Jeff Neal, Proprietor

I have always had an interest in far away places and cultures. Traveling to distant lands and seeing new things has always appealed to me. Wild Kingdom, Johnny Quest and Treasure Island are just a few things from my childhood that fueled me to discover new and different people and places. My dream came true in 1991 when I traveled to Kenya, East Africa on a 6 month program that culminated in my B.A. of Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati.
Since then I have gotten “the bug” as they say and have been traveling ever since. After graduation I worked off and on with my family at Terrapin saving money to travel in S.E. Asia. My brother Chris and I found a second home in Bali, Indonesia where we began directly importing clothing, handicrafts, jewelry and textiles. We take every measure to insure quality goods and quality of life for all the people we work with. We operate on a very small scale working in villages and with cottage industries.

For the past several years I have dedicated more time to Terrapin and gotten involved in the day to day operations of the business .Travel has had to take a back seat to this new adventure. I still make an annual trip to Bali to insure that Terrapin continues to carry the most unique products from this region. I am finding out that it takes a lot of work to be involved in every facet of this business, from designing products overseas to ringing the sale on the show room floor. I guess that’s what makes Terrapin so unique as well as remaining a family run business for over a decade. Many changes have occurred over the years but it is the solid foundation of family and ethics that makes Terrapin the unique and quality business that it is today.