At first I felt frustrated and unnerved by all the uncertainty. Then disappointed that I couldn’t go, then relieved that I made a decision, then exhausted, then anxious that I wouldn’t be able to sell everything I needed to. For this small business, the majority of income for this year was hinging on three events. Six days. Three of those days happened to be Halifax Crafters, which I didn’t attend, because I couldn’t get there. Between 150 and 200mm of rain fell on the south west coast of Newfoundland within one day around November 24th. Many people were scared for their property, pets and safety. The Trans Canada highway was washed out in 4 main places, the ferry was rerouted, the premier showed up and helicopters were offered (to me too). Climate change is real, and scary.
After driving just under 2,000km, I wound up back where I started off a week earlier, parked next to my studio on Water Street. I unloaded the 1,030 goods—candles, soap—I planned on selling and felt utterly deflated. Panicked really. The sale of these items represents two months of operating expenses for a time of year we bring in very little—January, February and March. It represents keeping myself and another person employed with living wages and benefits. It represents supporting other local businesses who we collaborate with for our seasonal collections. It represents 10% of a downpayment on a house for our affordable housing project, Same House—Better Homes. It represents the ability for Yorabode to expand, getting our goods further off this little island, and offering another great job to someone in this community.
If there’s anything that small business owners are good at, it’s rolling with the punches, accepting what’s not in our control and adapting quickly to make things work. So, I have made a plan. It offers you real value, but also enables me to recover from this unexpected loss and keeps Yorabode on track this year.
We’ll cover the cost of shipping for orders over $39.
We’ll offer free botanical gift wrapping in our studio
We’ll open up our studio (upstairs at 177 Water St) on December 11 + 12, noon to 4, tax free with limited edition ceramic tumblers available and a free gift to the first folks through the door on Sunday
We’ll do up beautiful options for gift cards and mail them for free
We’ll give away some extra goods, to those in need
Every time you bring Yorabode goods into your home, or send them along to someone else, it helps us keep this dream alive. Before I went into business, I didn’t really see these kinds of stories shared. Now, I hear these kinds of stories all the time. It’s really tough to run a small business and I feel really lucky that I get to continue to do it, three years and counting. I hope that sharing this story could help you feel less alone, understand what goes on behind the scenes, and know how much love we pour into what we do. Thank you for continuing to support this dream. I really really really appreciate it!