Lifting Eyebrows for a Fourth Year at the CEDIA Expo

View from inside the Denver Convention Center

It was another successful year at the CEDIA Expo! This was our fourth year at the show, and it just keeps getting better. We appreciate all the excitement and positive feedback about our TV Lifts. Even better, we got the chance to see many old friends again and to meet lots of new ones.

The CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) Expo was held this year in Denver, CO. It takes place annually and is attended by thousands of AV Professionals from all over the world. It is exhilarating to be associated with an industry that offers such exciting and diverse products!

Our TV Lifts display at the CEDIA Expo

This year we not only displayed our lineup of super smooth TV Lifts, we also got to show off our NEW component shelf and swivel models. With these additions to our product mix, clients can raise their TV AND their components (like DVD player and cable box) all together at the touch of a button, and then turn the whole assembly to be seen from any viewing angle. Everyone loved it! We are not sure which we raised more of: TV's or eyebrows!

As always, visitors were impressed with the compact size of the lifts, as well as how QUIET they are! Our Industry-Best Warranty was also a popular topic of conversation, since many installers have had negative experiences with other manufacturer's TV Lift products.

Our Trade Show Team: Heather Sanders, Nicole McClain, and Cory Lovett

Of course there was also time to socialize! Thank you to everyone who invited us to their private parties, and took the time to get to know us. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Expo next year in Atlanta GA.

Nexus 21 at the 2008 International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta

Heather Sanders and Nicole McClain of Nexus 21

It was our first year at IWF and we had a great time! Cabinetmakers and architectural woodworkers from all over the country (and beyond) were very enthusiastic about our TV Lifts.

If you had walked by our booth, you may have wondered why people were down on their knees. Apart from a few guys begging for the Lift Girl’s autograph, most were kneeling down to put an ear close to our lifts. Everyone was amazed that the Nexus 21 TV Lift operates almost silently!

The Nexus 21 Lift Girl, Nicole McClain

To all you IWF attendees: Thank you for your positive comments and sample orders! We enjoyed the conversations and interactions and are looking forward to the AWFS show in Las Vegas next year!

By Popular Request: Introducing the Nexus 21 Component Shelf

Component shelf shown mounted on TV Lift Model L-39

You asked us for it, and here it is! Now when you use TV Lift Model L-39, you can add a new space-saving accessory: the Nexus 21 Component Shelf. It provides a perfect location for your components (DVD player, cable box, etc.), by mounting just below the TV, and it solves your storage and cable-management problems by allowing the components to ride up and down with the TV.

The unit ships fully assembled, shelf sizes can be customized, and it even retro-fits to any Nexus 21 Model L-39 TV Lifts ever made (as long as your cabinet has enough space for it).

Standard version available now, swivel-version available in September, 2008. A similar shelf for Lift Model DL-39 will also be available in September, 2008.

Details on our website http://www.nexus21.com/

Nexus 21 at the Woodworking Show

Nicole McClain and Heather Sanders of Nexus 21.

Nexus 21 enjoyed another weekend of moving Nexus 21 tv lifts and flat panel tvs around West World in Phoenix, Arizona for The Woodworking Show. In addition to exhibiting the tradeshow booth (new this year) and product demonstrations, Nicole and Heather had a chance to sharpen their woodworking skills from the exhibitors around them. The Woodworking Shows are the premier event for woodworkers to learn from the experts, find unique wood working tools and see how-to demonstrations.

Halloween with the McClains

Nicole's costume was five feet wide.

Can you guess who this is? We can! It's no other than Nexus 21's Nicole McClain! Everyone who knows Nicole knows that Halloween plans have been years in the making and it takes hours of preparation for Halloween night at the McClain household.

Nicole and her Mom, the Mad Scientist

"I've been doing this since I was a kid. The only way I can explain it is that our family feels about Halloween how most people feel about Christmas - it's huge. We even take a vacation day from work. We have boxes and boxes of Halloween costumes, strobe lights, and an awesome sound system to play music. I remember being a kid and watching a ghost swing down from the top window across the yard on a pulley. At the same time, a friend of the family was crawling out of a real coffin my parents had in the front yard. One year, my parents even had people walk through the house to scare them. Every year we seem to 'out do' the previous year."

