Every year on my birthday, I take a minute to think about what's changed since the last one. Sometimes they're big things; maybe a new child has appeared, possibly a new home. Or they're small; I've got really into paneer, or had an unexpected funk renaissance on my Spotify feed.
The ones that I'm usually most pleased with are the silly things I have taught myself to care less about, or where I've managed to focus more on the important things that actually impact my life and give me joy: story time with my children, useful chats with my dad, going outside within an hour of waking up.
Of course there are always things you'd hope you'd have achieved by now. Clearing out your wardrobe. Sending more thoughtful cards to friends. Working through the books on your bedside table. Placing at least $400 of orders each month with at least 500 crafting families across Burma.
But not having achieved something doesn't mean it's never happening. I've had a crack at the wardrobe, sent at least one new home card, read more than one book. And most importantly, placed a lot of orders with a lot of crafting families across Burma.
When the world is turning in unexpected ways, you have two choices: one, rile against it and shout and scream and get cross that your plans aren't working out; two, accept it and work with it as best as you can. We are not where we wanted to be after 6 years. But neither did we factor in a global pandemic, a catastrophic military coup in Burma or a cost of living crisis when we wrote our original business plan. Three nice successive knocks for our logistics, supply and demand. I suppose it's kind of the powers that be not to leave anybody out.
Last year's birthday email spoke about the confusing political landscape in Burma. This hasn't got any clearer over the past year and has only been complicated by the wider global climate. But as always, our longterm plans remain crystal clear and we will continue to keep our jaggery-fuelled sugar levels up and carry on.
So rather than lamenting where we aren't, today I'm celebrating where we are. Alive. Still placing orders each month with people who have little other income. Still sending out beautiful homeware to thoughtful shoppers. To people who live and give consciously, and understand the impact their spending has at the other end of the equation, however little or large. By way of celebration, we've dropped our UK shipping charges until Sunday night with code: 6TODAY. Enjoy!
