It’s hard to believe it has been over a year since we embarked on this journey. The paths leading to this journey have changed multiple times, yet each time new lessons have been learned. Mauricio and I were traveling in Europe and during a casual stroll in one of Barcelona’s vibrant neighborhoods, we came across a beautiful toy store. We walked in and were enamored. It was small, visually appealing, yet so well organized, and the toy selection was just right. We pondered over what we would bring the girls home and sighed in sadness when we realized there was no U.S. store. We then scaled back on what we would buy them since we had limited luggage space. We couldn’t stop thinking about this store. We came home and thought about how amazing it would be to bring said store franchise over to the U.S. After months and months of negotiations we found out we couldn’t make it happen due to brand trademark issues. I won’t lie it was gut-wrenching after all the time we had invested. However, every bump we hit along the way was yet another reason for us to continue. Adapt and overcome I suppose. After parting ways with whom we thought we would do business with we decided to carry on. It was then we conceptualized Happki. We decided we would start from scratch and begin our own Brand. My goodness, what a task it was and continues to be every day. Starting from scratch meant we needed everything. The list of contacts and resources to obtain was endless. We needed to create our brand image, build vendor relationships, and sift through all the brands to say the least. You guys, so many brands! I still get dizzy looking at the mounds of catalogs we have amassed. I can’t emphasize enough how much passion you need to get through all of this. Overall, we had to learn how to navigate through a new industry and each day we learn something new. However, Mauricio the ever-optimistic human being he is led on and I followed. We found great art designers to work with, support for our website and attended Toy Fair in New York City to establish vendor relationships. Shortly after that, we began placing our orders and next thing you knew we had a house full of toys. Every kid’s dream. We all squeal with joy anytime a new order arrives. Better yet, there was a day we received an entire FedEx truck! Think about that for a second. Yeah, that’s a lot of boxes, my friends. You can say we have been busy alright. We have eagerly chipped away at all our to-dos and continue to do so every day while celebrating each accomplishment.

Yet today we celebrate the launch of our website and we hope everyone sees how much of our hearts and souls we have poured into this project. There is so much more to do, but we are ready to start this new phase. We are so excited to finally see Happki come to life. Stay tuned fam.