At 5Star, our professional staff is highly trained, involved in the education and professional associations within the engraving industry, abreast of all the new products and processes within the industry, and constantly growing to provide these to our customers. We work with a wide variety of substrates, from marble and granite, to glass and crystal, to metals and plastics, to acrylics, wood and ceramic tiles. The list goes on.
We actually do our own engraving, etching, painting and design IN HOUSE, which is key. Of course we have the resources to outsource certain products (large quantity ad specialty items are a perfect example of something we would outsource), but bottom line our name is on everything we produce, so we want it to represent our quality standards.
This website is our online showroom, but we have many items available that are not on the site. Because we deal with customers across the US, we are accessible 24/7 online, and use the virtual capabilities of the web to research and provide ideas as well as proofs for our customers nationwide. We work with your timeline, so your project is in hand when you need it. We do all of our work from our manufacturing facility in North Carolina, and we are hands-on with every project. We started the business in 1999, and we have many customers who have been on our “team” for that entire time! It’s all about the relationship, and we treasure them!
In addition to engraving, we are Kaeser-Blair representatives, and we offer imprinted promotional products and ad specialties at competitive prices, which provide effective marketing tools for all your event and organizational needs. Being part of KB gets us a fabulous rate from highly ranked manufacturers because of KB’s large buying power, and their commitment to use only the best manufacturers for their customers’ needs. We totally subscribe to this philosophy.
We also have a division that takes digital images from art and photography and reproduces these images on fabulous tile and glass pieces, from small gift items to walls and murals that will take your breath away. Our ExquisiTile division, also an IN HOUSE part of the business, is meeting with fantastic response from custom builders, architects, tile companies and interior decorators. We are very excited about this product and have a separate website coming soon! Stay tuned!
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR TEAM:
5Star is affiliated with various local Chambers, with Apex Chamber being their primary “home” chamber, as well as the HomeBuilders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, the Awards and Recognition Association, and Business Networking International. Jeff and Lisa are active members of Hope Community Church and frequently use the business to support community projects and missions that are sponsored by Hope.
LISA HIGGINBOTHAM
Lisa Higginbotham started the business. In 1999, she opened TrophyUSA.com, with a retail location on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, NC. TrophyUSA still remains a part of the business, and, while no longer in retail space, the virtual Trophy Builder on the website is a great tool for customers to save time and gas, and build their trophies from the comfort of their home or office, online! The trophy side of the business focuses mainly on leagues and schools and tournaments, but also handles team orders and events.
Lisa brings to the table a 17-year background in high-end commercial printing, and now 9+ years in the awards business. In printing, Lisa was a customer rep and account manager, handling every phase of the print process, and her area of expertise was color. Over the course of her print career, Lisa approved color and monitored color adjustments for clients from RJ Reynolds to Duke University, Kodak, Glaxo Wellcome and more. Lisa found parallels in the awards business that used this color expertise and hence ExquisiTile was born. It was a longterm investment of dedication to quality and trial and error because of the changes in the industry and changes in both dyes and equipment. Lisa only recently decided the time was right to move into the high end tile market, after much experimentation, and several layers of evaluation to ensure that the process and the equipment had progressed to a consistent and repeatable level of quality. Lisa is personally responsible for all the design, engraving, glass etching and color imaging offered by 5Star Awards.
“It’s truly a labor of love. I love what I’m doing, I’m excited about everything I produce and I love it when a customer is pleased – better yet, thrilled – with the end result. That’s a great day,” Lisa says.
Jeff Higginbotham enjoys telling people he has a “trophy wife.” Truthfully, Jeff is very much a prize himself. He is committed to the success of the business, and works hard to make sure all customer orders are perfect out the door. Jeff handles the production, shipping and fulfillment end of the business. He brings to the table 10+ years experience as a customer service rep for several companies including Lipton and Lowes, and his own perfectionist tendencies are an ideal tie-in for this business, where “our goal is to give ALL customers the 5Star treatment." Jeff joined 5Star full time in 2007 and has made valuable contributions to the business.
