How I'm fighting grumpiness
I can’t believe I’m still saying this, but y’all - the second half of the shipment still hasn’t arrived from Ethiopia.
I’ve been on calls with FedEx Customer Service almost every day. Each time I feel like I figured out how to log a request when I get off the phone, but when I actually do, I’m blocked again for something different each time. I feel crazy!
Our artisans are reaching out on their end to try to figure out what’s happening.
I even drove to a FedEx store to talk to someone.
Nothing seems to be working.
And I’m starting to get grumpy. This is my one week in between my kid’s total of 3 weeks of Spring Breaks to work & I’m spending it trying to get an automated line to correct my name from Jean to Jen.
I’ve been learning a lot about the nervous system & somatics and have enjoyed finding ways to put this into practice in my personal life. Recently this played out in my parenting with my oldest after a particularly rough from transition from their grandparent’s house after a fun long weekend filled with yesses + sugary treats + no responsibilities : )
My 8 year old was feeling verrrry disregulated (a.k.a. mean, lol) as we got home & as tears rolled down her face I gave her a big hug while taking deep breaths. She had a good cry & I asked her to stay in her room until she felt calm again but the ticket to leave her room was a list of 10 things she was grateful for.
After a beat, she came out with shiny eyes feeling thankful for, number one: herself, lol.
Yesterday after a particularly fruitless customer service interaction, I found myself feeling very disregulated & decided to take my own advice & make a list of things I’m grateful for.
-
Our custom branding partners are just that - partners. They have been such examples of grace & understanding that I’ve not even been able to extend to myself. I’m thankful that I’m not working with nameless companies, but kind women who know I’m doing the best I can to get them their gorgeous Spring Lines. Kelsey, Kari, Erin, Taylor, Carol & Donnesha - thank you.
-
I just filled our 5th slot for next February’s trip to Ethiopia! What a joy it will be to share the incredible talent of our artisan partners & the beauty of the Ethiopian culture with these five women. It’s only March and the trip is already halfway filled with really amazing individuals. I’m thankful I get to do meaningful work & bring others into that work.
-
I’m thankful for Spring growth. I planted the Zinnia seeds from our Tariff Fund packets & they’re starting to sprout! What a beautiful reminder that what is hard in one season fuels growth in another.
-
Even just a few years ago, a large complex order with multiple custom branding partners would have been too much for our artisan partners. It took years of testing systems & trying different kinds of communication to get to this point of being able to simply send a purchase order to our artisans. I’m thankful for progress & long term relationships.
-
Our new monthly Fourth Fridays that I launched last month was wonderfully successful, giving extra support to a special artisan group in Peru. I’m thankful for the boost of cash flow as things are starting to get lean (we don’t get paid for our custom branding orders until the items arrive, but we like to pay our artisans when they ship).
That leads me to some fun news!
Tomorrow is our next Fourth Friday launch & this month’s partnership is with a block printing artisan group in India that I’m obsessed with.
Here’s the sneak peek I dropped in our Facebook Insider’s Group:
The full reveal will go live on tomorrow (Friday) at noon CST in our FB Group + the curated collection will be available for preorder through Monday at noon CST.
I’m expecting about a 2 week turn around time for your items to arrive at our studio & be on their way to you.