I don’t send Christmas cards very often. So, in lieu of a Christmas card that I won’t be sending to you, I thought perhaps I’d sum up some sentiments and have a little recap of the year in our Gigglicious blog instead.
Let me start by saying thank you to our merry band of supporters; friends all over the world, family, and others in the toy and game community who continually encourage us, laugh with us in our work and personal escapades, and sigh right along with us in our less than bright moments in this Gigglicious adventure. We are grateful for your support and friendship. As this year draws to a close and we reflect back, it’s the relationships with others that give all of this meaning and purpose for us.
2014 represents the 4th year we have been working on our own. Since most entrepreneurs don’t last past their 3rd year, we are feeling very lucky and business is steady. We have been blessed with such a good partnership with Swimways and our relationship with them continues to be a gift we never take for granted. 
We were invited to the celebration of their 20th year in business in Virginia Beach in October and were happy to share that milestone with them. We are working on a project with them for 2016 that will launch them into a brand new category. It’s VERY exciting and we feel unbelievably privileged that they are partnering with us on it. It’s a new way for us to work with a company and Ryan is forging ahead on their behalf in Asia right now. I can’t wait for you all to know about it…..soon!
This was the year of new companies for us. We licensed items to several companies we haven’t worked with before and have prospects of licensing to a few more in the year to come. Being an inventor gives us the unique insight into seeing how companies work, how teams of people interact, and how business gets done. Each of these new companies have been a delight to work with. It feels more like we have new partners than just simply having a licensing relationship with them. We have also seen companies be more open to us as inventors, asking our opinion and including us in on the design process this year. It’s a trend we hope continues!
In 2014, we traveled, (London, Asia, around the U.S), we camped, we skied, we invented, Ryan ran races, our kids grew by leaps and bounds and we attended A LOT of soccer games and marching band competitions. I know that I’ll have plenty of time when I’m 80 to wonder how we got it all done and made it work. The important part is that it IS working and life is good. Here are just a few pics of the Gigglicious team and and the year gone by:
Ella@ChiTag Young Inventor Challenge
August@ChiTag Young Inventor Challenge
Brainstorming Session with all of us!
Tap and Run 5K race in Indy
Marguerite, our 1972 Shasta vintage camper
Hannah’s licensed items at Target!
Annie in London
Ryan in Asia
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! We wish you love and all the very best for 2015.
P.S. To my new friend Adam in the UK, I’ll get to AND finish the rest of the blog series next year! Cheers and thanks for reading!