It's been almost exactly a month since we relaunched the website and new collection, and I've been thinking about writing this blog for much longer. It's been a challenging couple of years both professionally and personally and one of the things I've found the most difficult is not being able to be open about everything that has happened along the way. I’ve always been a wear your heart on your sleeve kind of person and a large part of my brand was bringing you all along with me as I went about the business, but for various reasons I’ve not been able to do that for a while.
Closing the business in 2022 was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Although we survived the challenges of the pandemic, like many businesses we came out bruised and battered- only to be hit by the huge wave of Brexit. At that time 70% of our revenue came from the EU via our wonderful stockists, many of whom we’d worked with for years, and directly from our brides. Once again there is so much I can’t say (as this really isn’t the platform to get political), but the short version is that we tried to ‘get ready for Brexit’, we tried to make it work- even moving all of our operations from the UK into Germany at great stress and cost, but the lack of business guidance and any form of plan from the powers that be meant that Brexit was the gift that just kept on giving, or should that be taking.
I remember phoning my Dad towards the end of summer 2022 in floods of tears and saying, ‘I can’t do this anymore’. In reality that choice had already been taken out of my hands and financially- not to mention emotionally- we just couldn’t survive any longer. We’d been trading for over fourteen years and survived so many challenges, but this time it was just too much.
The journey from there to here has been a long one, and I probably would’ve put this out there sooner but other life challenges and a breast cancer diagnosis at the start of 2023 got me hiding away that little bit longer (I wasn't sure whether to share that, but am doing so to remind you to check your boobs ladies). I’m so so lucky to say that I’ve since had the all clear, but as the cliché goes when the bad shit happens it really makes you evaluate what matters and be thankful for all the good stuff.
I never thought I’d be back with my brand. I’d been gently working on other projects when conversations and questions got me thinking that maybe, just maybe I should think about it. In the end it all happened fairly quickly (because as another cliché goes, sometimes you just have to feel the fear and do it anyway), and here I am with a brand new- but reassuringly the same- brand. Everything else has changed- the company, the set up, the warehouse… I no longer have the amazing team I’d worked with for years, but I’m back to doing the thing I love most- designing beautiful shoes.
I wanted to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for all the lovely messages of support and encouragement I’ve been sent these past few weeks. As I said earlier, I wear my heart on my sleeve and- honestly- this is one scary ride, but I know I’ve done the right thing and as they say- falling over is an accident but staying down is a choice. And I’m choosing to get back up.
With love,
Rachel xx
