Where has the time gone?
Its pretty surreal to be on the end of summer but it happens every year. You hit the end of July and its 6 weeks until sweater weather. If you're a parent that time goes even faster. Don't ask me why, it's probably something to do with the cruel speed at which our kids grow. I know times flies for everyone but, you know.
At this point I'm sure people have been pretty sick of my Christmas conversation but I'm a retail store owner. Christmas is on my mind as soon as Christmas is over. Constantly taking note of things to try for the next year, what was a hit and what was a miss. Trying to stay in the present season when you know how much work really is involved with December.
Makers, designers and production style businesses feel that heat just as much. There is never enough time to produce, market and sell for yourself.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned in this journey is to never be complacent and comfortable with how things have gone. So 2021 was good? Expect to work twice as hard in 2022 because that has been the journey so far. I'm a lot more present in the company this year, not being pulled all over the place for different projects and experiments so I'm just chomping at the bit to execute the remainder of the year and see how it pans out with the trajectory we are aiming for.
We haven't gone out of our way to go bigger and better on any of our operations this year because we want to really give our best to way things currently run. The biggest focus has been supporting the businesses within our maker community. Jan-Aug is like crickets for retailers and most of the vendors with us recognize that. The majority have put in their efforts to maximize the return that's available for them when restocking, switching product, marketing themselves etc. The shop is very much a space where "You get what you give". Meaning- if you put a lot of effort into your time with us, you see the result of your effort. There were months where some vendors made under $100. In those same months, other vendors made over $1000. The money was being spent, so there's a lot to think about for vendors next year.
Without getting too longwinded in this blog post I just have to say that I am feeling super grateful for the support that continues for the Market Events and the Shop. It's been a wild ride navigating 2 niches within one Brand but I'm really loving the experience. I'm not sick of the hard work yet!
There is a lot in the coming months so I am hoping to do another post before the next event to give you a little more insight in the backstory to a big event coming this Christmas.
C