New Year's always feels like so much needless grandstanding, but I get it. 

We're drawn to big moments. There's a reason that movies and books and songs all build towards big moments, and it's because we love and crave them. And they're fun! Everyone wants to be part of a big moment because the rest of our life is just filled with small ones. 

The thing I've found as I've gotten older, though, is that I really love paying more attention to the small moments. And as I've gotten better at it, I've become a lot more grateful for the frankly amazing life I've lived so far. 

2024 was filled with big moments for Caribou Lodge. We had a massive presence at the World YoYo Contest, because I was running the contest and it was easy for me to make that space. And because I have an amazing team of thoughtful, dedicated players who made it possible for me to spend almost zero time at the booth and still create a great experience for everyone who showed up. 

We also launched a full rebrand for the company, and officially changed our name to "Caribou Lodge", moving away from the initials, CLYW, that we've been known by for so long. 



(Short history lesson: the company started as "Caribou Lodge YoYo Works", but the word "yoyo" is trademarked in Canada so Chris got hit with a cease-and-desist pretty quickly. He then pivoted to just using the initials, CLYW, but as we've found it's super hard to use that name anywhere outside of yoyoing because people don't understand it, and they transpose the letters almost immediately and then cannot find us online. And since we're working on expanding the brand, it seemed to make sense to just drop the "YoYo Works" and continue forwards as Caribou Lodge, which holds true to our history while also being both easier to announce and remember and also broader and more inclusive of a large and varied product line.)

We finally released the Leaf (the long-awaited redesign of the Chief), we brought back the Campfire, Glacier Express, and Bonfire, we launched the Canopy Collection collaboration with Atmos, we dropped the Peakhand collaboration with Duncan Toys and a new HTBaP video, we released the Swan, we hung out with Faye Webster a lot, we added Ty Goldman to the team....these were all very big moments for us and I'm supremely grateful for each and every one of them. But the small moments are the ones that really hit the hardest for me. 

Having a few beers with Chris in Seattle for the first time in years. Chatting with all of you in the Caribou Discord server about yoyos and music and everything else under the sun. Housing a plate of Japanese curry with the gang after the Faye Webster YoYo Invitational. Assembling Peakhands at Worlds after too long of a day and we're all giggling and delirious. Running our booth at US Nats and getting to just talk to people all day. Sitting in a windy alley with Rojas, Ty, and Ashley and eating poutine after their flights were cancelled. Talking to Alann about silk hair wraps and half-frame cameras. 

The little moments added up to more for me than the big ones this year, and I'm moving into 2025 trying to be more mindful of how both are equally important...not just for me, but for everyone who supports Caribou Lodge. Our goal this year is to create beautiful moments for all of you, big and small, that really mean something. I don't want the legacy of our brand to be sales and commerce, I want it to be fun and kindness and creativity and art and warm fuzzies and good memories. 

This year marks Caribou Lodge's 19th year in business, which is an incredible milestone in the yoyo industry. I have a lot planned, but more than anything I'm just grateful to be here. I've personally been in the yoyo industry for 29 years now, and I've seen a lot of companies and players come and go. I've heard it said that "history is made by the people who show up" and as always I'm here and ready to help. 

Here's to good times behind, good times ahead, and the friends that make it all worthwhile. 

- Steve