It's a fun exercise to do, at the end of every year, to look back and look forward. Where have we been, and where are we going? What have we learned from our journey over the last twelve months, and what can we gleam from that as we make choices for the new year? My post from yesterday shares a little about what I learned personally this year, as well as the year Simplified had. I hope you'll give it a read.
Looking ahead at this year, Simplified is evolving. We're continuing to focus on growing deep (not wide) and on nurturing both our internal team and our community. You'll see, this coming Spring, that LAST Spring, we began to dip our toe into what the future of Simplified looked like, visually. When I founded the company, I was 25. I'm 37 now. I have three children and love cultivating our home. My style has evolved and changed and I'm inspired by different things now. Along with my design team (who we lovingly call Design Squad), we are very inspired by textiles, surface patterns, interiors, and wall coverings -- particularly those of the "grandmillennial" sort (someone described as a "new traditionalist, having a deep appreciation for the past" -- explained by Manhattan-based interior designer Ariel Okin in House Beautiful).
I consider myself a bit of a grandmillenial (though I might be aging out) and when we consider you, our Simplified customers, we also believe you have a discerning taste, an eclectic but polished style, and a love for things that hold meaning and history. The Simplified customer, like our team, is growing and changing. She learned a lot in 2020 and cried a few tears, but she's hopeful for 2021. And so are we.
My role with Simplified is also evolving -- I'll forever be the host of our Facebook Lives and the one to cast the vision for the company, but my incredible, incredible team is giving me the freedom to pursue the MEANING of Simplified (and how I can best communicate and teach the principles we abide by in my books and speaking) beyond the day to day operations. I'm excited for this evolution. Perhaps that is our word of the year -- growth, evolution, becoming.
Personally, looking ahead to 2021, I will be focusing on caring for my body, heart, and soul. Nurturing my faith as I feel very called there. Connecting in person with friends and mentors (Lord willing). Rooting myself further into our Pensacola community and serving where I can. Focusing my heart on the "discipline of mothering" (a phrase shared with me by a friend, that has inspired me in this last season of 2020).
So all of this to say, 2021 will be a year of digging in and also opening up. Rooting ourselves in what is unending and never-changing and also opening ourselves up to who we are becoming (myself personally and Simplified, professionally). I'm so excited for what's ahead.
xo,
Emily
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Enter to win a beautiful framed painting from Simplified's very own Jessa Bray. Enter by midnight EST on December 31, 2020. Winner will be notified in early January.
Also, my new book, Growing Boldly: Dare to Build a Life You Love releases on February 9! Pre-order here!
