LH-based Bam Bird Boutique is all in on Mahjong

Robin Offutt and Meredith Ajello, like plenty of other mahjong enthusiasts, learned the tile-based game of strategy and luck from their mothers.

The two Moss Haven neighbors originally connected because of their daughters’ friendship, but truly hit it off over a hand of mahjong. Ajello wanted to play more often, so they got a group of neighborhood moms together to form an impromptu club.

Given the average person’s grasp of the game, Meredith’s mom stopped by to provide a few helpful pointers.

“I invited a couple friends over and had my mom come teach some of the other girls,” Ajello says. “And so we kind of had a recurring group that would get together and play, and we would have wine and tell each other our secrets, as well as play and learn mahjong. And it was nice to start with people that didn’t know, because we all kind of progressed as we went along.”

While the game has enjoyed some historical popularity in the United States, particularly in Jewish communities, recent years have seen a proliferation of designer tile sets, mahjong events and celebrity fans like Julia Roberts.

Contemporary mahjong sets, which stray from traditional Chinese patterns with boutique tile designs depicting everything from cowboys to bluebonnets, can often times be costly. That’s where the idea to launch Bam Bird Boutique in 2023 came from, Ajello says.

“We wanted to offer the same luxury look. They’re different designs, because every group has a different personality to their design, but it’s still a luxury designer tile, but at a more reasonable, fair price, so that you could have multiple or that it wasn’t some extraordinary expense to buy yourself a pretty set,” she says. “And not that the traditional Chinese sets are not gorgeous in their own right. They absolutely are, and it’s just a different look.”

Traditional tile sets built for Chinese rules come with 144 tiles and no jokers, whereas American “mah jongg” sets come with 152 tiles, including eight jokers, for competition play (they also can come with extra jokers and “blanks,” as Bam Bird’s sets do). Ajello and Offutt’s “East Meets West” set can be used to play both versions. To win, a player must complete a hand of 14 tiles consisting of four sets of three (a pung) and a pair of identical tiles.

Bam Bird currently sells three sets of tiles — although a fourth, the tortoise shell-backed tile set, will release this month. In addition to “East Meets West,” the boutique sells a classic set and an “Origami” set. All tiles are etched and hand-painted in China after being designed by local designer Melanie Frazier of MF Creative.

“She’s fabulous,” Ajello says. “She’s done a great job of being patient. It was definitely a learning curve as to what you could put on a tile and the designs.”

In addition to tiles, the business also sells game essentials like mats, racks and pushers, which are used to create a “wall” players draw tiles from.

But, as a boutique, Bam Bird’s offering doesn’t just stop at tiles and pushers, although other products are certainly mahjong-adjacent. With throw pillows, wine glasses and lucite side tables built with the game in mind, Ajello and Offutt seek to outfit their customers for every hosting experience.

“It was more about hosting and connecting, so that you can make connections with friends or family,” Offutt says. “And so what we were trying to do was curate this collection of items that go along with hosting in general.”

Those connections are exactly what Offutt and Ajello say make mahjong such an enjoyable pastime. While complicated enough to require focus and strategy, the game is casual and allows for social interaction. At Bam Bird’s showroom off Forest Lane, which opened in 2024, enthusiasts will soon be able to play against friends and other fans with open play hours. Signups will be available online, and bookings for private parties will also be offered.

Bam Bird will host its first ever Mother’s Day event this month in benefit of In My Shoes, a nonprofit organization which provides support for homeless pregnant and parenting women. The event will feature food, shopping, drinks, gift bags and a casual mahjong tournament.

For Offlutt, the game affords her a chance to spend time with her family around a table. And for a mother, maybe that’s the best gift of all.

“I play with my mom and my sister a lot. Anytime we’re together as a family, we play. It’s something that we can do where it’s like, we just sit down and have a good time. There’s no drama, just enjoying being around the table playing a game together. My daughters, our 9-year-old girls, love to play, and so it’s fine. I’ll play with my husband and my 9-year-old, even my 6-year-old, will sit in my lap and help call my discarded tiles.”