After over a year of working out all the kinks and several months after introducing the Azur collection in Las Vegas, our first container is loaded and ready to ship.  We recieved our first container in December 2009, Happy Holidays to us!

At the ABC Show we had one little fan that just had to test the crib out for herself and make sure the crib was as confortable as it looked.  

Birikino Maio Maio Collection

We decided that in order to prepare the U.S. market for the Azur line we would become a last minute exhibitor at the ABC Show in Las Vegas in September 2009.  To prepare for the show we needed product and fast.  We had to air freight all the furniture we would show at ABC which was 11 pieces and approximately 1,300 pounds.  Nobody wants to air freight that much stuff unless they have to.  In order to save money we home made our booth and drove to Las Vegas in a box truck with all of things we were going to need to put together a decent booth.

Between me and my husband we drove from Seattle, WA to Las Vegas, NV all night without stopping to sleep.   Once we got the Las Vegas we had to run to the opposite end of the convention center to weigh in and get our papers to unload.  Unfortunately we got there too late and would have to wake up at the crack of dawn to ensure we were the first in line to weigh in.   

Once we got our unload papers we headed back to the other end of the strip to the convention center where we would hurry up and wait to be unloaded.  We worked all day to get unloaded and set up. 

What do you think of our home made booth?

If there was ever a place I would classify as heaven on earth it would be Loppiano, Italy.  I have had my fair share of visits to various cities in Italy but they have always been the tourist traps never before had I stayed in the Chianti Hills just outside of Florence.  With rolling hills of olive and grape vines the sun was warm and view was breath taking I knew this was going to be amazing.  

This visit to Loppiano was not a vacation though but a business trip.  The Azur team was so pleasant and welcoming even though my Italian was VERY rusty and even though I had just got in from a long trip I was ready to talk about the future possibilities.  

On this trip I met the Azur team and saw the “factory” which really was more like Santa’s Workshop. They had more people crafting and painting furniture than actual machines and everything was so organized and clean.  As I walked from building to building meeting the craftsman and artist I could not stop smiling. Not only was I in Italy but I was now officially the U.S. distributor for this amazing collection.  I had never seen such amazing and beautiful things.      

After one night in Loppiano we drove about 8 hours south to Matera, another amazing place I had never explored before.  We were in Matera for an exhibition to see the new collections for the season.  The Azur team had invited their clients for a weekend of baby products including the Azur furniture, Ferrari products for kids and a brand of strollers.  After seeing all the Azur collections it was so hard to pick just one or two I wanted all of them.  My week in Italy was productive and amazing; it’s one of those events in life that can never be duplicated.

An amazing place with amazing people, I made friendships that will last a lifetime and even though it was only a short visit it felt like I had known them forever!

I have a Bachelors degree in International Studies and people including my parents would always ask, “What are you going to do with that?”  To be honest I didn’t know what I was going to do but I did know that part of this degree meant a quarter away to study abroad.  I chose Rome, Italy and fell in love with all things Italian.  When I graduated I still didn’t know what I was going to do with a degree in International Studies but I did know that somehow I had to get back to Italy.  In 2008 I was forced to go to Italy for work; oh darn, and took my daughter and husband with me.  My husband knew of my love for Italy and soon found himself also loving all things Italian.  We are true believers in things happen for a reason and the opportunity to put our love for all things Italian began.