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So you've searched high and low and you can't think of a good gift to show your appreciation to an employee for a job well done. How about a baseball bat? And not just any baseball bat - one that is engraved with a personalized message and even your company logo to show it was made specifically for that person.

Baseball bats make unique and fun gifts for a number of occasions and each bat can be personalized to fit the occasion and make a real keepsake gift. If you have a company softball team, at the end of your season, whether you won or lost the majority of your games, have a get together and give awards in the form of trophies and personalized baseball bats. Your MVP will proudly show off their bat made just for them complete with engraved words of appreciation.

You're not limited to wooden bats either. If you have a preference for aluminum bats or the Rawlings "Big Stick" baseball bats - those can be personalized as well. And never fear if you're a last minute planning kind of person. Your bat and personalized message can be engraved and sent the same day to ensure you'll still have a gift in time for your special occasion.

Baseball bats have jokingly been referred to as "husband tamers" for years and therefore the humor in giving your groomsmen personalized baseball bats won't be lost on anyone. The bride and groom can have the bats personalized with their names and the date of the wedding to make a unique and fun way to remember the ceremony for everyone involved.

Baby might be a little too small to enjoy a personalized bat when you give it as a new baby gift, however the proud Mommy and Daddy will put it away as a keepsake heirloom to be passed down to their child when he is grown and has kids of his own. Some parents further personalize the bat by pressing their baby's tiny hands and feet in ink and then pressing them on the bat to leave an imprint. A coat of clear varnish over the imprints after they are thoroughly dry will further personalize this gift and make it a true family keepsake item for generations to come.

Bats are among one of the most versatile gifts you can give. If you need a special gift for anyone from a co-worker that has gone above and beyond the call of duty to a special birthday present or groomsmen gifts, consider a special gift of an engraved baseball bat - you can say so much and it's a gift that will be proudly displayed for years to come.

Will Starcher likes to paint at a 45-degree angle. Trouble was, he couldn’t find an easel that would allow him to set up a canvas that way.

So eight years ago, he invented one, and over the years, he’s improved it.




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He calls it the Spider Easel, and not only can it hold canvasses at an angle, but it can also hold anything as small as a postcard or as large as an 8-foot-by-8-foot canvas. Unlike most easels, it’s one-size-fits-all, it’s light-weight and it can be packed up and carried around.A senior in Marshall University’s fine arts program, Starcher showed it around to some other artists he knew, wondering if they’d ever be interested in buying one. And they said they would.Now Starcher and his sister, Margie Starcher, a working accountant and a business student at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, are getting a new company under way — Arachnovation. He’s the artistic/marketing side of the biz, and she’s the finance/management side, and their product and business plan are so impressive they won WVU’s first statewide Business Plan Competition.The competition was divided into two categories: “High Tech,” which encompasses new innovations and improvements in technology, and “Lifestyles,” which encompasses anything else.The Spider Easel — which Margie Starcher described as the “Swiss army knife of easels” — fell under “High Tech,” and as the winners, the Starchers receive resources for the start-up of their company, including legal services from Spilman, Thomas and Battle, PLLC; accounting services from Dixon Hughes, PLLC; physical or virtual office space at the WVU Business Incubator and business cards and letterhead from Signs Plus. “We wanted to enter about two years ago, but it wasn’t open to the entire state,” Will Starcher said. But some college representatives from around the state — including Liz Murray and Amy Anastasia at Marshall — urged WVU to open it up to students at all state colleges. Murray teaches a technology innovation class, from which other entries came for the competition, and Anastasia is assistant director of the Technology Transfer Office, helping students and faculty at Marshall get patents on their discoveries and inventions, and get new businesses off the ground.“We have a lot of creative students at Marshall,” Anastasia said. “Margie and Will — they make a great team.”Winning the competition was particularly exciting because they’d been working on the prototype and the business plan for several years, the brother-sister team said.“I’ve done whatever Will needed to help him with this,” Margie Starcher said. “We went to a trade show in Chicago, and we received a lot of good feeback that showed there was a market for it at the time.”At this point, they plan to get out there and make sure a lot of artists see if first-hand.“Artists like to see and touch things,” Margie Starcher said. “We’re going to put it in the artists’ hands and let them see and touch this. We’ll send Will to workshops.”They have orders for some already but still need to get them produced. The Starchers expect to have a limited run available for sale by the end of 2007.And there’s more coming.“(The Spider Easel is) our flagship product, and I have five more in the wings,” Will Starcher said. “In a year or two, I should be rolling those products onto the market.”It’s great to see their dreams come true, his sister said.And when it comes to having the vision to make it happen, the Starchers really didn’t need much help, said Tom Pressman of Strictly Business in Huntington, who coached them as they prepared for the competition.“They didn’t need much help — they’re both so bright and enthusiastic,” Pressman said. “(The Spider Easel) is outstanding. It came out of a real need. Will’s an artist, and through his need, he developed a product, and it’s going to be a great addition to the art world.”Their winning the competition this year was amazing, Anastasia said. “When they got that check and it said ‘Arachnovation’ on there, I cried like a proud parent,” she said. “Being able to work with people so innovative and creative, it’s inspiring.”

