INTRODUCING: TASTE ENVY - A NEW BRAND BY LOST LUGGAGE UPDATES MENU COVERS AND ACCESSORIES TO REFLECT MODERN DESIGN

Company known for outstanding presentation design brings menu covers into the 21st century.

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Seattle, WA » Lost Luggage, the leader in high-end presentation tools, is unveiling a new brand called Taste Envy at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show in Chicago on May 19th. Already creating custom menu covers and accessories for design-minded restaurants, Lost Luggage decided to create a new brand that focused solely on this market. The company, which is sought after for custom products by clients such as Nike, Apple and Victoria's Secret, will now introduce their unique brand of design and use of innovative materials to the menu industry at large.

"It was a natural progression," said Jason Brown, co-owner and founder of Lost Luggage. "The menu industry is in a similar state to that of the presentation industry when I first started in 1994. I'm finding that our experience in presentation design easily translates to menus. Besides, as fanatical foodies, Nadine (Stellavato, co-owner and director of Brand Envy) and I have always been dismayed about the lack of good menu design. We've just finally decided to do something about it."

Among the restaurants who have already commissioned menus is Osteria La Spiga, a Seattle favorite recommended by internationally renowned chef Mario Batali. When the proprietors moved locations they used the opportunity to update the restaurant's interiors and important design elements. Pietro Borghese, co-owner of Osteria La Spiga, put it this way: "After spending so much time and energy to design a beautiful restaurant, it seemed a shame to have a menu that didn't match our vision of the restaurant. Lost Luggage created the perfect covers for us, and even let us use the same Italian leather we sourced for our interiors!"

Purple Café and Wine Bar made the most of Lost Luggage's broad talents by approaching the company for a holistic solution. Brand Envy, the branding and design arm of Lost Luggage, was tasked with re-branding the restaurant, updating the restaurant's identity to reflect it's growing popularity and reputation. The Lost Luggage menus, check registers and wine books were designed around the updated identity, but were also considered as a major thematic element in the process of re-branding the restaurant.

"I can't tell you how great it was to discover a company that excels in both graphic and product design," says Purple Café's president, Larry Kurofsky. "With several locations to manage, it's critical that every element of our brand is in alignment, and that's what Brand Envy and Lost Luggage has helped us to achieve. What a relief after 10 years in the restaurant industry to find such a valuable resource."

Lost Luggage's roster of clients within the restaurant industry also includes:
Boka Kitchen + Bar
Coco La Ti Da
Tom Douglas Restaurants

Visit Lost Luggage's Taste Envy booth 9238 to see examples of their work during the 2007 National Restaurant Association tradeshow in Chicago from May 19th through the 22nd. Visit the tradeshow website to download a floor plan of the event.

About Lost Luggage
Founded in 1994 by Jason Brown, Lost Luggage makes luxury presentation tools informed by superior-design, modern culture and an elegant yet street-smart sensibility. Individually hand-crafted in their Seattle studios, personalized and memorable, a Lost Luggage portfolio is the ideal showcase to make a powerful impression.
www.lost-luggage.com

For more Lost Luggage information, photos and press releases, please contact us at 206.728.6044 or email info@lost-luggage.com.

LOST LUGGAGE JOINS WITH MOAB PAPER TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE PORTFOLIO INDUSTRY

Two industry leaders today announced a partnership to give creative professionals a better way to showcase their work.

Seattle, WA » Lost Luggage today announced their decision to offer a new co-branded portfolio through Moab Papers, who in turn will also offer inkjet paper custom tailored to Lost Luggage portfolios.  This unprecedented partnership will allow photographers and other creative professionals a well-designed, elegant and easily adaptable way to update their portfolios.

Although the use of sheet protectors or permanently bound books is often considered an industry standard, Lost Luggage was an early innovator in the use of the screwpost binding system.  This system was designed to give portfolios more beauty and functionality since they could be updated quickly without sacrificing tasteful design.

“We find the look of sheet protectors takes away from a strong portfolio presentation,” explains Jason Brown, founder and principal of Lost Luggage.  “That’s why we’ve always offered templates to our clientele so they can drill and score their own paper if they wish.  Meanwhile, I’ve been constantly searching for an easier, affordable solution.”

