Writer and Polisher Christie was surprised this morning to receive a gift of a tee-shirt, bearing the legend at left. Our friend, Kathy Novak at ReMax Newport Realty is a fellow grammarista, and was so tickled by this that she had to share it!

She had our mutual pals at Sign Shop of Racine (as you can see -- they do shirts, too!) make it up and brought it to our networking meeting earlier today. And, Christie has been wearing it and grinning ever since!

Thanks, Kathy!

Yes, you ARE reading that highlighted section correctly!

We just added this little number to our Facebook album, Why the World Needs More Proofreaders.

Ever notice how ironic some of these proofing errors seem to be, for one reason or another? We never noticed that Satan was an anagram of Santa!

FWIW, while the sale at Dillards may include cloths (fourth line), it's likely that they meant clothes. It's a far less entertaining typo, but still more evidence that someone else needs to look these things over prior to publication.

We recently spotted this problematic shelf sign, and just had to share it as a cautionary tale. We inquired with the shop where this was discovered, and were told that these labels are provided by Aveda Corporate. It has been called to their attention, and it remains to be seen if it is addressed.

As we see it, one of two things happened here:

• Someone unfamiliar with the word 'chamois' was responsible for making the tags for this product, and it wasn't reviewed before being reproduced and distributed.
  
• A conscious decision was made to name the 'chamois cloth' a 'shammy cloth' on the assumption that it didn't matter or that no one knew otherwise anymore or -- some justification or other.

If the former, then clearly, the solution is to ensure that a well-read or otherwise disciplined group of people are producing written, client-facing material, such that errors will be discovered in a proofreading step that is always part of production.

If the latter, then the company (whether, in reality, a whole department or a single executive) preferred to run the risk of the pedestrian consumer thinking that the company had made a mistake as a trade-off for the consumers in their demographic who might not recognize the word 'chamois.'

From a marketing standpoint, as well as an educational one, we think that the down-side of looking imprecise is worse than the downside of using a term that someone may not know. After all, many of Aveda's products contain herbs and oils and whatnot that may not be immediately familiar to everyone who patronizes them. But, the company assumes that the professionals in their licensed shops will educate the consumer about these things. Why would the chamois cloth not fall into this same category?

Naturally, we are not suggesting that a company with a great reputation like Aveda is demonstrating an overall lack of care that one should project onto its products. Every once in a while, a mistake just slips by even the most diligent of people.

However, particularly for smaller businesses that do not have a national reputation preceding them, the safest route is to go the extra mile to eliminate errors. This avoids the danger that a prospective client may be turned off by the possibility of a slipshod way of doing things that extends into the business' work -- whether as an electrician or a health care provider or an IT professional.

Martha and Herb got a surprise when perusing the weekly specials ~~

Here's a new gem just added to our Proofreaders Paradise album at Facebook.

Once upon a time, there was a grocery store manager/ owner/decision-maker who didn't think it was necessary to pay for proofreading....

While conducting other business on the Internet, we came across a new subject for our Facebook rogues' gallery of language error and/or misuse.

Click on the picture to see the details of the situation -- though the CliffNotes version is that Old Navy shipped and sold these shirts without a necessary apostrophe in "Let's Go!!"

Retail goods and client-facing communication material need to be checked for these basic (and embarrassing) errors. Contact us to discuss your needs.

Write and Polish recently completed the first phase of a website project for Milwaukee-area general contractor Barthenheier Construction. 

The website was designed by Catral Doyle Creative (located in Milwaukee's Third Ward), whose team also established an engaging logo and brand. Write and Polish then performed a complete revision of the content, and adjusted some minor elements of layout/style to better reflect the client's aesthetic.

We will be continuing to work with Barthenheier to expand the case studies already presented to more fully reflect the scope of work undertaken, as well as to add new projects as they are completed. We are also working with them on other marketing and communications projects, including creation of an up-to-date relationship database and some "boilerplate" pieces that will allow for quicker and easier response to opportunities.

Daniels Chiropractic Office recently engaged Write and Polish to undertake a complete edit/revision of its website content. 

Dr. John Daniels, one of the members of the practice's third generation of practitioners, built the website using tools provided by a company that specializes in sites for chiropractors. It looked great, but the text was held over from a previous iteration of the site, and needed both updating and to be tightened up.

Conveying a lot of information with a degree of economy is always a challenge; we think this one turned out quite nicely.

If you are in the Racine area, we can also recommend the care delivered by Daniels Chiropractic. We're not just their writers...we're their patients as well!