Even the dogs love Halloween, pumpkin guts and costumes.

It seems like a lot of time and money for the two hour trick-or-treating window. What's the point? "To carry on the tradition that has been in my family for years. We carve pumpkins, cook food, and most importantly, scare kids! This year we scared a group of girls who walked up acting all tough and yelling they weren't afraid. When I jumped out in front of them, two girls toppled over each other falling on the ground and spilled their candy everywhere. We do have a heart for the really little kids though - we take our masks off to show them it's all just fun and games."

"The major problem this year was the time change - or should I say, the lack thereof? It was light through the first half of trick-or-treating which was disappointing. Halloween should be moved one hour later to compensate for the time change. Other than that, the hardest part is the cleanup but everybody pitches in."

Nexus 21 Exhibits at CEDIA

We, as well as a few passers-by, fancied our new tradeshow booth at the CEDIA Expo 2007 in Denver. The new 10 x 20 booth featured a skyline backdrop, a window-sill inlay to display the L-27 TV lift, and a red leather sofa to promote the "loft-like" atmosphere (great views with limited space). "2007 has been a big year for Nexus 21; We've changed our logo, brand, website, and launched our first ecommerce site in addition to the tradeshow booth," said Nicole McClain, Nexus 21's Business Development and IT Marketing Manager. "The creation and development was an involved step-by-step process and it was exciting to see the booth shining on display."

The new Nexus 21 tradeshow booth for CEDIA 2007.

"Having the L-27, L-39 and DL-39 all on display were crucial at the show. People were interested in the differences between the lifts, not to mention the sound (what sound?) and simplicity of our TV lifts," said Heather Sanders, Nexus 21's Business Development Manager.

Nicole McClain demonstrating the DL-39 TV lift at CEDIA 2007.

"Sitting on the DL-39 and being lifted up in the air created amazement, laughs and smiles from the crowd," said Nicole. "I can't determine if we heard more buzz about our TV lifts at the show itself or during the after hour events! CEDIA gave us a terrific opportunity to promote the versatility and affordability of our powerful TV lifts - and we did exactly that!"

Nicole McClain and Heather Sanders during a product demonstration.

Nicole McClain and Heather Sanders at CEDIA in Denver.

Thank you to everyone who stopped out to see us! If you are interested in product updates, where we will be next, and what goofy things we are up to, click here to sign up for our newsletter. We'll see you again next year!

Camel Eats a Camelback Backpack - Say That 3x Fast

"Camelback backpack? You think that's funny? I'll show you what's funny."

Most people choose to escape the Arizona summer heat by vacationing to a cooler climate but at Nexus 21, we do everything differently. Heather Sanders, Nexus 21’s Business Development Manager, spent her vacation traveling in a different desert -Israel. After 12 hours on a plane she arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel-Aviv and told her travel mates, “I left the Sonoran only to end up in the Negev!”

Heather Sanders in Israel

We all know Nicole McClain has gained some notoriety from her Nexus 21 TV lift “rides.” Heather, hoping to gain her own Nexus 21 blog celebrity status, rode a camel while in Israel.

Jeff assured Nicole that her lift ride would be completely safe. Heather, on the other hand, did not receive the same reassurance. Seconds before climbing onto a camel with huge teeth, the camel owner told her, “Do not pet the camel. He is not your friend. He does not like you.” Heather rode the camel safely for an hour with only one mishap — the camel behind her was trying to eat her Camelback backpack (a form of retaliation on his part to defend the camel name and kingdom). In the end, Heather learned that camels, like the Nexus 21 TV Lift Systems, also have incredible lifting capacity and they too are safe. The moral of the story? Sometimes you have to travel to the Middle East to "out do" a co-worker’s infamous lift riding!

To view more information on the Nexus 21 TV lift capacity click here.

To buy a Nexus 21 Lift System click here.

To buy a camel click here.