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The Merton Folio

Welcome to the Merton folio on the web.

When it all feels too much

This is not a news site. I’m not going to aggregate or discuss every new twist and turn that happens either around the globe or in the Trump administration. Partly, because that would drive me insane. I’d rather focus on things that are positive. Partly because there’s going to be a non-stop barrage of bad news for the next four years (at least) and that’s all I’d ever have time to write about.

NAMM 2025 Thoughts

I’ve been going to the National Association of Music Merchants (or NAMM) show, for more than 25 years. For those who don’t know, it’s an musical instrument (MI) industry-only trade show, in which those who create musical instruments, equipment, or software show their wares to media, distributors, and retail buyers. It has always been a major event in the musical instrument industry; for a small company, lots of buyer interest at a NAMM show can mean getting enough purchase orders for the entire year in a few days.

Diamond Has It Rough

I’m not going to post here every time there’s a news story that interests me, but this one is something that could affect me (and likely, you) directly. Diamond Comic Distributors is the largest distributor of English-language comics, toys, games, collectables, etc. They have just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is going to have major repercussions. First of all, they owe many companies a lot of money. For example, they owe Hasbro (makers of Dungeons & Dragons and many other things) around $2m total.

Mertonfolio Begins

Welcome to Mertonfolio! Just what the world needed, eh? Another vanity site personal blog for some dude who thinks that what he says is worth reading. Oh, but this one is different! Why, you ask? Because this isn’t just my blog, it’s potentially the blog for anyone in my family who wants to use it. Don’t worry, our kids are both in preschool, so they’ll not be writing essays any time soon.