March 8 // Five days late…

Or actually Thursday (five days late) at noon.

It’s 12:20 and I’m climbing into the passenger seat of Will’s car with my kids in tow — our flight for London leaves at 3. This was one of those weeks where I couldn’t quite keep my head above water with work. Our heirloom baby launch goes live in 40 minutes. Running a small business like mine is such a funny thing; the amount of blood, sweat, and love that goes into each collection is kind of unbelievable.

I’m not complaining — not even a little. I think often about what my life looks like now and how the younger version of myself would feel about it all. She would be so thrilled.

That being said, my team and I were up until the early hours this morning versioning and loading items. I’m fairly certain everything won’t be perfectly ready by 1:00 when the email goes out — and at this point, that’s just part of it.

When I try to add it up, I think we’ve spent something like 300 hours on this collection — buying, photographing, designing, pricing, Photoshop, versioning, loading. All of the quiet, unglamorous work that happens long before anything appears on the site.

The internet — Instagram especially — can make this kind of work look very simple: a few pretty photos, a link, a launch. Sometimes I see ideas travel quickly online, and it reminds me how important it is to show the care that actually goes into building something thoughtfully.

Beautiful things may look simple in the end, but they’re rarely simple to make.

Because these collections aren’t accidents. They’re the result of hundreds of small decisions and a group of people who care deeply about doing things well.

Which brings me to this week’s Sunday letters.

Most of them are going to the people who helped bring this collection to life.

To Caroline Borders, who drove into town to photograph everything so beautifully.

To Mary Margaret, who works “full time” in the loosest interpretation of the phrase and somehow pours more energy into this collection — and every other one — than I could ever reasonably ask.

To Diana, who helped source so many of the pieces that made this launch feel special.

And to Shelby, who jumps in wherever she’s needed while somehow balancing life at home with babies.

Running a small business can look like a solo endeavor from the outside, but the truth is that nothing I do happens alone. Every collection carries fingerprints from the people who show up again and again to help build it.

And that kind of loyalty is something I never take lightly.

I’m already looking forward to sitting down to write this Sunday’s letter — hopefully at the Holly Bush with a pint in hand, my children running happily somewhere nearby, and a little time to reflect on this very full week.

There are many thank-you notes to write.

Jody xx