WRAPPING THINGS UP: GIFTS, THE PHYSICAL SHOP & THE YEAR

A little novella for those who want to know about it all…well, most of it. Biz stuff first, then onto my personal musings about everything.

With the excitement of our daughter's gorgeous (and ridiculously fun) wedding now behind us, we’re ready to announce with contented hearts – though it took us a whole year to come around to this vibe – that we’ll be wrapping things up at our physical shop space in Killearn, come mid-December. Following this, our work and focus will be shifting here online.

Anyone reading this should know that trying our hand at being shopkeepers has been such a good experience, on every possible level. Invaluable lessons have been learned. We’ve spent the last twelve months trying out various ideas to keep it going, and growing, and some of you reading this will know we’d come up with some seriously good ideas for utilizing the space in 2024. We even looked at finally getting a sign for the main road after hearing that idea from nearly every new shopper we met over the past few years.

Now, onto the exit plan and the vibes…

THE PLAN: Our last open hours will be Saturday, 16th December.

After the16th, we’ll spend the final two weeks of the month (besides the holidays themselves) un-decorating, un-fairy lighting, and un-suspending butterfly bedazzled ships, hot air balloons, and felted puffins flying in crescent moons, etc. And we’ll pack. So. Much. Packing. I'm positive this is going to be the most bizarre move of our lives, lol.

HOME-SWEET-HOME: Now to those who know us well, you're aware that home-sweet-home is where our hearts - and inspiration - are, particularly since we moved house last October, venturing further into the wild Scottish countryside. And some of you will have noticed that over these past few years, we’ve been leaning into refining our ‘Creative Skincare / Creative Lifestyle’ brand and vibes. Well, where better to carry on with our work and capturing it all, than from our home, where we live our DIY-laden lives each day?

COMMISSIONS, ENGAGEMENTS,ETC: Besides online & working from home, not having the pressure and upkeep of the beautiful (but costly, time-consuming) burden of a shop will afford us the opportunity to look at doing some commission-based work, collaborative events, and engagements. We’ve had countless enquiries over the years, so we're looking forward to having more time to see what sort of adventures and projects these queries might take us on.

We're grateful that the shop itself has been a portfolio of sorts for everything we do, because this interest has all been based on folks reactions upon entering our imaginative space, and seeing the products and wares we showcase within it.

GETTING CREATIVE & QUIET: About the shop, that magical place itself…I can't not mention that when I allow myself to get reeeeally REAL about it, it's the creative stuff, the assorted behind-the-scenes components involved in turning it into what it is now, these are my favourite parts. These components are including but not limited to upcycling and/or painting the furniture and displays that Douglas sources, then finding places and uses for these in both home and business environments.

Furthermore, I’ve been missing other quiet tasks like writing helpful, heartfelt blog posts, which I’ve never had time for once the physical shop space came about. I've shamefully had a number of posts sitting patiently in draft mode for years now. There's some great topics worth sharing in there, so I'm looking forward to getting these out. I CAN’T ignore the magnetic pull of these aspects of my work, or the pure, unadulterated joy it gives me to be in creation mode.

THE SKINCARE: I also know that I cant continue to ignore my apothecary / esthetician work . This is the work that started everything, and which I 100% require in my daily life. My handcrafted skincare range helps me look and FEEL my best, and it gives me the greatest satisfaction when I’m able to help others with the same. Keeping the range alive requires time, focus and solitude, and I’ve lost the ability to do this to the best of my abilities as the physical shop continued to grow.

EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS: So it goes without saying that I cant stop smiling when I think about having time to get refocused on the skincare side of things, expanding my knowledge and qualifications, and being able to finish what I started several years ago…completing my aromatherapy certification. I never thought I'd say this, but I seriously miss studying.

LOCAL ARTISANS & ARTISTS: Besides our own work and interests, I'm looking forward to carrying on collaborations with my local Artisan friends. Successful collabs also take time and thoughtful focus, and good communication is key. More quiet work. Can you spot a theme???

Thinking about the next chapter, we'll be proud to represent their art and wares alongside our own in the online shop. So anyone concerned about losing this facet when we move out of the premises, rest assured, most if not all of what you see in the space now will be migrating over to the website. From art, candles and cards, to ‘Psychedelic Sea Creatures’ and handmade Koi /Carp resin brooches. It just makes sense when it comes to our brand and interests. We’ll simply ship it to your door! Creative Skincare/Creative Lifestyle via your mailbox.

For those intereseted in such details, a bit more about the reasoning…

THOUGHTS & ‘A-HA!’ MOMENTS: As stated above, we adore the shop, and we’re so proud of what we’ve been able to create there. Shockingly, we’ve kept it afloat with zero funding since early Covid days. It’s going to be tough to undo everything. Un-suspending the ships is gonna SUCK, and the whole removal process will be weirder-than-weird for certain.

The last couple months have been rough though, and instead of investing any more time, attention, or finances on ideas for the premises, we had to take a step back, and have a serious look at everything. Firstly, observing it from a cold hard business standpoint, as well as personally and emotionally.

