Maku EcoShop Sustainable Ranch (Bucky and Fred have some new Friends!)

You've met 2 of our best sellers Fred and Bucky on the EcoShop now check out a couple of new additions to proverbial Maku EcoShop sustainable Ranch.

Kenana Knitter Critters hail from the far off reaches of Kenya.

These little guys are not your ordinary stuffed animals, Kenana Critters are brought to us from a fantastic Fair Trade collective in rural Kenya!

Members of the group gather wool from the Kenana farm, then wash and dye it using natural plants before it is spun into yarn on old bicycle tires. Talented hands turn the yarn into these special handknit characters.

Party Panda



Funky Monkey



Precious Polar Bear (did you know that a Polar Bears skin is black and their hair is clear and hollow to filter the artic sunlight and help warm them...)

The Maku EcoShop is now OPEN!!

Check it out, The Maku EcoShop is now open. Featuring the finest in sustainable and eco friendly products for your household, pets, and lifestyle!

EcoShop represents the next level of our commitment to living a sustainable lifestyle. The products represented within EcoShop not only follow the same mantra and philosophies of Maku Furniture but more importantly are products we believe in and use.

Keep checking the site as we are adding new products daily. And if you have any product suggestions let us know by emailing to - info@makufurniture.com

http://ecoshop.makufurniture.com/

It's in Da shoes...

Both my daughter and I are somewhat closet sneakerheads - From Adidas Consortium to Ed Hardy (for her) to Nike Dunk's we like them all. (especially Adidas Y-3!)

So while cruising the world wide web over the weekend I found some super cool shoes from a small company in France called Veja that are also very eco conscious. Check out the The-Grid by Veja

C.U.R.B

I found this cool little gem of eco wisdom on The Alternative consumer. What a great way to start a green 2009!

The new year ushers in an avalanche of ‘Trends for 2009′ posts and resolutions to get ‘greener.’ My contribution to the mudslide of eco-friendly pronouncements is my green acronyms for 2009 - C.U.R.B.

C - conserve - waste less water, energy, time and materials.

U - unplug - go off-grid: walk, bike, hike and get out in nature.

R - reuse - bags, food containers, clothes, paper. You get the idea.

B - believe - all the small changes made by individuals can make a giant difference.

** Borrowed from The Alternative Consumer. I's a great site, check it out!

Maku makes #6 on the Chicago Tribune Eco List!

Check it out, the Chicago Tribune lists Maku Furniture as #6 out of 20 ways to live green. Even our friends over at Carlsbadistan picked up on the story!

If you are in the Chicago area be sure to stop by Orange Skin and say hello and find out the latest and greatest in the world of modern design.

Happy Holidays from Maku! (don't forget to recycle)

it is estimated that between Thanksgiving and the New Year an extra million tons of waste are generated nationwide each week. In fact, 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out each year--enough to tie a bow around the Earth!

As we all prepare form xmas day here are a few tips to lower your impact on the earth

• Use old newspaper to wrap gifts. Not only is it a unique look, you can recycle it!
• Switch over to rechargeable batteries for all those new toys. Here is some great info on rechargeable batteries. (from the state of CA no less!)
• According to the National Christmas Tree Association's website, "There are approximately 30-35 million Real Christmas Trees sold in the U.S. every year." The website also notes that real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource. Try and replant or better yet recycle your tree for mulch that reduces the need to water all the time, it's a double winner!
• If you are lucky enough to get a cool new 46" Plasma flat screen from Santa this year but aren't sure what to do with your old TV, PDA, IPOD, or computer check out these guys Erecycle.org

Happy Holidays and wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous and green 2008!

Holiday Love from the Chicago Tribune

The Three Ways of Christmas! The Chicago Tribune ran a cool little gift guide in the Sunday Home section and featured the Maku Bench as one of their "Sky's the Limit" Gift Choices.

For the Full Story click here

Many thanks to Lisa and Dina @ Cattails in Chicago for the props and holiday stoke! Everybody in Chicago should go and buy their holiday flower arrangement from them!

Welcome Soho Living!

Welcome to the crew @ Soho Living in Florida! With 3 stores in the state we are really stoked to have Anand, Joe, and the rest of the staff preaching the power of Maku sustainable outdoor living!

A fresh shipment of Maku goods are on their way to Soho Living and if you live in Florida, have friends in Florida, are visiting in Florida, or just want to check out a really cool retailer that is taking an eco friendly stance by brining in products such as Maku, then go to their website for all details and contact info!

Now I can go see my buddy Rob, surf a good hurricane swell, stop in on the Soho Living crew and call it a business trip, sweet!!!

Seattle Chic & Maku

Hello again from Maku PR. The fires have calmed down , but our hearts go out to those that lost their loved ones or homes.

A big trend in media is localism. Not the kind of localism you see in surfing, more the support of local brands by locally based media.

While Maku isn't based in Seattle, we are sold at the very cool Velocity Art & Design.

