The Summer we realized our worth
If you are new here, or a loyal returning customer then welcome!
It might seem funny to be welcomed to a place you have been before, but this space may seem a little different moving forward.
If you are new, then I’d like to share a little bit about our journey. If you are returning, I would like to explain the change in this business.
The title of this post might seem a bit misleading. I have never read the books from “The Summer I Turned Pretty” collection and the tv show was not for me. But seeing this trend going around it felt like the most appropriate title for this business transition.
When we started this business several years ago, it was started on a whim a when our crafts, makings and creations started taking over our small workshop. The thought was why not turn our hobbies into a business? It was a win win! People were able to buy the things they liked, and we were able to clear out space to make more things. As this business grew and developed it started to become more stressful and a lot less fun. Keeping up with the demands was exhausting and overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong we were and are still so grateful for all of the sales and business generated throughout the years. However, we started realizing that slowly and surely, we were losing little pieces of ourselves as time went on. It became more about trying to please everyone and failing, because no one can ever please everyone, then it was staying true to ourselves and our aesthetics. When we added this website, it was done on a deadline. We weren’t able to develop it the way we wanted to. We had to just pick a name that we didn’t really like and just go with it. As many things in the business, it was good enough to fulfill the needs we were facing. Because of the demands and schedule of things we weren’t able to slow down and take the time needed to make the things that were close to our hearts. Who we were as people and what we stood for as a business was lacking.
Enter January of 2025……
Like most people the beginning of the new year brings new hopes and new beginnings. We had high aspirations for this business in January of this year. We were determined! We were going to bring back the business to its former glory, and we started planning our rebranding! Then our whole world turned upside down in an instant. We were hit by extreme situations in our family. It was devastating. It was heartbreaking. It was exhausting. Facing burnout, we knew that we needed to make a change and instead of revamping this business and bringing it back to what it once was it took a back seat. I mean the back seat to the back seat….not even in the same car….back seat…… not even in the same car, heading in the wrong direction, three states away back seat. It was devastating to see something we had worked on so hard to build slipping away on top of everything else we were dealing with. We kept telling ourselves- next month-well get back to it next month. And next month didn’t come. We tried our best to put out new products when we could and it just felt like we were grasping at straws to make it work. So, we made the tough decision to take a step back over the summer. No making, no creating, no working. The website was up and going but we just let it sit and sit and sit. We didn’t have many sales if we had any at all. The grief set in. We decided to make a mindset shift and instead of viewing it as time not being used on the business, we decided to take time for ourselves, for our family and for our values. Getting back to our roots, not just with the business but also just getting back to basics on a personal level!
The things we learned over the summer were invaluable. We learned to slow down. Not to take even the little things for granted. We learned gratitude. We learned more about ourselves then we ever had. We learned our worth. In that time, we also reflected on what we wanted for this business. The changes we wanted to see. How those changes would impact us and our customers. How we could keep our customers in mind while still staying true to ourselves. We really hope that you can see that reflected in this new website and in our work moving forward.
One of the new features is this blog- “Thoughts from the Prairie and the Canyon’. It is something that has been on our hearts for a long time to be able to have a space to not only be able to share things related to the business but also about us and our values. A place to share thoughts from walking in the prairie. Hopes, dreams and desires. A place to share thoughts on baking and cooking. Frustrations and anguish of a whole house remodel. Lessons learned from nature. Thoughts on products, sure! Why not? The good, the bad and even the ugly at times. The possibilities are endless! And that is a very exciting thought to process!
The changes to the website are not going to be all at once or instant. As many things it will be a journey and were glad you are here with us for that journey!