When you think of baseball memorabilia and sports collectibles, do you think of baseball cards or do you think of the signed jerseys, the throwback jerseys, jackets, hats, helmets, the pictures, and hero posters? Well, there are many ways to show your support by collecting items of your favorite team or player.

People collect for other sports as well, such as baseball, NASCAR, basketball, football, golf. Some items that are found to be fun to collect are die cast models, Bobble Heads, Hero Posters and the newest items are The Fat Heads items. These are life-like, life-sized replicas of sports heroes that can be safely stuck to your wall. With all of the things you can collect, it is no wonder that some are confused as to where to start or how to start collecting sports memorabilia and sports collectibles. Collecting any sports memorabilia or sports collectibles is a very personal hobby that has value based more on the individuals likes and passions as much as the success of the individual player or team.

For those of us who want to buy that special someone something unique related to their favorite NASCAR driver, basketball, baseball, football or golf player, team, or sport, what do you look for? If they are into baseball memorabilia, you might want to consider the St Louis Cardinals. They not only won the World Series in 2006 but they also have some of the all time greats like Alber Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Yadier Molina. On the other hand, maybe they are into NASCAR. Then you have Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and the reigning champion Jimmy Johnson. Maybe your sports fanatic is a woman. Well, she may like Danica Patrick who has taken Indy Racing Leagues by storm. We cannot forget the late and great Dale Earnhardt Sr. whose collectibles have not only doubled but tripled since his death and seem to be growing in value even more each year. As with many great painters like Picasso, Earnhardt fans refuse to allow his dream and legacy to die.

When it comes to NASCAR, you might want to not only look into the cars, but Plush Bears designed after the driver, year books and autobiographies, key chains and lighters, plates, glasses, clocks and more for your home. You will even find out that baseball memorabilia and sports collectibles have spread into the Christmas decorations with entire villages and decorations for the tree to the roof of your sports fan's home.

However, there are other great sports stars as well, including sports greats like Ben Roethlisberger, Shaquille O'Neil, and Nomar Garciaparra. Moreover, let us not forget the ever-resounding Michael Jordan. When throwback jerseys were mentioned, you may or may not have realized how much these have influenced sports memorabilia, but in 1980, when the NBA, MLB, and NFL began selling both new and the ones used in games, it pushed the collectors to wanting even more.

The die cast scene has changed as well. Fire trucks were a hot item at one time, but they have revolved back to the older muscle cars and the newer hotrod collectibles. Then we have the over all baseball memorabilia and sports collectors who grab anything from a picture of Tiger Woods to Los Angeles Lakers for basketball, or the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL Super Bowl Champions. Even the seven-time champion of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, has a strong following for memorabilia and sports collectibles.

When it comes to the value of the items you collect, remember that the more famous the star, the more expensive the baseball memorabilia and sports collectible items will be. If the item can be verified as authentic in some way, that really adds to the value. Make sure you keep any items related to your sports collectible or sports memorabilia. These would include the original box, any correspondence or signatures, receipts, etc. These will all help to make the item more valuable and collectible.