pansy dreams and goals for 2023
a little recap of 2022
things that went well
Overcoming a lot of doubt, uncertainty about Big Pansy, signing a very scary Dutch lease with a lot of legal jargon and no financial support whatsoever if we go into another lockdown
Spending the two months of lockdown (january and february) renovating, cleaning, organising and planning the opening of the bigger space - and getting to realise so many of my dreams for the space
Building a well-loved workshop program that is almost always fully booked
My social life felt full and exciting - going out to see my friends, eating dinner together, drinking a little bit too much
Pansy hitting some major financial goals which means we made an OK amount of money to survive! something I feel really really proud of!!
Having an incredible and steady solid team (Melly on shopkeeper & studio helper Friday & Saturdays, Chieri on Ceramic Sundaes and private workshops, Jo on email & administration Wednesday & Thursday mornings, Lisa on ceramic making every second month, and my amazing team of interns and helpers Michelle, SoYi, Chelle, Ilse, Carmen, Kim, Soesja) it means the world to have their support
Finding exercise that I like doing, which is spin class and reformer pilates (even though it’s really f hard)
Tried rowing club
Started business coaching with My Daily Business Coach
Listened to a lot of Fergie and really vibing “clarity, peace, serenity” a la big girls don’t cry
things that didn’t go so well
We got kicked out of our apartment in early February and only had 17 days to find a new place to live in Amsterdam with a dog - it was super chaotic, scary, all whilst planning and opening up big pansy
Allowing pansy to take up every part of my brain, which means friendships and personal relationships weren’t prioritised and I wasn’t as good of a friend/niece/daughter as I could and should be
Feeling constantly frazzled by not having a good morning/evening routine
Feeling annoyed very lack of exercise routine
Not prioritising my personal life with Ginger and Bobo (spending way too much time at pansy and way too little time at home)
Not having enough down time, time off, time to reflect, recuperate
Not prioritising time for personal expression, creative time, free making without thinking about selling
Squeezing a few too many workshops during certain weeks of the year where we would run up to 12 workshops in 1 week - that’s a lot! Feeling drained emotionally, physically, socially at the end, and getting sick from not taking enough time to break
general pansy goals for this coming year
Plan in good breaks (time for me to create personal work), and actual holiday breaks with Bobo and Ginger and friends
Get our garden looking super cute by summer so we can have fun summer garden parties and workshops outside!
Maintain strong relationships with other brands for sponsorships during our workshops or goodie bags
Keep and maintain an updated and beautiful website and fully utilise the functionalities that are offered
Utilise email marketing and automations more (not in a gross sticky sales way, but a genuine way to keep connected with our community)
Bring on extra help as I need it (Lisa to help with organising Tiny Festival, Cerian for website updates, Jo for extra admin, Carmen for glazing, someone to help with wholesale, event management and organisation)
Find and work with partner locations within Amsterdam to host bigger workshops
Work regularly (once a quarter) with professional photographer and videographers to make beautiful photos and content (for press, interviews, website updates)
To be published in more local/national travel guides, listings
To be published in international printed publications (magazines, books like Monacle travel guides, Courier Mag, Frankie)
Reach out to artists & brands I love to work with via collaborations, events, pop ups, projects
Stay on top of communications and emails (email, instagram & tiktok DMs, whatsapp) with help from Jojo (increase weekly hours of help)
Start a pansy book club for slow readers
Personal & Creative Goals
Look into getting a wheel to try throwing
Revisit and get back into printmaking (copper or aluminium plate etching, screen printing, draw and paint more)
Building a better weekend routine (Mondays and Tuesdays dedicate to rest, creative nourishment like going to museums, galleries, exhibitions, catching up with friends for coffee dates)
Make paintings for my friends
Learn about love spells, making potions, divination
Get through biz book club and actually read some books for leisure
Move into a different apartment with Bobo and Ginger that’s either on the ground floor or first floor
Keep moving my body, even during tiring and high stress periods
I often find it hard to set personal goals because I have a hard time separating my work and my personal life! Do you have some tips about it?
I wrote this list exactly this time last year (january 2022) of what I imagine success would look like for pansy, I thought I’d share it with you so you can see where my hopes and dreams come from and why I do what I do:
What do I envision as a successful business and what does that look like for pansy?
Feeling in love with pansy and everyday that I spend there.
Being able to reach these growth goals in a way that feels authentic, true and exciting for me. I don’t want to be told to slow down, but I want to make sure I am taking the right steps and thinking through the growth properly and what it will look like in 2 - 3 years.
Having an integrated personal life whilst maintaining my business - I don’t believe in work/life balance but an integrated work and life mash where I can say yes to friends, socialising, going to events, and not sacrificing social time and working through late evenings to catch up or feel stressed.
Being able to delegate larger and more important parts of pansy to trusted team members like Melly and Chieri, for example teaching workshops, ceramic sundaes, packing and sending orders, being in the shop by themselves.
Taking time off and not feeling guilty about it, and really enjoying the heck out of it because I need and deserve it.
Growing in a meaningful and sustainable way where I do not get burnt out from overworking. I don’t feel resentful towards myself, my customers or suppliers. I am organised, plan ahead, and work with the ebbs and flows of the retail cycle and feel prepared and not scatter-gun or frazzled about planning.
Having customers who will return and be excited to share their experience to their friends and family. When people ask “what’s cool in amsterdam?” pansy will be one of those destinations.
People recognising and appreciating all the small details that I put into the space, the packaging, the website, the copy.
Making sure I regularly check in with myself, my goals, where the business is at and listening to its needs and where the world will take us.
Financial security and stability, feeling ok about paying rent and my monthly expenses and not feeling stressed about tax time, and knowing that I can build a cash reservoir for pansy to re-invest in the business and myself.
Making the right investment choices that will grow pansy. Feeling confident and secure in those choices, like a proper marketing/advertising budget, paying my team members more, paying myself (hello profit first model), and having extra money to treat myself, my friends and loved ones to special treats
📸 friends and memories from 2022 📸
