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Meet the Maker: Deepak from India 🇮🇳

Deepak is a thoughtful man with kind eyes, a big heart, and a bright smile. Deriving from Sanskrit “source of light,” Deepak (दीपक ) is a Hindi word that literally translates to “lamp,” and it couldn’t be a better name for a human who shines their light so brightly on the world. Did we mention his poetic passion for making beautiful five point and seven point paper star lanterns?

S.M.I.L.E. - E (Ethical Pricing Policies) ⚖️

The E may be the end of the “SMILE”, but it is really just the beginning. The E is the ethical ethos of Mexicali Blues, the scale with which we weigh everything. The E is why our groovy global goods are fairly priced for you, the consumer, and why the artisans, designers, and shippers that make, create, and ship our products are fairly compensated. The E may be the end of the S.M.I.L.E, but it is the source of countless other smiles from Maine to Kathmandu...

S.M.I.L.E. - L (Lincoln County, Maine Based) 🌲🦞⛵️

The "L" is a little local love story called Lincoln County, Maine. Mexicali Blues loves all communities around the world, but the Mexicali magic started in Maine in 1988 and now we have stores all over the state in Portland, Freeport, Raymond, Bangor, not to mention the beautiful town of Newcastle in Lincoln County where our headquarters, heart, soul, and flagship location reside. Maine wears many hats as the pine tree state, the land of the lobster, home to the great mountain Katahdin, often referred to as vacationland, and the state speaks all of these languages fluently, but it finds it wicked hahhd to pronounce its "r"s...

S.M.I.L.E. - I (Inspired By Community and Culture) 🌍🌎🌏

The "I" is in the eye of the beholder, and as a company, we take inspiration from every person, place, and culture that we can. Whether it be our coastal community here in Maine, a bustling marketplace in Bangkok, a high-elevation landlocked village in Solokhumbu, Nepal, or a lakeside town on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, the “I” is why, it’s what is most important to us, respecting cultures and supporting and empowering communities...

S.M.I.L.E. - M (Made, Not Manufactured) 🤲🧶🧵

The “M” helps answer all of the important questions: the “who”, “what”, “where”, “why”, and “how”s, that help you become connected to the process and feel good about your purchase.

Made not manufactured means that you can meet the maker.

“Made” means that there are many smiling faces and even more talented hands behind every product. The minds that design, the hands that create, their families, and the communities that they support, all play an incredibly important role in the process. Who makes your clothing? Who sewed your curtains?...

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