It’s really easy to put off writing a regular newsletter when you own the company…you think, “Who cares what I have to say? Do I have anything to say? And even if someone cares, does it *pause for dramatic effect* contribute to the bottom line of selling our products?”

It might also be somewhat noticeable, to those of you who actually read this, or have been subscribed to this newsletter for a while, that I have not been personally writing very many newsletters in a while. Yes, I had a baby *checks calendar* in 2023, and I can most certainly admit that while I am the LAST person who wants to use that as an excuse — after all, as a good millennial girl, I grew up believing that I COULD do it all, and to do any less would be a failure of sorts…or, at the very least, a result of laziness. Yet…here we are.

I now have a 2.5 year old, it’s the start of 2026, I’m about to turn 40, and want to scream at every person who says that 40 is the new 30 that it most certainly is NOT. I especially want to yell at every influencer I’m now (suddenly) being served on IG who keeps bragging that they are 40, just had a kid, and are in the best physical shape of their lives. Personally, I’m still trying to figure out what “normal life” should look like as a mom and founder/business owner with a career outside of pretti.cool.

However(!), I just read Alison Roman’s first newsletter of the year — yes, I realize she published it a while ago — and apart from finding comfort in being able to relate to much of her postpartum experience (the depression, the difficulty sleeping, things feeling primally urgent in ways that are difficult to explain…and that it all didn’t start until 3 months after giving birth) I was encouraged to be a little more vulnerable with you, my audience (lol), to take a minute to reflect on what came our way in 2025, and finally, to share a little bit about what’s to come in 2026. But first, some context:

After years of having to actually turn down business opportunities (because we couldn’t keep up with demand), 2024 was really hard. So many of our longtime retail partners were struggling or going out of business, which accounted for a majority of our revenue at the time. The last (retail) trade show we did in February 2025 also turned out to be a total lemon — we were stuck in a really weird location, had horrible lighting, and almost no foot traffic. After that show, there was a lot of bootstrapping and soul searching. Could we hold on?

But things (finally) started to turn a corner in 2025. Our wholesale business — while not what it was — seemed to rebound some, we’ve been working a lot more within the hospitality and interior design industries on larger custom projects, and then (of course), there’s been all of you, who have bought directly from us online. 2025 was — by far — our best year for online sales. So, thank you! Really. (Really!)

I’ll be sharing more about these projects (and our recent trip to Paris!) in coming newsletters (this one is already silly long), so stay tuned, and…stay cool!

Love ya!