We are back from another trip to the Atlanta Market and wow, it sure was great. We agree with our friend Brad (from maginating) in his assessment of "market" being like going to summer camp... you get together twice a year to see friends from all over the country, you share in an intense few days, then pack your bags and head for home until next time.

This year was no exception. We saw SO many friends—other amazing makers showing their work, and many of our dear customers. We met new folks who we now call friends. It's exciting, it's exhausting—it's worth it. Prepping for a show is no small task, ask any business owner. It take months of work to make the showroom space ready and look effortless. The team at Daniel Richards outdo themselves, creating a gorgeous space ready to help customers from all over the world buy what they need for their stores.

We hosted a little "Love is Paper" event this year, giving away signed and numbered limited edition art prints along with some Prosecco and chocolates compliments of our friends at French Broad Chocolates (YUM). Having a little something to give away and bring a smile to someones face fills our cups and always reminds us why we got into the stationery business to begin with. People connecting with other people.

Along with hosting the event, our new catalog was released along with our newest products and designs. Paint strokes, sweat, spellcheck and tears produced some amazing new additions to our range, including our absolute favorite of the release... wrapping paper! This product has been on our "can't wait to design" list for years... and it's finally a reality. We love seeing peoples reaction to the new goodies and hearing their ideas for what we should create next!

Switching Gears.

Now that Atlanta market is behind us, we want to share a little about the crazy last 6 months we will call "the process." As many people now know, we entered an exciting Licensing Agreement with our friends at Biely & Shoaf in Seattle, WA commencing July 1st. ( get all the deets here.)

Nicole and I have been working tirelessly building 2021 Co. from a fledgling online only store in 2018 to what we are now—a legitimate business which has grown beyond our wildest dreams. With all that growth came a LOT of learning and in all honesty, STRESS. We've known for years we needed to make a change and find the right partner that would allow us to keep running the business while taking some pressure off the two of us.

"The process" comes with many highs and lows. Lots of learning about ourselves, our business, and what we really wanted for our future. I think having gone through it, we ended up in a better place and more motivated than ever to bring 2021 Co. to the next level. What that means is more product and more time for personal connections with our sales team and our customers.

Even with our new partners in place, we still own 100%  of 2021 Co. I will still be designing every new product you see, and Nicole will be the voice of our brand and lead all sales and development. The only thing changing to our customers is pretty much nada. Our orders will now ship out of Seattle WA instead of Fall River, MA. If you don't look at the shipping label, you'd never even know.

As I write this, I honestly cannot believe we've made it to this point where we can share all this goodness. It may sound dramatic, but it feels a bit like what climbing Everest might be like, and now, we are finally enjoying the view from the top. We are so grateful to the folks who helped us along the way, the team we worked with to navigate this process, our incredible husbands, and family and friends who made it possible to reach this next stage of our business.

Thank you for sticking with us and we hope you will stay around to see what's next.

xo,

Emily + Nicole