A 2023 Recap and The New Year Ahead
I’ll be real honest, New Year’s Eve and New Years as a whole have always given me a bit of anxiety. It’s a weird pressure (I have put on myself?) and it seems to creep in each year just when I think I’m over it. The weight of another year can be pretty heavy though, can’t it? An entire year passed… where did it go? What did I even accomplish? Did I make it meaningful enough? (cue the little dark cloud of anxiety). Thankfully, the past few years I’ve learned to let a lot of that noise go, turning 40 has its perks.
I do however think it is meaningful to look back on my year as a human and as a business owner, and make plans for the year to come. I like to create and align my business goals and think of new challenges each year, and I like to create space to connect with those I love. Looking back at 2023, I can say that I accomplished some small goals and paved the road for bigger things to come in 2024. I cannot WAIT for what is coming in 2024!
2023 was a year of letting the flowers speak for themselves. I stayed very busy growing, I overcame one of the toughest growing seasons on record, I had a remarkable amount of amazing CSA members, and we flowered for some really gorgeous weddings. Honestly, the early season almost broke me but I gained so much knowledge this year that it was almost worth it, lol. I definitely kept my head to the grindstone and plugged away; I stayed in my little bubble for much of the year, working really hard and staying focused. I learned some lessons and found more balance through it all.Some of the highlights were: having farm helpers that kept this farm moving and beautiful (I seriously cannot wait to see what this tiny but mighty team can accomplish in 2024!), donating more, and growing some new varieties that I absolutely loved. I had a January wedding and a December wedding, both of which were on my bucket list. We traveled for more weddings and visited some amazing venues, and flowered for some of the most amazing couples, I swear I have the sweetest clients. A major wedding bonus was flowering for a friend and a family member…designing and attending weddings for people you love is absolutely next level amazing.
All and all, 2023 was busy and quiet and amazing and balanced, but not risky or uncomfortable (which is good and bad). I think it was a transitional one, too. We are getting a new design studio which will literally revolutionize my organization, efficiency, and attitude! I have an amazing team and ideas to keep them super busy during the 2024 growing season, and some new partnerships that have lit a little fire in me. Needless to say, I will most likely work the hardest I have ever worked in 2024, all because of the quiet little seeds I sowed in 2023.
I’m heading into 2024 holding onto my hat! I’m going in knowing I don’t have a vacation week scheduled and intending to add WAY more to my plate. I also know that I have people I can lean on when needed because the flower community around me is beyond amazing.
Major thanks to YOU for being here! The most incredible gift that flowers have brought to my life are the people I have met. The customers and CSA members, the small business owners that have supported me, my flower friends that have become real life friends, the workshop attendees who I wish I could hang out with EVERY weekend, my wedding clients and many times their moms and families who are the sweetest….I’m so lucky that flowers have brought you all into my life.
Stay tuned for all the good to come in the new year, I think year six is going to be one for the books!
XO Dana
