Maya Road Catalog is posted!!!

Finally... I am happy to introduce the:

2007 CHA Winter Catalog (click here)

I went to bed at 6:30am, but it is done! And on its way to the tradeshow. It has been a crazy week. Poor little Jonathan and his daddy are under the weather, and tomorrow is the big drive down. I have about 15 boxes in my house to drive with, so there is much packing left to do. But I wanted to thank all of you for your support all of these years. Please stop by the booth and pick up the "Maya Roadie" sticker... If you pick one up and we catch you wearing it, we will give you a small RAK of our cool stuff. The Davids, Caroline and I always joke about Maya Road in silly puns. So when we are at the show, we call ourselves the Maya Roadies. Then when the guys get all grumpy because the set up is taking forever and C & I are trying to get the booth just right, we say they have Maya Road Rage. And after the show when we are dead tired after cleaning up, we call ourselves Maya Roadkill. :) The puns are endless. It was our own private joke for a long time, but we decided to share. So pick up a sticker and keep it on for the duration of the show. And if one of our team on the prowl catches you with the sticker on, you will win something from us! You know, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in some ways I would have to agree. I know C blogged about how someone stole our coffee break book (it goes with our tin for heaven's sake) and some of our other products and made their own. We are a small company, but we are full of heart. This is our passion and our business. As a designer, I am flattered, and I am a bit miffed. But hey, such is life. So my goal? Make new things and bring new ideas to market. Keep changing and growing, and no one can catch you. Before we started MR, I was speaking to the head of one of the biggest companies in this industry (love their stuff!) about a possible job there. I was out of B-school and looking for an interesting challenge. So I told him that I was thinking of starting something as well. He said, "To be honest, we can outcompete any small company. If there is a great idea out there that we like, we can always make something like it and outcompete them since we are so much bigger and have better economies of scale." I guess business is like that. I never really told anyone that story until now (it happened 4 years ago) because he was just being honest with me. And I understand the business reality. I still use their products, but in the back of my mind, I still remember his words. That inspires me to keep moving. That is why C and I run a tight ship. We reinvest in products and keep it all fresh and fun! Well, enough reflection for the night. I am so tired. But still need to pack. See you all soon!