Seven years of Blue Ticking! I can't really believe that we have reached this point, but I do feel incredibly grateful and proud. This last year has been such a whirlwind of emotions that I haven't had much of an opportunity to think about or process what's happened. Realising our birthday was approaching however has focused the mind and given me an opportunity to look back. There have certainly been challenges but there have also been some real positives which I also want to share and celebrate.

The Challenges

Realising I couldn't do everything!

When we went into the first lockdown I was mainly at home with the children trying to tackle home schooling. Like many others I found the juggle hard and had to try and come to terms with the fact that I couldn't do everything work wise that I normally do. I'm not sure I ever really adjusted to this, there was always a constant underlying guilt of not doing enough either with the children or work.

I also found that I was having to be reactive as opposed to proactive. Plans had to be changed or delayed and I just had to focus on responding to enquiries, fulfilling orders and finding more stock.

Sourcing stock

Another thing we found hard was sourcing more furniture. All of the usual fairs we go to weren't on and traders were unable to travel to the UK. We buy a lot of our desks and industrial furniture from Europe so this was obviously a big hit. Things eased over the summer when everything opened up again, but it obviously all changed once more pre Christmas and proper trading is only now just starting to resume. We went to our first outdoor fair last week and though great, all the overseas traders were missing due to the virus and Brexit. Hopefully this will change, but it's obviously a challenge not being able to buy from our usual dealers.

Brexit

I touched on Brexit above and this is an ongoing challenge for us. We are fortunate that we don't send goods overseas because it's not practical with bigger furniture and the costs involved. We do however buy from overseas traders and because of all the new taxes, customs rules and forms to fill out it's proving a bit of a minefield! Hopefully this will be resolved but until it does we fear many traders won't make the journey over and if they do prices will no doubt increase to reflect this.

Not being at the studio

Not being physically at the studio was also a challenge. I missed the environment and being able to easily talk to John about goods and what needed to be worked on. He would get multiple calls in a day asking him to measure or check a desk or take photos for me. The latter he hated doing as I often asked for a better one!!! Everything just felt like it took longer and was more involved.

The Positives

I can spend too much time focusing on the negative or what hasn't worked. Though the last year has been tough for lots of reasons, there are also some real positives to take from it.

John being at Blue Ticking more

John not being able to work was a huge worry at the beginning. We were an income down and in the first lock down we had no idea whether people would still buy from us. Luckily they did which meant that John was at the studio every day trying to get orders out and work on new goods. It has meant that his move to work more at Blue Ticking has been accelerated and the last year has given us the confidence to speed that process up. Inbetween lockdowns it has also been nice for us to spend more time together in that environment and bounce ideas off one another.

Building relationships with new traders

Whilst finding stock proved an issue because are usual overseas channels had been stopped, it did force us to work harder to find new goods. As a consequence we have built relationships with lots more UK based businesses and that has been really lovely and is most definitely a positive.

People continued to buy

We were also very fortunate that we were selling goods that people needed during lockdown. Desks have always been super popular and our best seller and due to working from home and home schooling demand increased. We spent a lot of time frantically trying to source more desks in every size and style! Storage solutions were also really popular as families were spending more time together at home and needed help with trying to manage the chaos that lockdown brought!

Below are some of the desks which we sourced from UK dealers during the last year.

It's also been lovely to see lots of them in your homes and here are a few of our favourites!

Finding someone to help me

Something I have been wanting to do for some time but never quite got round to it, was to get someone in to help me with various social media, admin and research tasks. I have always been a bit nervous about doing it and relinquishing some control, but due to me being at home and not able to do everything I had planned on my own, the time came to take the plunge. I now have a virtual assistant to help a certain number of hours each week and it has been a real game changer. It's lovely to know the extra support is there and I don't have to try and manage everything on my own. It's also great to hear another perspective other than John and I and bounce ideas off someone who isn't as close to the business.

Revamping the studio

Even though things were extremely busy, because John was around more we did manage to rearrange our studio and create a totally separate photography area. It doesn't sound like much of a big deal, but pre doing this I was having to move furniture out of our studio area just to take photos. It was time consuming and laborious and not the best use of the space. We now also have a totally separate show room area that is solely dedicated to displaying our goods. We managed to get Edith and Maggie involved too by helping to create a backdrop to show off our print collection. They love coming to the studio and feeling part of Blue Ticking and loved it even more when we said they could throw paint around!! The space works so much better for us and taking photos is now a lot quicker and more enjoyable!

Spending time together!

Like every parent up and down the country we were thrown into home schooling and all the difficulties that brought. It was by no means plain sailing but it did enable us to spend more time together. It's time we will never get again and though I would rather they had been thriving at school I will take away some real positives and highlights from our shared lockdown experiences. We ventured on many a walk and discovered new trails, had some wonderful and simple days out, played with lego and Sylvanians until the cows came home, celebrated some big birthdays, had fun in the snow and enjoyed our own back garden like never before! Children can be hard work but they are also resilient, funny and inquisitive little people that keep you on your toes and help you understand what it's all about!

It's certainly been an interesting year with some real highs and lows, but I am just over the moon Blue Ticking is still going and so grateful for all our wonderful customers and your support. Here's to another (hopefully easier) year!