Hello! I have been in the studio every single day for long long long hours. This is my 9th holiday season hand manufacturing our bags. Every year I have had so much help but, every year the majority of the stitching falls on me…it is simply the nature of this little business. There is not a single bag that leaves our studio that I have not stitched part of. And, I could not do any of that without Lexi, Theresa and Jesse…they make it possible for every Moop bag to ship out the door and they are amazing (as is every person who as ever worked for me…amazing people have come into my life because of Moop).
Last year at this time I was in the midst of huge life changes. I had only a few months prior separated from my husband of 10 years, I was working on a manufacturing relationship that ultimately did not work out, I was working in a studio that was beautiful but freezing cold, very loud and had zero privacy - incredibly taxing on my physical and emotional state when working long hours. I was also relocating my daughter and I from the rural parts of western Pennsylvania back into Pittsburgh, I closed on a house the week before Christmas and moved in on Christmas eve and had worked 12-14 hours days every day during all of that. There were a lot of challenges…challenges that I spent the better part of 2015 rebuilding from. It has been a very humbling year. I have learned so much about growth and opportunity and risks and business and ebb and flow and how to not cry in every situation that arises (which only means you cry at little unimportant things because you’ve deflected emotion from one place and let it live somewhere else…like, what do you mean we ran out of coffee! that makes me cry.), as well as how to look to the future in a level headed way while still allowing daydreams of the life I would like to have to make their way into those plans. But, I am happy to say, that while the things of last year took a big toll on me and everything around me, I have made my way to a place I feel really good about. I have some incredible people in my life who have enriched my day to day in the very best ways and I feel very grateful for them. And, I have reached a place where I can look at the past and pull the things that I loved to the forefront. So, as I sit here stitching and stitching this holiday season, all of those things are on my mind and all of the reasons why I do what I do have been reiterated to me through my customer interactions, my fellow small business owners & makers, my friends and my daughter, for whom I continue trying to be an example to (stumbling much of the time..i am far from the perfect parent) as she begins to establish herself as a strong independent woman in this world that seems to be falling apart around all of us. All good things to think about and be grateful for.
With all that said, there is one thing I must do…I can only stitch so many bags and unfortunately, we are again going to cut off holiday orders on December 10th. I will do my best to guarantee that orders placed before the 10th, and shipping within the United States, will arrive in time for Christmas. After the 10th, I cannot promise. So, please please please get your orders in this week. International orders should be placed by the end of today if you would like to them to arrive in time…it’s still cutting it close, though.
And, last but not least - on December 12th we are having our annual Holiday Pop Up Shop in our studio with my amazing friend Reiko Yamamoto (all of my dishes are made by Reiko..and every year I add to my collection..her work is incredible).
If you are local to Pittsburgh, come by 4719 Hatfield St, PGH, PA 15201, from 10am-4pm on December 12thto finish your holiday shopping. We will have everything we can possibly make before then ready for you to take home plus a few odds and ends and colors of styles that may not be on the website yet. So, please stop by!
Hope you’re off to a fantastic Sunday afternoon! and thanks for reading my long thoughts.
Much love,
Wendy
