First Production Container!

Alright! Our first container of production arrived today from Indo and it looks great! Long day yesterday unloading, inventory, and getting product prepped for our VIP premiere on Friday.

Speaking of 1% For the Planet...

The good folks @ Apartment Therapy took note of some well designed home brands that are a part of the 1% For The Planet alliance.

Besides making a note about Maku, they also highlighted the Modern Twist and Bambu. We're in good company for sure.

More recent PR coverage to be posted in the next few weeks, but for now, I think we're all focusing on the big event @ Grounded this week.

1% for the Planet What an amazing group of companies and brands! It's no secret that I have long been a supporter of educated and proper environmental causes. Growing up in a small ski town in Colorado, working in the action sports industry, and most importantly enjoying the surf, snow, mountains, and beaches the world has to offer we need to make sure we take care of planet's resources. I couldn't under good conscious start a company that didn't somehow give back to not only the people surrounding our production facilities but to the environment as well. Global Stewardship is each of our responsibilities and I hope more and more companies will continue to join and support 1% For the Planet

It's a big commitment to give 1% of your total sales to charity, but well worth it in my humble opinion...

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.... :)

WOW!!!

It's April 15th and it's been almost 4 months since I made a post.... Where o where has the time gone??? I gotta tell you as a small business owner (Ok start up since we have yet to deliver any product) the road is filled with ups and downs.

Thankfully though we have mostly had the ups (So far...) Where to start. Well lets see production is going and our first container will be delivered this week!!! The production photos that Jeff and crew would send us to stay updated look amazing and I can't wait to see the finished products sitting in my courtyard, backyard, and of course our warehouse :) Thats right we have a warehouse now instead of the alternative of storing everything in my garage.

The website is up and going (Thanks Josh and sorry for keeping you up working so late!) The site looks amazing and there is no way we could have done any of this with out the amazing help of the Vapor Studios crew and Ignacio Tecnological himself.

PR PR PR, lots of good PR happening, some really cool design blogs are picking up on the furniture and we are starting to see some good support from the print media as well. We'll be sure to post each time we get some cool PR.

I'm gonna make it a better point to give more updates and stuff on our blog. There just never seems to be enough time in the day lately to get everything done and one of these days we are going to have to hire some people to help run this company. I can't wait until that point!!! Until then, I am sure there will be plenty more 18hr plus days. Bet hey what's life if you don't work for it right...?

By the way, the waves were really good last week and it's good to be the boss and be able to go for a paddle with out having to be tied to a time clock or have to sit in some corporate meeting type BS!

Uggg Vegas...

Been here for 8 days and it's time to go home and get in the water. There is a solid NW swell filling in on Friday!

Of course leaving the Ski show is always bitter sweet. To quote a friend of mine "where else can you get t*ts smashed in your face, stay out all night, and then sell a bunch of snowboards..." Ahhh the joys of Las Vegas.

Still No waves

Oh yeah, the waves are flat here. I decent swell since the first of the year and couple of fun small days but nothing like last year so far...

And it's fricken freezing here to boot! Who says Global Warming is a myth...

Off to Vegas...

Time to make the annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the SIA (ski and snowboard show). Gotta push some wool to keep the wheels on the furniture bus. I think this is close to my 15th year of going to this show and every year is just as much fun as the first!

The guys at I/O Biocompatibles are super cool and the Merino wool products they are producing are incredible for not only layering but as some really bitchen cutting edge apparel as well. Check them out, it's up and coming for sure. Plus it's sustainable and much more eco friendly than synthetics like capilene or polypro.

ICFF!

The first work day of the new year has brought snow (wow, that's a Freudian typo...) what I was trying to type was the first work day of the new year has brought good news. Maku Furniture has been accepted to show at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) this May in NYC!

Instead of having a stand alone booth at the show we have opted to join some of the other key design groups from California in a pavilion called "Left Edge". This is a group of the newest and hottest designers and companies from California.

Emmanuel and Mark from em [collaborative studio] had the forethought to create Left Edge a couple of years back. Check them out!

Here are a couple of shots from Left Edge 2 years ago courtesy of Emmanuel.

No waves...

Beautiful weather but no waves here in So.Cal so far this New Years weekend.... Here's a couple of shots from my last trip to Bali in early December. Oh how I miss warm water and tropical barrels.

Wishes to everybody for a healthy, happy, prosperous, and wave filled 2007!!

Happy New Year!

Have a great New Year everyone and I am looking forward to meeting everyone next year. Myself and Johnny are 110% committed to making Maku a world class furniture company.
My goal is for everyone to reap the benefits from being involved in the early stages of our company. Johnny has done an incredible job committing his time and talents to turning an idea into reality in a short period of time.
If anyone is heading over to Maui make sure we hook up.
Late, Mike

One of my favorite shots!

Logo closeup. Looks Sweet!

A few shots from the photo shoot at Rizal's Villa in Bali

Jeff and his Dad (who was visiting Asia for the first time!) helping to set up the furniture for the shoot.










Rizal's garage was converted into a make shift warehouse to store all the furniture while we set up for the shoot.














Overseeing the shoot...

Well Here we are...

Yes it's true, we are well on our way to launching Maku' Furnishings. An idea that started out as a clever way for us to pay for surf trips to exotic lands has (almost) grown into a full on business. Samples have been made, catalogs are in process and we have even applied for the ICFF show in NYC this May, now all we need is some money and we are well on our way... LOL!

But the reality is Mike and I could have never gotten to this point without the help of some extremely talented people. Ricardo, Eneri, and Andre at Vapor Studios have done a killer job in seeing the Maku vision and bringing to life some really amazing products!

Julie at Grounded in Encinitas (http://www.shopgrounded.com/servlet/StoreFront) has been a huge help in giving us guidance and direction with all things furniture and as a sounding board for this project

Jeff and his crew at our production facility in Java are first rate people and we are lucky to have them on our production side. Despite Jeff being a Bengals fan and still holding onto the dream of a wildcard for the playoffs just so they can come out to SD and get whooped by the Bolts! (hahaha, just kidding Jeff!) Go Bengals, um yeah right... :)

The one thing that continues to amaze me about this project is the acceptance and willingness of some of the worlds top action sports athletes desire to be involved. To have Surfers Rizal Tanjung and Kassia Meador as well as Snowboarder Keir Dillon involved with us on this project is nothing short of incredible! These 3 athletes are not only amazingly good at surfing and snowboarding but they are some of the nicest people I have ever met! I think it just gives further proof positive that we are on the right track and there is a need in the marketplace for the products we are designing and selling. WOW!

Thanks to each of you for the support so far!!

My First Attempt at blogging

So, as if most of you think we (Mike and I) are already crazy for trying to start a furniture company with almost zero knowledge of the furniture industry here comes the Maku blog. Check in for daily, hourly, maybe weekly updates on how Maku is progressing.