Saying goodbye to 2020 seems to be full of mixed feelings and such juxtaposed memories. I for one will be taking the feeling of positivity with me and never mind the rest - who's with me?
At the beginning of this year, it felt like I had got off to quite a slow start business-wise. Whilst we had been married for six months, I had only recently moved in with Tom to his house, and we were in the process of buying a home together, which was exciting, but as there were so many loose ends to tie up still, I found my energy a bit scattered between work and the move!
Then, with the news that lock-down was being introduced we found moving might have to be delayed. However, we kept the faith and were given the green light to move because the house we were moving to had been vacant for some time - phew. FYI, moving house without removals, bin collections, open charity shops or the like is tricky, but it's totally doable if you have a strong constitution and just keep going. Also, ready salted Pringles and amazing parents also help ;)
So by then, April had arrived, and the scents of lilac, magnolias and late daffodils filled the air around our new home. Instantly, I felt my imagination revitalised and the fire in my belly reignite after a tiring few months. Orders were flying in too, and I immediately set up a home office to be able to create routine and make Prenoa work efficiently. Weekends were spent getting outside in our overgrown but truly wonderful garden, cleaning out the shed and the greenhouse and turning over the soil in the vegetable beds to welcome plugs of lettuce, spring onions, beetroot and beans. Those few months of April and May sunshine honestly saved our souls and helped us put down roots, when all about us the outside world seemed to spin. We fell utterly in love with the garden and grateful that it welcomed us in with all it's might.
With the summer came bangles, new designs, a brand new workshop and a honeymoon. In September/October, I decided to leave WordPress and take my online presence here, to Shopify, as a much more (in my humble opinion) streamlined and integrated provider. If anyone tells you creating an e-commerce website with two hundred products is a quick job, take it from me they haven't done it and run a business at the same time. However, after much coffee, cake and a fair bit of banging my head on the desk (and messages to my dear and very patient friend Lyndsey over at Oh Curio) the new website was operational and you have quite literally flocked to it since then, which I am so grateful for.
Fast-forward around two weeks and I launched my first curated collection (showing off new Shopify skills), The Autumn Edit 2020. This was a huge success and mainly focused on cuff links and bangles. It felt so good to release lots of limited edition items in one go, rather than drip feeding them quietly onto the website and forgetting to publicise them (oops). From there, the winter collection came in the form of brand new Christmas decorations and thoughtful coin keepsakes, raising over £200 for charity and literally receiving enquiries right to the last minute cut-off. These coins will definitely be back next year, especially when others can benefit from the profits.
The final release for 2020 was a collection called 'The Only One', which I write about in a previous blog post. So many of you use my bespoke service and this is a more informal version of that. It's fun for me to experiment with different coins and sometimes, there really only can be one. So with 2021 hours away, I can promise you there will be more unique pieces flowing next year.
Yes, it's been an exhilarating, uncertain but solid year for change and for growth. I have learned that not travelling around, eating out, visiting people etc has given me the opportunity to go inwards though, to find the space within me and be still, rather than constantly being bombarded with images, people and 'next plans'. Being busy is no longer cool, being productive and at peace is the new little black dress as far as I am concerned.
So for me, optimistic and open, with bold plans for Prenoa in 2021 regardless of how we navigate the months ahead, I thank every single person who has shared, liked, visited the website, written me an email, recommended me to a friend, purchased from Prenoa for a friend or written me a review. My heart swells when I think of how truly grateful I am to you, in helping me realise my dream to share my coins and leave the world a little better each year than it was. This business provides joy and happiness, history and kindess, as well as planting trees for future generations and helping those who find themselves in difficult times. Each little coin is a beacon of light to someone.
Happy new year. Take care of your beautiful body, your clever mind and your sense of humour. And come back soon. With love x