A Year of Fallowing: A Reflection on 2025

Usually I write on this blog at least twice a year to share my thoughts on running a small business and what I am learning, but this year was one where priorities shifted and some things got set aside so other beautiful things could take up room to grow. So many wonderful things happened this year in my business and in my own personal life, I can hardly look back on this year with any kind of regret. I came into this year knowing full well that things were going to have to look different, seeing as I was preparing to welcome my second child in the beginning of the year and making the care of my family the first priority. However, the thought of dropping my creative business altogether never once crossed my mind. While macrame is a source of income for me, it is also a source of life-giving activity and fulfilment. I didn’t know exactly what balancing it all would look like with the new responsibilities that a newborn and toddler would bring, but by golly, I was going to figure it out.

I came across a word at the beginning of the year which gave me a starting point of how I wanted 2025 to look. The word “Fallow” is used to describe a plot of land that is normally used for high-yielding crops that is left bare for a season so that the ground can rest and be replenished. This is so that it does not get sucked dry of all its nutrients and cause its growth to be less fruitful, or become ungrowable altogether. While in the short term it can seem like you are wasting time, resources, and real estate by just leaving the ground bare, it will in the big picture cause the plot of land to yield more produce for longer. When I looked at this word and its meaning, I knew this is exactly what I wanted to practice for myself in 2025. I knew I didn’t want to burn myself out trying to maintain my business at the capacity that I had been in the previous year, but I also knew I didn’t want to drop it completely. Going into 2025, I was determined to set my expectations for my business low, but keep it running in some capacity so that when I felt ready again, I could easily pick it right back up. For me, This looked like not trying to push sales, be present on social media as much, apply for all my usual markets, much less new ones, and pull out of shop locations that I didn’t have the capacity to upkeep. I made a post about it on my instagram at the beginning of the year to make my followers aware of my intentions for the year, and it felt good to be transparent with myself and those who follow my small business so that we would all be on the same page.

January was a flurry of wrapping up old chapters and making way for new ones. The first week was spent moving the remaining vendors out of my pop-up shop, Mountain Made, and cleaning up the space so that I could turn it back over to the landlady for future purposes. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to such an amazing chapter where I had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, all while being super pregnant and taking care of a toddler while still maintaining my own Meraki Macrame business. I stood in the empty space one last time after the floor had been swept and the windows washed of their whimsical chalk art and wished the space the fondest farewell. I will forever be grateful for the experience that the shop gave me, but I was also looking forward to a season of slowness and lowered expectations. My baby boy waited so patiently for me to finish up tying the loose ends together before he made his appearance at the end of the month. I welcomed my second baby into the world and retreated into the newborn bubble for a good 2 months where nothing mattered but staying warm, getting well, and learning how to function as a family of four. My Creative Space sat quiet and patiently as I nurtured my family and myself as the year progressed on. Slowly, I gained back a sense of time and rhythm and inched my way back into my work. At first, it felt foreign to get back into the routine of creating. I didn’t really know where to start, or how to show up on my social media pages again. Telling myself that I had never run a business while also taking care of two small children, I gave myself grace to show up however I could, and go from there. March brought my four year anniversary of running my business, and I did my best to celebrate the fact that no matter how many changes and challenges life had thrown at me, my business was continuing to grow.

I didn’t participate in any spring or summer markets, and I pulled out of a shop location that wasn’t easy for me to maintain in this new season. My online sales dropped significantly in comparison to the previous year. I worked where I could to keep my other shop locations stocked. My follower count dropped quite significantly. However, I knew full well these were going to be the results of taking a slower year. While there would be times I felt as though I was “Falling Behind” or becoming irrelevant, I made the conscious decision to not let it consume me. I would show back up when I was ready. Right now, my physical and emotional health were the priority as I learned how to be a mother to two.

May rolled around, and with the warmer weather and the longer days, I saw my energy rising and my desire to create rekindle. While I had been making my usual products and keeping my shop locations stocked, I was feeling the itch to CREATE something big and different. Normally, when summer rolls around, I am dealing with fatigue and early stages of burnout due to the flurry of spring market season coming to a close. However, I was feeling the opposite as I was coming out of a season of prolonged rest and break from work. I had the inspiration to create a tapestry series inspired by my love of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I had a stash of driftwood that were uniquely shaped, and I decided to use my creative skills and my love for the fantasy series to get back into the rhythm of making macrame. I decided to make this a summer project in which I would create unique tapestry pieces to represent a selection of characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and then release it to the public for purchase at the end of summer. This project breathed life into my creative spirit like I could have never imagined, and with every piece I completed, my confidence in my craft grew. I ended up making 12 tapestries to represent the characters Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf, Eowyn, Arwen, and Galadriel. To celebrate the completion of the collection and build up anticipation for its launch, I ended up doing a themed photo and video shoot At Roan Mountain with the completed pieces. I simply cannot stress how perfect it turned out, and I am so glad I spent the extra money to make the completion of the collection so special.

Once the collection launched at the end of summer, I was reinspired and refreshed to get back to my usual production. I had decided to get back into the market scene for the fall and holiday season, so that meant I needed to get to work on market stock. Not to mention I needed to make sure my shop locations were amply stocked. Needless to say, September hit me with a sense of urgency which motivated me to get back into the creative groove! During this time, I was also trying to pick my social media game back up. With a few good posts here and there, I was slowly getting back into the groove of content creating as well. I had the brilliant idea to make a reel series called “Your Granny Hobbies and What They Say About You.” What started out as a funny light roast of the basic granny hobbies turned into a viral 7 video series where I did a slightly roasty analysis of the granny hobbies which we all find dear. This reel series took off faster than your grandma’s famous cookie recipe, and I ended up gaining over 2,000 followers from it. This helped me reach over 10k followers on my instagram page, which I would have never imagined would happen. Along with all this exciting growth, I was also privileged with the opportunity to speak on my first podcast feature about granny hobbies, small business life, and the creative process. I would have never thought making silly videos about granny hobbies and their charms would have led to so many fun opportunities, but I am certainly grateful for it!!

October rolled around and brought with it my first market of the season. It felt strange to pull my tent and gear out again. While it had been less than a year since my last market, it still felt foreign to get back into the market groove after not participating in the spring market season. However, the market day welcomed me with the best weather, set up, and bustle of people. It felt good to be back in the market scene and sell my work to people in person. It was the perfect market to get my feet back under me and get back into the groove. I had 3 more markets over the next few months, and each one brought special joys and successes. Some did better than others, but none of them were flops or bad weather, which is something I will always be grateful for! I am so glad I took the leap to get back into the market scene for the holidays. I was tentative with the current state of the economy, my small children at home, and the big task of preparing stock for each one, but it all turned out for the best. I hope coming into 2026, I have more opportunities and ability to participate in more markets!

As I close out this year, I look back on it with such amazement and zero regrets. I accomplished so much not only as a small business owner and creative, but also as a mom and person. I am so glad I came into the new year with low expectations for myself, because I am coming out of it feeling impressed and proud of all I accomplished. I hope to keep the mindset of slow growth going into the new year, and building on the skills and opportunities that I have gained. I will be taking some time over the next few weeks to give 2026 some intentional thought and maybe some planning, but for now, I am grateful for all that this past year has gifted me with.

Here’s to fallowed ground, and growing slowly!