Hello! We haven't posted much aside from Instagram posts online because we became so busy in December. We basically woke up worked 18-20 hour days and repeated that cycle up until the Saturday before Christmas. We had our busiest online sales year to date. I believe we owe a lot of thanks to The Seattle Times Gift Guide feature that happened right before prime holiday shopping. Thank you again so much for your support. We're truly a mom and pop shop and depend on local support and word of mouth recommendations.
2017 was a 50/50 year for us. Overall, much like many fellow makers, sales were slower than 2016. We scaled things back with in person shows. We did have a couple poor preforming shows, but that happens. On the flip side we did have the most profitable show to date too. A total 50/50 split. While it could've been better, it could have been worse too.
I'm a firm believer of the mantra "Keep moving forward". (Anyone familiar with Meet The Robinsons?) So that is what we are doing. New products are on the horizon (new coasters pictured below, just became available today.) I am taking my time to craft things and not letting "the rush" get to me. I know when I take my time, I love my designs more. And I like to like what I do and make. Doing this also allows me to focus on some important relationships. Not just John and I, but long time friends who are like family. Everyday is a gift and I want to fill my days with the people who are important to me. I had some self reflection moments over the past few weeks. This year I will be the age that my dad was when I was born. I always thought that was "SO old". But being almost that age myself, I feel so young still! My dad's health started to diminish when I was a young kid, which isn't too far off from where I am now and I have close friends battling the big "C" battle. Reflecting on that, it changes my mindset a bit and I really place value on my own health and my time and relationships with others. (Again, recommending Candy Chang's Ted Talk here.) I've actually been considering starting a vlog just to document meet ups with friends, to selfishly archive our time together. When you're friends with the same people for 35-25 years, we collectively turn into 15 year olds anywhere we are and its hilarious. Nothing makes me laugh harder than those times.
