Global Warming, hot or not?

At the risk of taking a minor political departure from the melding of passionate lifestyle enthusiasm and contemporary furniture I submit 2 articles for your review.

The First article is from NASA saying they have overstated the rate at which the earth is warming. Click Here

The Second article I found while perusing the BBC news website talking about the alarming rate in which Arctic Sea Ice is shrinking. Click Here

It's no secret that I have long been a fan of taking care of our environment. From growing up in the mountains and joining the Sierra Club at the age of 14 on through moving to the beach and being a longtime supporter of The Surfrider Foundation (and more recently 1%FTP) I have seen firsthand the effects we as humans can have on our environment and the blatant disregard that many people take towards their surroundings.

Mind you I am not an overzealous "eco-nazi" or anything but it's not that hard to do little things like recycle or turn off a light in an empty room. If you get a chance, grab a copy of "The Lazy Environmentalist" written by the ever passionate all around nice guy Josh Dorfman.

To see "Green Products" continue to infiltrate mainstream life and media is great and only good things can come from added awareness.

My take, we are seeing a pattern of global warming that modern society has never experienced. Has this pattern taken place in the past before meteorological records were kept or are we going down a path that Mother Earth has never seen, we will never know...?

But one thing is for sure - Each and every day people across this planet take a new interest in our environment and what they can do to make a difference and thats a good thing!

Is anybody out there.

Last day of the International Casual Living and Accessories show.

Hello....................................

Hot Child in the City...

running wild and looking pretty! (albeit a little bit slower today after last nights festivities)

Day 3 at the International Casual Living and Accessories show was... well it was day 3 and I'll spare the rant today. But we did meet with a number of really cool retailers that "get it". (see day 2 comments) So there is hope that Maku will still be able to save the world of Casual outdoor furnishings from itself...



Enough with the furniture show how about the parties! My good friends at Burton Snowboards had the grand opening of their new Chicago store last night. A rocking good time was had by all who attended including VIPs like Mr. Chris Bachman retail hero to the Midwest snowboard scene with his store Shred Shop. Here some pics



Is she dancing or checking her pits...?

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!

Benji Weatherly's "Little Humans Surf Contest" rolled up on D-street last weekend. Unfortuneatly the surf was meager (just as it has been most of the summer) but with ASR, The Trestles Contest, and The Surfer Poll awards all happening in the last week, there were no shortage of Pro's hanging out and rooting on the all the groms competing.



Rizal even made the trip all the way from Bali to attend ASR and take care of some biz over on this side of the planet. (pictured with my son Mason aka "Jojo the idiot circus boy")

In a time when it is easy to criticize our Govt. it's good to see that there are people whom still remember those whom served and those lost in battle both now and in the past. Check out this paddle and benefit for not only Vietnam vets but any Veterans of our Military. A big THANKS for your service and commitment to our Country! Click here for more info

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.

Riviera Magazine Had their 3rd Anniversary party a few nights ago at the JetSource Hangers at Palomar Airport here in Carlsbad. The party was off the hook! Gillian and crew definetly know how to rock in high end style - Ferrari 308 Spider Gt's, Bentley's, and of course what party would not be complete with out a $23 million Private Jet sitting off to the side for all the attendees to chill in... I figure it would take about 4 stops on that thing for us to get to Bali! maybe one day... :)

Here some pics taken with my cell phone, sorry for the poor quality.







By the way, HUGE THANKS to Gillian and her editorial staff for the profile of myself and Maku in their 3rd anniversary issues. It's on news stands now so go get yourself a copy. Autographs are free.... hahaha!

Logo placement!

Check out these 2 killer shots from TW Surf of Rizal and notice the Maku stickers on his board... SWEET!

Riz @ Padang Padang (that wave is so good you gotta say the name twice... hahaha!)


Riz and his wonderful wife Chandra in their backyard.

Goggle gone green...

Check out this new Eco friendly search engine. http://www.blackle.com/ Pretty rad that it can save so much wattage by just having a black background... Hmm, there might just be something to that look. paging Josh our web developer guru!

Flat waves and busy days...

WOW, I can't believe the last 2 weeks have gone by so fast. Sorry for no updates... Lots of cool stuff happening, too bad that there is nothing happening with the surf this summer. This is for sure one of the flattest summers in the last 10 yrs! Although the water is a balmy 77 degrees as told by my trusty suunto watch while I was out groveling on a longboard trying to catch a few knee high nuggets, the surf has left a lot to be desired and there are plenty that are jonesing for a good surf session. Fortunately, it looks like waves are on the way. Check the surf forecast out!

So lots to report, new production arrived and it looks great despite the drama in getting the container here (long story...) We continue to get more partners on board at the retail level and our cool little furniture project is picking up steam!


One of our newest partners is 2modern.com and you can check out all the Maku stuff at 2modern by clicking here . The crew @ 2modern did a killer write up on their blog giving Maku some serious props, thanks guys stoked to be on board and working with you!!

When I look back a short 15 months ago and look at what has been achieved in such a short time it's pretty cool. We've got almost 15 retail partners on board (check the Maku site for a list of all our partners which we will update this weekend) . We have also been spec'd for a few really cool projects and I will update pictures on those in the next few weeks.

The next big thing for Maku will be the Casual Living and Accessories show in Chi town this September. Chi town is one of my favorite cities in the world, not only because you can walk around O'Hare Intl with a beer but because of the great skyline, people, architecture (think FLW) and that my favorite Mother In Law lives there and she is kind enough to let me stay at her place for the week instead of a stuffy hotel.

If you are an industry cohort and planning to attend the show let us know and we'll set up an appt to show you the collection - designers, retailers, media. We just get stoked on talking to everybody about Maku!

Check out The Lazy Environmentalist, I just did a super fun interview with Josh Dorfman the host of The Lazy Environmentalist on his sirius radio show on channel 114 / Lime. It's pretty cool when you meet a group of people that share the same ideals and passion as you do. As I mentioned previously, Josh is also the founder of Vivavi one of our newest retail partners. We talked about everything from Jake Brown wadding on the X-games Super Kicker to how we ensure sustainability in our products to taking the steps and actually creating a company. It was a super rad interview and I couldn't be more stoked right now!

Check out Design Public, these guys are rad and I am really stoked to be working with them! Talk about passionate lifestyle and design enthusiasts; Drew, Sina, James and the rest of the DP crew really embody this mantra that is such a huge part of what Maku is all about.

You can also check out their Blog "Hatch" for the latest Design Public happenings as well as everything else going on within contemporary design.

By the way, I did a photo shoot with a very cool Southern California magazine today that is doing a profile on myself and Maku! It was pretty fun and I can't wait for it to come out. Sorry, can't let the cat out of the bag just quite yet...

Sorry for the lack of updates, things have been hopping here at Maku HQ!

Check out our newest retail and ecomm partner!

Vivavi (vee-va-vee): combination of the Latin Vivir meaning "to live" and the stem Avi meaning "sign"

Josh Dorfman and his crew at Vivavi have an amazing contemporary program that is surrounded with eco conscious products and philosophies! They develop forward thinking ventures designed to enable modern green living and you should not only check out the Vivavi site and buy something from them (hint -Maku!) but their sister website is a great resource - Modern Green Living

Aside from running the Vivavi Showroom in NYC and their websites, Josh is also known as The Lazy Environmentalist and has written a book of the same title as well as hosts his show on sirius satellite radio. Dwell Magazine says The Lazy Environmentalist is "... a guide to going green without resorting to birkenstocks and brown rice casserole.."

All of us at Maku (ok all 2 of us...) are really excited to be working with a group that is truly at the forefront of sustainable design and green living!