2014 In Review + End-of-the-Year Gratitude

I saw another blog where the author used the word "memorable" to describe 2014. I am going to use it, too. It seems like the mildest way to describe a year that was nearly too much for me. So much change (moving twice, Erik's new job) and a few legitimately tough life things (unexpected expenses, chronic health issues, my parents and cat moving 3 hours away). Of course, 2014 was also full of joy– I got engaged in March and married in August, as well as paid off the last of my student loans– but as a whole it seemed entirely too overwhelming.

[The tattoo in the photo above is my present to myself for surviving the year– a reminder and a mark, because things will never be the same. Side note: it seems that since college, every three years I have a traumatic year. 2008, 2011... 2014. :/ I have a tattoo from each of those years.]

But enough about the circumstances swirling around in my personal life. And I'm not just saying that because this is my business blog– it's because House of Moss has been a rock for me this year. It truly brings me so much light in life: it's something I can turn to for distraction, success, and a sense of control. My business is like a safe little corner of the world where things make sense, where the energy and care I put in grows into something worthwhile. In many ways, 2014 has been House of Moss's best year yet.


Here are some notable highlights of 2014 for House of Moss (in no particular order):

• I introduced heart garlands, seedlings in gold pots, chicken ornaments, and new colors of cottage ornaments and pebbles in the shop.

• I interviewed 8 local makers for my blog series, We Make Portland Awesome.

• I finally joined Instagram.

• My work showed up on the Etsy Front Page 5 times, including twice in one day!

• I made it to my gross sales goal for the year– my highest ever– as well as my goal of having 400 active listings in my Etsy shop, and 1000 sales in my Etsy shop!

• I opened other online storefronts at Storenvy and The Scoutmob Shoppe, and on the wholesale site Self to Shelf.

• My work was featured in a Scoutmob email blast, a promo video for The Happy Cabin in Australia, in Presents of Mind's Valentine gift guide, on The Frosted Petticoat Blog, on Faerie Magazine's website, on SpoccaDeals, as Scoutmob Shoppe's holiday section header, in Alpine Lily's holiday gift guide for hikers, and in Retailing Insight Magazine. My website was featured as part of a promotion for a SnapPages/SquareMarket integration campaign.

• I was interviewed as a featured brand on Storenvy, in a Storenvy email, on the OPB website, on Tender Loving Empire's artist page, and on the Anna Attard blog, and some of the business tips I submitted were included in an advice post on Create & Thrive and in an article for the Etsy Seller Handbook.

• I cultivated relationships with quite a few wonderful new stockists across the country.

• UncommonGoods picked up my acorn ornaments for the second year in a row.

• I participated in Crafty Wonderland's Spring Sale and Holiday Sale, as well as 6 other holiday shows around the Portland area.

• I celebrated my anniversaries of 1 year self-employed, and 4 years in business.

• I finally launched my official website, HouseOfMoss.com!

...So, as you can see, I channeled all my frustration and angst from 2014 into my business, ha.


But I also want to emphasize that, while I am a one-woman business, I am so grateful for the support and opportunities extended to me by my network of awesome family, friends, and fellow handmade business owners (alliteration!). And my wonderful customers and stockists! You guys are so positive and encouraging. There are many reasons why I love running my own creative business, and the support of this community is definitely one of the biggest. Thank you for following along with me and House of Moss.

Much love and smooth sailing to everyone in 2015! <3 <3 <3 <3

End of the Year Gratitude + 2013 In Review

Happy 2014, friends! As you can see, this post is a few days late. A mid-week holiday is crazy-making enough, but add to that being out of town from early morning the day after Christmas till an hour before midnight on New Year's Eve, plus the general exhaustion of the last couple of months, and I'm experiencing a kind of unpreparedness and lethargy unmatched in recent memory. I cobbled together my New Year's Resolutions on January 4th, and so enter the year with a rather strong sensation of being "behind" somehow.

