let the wild rumpus begin!

Those words have been with me for 27 years, since the birth of my first son, Nick, as well as Cortney and Alex.  My book of choice to read to my kids was “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak, which has been made into a movie by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggars. 

When I heard this book was being made into a movie, I worried the joy, the danger, the curiosity, the explorative nature of young Max would be harnessed, that it would be sanitized to something less powerful and less meaningful.

Instead, they used the book as a jumping off place, a point of reference, but staying true to the real heart of the book, while exploring very adult themes of anger, compassion, jealousy, cynicism, loss, and love.

Very similar to Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”, Max takes us through his mystical world with characters only seen in Max’s mind doing things only Max could think.  Where Dorothy’s journey comes through a dream sequence from a bump on the head, Max’s happens after biting his mother in a temper tantrum and running off to this secret world in his mind.

And, both stories end with both being drawn home, and to the love of family. After all, there is no place like home.    

BOO!

My youngest son, Alex, had an idea for Halloween.

He decided he was going to be a scarecrow, sitting on the front porch with a plastic pumpkin on his head.  He wore gloves, exposed no skin and wore ratty clothes.

The idea was that as soon as he was alerted there were some trick or treaters coming by, he would sit motionless on a bench, as if he was part of the Halloween decorations.

When the unsuspecting would ring the doorbell, he would yell, BOO!!  Apparently, this worked very effectively, scaring the bejeezes out of almost everyone who came by.

Yup, that’s my son. 

26 miles, 385 yards

That's the distance my daughter Cortney ran for the first time in her life last Sunday morning at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. Amazing!

It isn't so much the distance or the time or really any of that. It's about the distance she has traveled as a person, the dedication to reach this goal, the effort and now the joy. The bucket list has one less item.

I've written before about her, about how the walls around her are dismantled brick by brick, how they become victims of her tenacity, her diligence, her patience, and ultimately, her victory. She has the mentality of the tortoise in a world of hares.

I excused myself from a business dinner Sunday night in China for a much more important appointment, to track her progress on the internet through a series of checkpoints, watching her match identical times between the first 15 kilometers and the second 15 kilometers, mirroring the consistency of her life. Each time a new time came up I smiled the proudest smile a father could have from 8,000 miles away.

Cortney has never been about being the best, just the best she can be. And isn't that all a person can ask for? Way to go, Cortney!

a true partnership….

About a year ago, I was flipping channels on the TV. It was late and I couldn’t sleep. Flip, Flip, Flip, what was that? Was that my chair? Nah, it couldn’t be. Well, I thought I'd check anyway.

For the next twenty minutes, my eyes were glued to the TV, waiting for a paisley traditional chair to come back up. I was watching something called “Rate My Space”. I’d never seen it before, but it was interesting. And the designer/host, whatever his name is, was really good, connecting with the people he was working with.

There it was. It was my chair. It looked great. I never thought it looked that good at all. To me, it was something to sell. But, that night, it was something that made a difference in a room. I liked it.

And the designer, well, he was just as excited as the home owners, and they were excited. I loved the energy and the emotion. All I could think was how I wanted that type of emotion and talent associated with what I was doing. I wanted Angelo Surmelis to work with me on a furniture line.

I sent an email through HGTV to see if there was something we could do. A return email came back “What do you want?” “I don’t know,” I said. They said I should look at somebody else. I said no, I don’t want somebody else. Finally, persistence paid off and we arranged a meeting at our warehouse in Pomona.

I was waiting nervously, thinking this guy wouldn’t want to work with me. I really didn’t have anything to offer. At least, that’s what I thought.

He was on time. No big time. No entourage. Just a guy. We met and talked about furniture for about 10 minutes. For the next two hours after that, we talked about our families, our values, our interests, what’s important. We just talked. And, we found out we had a lot of common ground. We could work together. It’s as simple as that. No lawyers, no agents, no nothing. Just a couple of guys who decided they could work together with a common purpose; build furniture with style that almost anyone could afford. We were going to make furniture that was going to be inclusive, not exclusive.

Fast forward a year. We developed about 30 items for what we called a soft launch. We would take a limited amount of product and give it a dress rehearsal. You talk about nervous, we were both there. It sold out!

Now we’re about to go at this thing full bore. We’ve added another twenty plus items, with more in the pipeline. We’ve got thousands of pieces getting ready to roll. We’re realizing the potential of serving the masses with style and quality.

Thank you Angelo. It’s been a great year.

I’ve written this blog before….

I’m in China.  It’s the middle of the night.  I’m in a hotel with one channel that has English.  It’s some sort of an On Demand thing with one show and 22 episodes.  I’m on Episode 15.  I watched the first 10 the last time I was here.  I only have eight to go.  I’m sort of rationing them now, saving them for when I really need them.

This is sort of the thought process a starving man has when he knows the end is near, savoring each insect, each opportunity to eat.  It’s not the quality of the food, but the fact that it is food, and it’s available.  

It’s “Everybody Loves Raymond”.  I never watch it when I’m in the States.  But, I also never eat insects.  I must be a desperate man. 

Wilson!!

a feast…..

Whenever I go to China, food is always something that I dread.  For some reason, when I encounter food outside of the “normal” American channels (KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc), there is always trepidation, and sometimes regurgitation.

It’s not that the food is bad in the sense of quality or safety, it just doesn’t fit well with my prodigious waistline.  It might be the smells, or seeing the food live before eating it, or the chicken foot propped up against the sidewall of the soup bowl.  Let’s just say the food doesn’t fit my eye.

Now, I’ve had plenty of good food in China.  And some of it was real Chinese.  I’ve had some pretty tasty street food as well.   But, I’m in Haining and my options are limited.

So, I decided to make sure I had a feast for at least one day. 

I’m just getting ready to devour some Klement’s Summer Sausage with some aged cheddar cheese and some Premium saltine crackers.  As you can see, this meal is elegantly presented on a Jack Links beef jerky bag.  I’ve decided to pair it with a sugar free raspberry flavored water.

I’m sure you’re jealous.

on a mission…..

To look at her, you wouldn’t think this diminutive person could command an industry to change its ways.  If you thought differently, you would be wrong.

Susan Inglis has turned her passion of a “green” earth into a career of caring for our environment as executive director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. 

Yesterday, Angelo Surmelis and I spent about an hour listening and talking to a very reasonable person, not a whacko, but a real person committed to making us better, a person who, instead of dictating, nudges, smiles, nods and moves you closer to doing the right thing for the environment.

In this case, the messenger of saving the environment understands the little steps required to help manufacturers get to a place where they can be successful.  She spends time to understand the issues of the factory, and the very real solutions that are practical. 

So, as a result of knowing Susan, I am committed to at least thinking about the environment each time I design, engineer, or produce a furniture product.  For me, and many, that is the most important step.