Enter Moab Papers, a company founded in 2003 who has already gained immense prestige through producing extremely high quality papers in a multitude of choices and at reasonable prices.  It was clear to Brown and Nadine Stellavato, co-owner of Lost Luggage, that Moab was the ideal choice as both a paper manufacturer and business ally. Greg Schern, owner of Moab, was in agreement, and the venture was quickly solidified.

To add additional excitement to the venture, the co-branded Lost Luggage portfolio will be available through regular retail channels with Moab Papers.  Usually sold directly through Lost Luggage, these designer portfolios will now be available at a store near you.  The initial portfolio will be offered solely in 8.5” x 11” image size format, but plans are already in progress to add additional formats in the near future.

About Lost Luggage
Founded in 1994 by Jason Brown, Lost Luggage makes luxury presentation tools informed by superior-design, modern culture and an elegant yet street-smart sensibility. Individually hand-crafted in their Seattle studios, personalized and memorable, a Lost Luggage portfolio is the ideal showcase to make a powerful impression.
www.lost-luggage.com

About Moab Papers
Founded in 2003, the Moab Paper Company has focused on solutions for photographers and artists in the digital market. Only three years later, the company's products are already available worldwide through a variety of distribution channels. Company Founder and President, Gregory Schern provides a background in photography and e-commerce and has been featured in Utah Business magazine as one of Utah's top entrepreneurs under the age of forty.
www.moabpaper.com

For more Lost Luggage information, photos and press releases, please contact us at 206.728.6044 or email info@lost-luggage.com.

TOM DOUGLAS RESTAURANTS CHOOSES CASE ENVY FOR A FLAVORFUL NEW MARKETING APPROACH

Hotels get special attention from Seattle's most famous celebrity chef with a customized binder from Case Envy™

Seattle, WA » Case Envy™, the new retail line launched by Lost Luggage® in October, is quickly catching the eye of design-savvy people across the country. Devotees of the new products already include such prestigious companies as Microsoft and Paperhaus.

Tom Douglas Restaurants had initially become aware of Lost Luggage® as a fellow Seattle-based company also nationally recognition for creative excellence. Douglas himself called Lost Luggage® a "breath of fresh air" in the local community. So when searching for the perfect way to make Tom Douglas Restaurants stand out to local hotels, the chef looked to Lost Luggage® for a designer solution.

Lost Luggage® came back with a unique Case Envy™ design specifically tailored to Tom Douglas' tastes. The customized binders feature brown hardboard covers and black acrylic spines to contrast perfectly with the glossy metal rivets that have become the distinct trademark of both Case Envy™ and Lost Luggage®. With his distinctive logo etched across the front, Tom Douglas Restaurants' custom binders will promote the Douglas' brand while also giving hotels a functional and stylish way to organize the multitude of choices offered by his company.

As a rule Case Envy™ sells standard products only to retailers, however, direct customers can purchase custom designed products for orders over twenty-five pieces. Additionally, Case Envy™ offers customers etching and screen-printing on standard products for orders with as few as fifteen pieces. In this way Case Envy™ is able to offer products to a wide audience while maintaining the Lost Luggage® tradition of exquisitely designed, highly customized pieces such as those commissioned by Tom Douglas Restaurants.

About Case Envy™
Case Envy™ is designed and produced by Lost Luggage®, a Seattle based portfolio company founded in 1994. Lost Luggage® translated their mission to Case Envy™; an accessible line that provides superior design and construction of portfolios and presentation products for an affordable price.
www.case-envy.com
www.lost-luggage.com

About Tom Douglas Restaurants
Starting with the acclaimed Cafe Sport in 1984, Tom Douglas has been an integral figure in defining the Northwest style, or "Pacific Rim Cuisine" as it is sometimes called. Now as founder and owner of four highly esteemed restaurants, a flourishing catering and events business as well as a popular line of herb rubs and sauces called Rub with Love, Douglas has established what has become a Seattle institution through Tom Douglas Restaurants.
www.tomdouglas.com

For more Lost Luggage and Case Envy information, photos and press releases, please contact us at 206.728.6044 or email info@lost-luggage.com.