IN 4 YEARS OF BUSINESS I JUST LEARNED THE GREATEST LESSON

IN 4 YEARS OF BUSINESS I JUST LEARNED THE GREATEST LESSON

This Saturday Ellery turns 4. I honestly cannot believe that 4 years have passed since I posted to Instagram announcing Ellery to my little world. 


I remember feeling terrified to share and hoping that it went unnoticed by everyone. Looking back I had no idea where this idea could take me and nothing is more terrifying than sharing a new idea that you have no real idea how you will make work. 

 

In all honesty, the last 7 weeks have been some of the hardest in the previous 4 years. I feel like Rocky and the economy, higher rent and this mid-west weather is my Apollo Creed. 


 The other day while talking to my sister told me that I was resilient. That word stuck out because I  feel like it’s more like stubbornness to make this work. After all, it is all I want to do. 


I think that being resilient is a lesson I have always been learning. In my life, I have been completely knocked down a time or two.

 And while it sometimes feels impossible, I know that I will always get back up.

 While it’s a hard skill to learn, I also think it might be my greatest strength. 


The last couple of weeks has been so hard that I have thought maybe I should just take a little break and do something with a stable income where I don’t have to be in charge of all of the decisions and not have to be in problem-solving mode all of the time while also creating content to share our shop with the world. 


Recently I have been craving time outside in the morning sun to see the animals and goldenrod on the trails. I have also been dying to get my hands on some fashion magazines. And find my roots in how I fell in love with the fashion world as a kid. When I was younger, I would pour over Elle, Vogue, and In Style and feel inspired by clothes and accessories and how you could create so many new looks and styles. 


Then today, I read a newsletter from Allie Lehman, where she shared about resilience. She shared that the writer said “ The more beauty in our ecosystem, the more resilient it is likely to be. When the ecosystem's energy has eroded some, one way to help restore it is to bring back beauty. It could be as simple as sending flowers, notes of sincere appreciation, or engaging in creative work.”


 Finding beauty is like finding gratitude. And that is one of the key ways to build resilience. 

 


Reading this floored me. It made so much sense. Whenever I feel like I have gotten the shit kicked out of me I seek out beauty. Whether it’s art in the way of books, tv, movies, or a walk in nature with a special playlist. Finding awe and something inspiring always gives me some perspective. This tracks my life and how I always find the need to see something beautiful. Whether it’s decorating my apartment, curating items in the shop for Ellery, or going on a long walk I find myself needing it daily. 


Knowing that beauty and resilience are linked feels inspiring to me, and maybe that’s why no matter how hard these last 7 weeks have felt I find myself being pulled back up and ready for more years to come for Ellery and to keep sourcing more beauty to share with the world. 

 

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