Always ready to go a little early, I wanted to send my end of year diary before the 31st. Why? I have been getting ONE MILLION EMAILS – ugh, my gosh – so so many. The Merry Christmas emails and the ‘we appreciate you’ emails have been flowing. I get it. The brands that we shop and love want to say thanks. It does feel a bit obligatory, but I don’t know, maybe the ‘from our family to yours’ really is authentic and I’m an asshole lol!
I was reading an article recently that talked about leaders (aka busines leaders, company founders, the ‘boss’) navigating crisis. It said,
“A leader who is deliberately calm realizes that fear, channeled from uncomfortable facts or emotions, offers potentially valuable information and so doesn’t get unhinged by it. Reframing a threat as an opportunity for learning and innovation turns an uncertain situation into one of hope and possibility. Stress can be good if you harness and frame it constructively ; it keeps energy levels high and positive even in a crisis environment.”That’s from McKensey & Co and you can read the whole article
HERE.
Everyone will be listing their resolutions and recaps soon, and I am no different. Here’s the re-cap list from this insane year.
2020 started and I was so confident after a killer 2019. Having your own business, you don’t sleep, you doubt yourself, and you never think you are doing enough. It’s kind of like being a Mom 😊 But for a moment I thought “WOW that was an awesome season and year!” So, we regrouped in January, launched new product for February. We signed a lease to move the business out of my living room. We started renovations. We hired our first full time employee. All that good was balanced with the news that we would have to change the name of our company which devastated me.
Then March. Rachel our first full-timer started. COVID. The world stopped. The day our state shut down businesses, I remember thinking, that is it…we really gave it a good try, but this will end our business. And then…our orders quadrupled. But our factories closed, so we moved production from NYC to Rhode Island. We literally scrapped and clawed our way. We have had incredible success this year, but it has come from four-million-times the sweat to get there. THAT’S OK! I am not complaining. We did it, and it’s been fun. Personally, my household was in anguish. Two seniors in high school with senior-springs cancelled and graduations from the couch and choosing to go to a college we hadn’t visited. Everyone home. Trips cancelled. I’m drinking too much wine, gaining 10 pounds. Sabrina made sooooo muchhhhhhhhh banana bread. Doug and I were the steadfast, optimistic leaders of our family blindly leading as best we could.
The black lives matter movement and a new understanding for me of systemic racism. A new dedication to giving back and trying to understand different perspectives.
A summer spent in NH felt like we escaped it all. We have been blessed to NOT be touched closely by COVID taking someone we love, but we live in the fear that we all do. Bowls of vitamin D on the kitchen island 😊. Masks stacked in every car. Isolated but working and pretending to be normal. LOL sound familiar?
We did change the name of the company, and you didn’t seem to care. We sent the kids to college, and they all survived and THRIVED. We overcompensated with cars for the 16-year-old on her birthday. Then the election! I thought that moment would stop my heart but it’s still beating. We have been freezing our asses off to see friends outside. We have played by the rules; we have not been perfect. We have cried. We have laughed hysterically. And just to sum it all up, I just read an article that those who have has fillver in their face (aka me, don’t judge) may have allergic reactions to the vaccine. So that just…well it sums it all up doesn’t it. That aside:
This holiday you all SHOWED UP to shop Jane Win, and it was so fun. I loved every single second. I can’t thank you enough for supporting our brand AND for loving what we do. I have been writing these diary entries since March and when you write back it truly hits my heart. I know that Jane Win has the coolest, chicest, loveliest customers in the world.
So. Do you have resolutions? GODDDDD. I don’t know. Tomorrow there is a full moon and it’s called ‘the cold moon’… it may be affecting my optimism. Here’s the deal on my resolutions: they are not for the year they are for my life. And you have heard me write it before in my diary entries. First and foremost, I want to enjoy every day. The second, I take from the McKensey article: REMAIN CALM. Literally I must stay calm and not get worked up. Stay PRESENT (thank you Lori!). The last? Be courageous. Not safe. Pushing myself, out-there…full of courage. That is it. I think if I courageously have fun, see the sunshine, see the glass half full, adore my job and my husband and my kids and my friends – 2021 will be a good year.
That AND we are going to make some really incredible jewelry with meaning. Spoiler alert: we have a new coin coming January 1st that I adore. We have a sale coming for a few days in January. We have new HEARTS launching for Valentine’s Day. We are discontinuing some things. We are restocking some of your favorites. We are moving, no, honestly, we are DANCING into the new year. Are we celebrating with champagne? Not sure. It may look more like pizza and a movie. But there is a vision for 2021 that is a manifestation of joy combined with respect for what we have been through together.
Who knows if you will read this far down but have to give a HUGE SHOUT-OUT to my Jane Win team of Amy, Rachel, Lanie, Jules, Kaia, Blish and Doug. I appreciate you so much and am so sad we could not have a million cocktails and elaborate dinners to celebrate our insane year. It will happen. I cannot wait for the celebration and I can’t wait to do it all again in 2021!
Sending tons of love,
