was inside, but Daisy decided to enter it anyway. A sign greeted her that said “Welcome to Your Awards Shop, Daisy!” Continue reading…

    Ricky Rubio

    Crystal D Stories: Revamping a Community Service Award

    Our sales teams work with a variety of different distributors who have unique customers and unique stories. I sat down with Mike recently, and he told me a story about one distributor who was helping revamp a community service award.

    FLIP SAUNDERS LEGACY AWARD

    Solutions Rep: Mike

    End User: Minnesota Timberwolves

    Objective: Service: creative idea and thoughtful personalization

    Continue reading…