About us

We got our start in 1996, when former advertising man and founder, and long term Bangkok resident, Aaron Frankel, decided to create a very different map of Bangkok: one showing Bangkok's notorious nightlife.  What could have been a seedy start to go-go bars and massage was really an orientation to the entire fun world of all night Thai noodles, riverside dining, wholesale market raiding, nightclubs and party spots.  

This fun venture to kill time, turned into a vaguely profitable enterprise, and soon, two dozen Asian city and island titles were turned out to enthusiastic travelers, who unlike the sophisticated travelers who graduated from Oxford with a First in history and plotted museums to cover, the Groovy Map'n'Guide™ helped a new generation of traveler to find Fun Mapped Out!™ 

Several years ago, not wanting to follow Kodak into oblivion, we developed the quality 'travel lifestyle' souvenir market of Groovy Gear®, with products that celebrate travel, as well as country-specific souvenirs like fridge magnets, keychains, bottle openers, charms, stickers, and an expanding line of fun souvenirs. 

Currently, a team of mixed talents create value for our retail partners, and figure what to do with their days, other than take 2 hour lunches and make coffee in the Groovy Cafe.  

ABOUT GROOVY MAP CO LTD:  Founded in 1999, we made award-winning maps for 19 years, and then evolved into souvenirs and fashion collectables.  We now design and produce under our own brand, Groovy Gear©, and also design and produce custom souvenirs for wholesale customers.   We use sales data from multiple markets to test designs, and live by the metric: "If it sells, it stays; if it blows, it goes."   Data is a retailer's superpower.  No matter how much we might personally like the design (or the designer), if it sells in the bottom 1/3 of its category, it will be replaced by new designs.   Usually, if a particular design works well in--say--Singapore and Bali, it is likely to work at other airports in the region, or farther afield.  After all, the same traveler is a traveler! 

Groovy Map Co Ltd is registered and located on Sukhumvit 71 in Bangkok, Thailand. Google Map link here.

If you want the grooviest souvenirs in the world for your retail chain, please contact aaron [at sign here] groovymap.com  (that's to prevent "spiders" from sending us too much junk mail] or sales @ groovymap.com