Hello hello, I hope you are keeping well and happy. It’s getting cold here and we are preparing for our second lockdown so I am getting ready for weekends at home with a fire, a lapful of puppy and some stitching. (Maybe a nip of ginger wine too, for when it’s really cold.)
I am super thankful that you have been keeping me busy with your orders in my new studio this year. It has been an unsettling year for everyone and I have only recently started to get properly on top of my workload with help from my wonderful friends and family. I am excited to say, though, that I will have full-time help with The Stitchery from the new year and it cannot come quickly enough.
D R U M R O L L P L E A S E
After 30 years in the banking industry, my husband (Drew) has taken redundancy and will be working with me on a full-time basis from 1st January. He has been helping me outside of his day job for the last couple of years and we have often dreamed of being able to work together on all things stitchy. So we’re doing it.
I have so many ideas and projects I want to work on that I need help in actually getting the production side of things organised and that's where Drew comes in. He will be in charge of production and despatch so that I can focus on the things I love best; designing, teaching and connecting with my stitching friends online. I love teaching and whilst I now have a bigger studio to accommodate more people (when it’s safe to do so) I want to be there for my customers overseas and for those who love stitching but would rather do so at home in their spare time (fellow introvert here and I hear ya). Working with Drew means that I will have more time and headspace to focus on my online classes as well as retreats, in-person lessons and events next year too.
Obviously it is a big and scary change for both of us (we won't be buying diamonds or ferraris any time soon, that’s for sure) but we have worked together for years previously (we met at the previous bank we worked at) and got on well so I am confident that we can hang out at the studio together and not kill each other. *famous last words*
Many of you will have spoken to Drew already via email or met him when he was helping at one of the fairs we attend and I know that you will make him super welcome. He is lovely (everyone says so, not just me!) And, as, I overheard him saying to one of his colleagues the other day, "what [he doesn't] know about French knots, isn't worth knowing."
If you are waiting on orders in the meantime, please bear with us as we catch up and get through them, particularly as we enter lockdown again and things slow down for a second time.
Thank you for buying from The Stitchery and for continuing to support us.
Love
Nicki (and Drew). Eek. xx