This year was unexpected in many ways, but also exactly what I needed. For several years, life and business has felt like a rollercoaster with things constantly changing and adapting to business growth constantly. This year brought a bit more steadiness and for the first time in awhile, I didn’t feel like my plate was completely overwhelming and I could actually manage my responsibilities well. I haven’t made much time to fully process this past year and writing this down is actually helpful. I am going to share a few highlights of the year and then a little recap of the business in numbers! If you’re even reading this, thank you for being here.

Highlights of 2021:

We had a lot of trips over the summer and it was such a special (and busy!) season. We went camping, did a few beach day trips, we went to Tahoe with friends, we stayed at the coast with friends, and we went to Hawaii. Truly some of the sweetest memories from the year and I am so grateful for those moments.
Therapy. As much as weekly therapy has been probably the hardest day of my week, every week, it’s also been an incredible gift this year. I’ve struggled with some anxiety and other issues for several years and I’ve felt caught in a loop for many years. This year is the first time I’ve seen actual breakthrough and growth in my personal life in a long time and it’s made a change for my entire family. All glory to God.
Finding more balance in work. At the end of the year Joel told me I seemed much more calm and at peace than I ever have since starting my business. And that’s a major praise! It can mostly be attributed to hiring Tristin and her basically managing the studio! But I’d also like to take some credit for the hard work I’m doing in therapy and learning to manage my stress :) Overall, I’m grateful for a team that works well together and that helps take things off my plate. It was a big goal for me in 2021.
Motherhood. I’ve cried from joy and gratitude for my kids more in 2021 than I have in any other years. I love both the stages my kids are in and I truly love being their mom. I am so grateful for it. Knox is truly the most precious, sensitive, kind-hearted, caring, helpful little 4 year old. He’s already incredibly responsible and takes great big pride in making sure his sister is okay. He is smart, thoughtful, and intuitive. Sophie is a firecracker, hilarious, and knows exactly what she wants. She is spunky, cannot be left alone, and loves to carry a chair around with her so she can get what she needs. She is also in love with her big brother. I truly consider myself the most lucky to be able to watch these two grow up under my roof.

The Year in Review in Numbers:

The best-sellers from 2021 were the yellow floral glass, the rainbow glass, and the lemon glass. What! This year was the first year I introduced the glasses and they swept the top three best-sellers?! I cannot believe it. I am so excited to see how y’all like the new ones coming this year!
We shipped over 4.7 tons of packages, that’s almost 10,000 pounds of boxes shipped out of my little house and by my little team. I am so proud, and so so grateful.
We sold almost 10,000 units this past year and that’s almost 2,000 higher than last year. Bananas!
We had over 6,000 customers, many of them placing multiple orders in one year. I have the BEST customers and I am so so grateful for the people who continue to choose to support my family and my business. That’s YOU. I love you!
We took about 156 trips to the post office, but it’s probably more. The post office workers know Joel and me and we are definitely regulars. What a blessing.
One of my favorite reviews from this past year was this one: “Rachel's corner of the internet is a bright, beautiful, happy, and hopeful place, and she has managed to infuse this into each of her products. When I gift them, I feel like I'm sending love and sunshine along with each item." This was from Abigail G. and I am truly grateful for these words. It is my goal to always bring hope and happiness through my work and words.
I was able to track down the top orders from the past year and we had three customers who placed the biggest orders. In one single order, Nicole ordered $539 worth of products. She’s the MVP! Kendra spent $411 in one single order. And Glenda spent $294 in one order.

I am so grateful for these big milestones and goals achieved. I still have more places I want to go and more goals to achieve, but I am grateful to have experienced growth every year. Thank you thank you!

I’ve said it many times, but I will say it again: these numbers and goals achieved are only made possible by people like you choosing to support me. I love being able to use my business to (hopefully) spur you towards more joy, more hope, and more peace. I pray we can all experience more of those in 2022.

Some goals moving into 2022:

Grow in contentment in every area of my life. This is my word for 2022 and I am really focusing on growing in intentional contentment and finding joy in that place.
Gardening: I want to plant a small garden with Knox because he has great interest in it and I’d love to help him cultivate that practice. I’m also hoping to add some more landscaping to our back yard and plant more flowers and plants.
Expanding my shop and intentional growth: Every year I want to expand my shop and diversify my products, but I never seem to grow too much in that area. It’s always risky and scary so I never make much progress. I am hoping 2022 is the year of some breakthrough in this and that I can hit some new levels in revenue.
Read more, scroll less, write letters, turn off the TV. Most of the books I “read” are by listening on Audible so I’m hoping to actually read more pages this year. My goal is 4 paper books, 10 audible books. I will continue to take all weekends off social media as it has been the best boundary and has helped me to not burn out. Joel and I have decided to have at least one night a week where we don’t watch TV and hopefully spend those nights reading.