Dear Friends,

It is one of the most brilliant fall foliage displays this year with brilliant neon colors. I take the long way to work this time of year so I can drive slowly through the upper Common road to see the amazing quilt of autumn colors in the mountains off in the distance. (Another reason I take the back roads is to avoid the slow-moving gawkers who are just as amazed as I am at Vermont’s fall display of color.)

I am off to Hong Kong and China next week to search for new products for our Hammerhead and Chill Pill brands. I usually go with my buddy Jason Wu, but this time I’m on my own. I will be attending two trade shows in Hong Kong and then traveling into China to Dongguan and Shenzhen to visit our manufacturers and partners. I have a good list of products to search for, including items for the iPhone 5.

We have some products that have just arrived, like our new Neoprene Cases for iPad and MacBook Pros and a dual-USB charger that will allow you to charge an iPhone and iPad simultaneously. We also are introducing a Bluetooth version of our popular Chill Pill mobile speakers in time for the holidays. Hey, if you have any great ideas for new accessories that you think might look good under our brand, drop me a note — who knows, we may name that product after you (or your dog)!

For all of the news and Tim Cook’s public explanation of the not-quite-ready-for-primetime Maps application, I have found that it is a great navigation device and it has not gotten me lost…yet. I guess we will see how it does in China! I remember being in Shanghai with Grace last year and we were using the old Google Maps-based app and as we were trying find our hotel after wandering around the city, we realized that we must have walked by it five times already because the information was wrong. We finally pulled out the business card with the address in Chinese that the concierge had given us and handed it to a group of women walking by. They started laughing and pointed to the entrance about 100 yards away!