Shedding the Weight of 2025
Shedding the Weight of 2025
It’s no secret that 2025 was a tough year for small retail. I watched several businesses—some very similar to mine—make the incredibly hard decision to close their doors. Each one came with a mix of sadness, understanding, and deep respect. When you’ve poured your heart, time, and finances into something, closing isn’t just a business decision. It’s personal.
Naturally, that reality forced me to pause and look inward. I had to think long and hard about whether my own business was still sustainable… and whether it was still worthy of keeping open. Those are heavy questions, and I don’t think they’re asked lightly by anyone who truly cares about what they’ve built.
For me, the answer—at least for now—is that I’m not ready to give up.
Last year, I tried all the things. And if I’m being honest, very few of them succeeded. Many were total flops. I experimented, pivoted, added, removed, stretched, and scrambled. Some ideas taught me valuable lessons, even if they didn’t bring the results I hoped for. Others simply confirmed what my gut already knew.
There are pieces of last year I’m not throwing away completely. Workshops and classes, for example, are still things I’d like to revisit someday. But moving forward, I’ve made a clear decision: I’m only going to do what I truly love.
At the heart of my business—and always has been—is a curated collection of my favorite things. While I am absolutely shopping with my customers in mind, I’ve learned that I am most successful when I am deeply intentional about what I bring in. My vision is my brand. And my ideal customers aren’t just shopping for products—they’re shopping for that vision, that point of view, that feeling.
To continue financially surviving and, hopefully, thriving, I know I’ll need to be creative. That may look like more intentional sourcing, leaning more into handmade pieces, and finally digging into my 15-year collection of “projects.” You know the ones—the I’ll get to that someday pieces that have been patiently waiting for the right moment. It feels like that moment is now.
So as I shed the weight of 2025, I’m stepping into the coming year with clarity and intention. My focus is simple but meaningful: provide a special, thoughtfully curated collection; stay true to my style; create from a place of authenticity; and trust that the right customers will find value in that.
I don’t know exactly what this next chapter will look like. But I do know this—I’m choosing intention over exhaustion, creativity over comparison, and purpose over panic. And with that, I’m hopeful that this business I love will continue to grow in a way that feels both sustainable and true.
Here’s to shedding what no longer serves us, and carrying forward only what truly matters.
