For their holiday campaign in 2022, Clinique ordered a series of displays featuring double-sided ornaments, silver snowflakes, case-wrapped boxes, and multiple silver hexagons. Images courtesy L&A Diecrafts
A very merry project
For their holiday campaign in 2022, skin care and cosmetic company Clinique ordered a series of displays to be implemented in department stores across the U.S. The main focus for each design was multiple case-wrapped, silver hexagons—more than 20,000 in total for the project—with corrugate interiors. To create these components, the L&A team die cut all the corrugate pieces, as well as all the case wrap pieces. Then, these elements were combined and glued together.
A display designed for the top of each kiosk comprised a double-sided ornament with glued silver swooshes, a silver snowflake, three case-wrapped boxes—one reading “Merry” and the other two “Clinique”—and two of the silver hexagons. The collection also included a more three-dimensional counter display, which called for five boxes and a topper consisting of various pieces glued together.
Since a large portion of the project involved constructing the hexagons, the team decided it was best to divide and conquer for the most efficient outcome. For about three months, those working the night shift were responsible for assembling the hexagons, while the day shift crew focused on wrapping the “Merry” and “Clinique” boxes.
The glue tables proved to be valuable assets during this project, as they allowed the team to easily transition between each job. At the beginning of every shift, all they needed to do was change the program on each machine and switch the previous group’s pieces with the ones they would be working on. This created an easy workflow between the two teams. Further, each display required a myriad of small parts, which would have previously been D-taped rather than glued—adding more time to production. Despite the large scope of this particular project, the team found their output with the assistance of the glue table was much more efficient.
In total, L&A and their partnering companies produced between 1,100 and 1,400 units of each individual display.
The machine also proved to be beneficial during the packing process. In some instances, each team would start working on parts of one element, and then switch their focus to other parts, to ensure the displays were ready to be packed into boxes for shipment. First, the snowflake and ornament were placed in a corrugate sleeve, to help prevent damage. Next, they were packed with the hexagons, boxes, and any other components in one carton, as a kit. Each display was packed individually in its own box, with an assembly instruction sheet, and shipped in a group with the rest of the displays required for each store. At this point in the project, most of the assembly was done. However, there were a few simple finishing touches for the counter staff to add before each display was considered complete.
The project took a total of four months to prepare for the client. However, without the use of the glue table, it would have taken the team about six months. In total, L&A and their partnering companies produced between 1,100 and 1,400 units of each individual display.
