Jaq Jaq Bird

Amid social media, gaming and electronics overload, Jaq Jaq Bird® founder Grace Paik advocates the beauty, simplicity and value of “creativity unplugged.” A child’s imagination and manual dexterity, she observes, “is best nurtured and developed apart from the digital screen.” Determined to enjoy peaceful meals with her three children, Paik invented the Chalk Mat in 2005. Flexible and travel-friendly, it features a placemat on one side and a surface on which to doodle with chalk on the other. The San Francisco-based company has since expanded into erasable books and activity kits, along with erasable chalk and marker pens.