I’ve also had many ‘A-ha!’ moments lately, and after weighing everything up on the proverbial scales, praying actual prayers, and a poignant, teary conversation with my daughter recently, the stubborn bull-horn-baring Taurus in me softened, and I finally realized it was time to close out 2023 by saying goodbye to our ‘beautiful burden.’ After hanging up with Alijah, I looked around at the whimsical space, and I was finally able to start visualising where things might go, and when. I then checked in with my better half, and we agreed it was time to start planning to say goodbye.

IDEAS & I DON’T WEAR A CAPE: And dare I say it? Everyone – and I do mean everyone - thinks they could run a successful shop, or they’re full of ideas on how they think your shop could work better, or be more profitable. All the ideas usually come without any knowledge about your experience & skills, the ins-and-outs of your business, OR about your own needs as a human being running said shop. Costly burden, time constraints, and human vibes aside, I can admit that no, I CANNOT be a successful shopkeeper, at least not past December 2023.

Although I’m a lady that likes to adopt the ‘Wonder Woman’ power pose, I’m NOT Wonder Woman. I’m certainly not able to put all my attention and my hands to work, and figure weaving it together, while simultaneously doing everything required to keep a shop open to the public most days of the week. And what of factoring in a resonably balanced life outside the shop?

I can’t do all of the above without feeling like I want to spontaneously combust. I dont want to explode though. I want peace and quiet, and I want to breath deep, lung-filling breaths again. I also want to have time for experiences like travelling about the countryside with my man, or rollerskating and crafting dates with my mini me.

UNCOMFORTABLE BUT TRUE: One uncomfortable facet that I hesitate to discuss, but I’m far too honest for my own good, and you SHOULD know this if you’ve gotten this far. I feel like after everyone stopped getting furlough and various support from Covid times, and then we all got hit by the cost of living madness that came about at the end of the last year, we’ve remained afloat this long for two reasons.

Firstly, I’m lucky enough to have a small, faithful, and ultra-supportive client following who’ve gotten to know and love me, my products & wares, and my gift-wrapping skills. Reason number two: I’ve got one of THE most supportive partners in the world. This man always has my back without a shadow of a doubt, and without his support in every possible way (including shouldering most of the bills over the past couple of months), we’d have closed ages ago. These are indeed uncomfortable truths but they run heavily on my mind, and I suppose I’d like you to be aware that if you’d like to keep having access to certain local shops, cafes, restaurants - particularly if they have staff - DO USE THEM or you risk losing them.

We’re happy to close up our own space in the near future, especially when looking at the quiet creative factors I’ve mentioned above. I just had to mention this, as I know how difficult it is for all the small local businesses just now. We look forward to being able to frequent our own faves left standing after our closure in December.

HINDSIGHT, STUBBORN BULLS & CRABS, & GETTING SELFISH: Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and looking back, I can admit now that closing at the end of 2022 would most likely have been a smart decision for us. But I’m a Taurus, and my man happens to be a Cancer. Here we have the pairing of those bull horns with the crab and his proud claws that just won't let go. One word: ‘Stubborn.’ To the nth degree, haha. We obviously had to try everything we could.

Our headstrong selves have spent 2023 trying different ideas to utilise the space, bring in some fresh vibes, and at the same time we’ve tried to find a better work/ life balance, attempting to mould everything to suit our needs alongside the shop. We ended up getting more selfish about it recently, settling on opening up the doors one day a week - Saturdays - and we bolstered it with ‘one-to-one shopping’ & consultations by appointment.

It should be said that this format has indeed been gaining some traction, but there's a strong emphasis on the word ‘some.’ It’s not been enough to justify keeping the space. It’s taking too long to catch on, and besides that, if you're still reading this little novella, it's plainly obvious that having a physical shop is no longer sustainable for us, for a variety of reasons.

A HAPPY GOODBYE & CUTTING THE CLOTH: Aaaaall of this being said, please let me ask you to to see this goobye in a positive light with us. We’ve tried eveything we wanted to try, and we’re ready. And I’ll say this. With the world being soooo wobbly right now, and even though the ideas for 2024 were so good - and totally and completely inspired - they were going to be expensive ideas. And quite frankly, they didn’t feel AS GOOD as releasing the shop has felt.

Let’s be honest, saving our hard-earned cash in this crazy time feels FANTASTIC. We’d rather grow things from the stabilty of our favourite place. Home. I feel like I’m being reminded every single day, everywhere I look, and oh-so-loudly-and-clearly, that life is all about finding what feels good, evokes joy, peace, and it’s very much about cutting your cloth to suit. We choose all of the above, quite happily.

I’d like to close with a thank you to our supporters who’ve ridden on the ship with us through every torrential wave and all the storms, as well as the calm waters and balmy weather over these past few years. We are so grateful for you.

K, have a lovely day out there, and stay cozy! This California native is bundled up in bed with a cold face, and frozen fingers! Chilly Autumn is swiftly changing to freeeeeezing Winter vibes, and I see a hot bath in my future.

Txx