Well here we are in the Roaring Twenties!
I’m still Happy-New-Year-sing all over the shop. It’s so fun to say. And while we’ve been hard at work planning 2020, I’ve been musing over what I learnt in 2019. One of my new year’s resolutions is to not plan my life away, so in the spirit of preserving the moments, here’s my distilled list:
I’m still Happy-New-Year-sing all over the shop. It’s so fun to say. And while we’ve been hard at work planning 2020, I’ve been musing over what I learnt in 2019. One of my new year’s resolutions is to not plan my life away, so in the spirit of preserving the moments, here’s my distilled list:
I’ve learnt…
That sometimes, even if it’s only once a year, it’s cool enough in Yangon to want to wear a jumper in the day
That power cuts are a gift and responsible for the greatest creative sessions
That there’s a pagoda in Myanmar that looks exactly like Viennetta
That working on a product for 3 years to get it right is 100% worth it
That it’s impossible to go downtown in Yangon and not see something weird (eg. goldfish for sale next to the potatoes)
That you can eat awesome Burmese food in London
That receiving emails from customers saying how thrilled they are is almost as good as being told you’ve got a new niece
That people absolutely love an absurdly long shoehorn
That there’s a watch magician in Yangon who can bring watches back to life when nobody in London could do it
That children the world over are the same
That you can meet a deadline for a big hotel order if you get the whole village involved
That the gestational period of guinea pigs is really short, and they are a very incestuous species
That the Yangon team smash it even when they’re abandoned by their boss for 5 months
That the rest of the team smash it even when my “I’ll probably be back online after three weeks” turns out to be inaccurate by about three months
That it’s possible to run a business with team members in Burma, the UK, Canada, and Australia. (If anyone is reading from Africa, South America or Antarctica and wants to come on board, we can complete all 7 continents – CVs to hello@kalinko.com)
That sometimes mistakes are the best thing that ever happened (…watch this space for our Spring launch!)
That power cuts are a gift and responsible for the greatest creative sessions
That there’s a pagoda in Myanmar that looks exactly like Viennetta
That working on a product for 3 years to get it right is 100% worth it
That it’s impossible to go downtown in Yangon and not see something weird (eg. goldfish for sale next to the potatoes)
That you can eat awesome Burmese food in London
That receiving emails from customers saying how thrilled they are is almost as good as being told you’ve got a new niece
That people absolutely love an absurdly long shoehorn
That there’s a watch magician in Yangon who can bring watches back to life when nobody in London could do it
That children the world over are the same
That you can meet a deadline for a big hotel order if you get the whole village involved
That the gestational period of guinea pigs is really short, and they are a very incestuous species
That the Yangon team smash it even when they’re abandoned by their boss for 5 months
That the rest of the team smash it even when my “I’ll probably be back online after three weeks” turns out to be inaccurate by about three months
That it’s possible to run a business with team members in Burma, the UK, Canada, and Australia. (If anyone is reading from Africa, South America or Antarctica and wants to come on board, we can complete all 7 continents – CVs to hello@kalinko.com)
That sometimes mistakes are the best thing that ever happened (…watch this space for our Spring launch!)
And resolutions?
Get on the right side of the office cockerel (I fear impossible)
Get at least one 6 letter word each night from a random pick of 9 of the foam letters which have appeared in my bath since having a child
Be more like Jack from This is Us
Reduce time spent killing mosquitoes through improved accuracy
Increase the number of maker families we are working with to 200
Send more brownies
Either conquer the rats or conquer my fear of what exactly the rats are doing when we aren’t watching
Go to Naga Land
Make Kalinko the go-to company for anybody looking for sustainably made, beautiful homeware for their home and their friends’ homes
Lose 0 pairs of sunglasses
Get at least one 6 letter word each night from a random pick of 9 of the foam letters which have appeared in my bath since having a child
Be more like Jack from This is Us
Reduce time spent killing mosquitoes through improved accuracy
Increase the number of maker families we are working with to 200
Send more brownies
Either conquer the rats or conquer my fear of what exactly the rats are doing when we aren’t watching
Go to Naga Land
Make Kalinko the go-to company for anybody looking for sustainably made, beautiful homeware for their home and their friends’ homes
Lose 0 pairs of sunglasses
Happy New Year!
Sophie x
