mfa/eronga was founded by Steve and Maureen Rosenthal in the town of Erongaricuaro, Michoacán, which they call home since 1970. Wood working traditions in this area pre-date the Spanish introduction of joinery and decoration in the 16th century. Lacquer and its native form, maque, have continued to flourish throughout the centuries benefiting as well as suffering from cross pollination of techniques, styles and design. Nowhere else in the New World did this craft succeed so early or so well as it did in Michoacán. Furniture, masks, toys, columns and other architectural elements still play an important role in the state's rural economics to judge by their widespread variety and prominence. Yet, it is a tradition sadly entrapped in the nefarious world of black markets.

In 1981, a state craft project entitled "School-Workshop" hired Maureen and Steve Rosenthal to head a woodworking school-workshop based on their experience as designers and exporters of traditionally hand made furnishings from the Purepecha (Tarascan Indian) town, Cuanajo. The project's goal was rural development and became the most economically successful amongst the state's 80 school work-shops, lasting over 6 years. After 20 years of development, classic issues of hand made furniture from Mexico such as raw material quality, legal compliance, customer service and reliability have been resolved. Other issues of commerce, art, quality, sustainability, viability, finance and craft have lead to a co-operatively owned corporation recognized around the world by designers, architects, buyers, hospitality industry professionals and homeowners for its unequaled products and artistry. As we hone the skills necessary to deal with these issues, pitting our hand work against industrial engineering, our style changes. Sometimes the styles evolve slowly or even reluctantly and other times as, for example, the July 2001 Los Angeles Biennial our style pioneers revolutionary concepts like our rolling screen-bookshelves.