Prior to 1988, best friends Ann Marie Swilley and Cindy Stroupe worked at Spa Fitness & Wellness Center here in town. Then Swilley asked Stroupe to come answer phones for the new promotional items business she was starting. One day, Swilley handed Stroupe a box with a notebook, a pen and an order for a local company and told her to go deliver the order and ask if there was anything else Carolina Specialties could do for them. Cindy said that when she returned, “[Swilley] said, Congratulations, you just made your first sales call.”
The two have been working together ever since; that’s over 40 years of friendship and 37 years of working together. Now, the company is known as Carolina Specialties International (https://www.carolinaspecialties.com/) to reflect its current reality, thanks to online sales, and Stroupe will soon be retiring.
This crew has literally survived fire, flood and pestilence to be here.
Promotional items are goods branded with an organization’s name, logo, tagline, contact information or whatever else is appropriate for the target audience. The item can be anything from a pen, pencil or refrigerator magnets to high-quality wearables and specialty products selected because they’re a precise match for the company.
Promotional goals can include everything from advertising, increased sales and brand awareness to employee recognition, gift-giving and more. A beauty spa, for example, could opt for an eye mask embroidered with its logo for clients who purchase a bundled service package. Or a school might give out T-shirts to its honor roll students.
Military leaders repeatedly use CSi for plaques to commemorate someone’s service with a unit or a run of challenge coins. Distinguished unit insignia have made appearances on couch covers, too.
Whether the customer is a business, a government entity, charity or family reunion, branded items make a difference. How much of a difference? Well, a staggering 85 percent of people will do business with a company from which they receive a promotional item. In addition, 83 percent of people like to receive branded items. A business, whether a startup or well-established, must guard its advertising budget. Finding the balance between spending to generate new business and overspending is an art, and a company like CSi can help marketers purchase wisely. This is why—although room exists in the industry for companies such as VistaPrint, Swilley said—most established companies want to work with someone local, someone who knows the industry, the client and the intended audience.
Swilley explained that if you hand out 5,000 pens, for example, you won’t get 100 percent return, not even 50. But if you got 5 percent, that could provide a significant influx of new business to a company. That makes the expenditure well worth it.
Wearables last a long time, receive looks, or “imprints,” every time they’re worn and hold their value as a repeat means of advertising. Decision-makers need to look at promotional items as an investment rather than an expense. Branded items, such as insulated travel mugs with a company’s logo could also be resold by the client for additional income.
CSi now offers in-house embroidery, screen printing and heat seal sublimation. Because everything is done in-house, turnaround times are shortened. Another reason to go with a local promotional items company is for its expert guidance with artwork. What goes well on a mug, won’t work on a pencil. Part of what CSi does is ensure that your company’s name or logo works with your selected item. Often, if not received as a vectoring image, someone at CSi will need to ensure the artwork can be rendered into a form that is sizeable in proportion to its original dimensions.
T-shirts and sweatshirts are both a uniform for employees and an evergreen form of advertising. During the holiday season, business owners might want to deliver gifts to their vendors and employees.
These could be food items with the company’s logo on the packaging. Schools recognize their teachers for outstanding performance with a school mug, a planner or a desk accessory. A cooking school could give screen-printed aprons to their students. Or what about an automotive dealer with customized license plate frames?
Swilley insisted that her son, Stephen Haire, go to work at another company before he came to work for her. Now he owns the business and specializes in working with colleges and contractors.
Stroupe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in performance dance and did pointe, jazz and modern dance up until her first child was born. She was an aerobics instructor at the spa when Swilley said her talents were being wasted and she needed to come work for her. Stroupe said that the 10 years she has spent working closely with grade schools have been some of the most rewarding for her.
She loves spending time with the kids. In fact, she plans on spending more time with her grandchildren when they move to the area. In addition. Stroupe’s 82 year old mother is looking forward to more time with her daughter as well. It’s simply time for Stroupe to have some “Cindy time.” She will continue to see her best friend at the exercise class they both attend.
Stroupe wasn’t kidding when she said that the company survived many ups and downs, including fire, flood and pestilence. Approximately 35 years ago, the company suffered a fire that destroyed everything.
They started over again in a building on Gillespie Street that enjoyed a 100-year-flood estimate rating. The ladies suffered through five years straight of flooding in that locale. The elevated waters brought rodents and snakes out into the open.
That would need to be addressed, Stroupe said with a chuckle. They moved to higher ground. And through it all, business fluctuations, raising children and now retirement, the two women have maintained their friendship.

(Photo: Cindy Stroupe is retiring after 37 years at Carolina Specialities International. She plans to spend time with her grandchildren and mother. Photo courtesy of Cindy Stroupe)