Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone!

I am back in my studio, at my machines, ready to design, and sew up some beautiful dresses.  I don’t know about you, but I am happy to see 2021 in the rear view mirror.  I look forward to a new year, new designs, and new ideas.

So how do you feel about these words?  

Serenity, lifestyle, fulfillment, happiness and slowing down.

Well, these ideas have filled my head throughout the month of December.  Staying busy is great for business, but every once and awhile the stress catches up to me. I have to be honest, I have been hiding this month.  I have avoided social media, just so I could accomplish a few projects that desperately needed to get done in my life.  

My goal for 2022 is to slow down, get better organized, and enjoy more creative moments.  I miss my Saturday – “let’s design a new dress” days.  I miss my photo sessions with cute toddlers twirling in dresses.  January is a wonderful time of year to clean, and to dig into projects that otherwise just take up too much of my time.  I love to deep clean.  It allows me to reconnect with my home, and decorate.  It feels so refreshing to have a clean, clutter less and well organized home – even if it only lasts two months.  It helps me to stay focused and concentrate on work.  Less stress.  So, I am happy to say that my husband and I rebuilt our pantry, cleaned the garage, sorted and trashed all kinds of Halloween and Christmas decorations (finding nice homes for everything), and cleaned the house.  I still have to file and iron (mounds of sheets and tablecloths), but I feel relieved.  Is this just a January bug?  I hope so.

If you really want to read up on taking a slower pace, I have to recommend a wonderful article from French Country Cottage.  She summed it up beautifully.  I also could not help but wonder if that is why I get so homesick for Europe.  Life was slower.  Since everything was closed on Sundays, we always spent the day taking walks, eating a great meal, and relaxing.  Sounds charming right?  It was.

On this note, I have been thinking about some changes to my business.  I am going to start slowly taking down the designs on my site and offering only Ready-to-Ship.  Although I have always liked to give my customers all available options, I feel the need to improve my quality of life.  Working seven days a week is just too hard on my family and my body.  My son is a senior this year, and I want to be there for his graduation, and spend as much time as I can with him before he goes to college.  I have also realized that no matter what I do, most customers do not like to wait 3-4 weeks for their purchase.  I get it.  I really do.  I just cannot magically grow another set of arms to make three dresses at once.  It is a difficult decision, because I don’t think my business will benefit, but I want to give it a try.  I realize I will no longer be able to offer as many sizes, but this will help get things out, and what you see is what you get.  I have tried to offer calendar appointments, and meticulous policies, but to no avail.  Customers are not happy waiting. This causes more stress and anxiety then I care to admit.  It is time for a change.  I would like to have at least one day off a week, and after 17 years I think I deserve it.  I really love what I do, and I could not ask for a more enjoyable career.  I just hope that this will make everyone happier.

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below.

Other then that, I hope to start showing off some new dresses early next week.  Stay healthy and happy.