Freitag, a Swiss bag manufacturer, has nailed it! Calling them a "bag manufacturer" actually is quite a disservice but calling them Designer bag makers doesn't feel right either. These one-of-a-kind creations are made from colorful Swiss truck tarps, car seat belts, bicycle inner tubes and each have a personality all their own! It's also worth mentioning that just as you'd expect, being Swiss, the design and construction is impeccable.

My beau has had his eye on one of these bags for quite some time now (if you're him STOP READING NOW :) He's got good taste, what can I say? And since he's been such a wonderful beau and hardly buys nice things for himself, I ordered him one for Christmas.

I literally laughed out loud when I read the confirmation email I received after completing my purchase. I normally gloss over emails of this nature but even the greeting caught my attention with the crafty use of "idyllic".

Take a look...

Dear Christine of idyllic Park Ridge your Ordernumber is: 00000000

We‘re honered to announce that you soon will be proud [product name removed] owner. We do everything within and beyond our power to make sure that in no time a charming delivery man will ring your bell to hand over your personal piece of FREITAG!

Later this evening we‘re going to celebrate your shopping skills till dawn and we will drink at least 17 times to you. Therefore again, thank you very much!

Best regards
Your FREITAG Online Team

Again, we are reminded to instill the idea of personality within clients' heads. It's so important that your brand stands out; especially in rough economic times like these. Yes, I had already heard of this company and decided to make a purchase and only then received this little insight into the company's personality. But it's multiple little nuances like this one that, over time, weave a rich tapestry called your brand.

As one David Armano reminded me, "It should never be too late to start something if it's helpful." This was actually in reference to a quick Twitter conversation we had about making sure you start building your business network (also good advice) but the same simple idea applies here as well.

No matter how old your brand is start injecting little bits of your company's personality into every peice of your communications with your clients/customers. Make sure it's your personality and tone; it needs to be genuine and authentic otherwise it'll be spotted as fake faster than a knock-off Luis Vuitton. Besides, you have to try pretty hard to be fake and contrived anyways. That topic, however, I will leave for another time. For now, the point is, be real, be authentic; show that there are living breathing human beings behind your website/emails/ads etc.

Besides isn't that what's at the heart of this interweb deal anyways? People. Real People. Sharing information.