How are you all doing? I’ll be updating this post with new information due to COVID-19. You can also find updates on our Facebook and Instagram Page. Thanks.
Life before the COVID-19: We came back from Christmas Break with the busiest schedule we’ve had since starting our business 3 years ago. Words can not express all the good feelings I had looking at my schedule for the next few months. Booked till March. WHAT?!?! I think I even cried. We expanded our business on Etsy and shipped out our first piece to the East Coast. February came and midway through we all got sick. Then I was behind a few weeks. Then COVID-19 was getting worse and the anxiety started to set in. I didn’t want to disappoint my clients even more and have to push back the time frame so I worked harder. Noah, who works Full-Time for the Federal Govt, was working from home one day, pulled me aside and said he’d be working from home for a while. 2 days later school is shutting down for 2 weeks, then its till April 28th!! My building days had just become slim and life at home was about to get crazy and I knew I had to go into Mom and Wife mode.
Life at home: I’ll start by saying running a business from your home isn’t easy at times; the commute is great though. Just a few steps out the front door and I’m there. I’ve been a Stay-At-Home Mom for 11 years now and have battled Anxiety for about 8 years; right now, I’m doing ok. It’s a scary time right now, but I think the anxiety is also high because I don’t want to let clients down. I hate disappointing people, but I also need to put my family first. My son who’s 12 yrs old also has Anxiety, diagnosed at the age of 8, with other special needs. He’s required most of my attention these last two weeks. In order for Noah to have a good, calm and organized work environment, we knew after the first week at home we both couldn’t work at the same time. His job pays the bills, so it was a no brainer. I would just do my builds on the weekend. Our daughter who’s 14 yrs old, she has this isolation down. Teens around the world were ready for this, well some. She’s at the age where hanging out in her room is cool. Don’t worry she comes out for food. LOL! This our second week home together and so far it’s been an experience.
Guilt & Fear: This is something that I feel on the daily. I was sitting on the couch doing a puzzle with my son on Tuesday and all I was thinking about was all the builds I should be working on that are late. Or Monday while playing horse shoes I was thinking I need to finish the final coat on that build. It’s so hard to enjoy the activity you’re doing with your kids when you have all those builds on your schedule need to be done. I told Noah I want to build garden boxes while the kids are home so we have something to do. Then I backed tracked and changed my mind. Let me just say that all my clients have been good about waiting. I guess in my head I just fear I’ll have that one that goes off on me. Every one of those builds on my list I’m thankful for. Most of them are returning clients, some are new, some are referrals and some are out of state.
Outcome: In someway the COVID-19 will affect us all. Whether it be our family, jobs or businesses. I know the wait will be longer, but know the build will be great when it’s finished. I’d rather build you something great then something half-assed trying to get it to you faster. Im sure you’d like to have a great looking piece as well. Some things may change for us after all orders are done. We may have the same business now or things may get slower. Whatever happens we’ll continue to offer the best customer service we can. Raising a family and having a growing business has been a big learning experience, but just know we’ve appreciated every order and your patience. This started as a hobby years ago and turned into this great business and we’ve had the ability as a family to experience even more with some of the extra income this business has be able to offer, so our family thanks you! It’s a crazy time but try to find the JOY during this hard time.
Stitch & Stain co 
Leave a comment