Why am I bringing this up? It's because Kate, who writes the Seattle Chic blog wrote about Maku today. Thanks Kate!

While I don't know if Kate surfs or not, she digs our affiliation with One Percent for the Planet , which means all of us at Maku dig Kate.

More news to come from Team Maku, thanks for all your support!

Green Living online

check out the love from Green Living Online and all the coverage of the Portland Fashion Week!
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/HomeGarden/lounging-in-style-at-portland-fashion-week/

Groundhog Day...

Day 2 at the International Casual Living and accessories show was somewhat like the movie "Groundhog day". Aside from a bit more traffic you would not have known that yesterday was day 2 of what is touted as the "Largest Casual Furnishings Tradeshow in the World"

Liking to have a bit of feel for the marketplace and starting to understand the dynamics of Casual Furniture it is no wonder all of these companies here are whining about how bad specialty retail is and how the big box guys are taking over. Hearth and Home magazine has a number of company profiles in their show edition.

The funny thing, not one of these companies mentions targeting a younger more vibrant consumer. Even more interesting is that only 1 of the companies makes mention of "eco friendly" products as an emerging category.

Maybe I'm way off here but last time I checked Baby Boomers weren't spending a lot of money on their homes, in fact many as they grow older were down sizing or using their disposable income for travel - cruises, RV, or going to see their grandchildren...

Exhibit 1 - 3 "different" wicker and rattan brands pictured below. See if you can tell a difference in the product....






Exhibit 2 - Traditional "Teak" furnishings. Again 3 different companies...







And there are 2 full floors of temporary exhibits as well as 3 floors of permanent showrooms all with the EXACT same products. How can a specialty retailer in any sector of consumer goods be expected to compete with a large national chain when all they are battling over is the same consumer, same pricepoints, and same products...?

A specialty retailer is just that - Specialized. But when an industry of manufacturers all make the same stuff and there is no significant point of differentiation (branding, pricing, products, etc) for the specialty retailer and more importantly the consumer these guys just can't compete.

I just don't get it?

I guess the only plausible answer is Maku! I mentioned in an earlier post that we pretty much stick out like a sore thumb at this show - an oasis of cool in a Kook-e-cutter desert... The good news there are retailers here that "get it" and understand they need more specialized products to attract and retain their customer base. A customer base (Insert Gen x) that is younger, more contemporary, vibrant, and passionate about living but most importantly has a substantial disposable income and wants to take their house and turn it into a home.

Hopefully they will all buy Maku...

Stay tuned for day 3 rantings on the show.

International Casual Living and accesories show!

Making our Debut at the International Casual Living and Accessories show!

Took the redeye into Chicago today, arrived @ 4:30 am (2:30 am PST, departed SD @ 11 pm PST) with a few hours sleep on the plane, my favorite mother in law was kind enough to pick me up at O'Hare that early. Thanks!

A side note and the reason I was on the redeye..., a big congratulations to the Carlsbad Mighty Mite Shining Lancers for a great win on Saturday. As the head coach of the team, I couldn't be more proud of not only my son but the entire team! Great job boys!!!

Went on down to the Merchandise Mart and proceeded to set up our stand. I gotta tell you, I think Maku is a refreshing Oasis of cool in an desert of cookie cutter mass production. Here's a few shots of our stand.







By the way, did you know the only building in the USA larger than the Merchandise Mart is the Pentagon. This place is HUGE!

Maku in September Riviera San Diego

Just a quick image from Johnny’s Riviera San Diego debut.

Gillian and her team do an excellent job of giving company’s that are based locally or have a strong local tie some extra help.

Having lived in NYC for a number of years, in addition to reading more than my fair share of magazines due to the nature of my job, I can tell you the Riviera team holds their own with the best of them editorially and from a production standpoint.

Besides featuring a giant picture of infamous West family pooch Diego, the article also gives props to local retailer Grounded and the Maku's favorite shaper Cole Simler . If you've never checked out one of Cole's boards, do so. Real beauties that even kooks like the PR guy can appreciate.

BTW – Maku is in the Riviera SD version, not OC. The covers are the same and some bookstores carry both, so look out before you buy.

ICFF day 1

WOW, what an amazing day! The aisles were full of design enthusiast, retailers, architects, and designers from all walks of life across the world. The energy and vibe that this show exudes is like non other I have attended before. Even better is the feedback and response to our debut collection! Everybody that previewed our pieces conveyed that we have something exciting and special here. Open, easy going, Non Assuming, Fun, Contemporary, Lifestyle, approachable, Beautiful, Sustainable - were just some the words used to describe the new collection.

Here are a few photos from my cell phone (sorry see the post below...) ICFF sponsored a party at MOMA this evening and most of the museum was open to us for perusing. Lots of great stuff from Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and many other of the most influential fathers of moderism. It was pretty cool to see this collection all under one roof!

By the way, the subway is still the fastest and cheapest way to get around NYC...