Here we are, MONTH FIVE! When we cautiously closed the studio to shelter in place in March, never could I have ever expected we’d still be patiently waiting for our work to begin again five months later.
Yet here we are.
Those first few weeks here in the Northeast were anxiety filled to say the least. Much of my day was spent working on rescheduling just about an entire season of weddings into 2021. On top of that, I was still taking phone consultations for new weddings.
While much of corporate America got a break from their commute, worked from home in sweatpants and continued to have paychecks as the weeks turned into months, the #liveeventsindustry watched their annual income vanish within mere weeks.
I’ve had a time or two with trauma in my life personally, and having been in business for 16 years, I’ve seen the ups and downs of the economy and worked around some difficult times. But this was a never before seen whammy that we are all still trying to navigate. (How I hate that word now.)
Never one to sit idle for long, I made sure we were available to our local clientele. While about 90% of our business is the world of wedding flowers, we do local orders and deliveries too. Always have. So it was a busy Mother’s day and I was so grateful to our local clients. We even had one of our couples drive up from Greenwich to buy bouquets! It was just what me and the Hana girls needed to refuel our souls.
Knowing that was only one holiday, I decided to create a flower subscription for the summer, which has personally kept me active during a season of so few weddings.
And just as we were all adjusting to “new normals”, George Floyd was killed and America had to finally become accountable to the social injustices that continue to prevail. I have to say, I was having a really hard time for a few weeks. Everything felt so trivial. It was a time for reflection, education and working towards being part of a solution. I recalled my own childhood and my own experience of racism, as well as recognizing my own tolerances of ‘acceptable racism’ as an adult. These are tough pills to swallow but that is what growth is.
And here we are on the cusp of August, those late lazy summer days. We have our first full scale wedding coming up and we can not wait. We’ve had the most charming petite weddings recently and we have a few more on the schedule before the wedding season “officially ends”.
Then what? While I don’t know fully, I know that I can’t keep this business still. I can’t just take a break and wait until next year. Even if I wanted to, it’s just not who I am. We will absolutely have holiday centerpieces and wreaths when the time comes, and I even plan to make deliveries down to the Fairfield county area so stay tuned!
2021 season is looking out of this world and we are still booking. We are booking into 2022 as well. I can’t tell you how ready we are for a busy season. I can’t tell you how we will relish the lengthy hours and the rush we get when we set up. I can’t tell you how much I miss seeing our brides and our vendor friends. Truly miss you all.
However this year ends, one thing I know for sure, I have the patience to wait. I will wait for the tide to turn again because it always does. While I can say with certainty that 2020 will go down as one of the worst years, there are some silver linings. It’s been a time for relaxing at home, catching up on projects, gardening, reading and endless dog walks. Those are all good things and much appreciated during an uncertain time. BUT, I miss what I do. We miss what we love to do. It’s a hard lesson to patiently wait, but we will.
Sending all the positive vibes your way. Stay safe everyone.
Xo
Yumiko