Mind Vacation № 23: Love Letters From You
If you've been following along with the Mind Vacation series, it’s no secret that this year’s been slow. Like, really slow. I’ve felt the burnout in a big way, especially around home goods made from my signature fabric. The weight of production, the hyper-local hustle, the rising costs… it's a lot. I know many of you are feeling it in your own lives and businesses too. These kinds of shifts are disorienting and emotional. They’ve made me wonder, “When does this get easier?” and on the worst days "Can this just be over?" But my whole being is not ready for Jenny Pennywood to be over - I love Jenny Pennywood, I just want it to feel lighter. More sustainable. More fun.
I still love the alter ego of Jenny Pennywood. I love that she brings so many of you along with her... my team, my production partners, this whole community. The love you’ve shown recently was a good reminder of that. During the Mega Sale, we received so many sweet, encouraging notes from you. Thank you. Big time.
Here are just a few we want to share:
We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, rethinking how we do things. We asked all of you to take a survey a couple months ago and to be honest with us, (you were!) and the results were invaluable. We’ve realized that, while people love our napkins and tea towels, the way we were producing them wasn’t sustainable for the business or for me.
We finally felt like we had the info and grounding to make changes. Big ones. We decided to let go of the old methods and streamline our home goods production. Moving towards fewer, bigger, drops. We’re subletting our second studio, shifting fulfillment, and making room for better energy, and for my art career, which is just as important to me as Jenny Pennywood.
The Mega Sale helped us clear out years of overstock and close the door on a chapter that needed to end. It was at times bittersweet, but necessary and hopeful. The world may be tough on tiny businesses right now, but your notes, your orders, and your presence reminded me that this is still worth it.
So thank you for showing up and for sticking around and for loving what we do. We’re not going out of business, instead, I’m putting my energy into deeper more aligned changes.
Still colorful, pattern-forward, and perfectly mismatched.
XOXO
Jen