However, as I process the past year, I am struck with a strong feeling of gratitude and accomplishment. The year was better than I'd hoped in many ways, and my business met or exceeded almost all of the goals that I set at the beginning of 2013. Some of those numbers felt challenging and/or arbitrary, but somehow they came together at the end of the year. I made "hopeful" goals (like sales totals) and goals that I could control (like how many blog posts I should publish during the year). I worked very hard, and I'm also glad for the bits of luck that helped me along.

2013 was a year of growth, for sure. I expanded my product lines, created new packaging, made a new sign and mushroom display for shows, completed my largest order ever, participated in my first out-of-state show, began offering House of Moss wholesale, opened a shop on Square Market, refined the We Make Portland Awesome Project, quit my day job, celebrated House of Moss's 3rd Etsyversary, was invited to sell on UncommonGoods.com, won a copyright settlement against a large corporation, attempted a more extensive holiday show schedule than ever before, and was featured on the Etsy Wholesale blog.


But the successes I experience are not just a product of my own efforts. Alongside me, I sense a large number of other people whose support has meant the world to me and my business. To these people and many others, I would like to express my deep gratitude:

To Erik: Thank you for your unwavering confidence in me and my business. Thank you for bringing me coffee, for insisting on helping me out at shows even when I say I don't need it, and for making me take breaks.

To Mum and Papa: Thank you for supporting me all along, and for providing for my basic needs while I've grown my business.

To Karl and Nancy at Allegra: Thank you for your flexibility with my schedule while I worked there, and for graciously and supportively letting me go when I decided to take House of Moss full-time.

To Torie & Cathy of Crafty Wonderland: Thank you for creating the kind of local atmosphere where handmade is respected and appreciated, and for putting together the best shows in Portland!

To all the shops and shopkeepers: I love all of you! Your friendly faces make my errands so much more enjoyable.

To my fellow makers: Thank you for the inspiration that your stories bring to me. Thank you for the "shop talk," commiseration, and encouragement!

To all those with whom my work has found a home: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for supporting the handmade community and, more specifically, for supporting me and my business. I love meeting people who "get" me, who share smiles or kind words, or who bring pieces I've made back to their homes. You all make this possible.


2013 was a good, full year. 2014 is looking to be great too! Thank you to everyone who has followed along with my business. I'll continue to keep you posted. :)

2012 in review

This year has been a good one for House of Moss. I've seen my business grow by leaps and bounds. I've worked harder than I've ever worked. I've become more confident. It's been a rather "nose-to-the-grindstone" type of year, but when I look back I am happily surprised by some of the things that this hard work has accomplished:

1. BLOG: I began the "We make Portland awesome" series on this blog. Since beginning this project, I've hosted interviews from 42 amazing local makers. I've absolutely loved getting to know our handmade community, and I've made some real friends through it!

2. SALES: I met (and blew right past) my sales goal for the year.

3. WHOLESALE: I opened my first wholesale supply-purchasing account. This was a big deal and it kind of felt (haha, felt!) like I'd "made it" as a real business.

4. SHOWS: I did my first outdoor show (Arts Festival in the Forest, West Linn) and did 5 holiday shows in 5 weeks. I sold at both Crafty Wonderland's Spring and Holiday Sales. I learned that it's okay to leave early from a show if it's just that bad.

5. SHOPS: I expanded my local boutiques with seven new ones: The Blind Insect, Mag-Big, Little Things, Paper & Petal, Aster & Bee, Memento, and Hammer + Vine.

6. PRESS: Just this past week, I was honored to be featured in an Associated Press article about felting as a craft. It was published all over the country, including in our local paper, The Oregonian!

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and amazed at what can be done in a year. I'm sure that many of you can relate to this: So many days spent working alone for hours on end, shipping never-ending amounts of packages, taking photos, tweaking Etsy listings, applying to (and sometimes not making it into) shows– and then one day you look back and see how far you've come.