Hello, 2023!

Intentions for the year and a teeny tiny teaser

“I want life to be what I know it must be if one lives it right: brilliant, intense, uncommon, agonizing, and painful, weirder than weird, beautiful, an epic adventure into existence. That’s life.” — Jeff Buckley 

Some years, I set SMART goals with scheduled check-in points and measurable indicators of success. Others, I use a word of the year and go more with a general feeling I’d like for the year to encompass. 

This year, I’ve gone for something slightly different. I’ve chosen a quote that embodies how I’d like to move through the year, and identified a few focus areas to put my energies towards in 2023. 

The quote I’ve chosen is by one of my favourite wordsmiths, Jeff Buckley. It speaks to the idea of seeking out and relishing in our joys alongside our sorrows. An idea that I’m finding more and more informs my philosophy behind the shop and the reason why I do what I do here. And an idea that I want to embody myself, too, by stepping out of my comfort zone while also leaning into a little more fun.  

And so, the areas I want to focus on are drawn from this: trying new things, taking steps forward, and also just lounging and relishing in the present moment. 

1 // Stretch my comfort zone

If I was one to believe in manifesting (sadly, I’m not lol), I’d say the magic of intention-setting was already working. In just a few short weeks I’ll be participating in my first all-clothing in-person market, followed by another in March, and I’ve been invited to a professional development opportunity in NYC in April that a few short years ago would have sent me into an impostor syndrome spiral in my day job.

I look forward to feeling terrified of these experiences but doing them anyway, trying more new scary things that haven’t even occurred to me yet, and just living a little in a way pandemic restrictions and personal anxieties have prevented me from doing for far too long. 

2 // Live at least as much as I work 

And by live, I mean just… do nice things. I have a pesky habit of turning my passions into careers or businesses, so I’d like this year to nurture a few of those for which that is not the case. I’ve asked for a Nintendo Switch for my birthday, as an example. I finished reading Carrie Soto is Back the other day and I paused typing this here to text my best friend (also neighbour, also mom to my 14 year old nephew) and ask if she’d play tennis with me when the weather’s a little warmer. 

While I’ll categorize my thrill-seeking, boundary-pushing moments under intention #1, this one is just about reading books and lounging in baths, and going for runs, and taking vacations just because I can, without any pressure to make it productive. 

3 // Continue becoming

I struggled to find the words to articulate this one but… I kind of just want to practice being me a little more loudly. 

I spend my days telling teenagers to take off their metaphorical masks, be themselves, take risks in the name of happiness and authenticity. Yet at times, I still struggle to do this myself. I have over the last couple years truly cultivated my own personal style when it comes to my wardrobe, and the pieces in the shop reflect this journey. I’ve also started speaking my mind, sitting uncomfortably with the feelings that come up when I piss someone off (at work my fellow people-pleasing work bestie and I continually remind each other it’s time to enter our “villain eras.”) The work continues this year.

And folks, when it comes to the shop and my brand, you’d better take a deep breath, because I think that this year becoming me in this business might mean re-evaluating my brand positioning, identity, and brand name. My products and offerings will only evolve, not pivot, so vintage clothing and homewares are here to stay. But there’s work to be done on the way this little business shows up in the world.

If you’re reading this here, you’re the first to know, and you’ll be right alongside me as the path to a rebrand unfolds this year. I’ll share my ideas, mood boards, colour palettes, and ramblings on the process. If you’re into that kind of thing, I’d invite you to subscribe and follow along.

More tangibly, steps forward this year include exploring selling on my own website in addition to Etsy, taking on new in-person retail/market opportunities, running a 10k event, and reading at least 24 books.

How about you? Goals? Intentions? Word of the year? Let me know in the comments below.

Here’s to, as Jeff Buckley would say, a brilliant, intense, uncommon, agonizing, and painful, weirder than weird, beautiful, epic adventure of a year.