Toby Barazzuol: Customized, Earth-friendly Awards and Trophies To Recognize People and Celebrate the Human Spirit

Eclipse Awards makes customized, earth-friendly awards and trophies to recognize people and celebrate the human spirit!

Tell us about yourself?

I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada and grew up in the rainforests of the North Shore. I graduated from the UBC Sauder School of Business in 1992 and then worked at a small company where my boss had a side business of making crystal recognition awards and trophies.

There I learned how to design and sandblast awards to bring them to life, and found that I really enjoyed using my hands to make things.

Over time, I attended dozens of award ceremonies to watch our awards being presented, and I began to notice that most award recipients were overcome with happiness, often crying tears of joy upon being recognized and appreciated.It was always such a positive, powerful and uplifting experience that I decided I wanted to help bring more of that into the world and so I launched Eclipse Awards in 1998.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Start a business if it’s something you love and believe in, not necessarily because you think it will make you rich or give you lots of free time.You will need to draw on your passion to get you through the first 5 years. Take pride in your work, do the things you promise to do, treat people well, and then the money will start to flow.But spoiler alert.. if you think that owning your own business is the path to more free time, it’s actually the opposite :). 

What problem does your business solve?

We reliably create and deliver customized recognition awards that people feel proud to present and receive.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

When people think of recognition or trophies, they often think of gold stars and plastic “metal” cups. I wanted to create beautiful, earth-friendly trophies that people would covet and treasure for a lifetime. We design awards that amplify and elevate people’s messages of recognition and appreciation.

What is your magic sauce?

We deliver on everything we promise to do, and we cultivate a happy and healthy team so that we can infuse good energy into everything we make and do.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

To continue developing and designing beautiful awards and trophies using earth-friendly, sustainable materials. To help strengthen more communities by recognizing and celebrating the good people in those communities.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Surviving the pandemic with our team intact was probably the single biggest challenge we have ever faced. When Covid first hit, virtually all events were cancelled, which meant no one was presenting any awards.It was a tough period where we couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually though, companies rediscovered the importance of recognizing their people and started to send awards directly to people at home. Now we are busier than ever as more and more organizations are taking the time to value and appreciate their people.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

We are always looking to connect with organizations that want to recognize and appreciate their staff and partners. Bonus points if those organizations also value sustainability and regeneration. Build a culture of recognition and appreciation and you’ll be amazed by what follows. We’re here to help! Recognize. Empower. Repeat.