Etsy Anniversary Times Two!

The first day of advent, I must rush to the loft and get down Ishi’s Advent House. As is the norm this year, we are woefully unprepared to mark the beginning of the festive season. The 1st of December is a special date for me for another reason, it marks my 1 year Etsy-versary, can it really be a whole year since I listed the first items in the Lou Lou & Oscar shop? Another shop is celebrating its one year milestone today as well, what an incredible year it has been for Margie and Resurrection Fern. Happy Anniversary Margie! In case you didn’t know, Margie was the first person to make a purchase from Lou Lou & Oscar, a Catty Catty, really who could ask for a more generous and appreciative customer. I didn’t know it that day but Margie would become such an important presence in my life, supporter, confidante and most wonderful of all, a very good friend. I am going to stop now before I get all teary!

There is someone else I must mention today, really a huge source of inspiration, incredibly generous and an all round good egg, did I forget to mention that she also makes some of the most beautiful pieces of art it is possible to find, ok, now you know who this is! Thank you Nicole, Miss Astulabee, I don’t think Margie would have found me on day one without your sweet blog shout out about LL&O.

Nicole was also responsible for bringing another amazing person into my life, lovely Mathyld, aka Encore Petite, it is true to say we bonded over our love of all things Astulabee, happily the first meeting of the Astulabee Appreciation Society (European Branch, don’t you love our acronym!-Ha) went swimmingly, pictures will arrive here at some point soon.

So, a happy day to celebrate the wide web of connections and alliances this year has brought. Hello to all of the lovely people I have *met* since LL&O began. Now I am a little teary! There will be quite a few changes coming up in the next few months, our family circumstances are changing, I need to become more *professional* and self-aware, fresh starts all around. Urgh, price rises too, I hate to do it but if I stand any chance of keeping LL&O viable I have to. I know that pricing is an issue many of us struggle with, undervaluing our time and our work. As a UK based maker it is hard to be competitive in North America, I will do my best. I hope that our change in circumstances will allow me to try out other ideas and avenues to keep LL&O running smoothly, this is so exciting and a little nerve wracking, more about this nearer the time. Oh, secret squirrel!

I’m sorry not to have any big celebration or giveaway planned for today, when my new plans come to fruition I will make up for my lack of planning then. I do have a special little interview coming up later though. Be sure to check back to see who is joining us. I will be taking a break from LL&O over the next few weeks to prepare for christmas, spend some proper time with my boy , catch up with long overdue email and get those images of Paris up. And yes, that is another work by Lizzy Stewart at the top of the post, I am so obsessed! Happy December my friends.