We spent our days working in the studio, creating beautiful dinner parties, hosting spontaneous late night hangouts, working far too many hours and going on tons of bike rides. We can’t wait for this season that makes us want to spend every night around a backyard campfire, wishing we were on permanent vacation in the Pacific Northwest. The last time we were there, we hiked to an alpine lake, 4 miles straight up in one of the most difficult day hikes we have ever done.
I was a young teenage mom and in many ways, my daughter and I grew up together. I was figuring out everything as I went, learning in the most responsive, you have no choice because this tiny human depends on you kind of way. Those early years, and maybe all through my 20’s, were really difficult, mixed with such reward and challenge and growth, lots of highs and lows. I was an anomaly amongst everyone around me. Parents of her friends were much older than me, people my age were not having children yet. We were a tiny little team operating in the space between when most people are discovering themselves, but before most everyone else decides to have children. I was very young and barely developing the confidence to say that I didn’t have to look like what others wanted me to be, but that I could define motherhood in the way that worked for me, in style and philosophy and day to day life.
As a young single parent, combatting the judgements that were made against me was one of the most difficult challenges in discovering myself, and my self esteem. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing and I didn’t have the life experience to lean on. But, man oh man…at 41, hiking up to an alpine lake in Washington state with my now 21 year old daughter, I had a wealth of anecdotal life stories and an abundance of wisdom to impart on her as we hiked. That hike was difficult. There were many times we wanted to turn around, but my pride as a now seasoned parent would not let us do so. We hiked and I turned 100% mom, recounting every life story about PERSEVERANCE and never giving up and working hard to achieve a goal and how it gets harder at the top and how a higher percentage of people quit right near the end but we WILL NOT QUIT! We will go on! We will never give up because we don’t get to make it through all of the things we have been through if we were the kind of people who gave up.
As we crested the last steep slope of rocks, leg muscles burning, tired, maybe a little dehydrated, we were met with this scene:
It changed us. We have never seen anything like this and it came as a result of a gruelingly beautiful 2.5 hour upward hike. And truly, this is the greatest life anecdote that I needed in that moment in time….or, that my daughter needed. Haha! It was me. I needed all of that advice. The young, naive, 19 year old me, holding a tiny newborn baby, knowing our life would be she and I together, never could have imagined how difficult and amazing and hard working it would be to get to where we are now. It was hard. And beautiful. And fun. And grueling. And spectacular.
As we head into my favorite season, I just want you to know how much your support of this tiny business I have built means to me and everyone who works with me. This is the time of year where we start to feel as though we are starting our 4 mile ascent to an alpine lake, and once the year wraps up, we are rewarded with the incredible view and a small break. Manufacturing is not easy, but it is so rewarding and we love that you all notice all of the time, detail and consideration that goes into every single thing we make. We’re excited for all of the very best things coming and so thankful for your support.
xo,
Wendy
