In-Store Leather Personalisation for DKNY
We were thrilled and honoured to be invited to work alongside DKNY, providing live leather embossing and personalisation for customers at several of their stores across the UK.
Our first activation proved extremely popular, with customers queuing to have their purchases individually personalised. Following the success of the initial event, we were delighted to be invited back to provide the service at several additional DKNY stores around the country.
At each location, our team set up a professional live embossing station where customers purchasing suitable DKNY small leather goods and accessories could have their new item personalised while they were in the store.
Personalised DKNY Small Leather Goods & Accessories
Customers purchasing suitable leather goods could choose to have a name, initials or special date embossed onto their item, adding an individual finishing touch to their purchase.
Using our specialist hot foil embossing machines, each piece was carefully positioned and personalised by our experienced team.
The service created an additional experience around the customer’s purchase. Instead of simply choosing an accessory from the store, they could watch as their own personalisation was applied before taking home an item created especially for them.
The response was fantastic, with the personalisation service attracting considerable interest and long queues during the events.
From One Successful Event to Multiple DKNY Stores
One of the most rewarding aspects of our relationship with DKNY was being invited back following the success of the first activation.
The popularity of the initial event led to our team travelling to several other DKNY locations around the UK to recreate the live personalisation experience for more customers.
For us, repeat bookings are particularly important. They demonstrate that live personalisation can become more than a one-off attraction and can be successfully rolled out across multiple retail locations as part of a wider brand activation.
What Happens Before a Live Embossing Event?
An important part of our service happens long before we arrive at the store.
Before every activation, we liaise closely with the client and request samples of the products that are expected to be personalised during the event.
These products are sent to our workshop, where our team can inspect, test and trial them using the equipment and techniques that will be used during the live activation.
This preparation is essential.
Although an item may appear suitable for embossing, differences in leather, coatings, construction, shape, seams and accessibility can affect whether it can be personalised successfully.
Testing Every Product Before the Event
Our pre-event testing process allows us to establish what can and cannot be safely and successfully embossed before customers arrive.
Some products are straightforward to personalise, while others may present technical challenges because of their construction, material or the position where the customer may want the lettering.
In some cases, we may determine that a particular item should not be embossed at all.
Knowing this in advance is extremely important.
We would much rather identify an unsuitable product during controlled testing in our workshop than discover a problem while working on a customer’s newly purchased item during a busy live event.
Protecting the Brand and the Customer’s Purchase
When working with finished fashion and luxury products, there is very little room for error.
Our testing and sampling process is therefore not simply about achieving a good-looking result. It is also about protecting the client’s products, maintaining consistency and managing customer expectations.
Following testing, we can advise the client which products are suitable for personalisation and, where necessary, which areas of an item can safely be embossed.
This means that when our team arrives at the store, everyone has a clear understanding of what is achievable.
Customers can then be offered personalisation with confidence rather than our engravers or embossers having to experiment with an unfamiliar product during the event.
Preparing for High-Volume Retail Personalisation
Preparation becomes even more important when an activation attracts large numbers of customers.
Our DKNY events were extremely popular, so the ability to work efficiently while maintaining accuracy and quality was essential.
By carrying out product trials beforehand, our team arrived at each store already familiar with the products and their individual characteristics.
We could set up our hot foil embossing equipment and begin personalising with the knowledge gained during our workshop testing, helping the live activation run as smoothly as possible.
Live Hot Foil Embossing for Fashion & Retail Brands
Our work with DKNY demonstrates the complete service we can provide to brands looking to introduce live personalisation into their retail stores.
The process can include:
- Initial consultation with the brand or event team
- Product samples supplied before the activation
- Testing and trial embossing at our workshop
- Identification of suitable and unsuitable products
- Assessment of safe embossing positions
- Preparation of specialist hot foil equipment
- On-site setup at individual or multiple stores
- Live customer personalisation
- Names, initials and special dates
- Support for high-volume retail activations
This preparation enables us to provide much more than simply arriving at a venue with an embossing machine.
Multi-Store Live Personalisation Across the UK
For brands operating multiple retail locations, our live embossing service can also be adapted for multi-store campaigns and nationwide activations.
The DKNY project is a great example.
After the popularity of the original activation, we were invited to provide the service at several further locations across the UK.
This required a personalisation process that could be repeated while maintaining the quality and customer experience expected by the brand.
Creating a Memorable Customer Experience for DKNY
Live embossing adds a personal and interactive element to a retail purchase.
Customers can choose the product they love, select their own initials, name or meaningful date and then watch as the personalisation is created in front of them.
The exceptionally positive response to the DKNY events — and our subsequent invitations to additional stores — made this a particularly rewarding project for our team.
We were proud to work alongside DKNY across multiple UK locations, combining our traditional hot foil embossing expertise with a modern in-store customer experience.
