The Lawn News

I am very excited to welcome Lou Manfredini as a guest author to The Lawn Blog. Lou Manfredini is the do-it-yourself extraordinaire and the ‘Helpful Hardware Man’ of Ace Hardware. Lou will be contributing articles with the green industry in mind with topics such as, Pruning Techniques, How to Take Care of Your Garden Tools and Irrigation and How to Conserve Water. Make sure add The Lawn Blog to your RSS feeds using this link.

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Here is a little background about Lou Manfredini and his amazing journey.

From early on, houses and the art of building captivated Lou Manfredini. As a teen, the Chicago-area native went to work at a local Ace Hardware store to learn about housing structures, the tools of the construction trade and home improvement projects. Later, during college, he decided to put what he had learned to practical use and began working as a carpenter’s apprentice. In 1985, Manfredini went out on his own and launched a construction company in Chicago. He not only built and renovated people’s homes; he tried to leave people with a better understanding of how their houses worked.

After more than 10 successful years in construction, Manfredini had gained a tremendous amount of knowledge on homes that he began to consider ways to more broadly share his expertise with others. He believed that a house “was more like a living entity than an inanimate collection of lumber, wiring and plumbing.” By showing people how various systems and components in a house rely on each other and instilling a greater understanding of a house as a “whole,” Manfredini thought everyone could have greater success in their home improvement and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects.

Armed with his expertise and enthusiasm, Manfredini began his media career when WGN Radio in Chicago launched his idea for a home improvement call-in radio show. The show quickly caught on: today, The Mr. Fix-It Show is the number one Saturday morning radio program in Chicago.

Not long thereafter, Manfredini branched into television and print media. Currently, he is the official home improvement expert for NBC’s Today Show and a frequent guest on numerous network television stations across the United States as well as programming for CNN, HGTV, Discovery, and the History Channel. Most recently, Manfredini is the host of his own television show, HouseSmarts, which airs on the NBC affiliate in Chicago.

Reaching millions of DIYers every month with his friendly persona and down-to-earth project advice, Manfredini also has authored these successful DIY books: Lou Manfredini’s Bath Smarts (2004), Kitchen Smarts (2004), Room Smarts (2004) and House Smarts (2002); Mr. Fix-It Introduces You to Your Home (2002); and Mr. Fix-It: 101 Answers to the Most Commonly Asked Questions About Repairing Your Home (2000). These books have been featured in national magazines such as People and Newsweek, as well as major-market newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.

Manfredini is a nationally recognized DIY expert, sought after both for his expertise and his energetic, entertaining style. In an extension of his ongoing effort to help people maximize the value and enjoyment of their homes, he is also Ace Hardware’s “Helpful Hardware Man” and editorial media spokesperson. Along with his wife and four children, Manfredini lives in Chicago, where they also own and operate a neighborhood Ace Hardware store.

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Ely Fall of BizCard.com and their ‘green’ efforts within the printing industry. Bizcard.com offers full design and print services, from business cards to websites.

Since its inception, the Bizcard team has been working on developing environmentally friendly printing solutions. This effort includes using primarily post-consumer paper, eliminating damaging photo chemicals from the printing process and purchasing materials from GreenSeal certified companies.

Here are some ways Bizcard is keeping green:

A green production:

* Since we own all of our presses and do all of our printing on site, we maintain consistency and quality by keeping all of our operations under our control. This also allows us to closely monitor and regulate our environmental impact.
* Bizcard uses digital presses for all of its printing, which eliminate the photochemical-dependent process of making plates, thus reducing the chemical usage in the process.
* As part of its mission statement, Bizcard seeks out partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are committed to social responsibility.
* To create its products Bizcard uses recycled paper or purchase its resources from responsibly managed forests lands.
* Bizcard encourages its customers to purchase products that use 30 to 40% less paper than the industry standard.

A green workplace:

We use a special film on all the windows to reduce the heat within the buidling. This allows us to save on our energy consumption. All the lights in our building were changed from Standard with normal transformers to Fluorescent Electronic bulbs. Our bathroom sinks are automated reducing the amount of water being used unecessarely.
Bizcard encourages team members to carpool and to bring their own food to reduce the carbon footprint produced when driving to restaurants at lunch time.

A green message to consumers:

Bizcard has made a strong commitment to eco-friendliness and corporate social responsibility. We understand that historically, the printing industry has been
no friend to the natural earth. Although we go to great lengths to minimize this impact, we realize that we must use our share of resources just like everyone else.
However, as we grow, our positive impact grows as well. By building partnerships with reliable non-profit organizations, we are striving for nothing less than a complete reversal of our environmental impact.Through our online, grass roots effort, we hope to gain the attention of more like minded consumers, companies and organizations.

Bizcard is also offering all of The Lawn Blog readers a 25% off discount code for its products. I encourage you to visit Bizcard.com and have a look at their fantastic website. To claim your 25% discount please enter code ‘bizemg8‘ (without quotes) during the ordering process.

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