Brain Dump
It's been a Fall, yall
Guys, I have been LIVING in my brain lately, and sharing absolutely none of it with you. I apologize. Are you ready for a brain dump? Buckle up.
On my birthday, back in August, I found out I was pregnant with our second child (very much planned this time - thank goodness ;)), and about a week later, we went to Savannah for the most magical event to launch our new home line, SCAPE. (which, PS is currently 25% off this week only to get ya ready for Thanksgiving. Use code CHEERS) Two weeks after that, I flew to London for a really incredible retreat/camp experience where I taught a workshop and did all these really fun once-in-a-lifetime things with my amazing PR team, Birdie, alongside some other badass women entrepreanurs who I deeply admire. Two weeks after that, I flew to Chapel Hill for the most fun event called Design Matters where I got to design a nature-inspired Fall tablescape just for the hell of it, and all the proceeds from the event’s tickets sales went to the Fitch Family Comprehensive Pediatric Rehabilitation Program at UNC Children's Hospital. I basically now just want to design tablescapes for the rest of my life; it was so much fun. From RDU, I went staright to meet up with Ranna in Round Top, TX, for their Fall show, where she had already set up our booth, and I got to experience Round Top for the first time as a vendor. So much fun hanging with the other vendors and meeting so many lovely new friends of the brand! From Texas, I flew straight to a family wedding in Charleston, and finally got home a week later. We’ve had a couple of local events since then, and mostly, I’ve just been workin’. I’ve been trying to stave off the mom guilt of being gone so much from my toddler who I really love and enjoy spending time with and who really loves being with me and whose world is about to be flipped upside down next year. Trying to keep my mental cool during this first trimester of pregnancy (which thankfully, this lil boy seems pretty chill so physically I’ve felt great but that mental piece, arg) and hold off the weird mental burden that comes with running a business and being pregnant (I had a pretty hard pp time w my first), having a family and responsibilities, and wanting the best for the world and feeling disappointed when it doesn’t go the way that you hoped it would.
Two pretty big things happened in the world of MFM literally yesterday - we are negotiating the lease on an office space in Atlanta (we’ll hopefully move-in in December). It is a really precious tiny home in my neighborhood, which is wonderful considering my personal family situation in the next several months. Secondly, we extended an offer to someone to start working with us full time in January, and it was accepted! I can’t wait to introduce her to yall when the timing is right. Oh and bonus third thing, Garden & Gun kindly included our brand newly-launched-to-the-website baby rattles in their holiday gift guide! Aching for the digital version to be published so I can link the guide directly, but in the meantime, click above to go to their site.
So yeah, it’s been a really, really busy Fall. But despite all of that - despite all the busyness, and honestly, fun, that I’ve been having - it’s been really hard. As most of you have probably experienced (I feel like most of my readers are small business owners themselves), it’s been a very weird year economically. We are having a down year, which is the first time I’ve ever experienced that. I guess after ten years in business, it’s probably good to know you’re still always experiencing new things. We are working our tails off not to let the year end this way. And so, I am doing everything I can to support small businesses this holiday season with my Christmas purchases and client gifts and daily purchases, and I feel like it’s such a freaking broken record to say it but - it really does make a difference. If this is something that’s on your heart and mind this holiday season (the supporting small and supporting local), I would encourage you to explore that. It really does allow us to put food on the table - as trite as that sounds. (Side note that it’s pretty scary to admit all of this to yall here, but if there ever was a forum, this is it. I promised from the beginning that Shower Thoughts is unfiltered - it’s raw and it’s honest, and if you’ve been considering working with us or any small business this season, and if you have the means, please do. Simply put, we don’t exist without your support.)
Many of you know that I used to live in Asheville, it’s actually where I started this business ten years ago. We moved away in 2017, but it’s where I got married and is truly one of my favorite places in the entire world. Hurricane Helene has just been a devastation to Western North Carolina. So, I’m putting together a list of where I’m personally shopping in WNC for the holiday season if you want to follow suit (I welcome you to join me! I’ll publish it in my next Shower Thoughts) I already purchased our holiday gifts for clients (spoiler alert if you worked with us this year) from French Broad Chocolates and Poppy Popcorn, as well as some holiday puzzles for my daughter from Malaprops. I’m really excited to get those in to the hands of our incredible custom clients and friends of the brand this season and keep spreading the love of small business this year.
Woof, lots going on. I know lots has been going on with you guys, too. Sorry I’ve been absent on these Shower Thoughts posts. We re-upped our Monday Lives in Instagram yesterday, and we’re working on getting back into our rhythym of marketing the brand. I’m excited to see what the next month and a half will bring. I’m excited to plan some more fun events where I can hopefully meet more of you IRL next year (if you want me to come to your city - get in touch!!). Alright, that’s it for my brain dump today - share a WIN in the comments!!
So much love,
Mary Frances
What’s In My Ears: Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning (prepare the giggles)
Ahh, congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope your little boy is growing healthy and strong! I'm very excited for all that is to come for you both personally and professionally next year. (An office in the neighborhood?! That's so awesome!!) Also, you totally inspired me and I am giving all of my kids' teachers/therapists/etc. Poppy Popcorn. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so candidly. I love your blog!