OK, October!

Hey all!

Happy Halloween from Cape May! I was this close to skipping a month of blogging, but looked back and realized I’ve been doing it monthly for over a year, so I can’t stop now!

A little bee buzzing by a rose at local flower farm, Seashore Flower Farm

Candidly, my brain kind of feels like mush as I’m in a somewhat transitional phase between fall festivals and holiday madness. I gave myself the month of November to somewhat chill, as the December calendar is pretty busy with markets. This “lull” space is not one that I typically favor. I work remotely so if I’m not keeping busy, it’s really easy to slip into the phase of wearing pajamas 24/7 and losing drive and direction. Unfortunately, that is kind of what is happening to me right now. There are some personal circumstances that are also contributing to this that I’ll touch on at a later time.

I’m glad that I’m aware this little slump is happening, but snapping out of it is where the real work lies. Events season has slowed and I’m kind of just “waiting” for Christmas to come. In the back of my head, I feel like I could definitely be doing more to prepare and could be creating holiday buzz right now, but I’m finding it hard to maintain a high level of productivity. This makes me pretty apprehensive for what’s to come after the holidays when things really quiet down around these parts. What are some of your strategies to break out of a plateau? Also, side note but when the heck is it going to rain again?! Maybe that’s part of this too. Every day feels the exact same, like it’s groundhog day or something.

The bay is back to being deserted again, which is great for PM dog walks!

In POSITIVE news, my apparel lines have been doing really well at pop ups, to the point where I keep selling out! If you came to a fall pop up and weren’t able to buy a certain size, I apologize and am going to do my best to come with higher levels of inventory for holiday markets. I’m also thinking of transitioning into long sleeve tees for holiday too. It’s bound to cool down at some point, right? I’m so glad that people are enjoying the designs, especially the Cape May Bubble one, although that’s kind of taboo at the moment because it literally won’t rain.

I still have a few new seasonal products that I plan to introduce in the coming weeks. I am actually in search of a local potter to partner with as my main girl is in Paris until 2025 (envy, much?!). I am hoping to get you all a refresh of some festive handmade mugs and vases for the holidays.

I’ve decided fall wins for best season to walk through Cox Hall Wildlife Management area - so beautiful!

Otherwiiise, I’m coming up on 1 year of SL Shoppe. I feel really good about what I’ve accomplished but also know that there is so much more room for growth. The “end game” is still not clear, but is it ever? That’s a key takeaway from this past year. Your vision and goals are subject to change over time, whether they’re business or personal! Before I dove into SL, I felt like I had to have every nook and cranny of it figured out to get started. I would draft these super detailed business plans that I would start, but never finish because there were just so many parts that remained unknown! Running your own business, even one as small as mine, is all about evolution. Aside from that, one of the things I can say I’m most proud of is the community that SL has created. We have met so many kind, interesting, and talented people through it. It really helped my husband and I transition to life in Cape May and it still keeps me connected to Philly as well. The connections are something I’ll always cherish and want to hold onto no matter what. People in all facets, whether its customers at pop-ups, local business owners, friends or family, have been so supportive throughout this whole journey. It is really remarkable and I’m very thankful.

I’m glad I took the time to write this month’s blog because the reflection helped me to muster up some positive energy. This is the kind of stuff that will help me get through this “lull” time. And then you’ll catch me come November-December writing about how I am struggling to catch my breath. Life is funny, isn’t it? I hope this sparked some introspective thought and positivity for you too.

Until next month, friends! <3