10th Made in Maui County Festival boosts small businesses, local economy following fires
Posted on Nov 5, 2023 in Made in Maui County Festival, Maui, NewsThis article originally posted on MauiNow.com on November 4, 2023, written by Cammy Clark. All rights and ownership of this content belongs to MauiNow.com.
At the Hawaiian Airlines 10th Annual Made in Maui County Festival, every small business owner has a unique story. For married Troy and Bea Morrison of TBM Creations, it involves the COVID-19 pandemic and the Lahaina fire.
In 2020, when Bea Morrison lost her job at the front desk of the Hyatt due to the tourism shutdown, the couple began a side hustle creating custom art pieces — trinket dishes, cutting boards, skateboards, surfboards and ornaments — using Troy’s woodworking skills and Bea’s designs with epoxy resin and pigment in the colors of the beach and sea.
It quickly turned into a full-time business, with 80% of their sales at a prime pop-up location across the street from the well-known banyan tree. You know the rest. The Morrisons, like so many other companies that relied on Lahaina shoppers for sales, have had to pivot to survive.