Ahead of her Dallas book party on October 22, we caught up with Megan Trottier to talk about her journey from local entrepreneur to published author.<\/p>\n
![\"Megan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2026_08_31_ZLAP_OMM_M9896.jpg\")
Founded in 2022, Oh My Mahjong has grown from a small garage-based project focused on designer mats and storage boxes to a nationwide lifestyle brand. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n
How did you first get into mahjong?<\/p>\n
I actually learned to play American mahjong in college and was gifted my first set as a graduation gift, but then I didn\u2019t play again for years. During COVID, I picked the game back up and started playing regularly with a group of girlfriends, and that\u2019s when I really fell in love with it. I loved the strategy and competitiveness, but even more than that, I loved what happened around the table. You\u2019re sitting together for hours, talking and laughing and actually connecting, not on your phone!<\/p>\n
You started out making art and home goods. What did you see in mahjong that made you think it could become a much bigger business?<\/p>\n
\t SHOP<\/p>\n
Grove Hill <\/p>\n
Eighteen Forty Two <\/p>\n
MacKenzie-Childs <\/p>\n
Verdadero Tequila<\/p>\n
Pecos Jane <\/p>\n
Zilker Belts<\/p>\n
Zilker Brewing<\/p>\n
Hutson Clothing Co.<\/p>\n
Zadok Jewelers<\/p>\n
My weekly mahjong group really showed me the opportunity. I was an artist, so I naturally started thinking about the visual side of the game, and at the time I just wasn\u2019t seeing products that felt like something I would want to leave out in my home or bring to a girls\u2019 night. I made a tile box featuring my art, and the response and sales surprised me. Then I made a mat and saw the same thing happen.<\/p>\n
What did the early days look like? How did you get your business off the ground?<\/p>\n
It was very scrappy. I was selling through Instagram, packing orders out of my garage and doing pretty much everything myself. There wasn\u2019t some big business plan behind it. I kept putting things out, listening to what people responded to, and reinvesting in the business. It grew so quickly that we went from working out of my garage to needing a warehouse in less than a year.<\/p>\n
How do you think building your business in the city of Dallas shaped its growth?<\/p>\n
Dallas was an incredible place to start this business because there was already such an appetite for American mahjong here<\/a>. People knew the game, wanted to learn it, and were excited to introduce their friends to it. Dallas is also such a trendsetting city, especially when it comes to entertaining, fashion, and design. People care about their tablescapes, their homes, and creating an experience for their guests, so the idea that your mahjong set could be part of that made sense here very early on.<\/p>\n How did you land in Dallas originally? What are some of your favorite things\/favorite spots in the city?<\/p>\n I\u2019m Texas-born and raised. After college at Texas Tech, I knew I wanted to be in a big city in Texas, and a lot of my girlfriends were in Dallas, so it felt like the natural place to land. I\u2019ve been here ever since. I love the food scene, especially around Preston Hollow and Highland Park<\/a>. R&D and Shinsei are two favorites. I also love just walking around my neighborhood, although at this stage of life I probably spend more time at lacrosse fields than anywhere particularly glamorous!<\/p>\n How have you seen the mahjong scene in Dallas change over the past several years? What do you think is making it so popular right now?<\/p>\n A few years ago, everyone wanted to learn. Now I think Dallas is entering this next phase where people already know how to play and are asking, what\u2019s next? They want to get better, play competitively, try different variations, travel around the game, and make mahjong part of their social lives. I think the bigger reason it\u2019s having such a moment is that people are craving real connection. It\u2019s social, it\u2019s competitive, it keeps your brain working, and once you learn, there\u2019s always something new to get better at.<\/p>\n What has been your biggest challenge so far? Is there anything you wish you had known when you started?<\/p>\n Learning how to grow at the pace we\u2019ve grown has probably been the biggest challenge. When you start a business in your garage, you\u2019re thinking about getting the next order out, not necessarily building the infrastructure for what happens if thousands of orders suddenly come in.<\/p>\n One thing we absolutely got right was bringing great people in early. I couldn\u2019t have built this without the team around me. If I could go back, though, I would have been even more aggressive about protecting our intellectual property from day one. We thought we had done enough, and we learned along the way that we hadn\u2019t. When you\u2019re creating something people respond to, protecting that creativity has to be part of the business strategy from the beginning.<\/p>\n How did the idea for your new books come about?<\/p>\n Mastering American Mahjong<\/a> is really the book I wish I\u2019d had when I was learning. We spend so much time at Oh My Mahjong helping people get comfortable with the game, and I wanted to put that knowledge in one place in a way that felt approachable and not intimidating. It takes you from understanding the tiles and rules all the way through strategy and becoming a more confident player.<\/p>\n![\"COVER](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/COVER-Mastering-American-Mahjong.jpg\")
\u201c\u2018Mastering American Mahjong\u2019 is really the book I wish I\u2019d had when I was learning,\u201d says Megan Trottier.<\/p>\n
![\"American](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TROT_MahjongForBabies_Cover_Flat.jpg\")
\u201cAmerican Mahjong for Babies\u201d is the second book Megan Trottier recently published.<\/p>\n