The end of the year is conducive to introspection and to taking stock of the past year before starting a new one!
Moreover, it is an opportunity to celebrate the major events that marked the year coming to an end.
I find it very important to engage in this exercise (sometimes perilous) because we all tend to see the glass as half empty... whereas it is also half full! In short, we tend to remember the little daily annoyances while we quite quickly forget the "good and big" things that make our life enjoyable.
We look back at the year of C'est du Joly: the highlights; what went well, what was less good. It is also the time to rejoice in all the work we have accomplished with joy and good humor!
Let’s look at it together!
First of all, it is necessary to review our 5 resolutions for 2024, our guidelines for the year.
The 2024 Resolutions
- time and space management
- the development of C'est du Joly
- maintaining order
- training
- make room for the pleasure of sewing and embroidering for oneself.
So, did we keep these resolutions? Apparently some more than others 😂... Hummm... let’s see!
1. Resolution: Time and space management and maintaining order.
I took the liberty of grouping two resolutions that go hand in hand in my opinion: space management and order... and yes, at C'est du Joly space is really a top priority. Who would have thought when we opened the shop in May 2022 that space and the courses would fill up so quickly!
I would so much like to push the walls! No way, our Alibaba’s cave is not getting bigger but the offer is. We continued to look for a bigger space in our neighborhood but nothing for now: either the available spaces are too small; or they are way too expensive and therefore economically unfeasible! We do not lose hope but are a bit disappointed not to have big news to announce about the space at the end of 2024...
I keep tirelessly tidying up but you really have to open your eyes, it’s not enough... sometimes I feel like emptying the sea with a bucket!
No matter, I am persistent... I will surely find a solution!
Meanwhile, Gaetan and I, since we couldn't push them, made the walls grow! The sashiko offer having grown significantly; we put up new panels all the way to the ceiling 😂. Feel free to tell us what you want up high, the step ladder is never far!
Review: space management and tidying up: ❌
Time management has not been easy this year but I think we managed quite well!
We created new courses during the day and in the evening... some were very happy to be able to join the "free projects" sewing groups on Monday evenings, Friday afternoons, and Wednesday afternoons.
We also created themed workshops during the day on Mondays and Friday mornings but also on Tuesday afternoons.
All this naturally has an impact on agenda management and that is why Céline joined us full-time starting in March.
Today, we are at the maximum capacity of courses for our staff.
To be honest, it is time to recruit a new gem to complete the team. You may have seen the announcement in last week's newsletter. I no longer have the capacity to have a "real" day off per week... which is not good for taking good care of oneself.
Time management review: ✅ for the courses and 🍊 for self-management
2. Development C'est du Joly
This year has been very rich in development, especially with the creation of our "joly" coupons: 3m coupons, of very good quality, from end of stock. Since these are end of stock, we can offer you gift prices and that is great!
On the other hand, our patterns library has been greatly enriched with patterns in envelopes but also PDF patterns. In 2023, we only had the PDF patterns by Coralie Bijasson. Today, more than 20 pattern designers collaborate with us and it is very rewarding to be able to share and make known great pattern brands!
Finally, we have increased the store's offer whether in fabrics, haberdashery, embroidery, crochet, and knitting... we have increased the offer in materials, reference works, brands... and we are very very proud of it! Among the successes, I am really proud of our offer in sashiko embroidery, Japanese embroidery. I think I can say without blushing that we have the most beautiful assortment in Belgium!
We work with several brands to offer you a complete assortment of threads, hana fukin, panels, needles, thimble... and of course a great development point this year was our meetings with our Japanese suppliers.
I also had the chance to visit Daruma last May.
We also met new suppliers like Tulip whose needles, hooks, and hana fukin we now distribute.
Last but not least, I had the chance to be interviewed twice this year.
Once by Noémie from the YouTube channel LaFraiseSews. I played along 😊 not always easy to speak English on camera but Noémie was there to reassure me. A great moment of sharing.Find the full video here.
3. Training
Not always easy to find time to train... By the way, people often ask me, but don’t you knit? Well no 😂 I hold back... because it’s important for me to continue training in sewing and embroidery to offer you cool and "up to date" courses technically, modern and well tested, so I avoid spreading myself too thin!
Same thing for Marie-Hélène and Céline who focus on their respective creative arts.
The three of us are curious and interested in different techniques but we have to choose...
So this year, for my part, I continued my training in sashiko but I also started major revisions on patchwork because I was no longer really up to date 😂. I went back over my notes, my books, and researched the "current trends" for patchwork. I dedicated many hours to practical training to be able to offer you new courses in 2025 on this creative art that fits with our course offerings.
Marie-Hélène, for her part, thoroughly reviewed the women’s and men’s shirt to give you a picco bello shirt course! But that’s not all, in knitting we opened free project courses, socks, summer tops, mittens... in short, she hasn’t been idle!
Céline dedicated herself to crochet and offered you new courses in 2024: the top, the summer bag, the granny squares vest, the initiations and in 2025 you will be able to discover new themes like the shawl or "all about granny squares"... and much more, some surprises are promised!
Training review: ✅
4. The pleasure of sewing and embroidering
Let’s be honest... I lack time. Even if I try to plan, it’s not easy to be a busy female entrepreneur with a full schedule and a head full of ideas.
I still managed during the year to have more relaxed periods where I could sew and embroider for my own pleasure without any injunctions or deadlines to meet.
However, I would have liked a bit more "off" time to recharge, find inspiration and creativity, brainstorm...
I was able to sew models I wanted to sew but there are also many on the wish list that haven’t progressed at all. It’s just postponed.
I would still say that I enjoyed sewing and embroidering this year, I never felt obliged to do it and that is priceless!
So Pleasure review: ✅
Finally, a few little anecdotes we wanted to share with you for this 2024 review:
- our youngest student: 8 years old
- our eldest: 87 years old and he was a gentleman!
- the share of gentlemen in the courses and in the shop is increasing! Well done gentlemen, we are happy to see you among us!
- more than 30 creators of patterns are available in the shop and on the webshop
- more than 1200 fabric references including more than 300 references from Japan
- more than 20 themed sewing courses organized this year, crochet, knitting but also embroidery and sashiko
We are super happy with our year and we will continue in this direction in 2025. And you, what do you think? Don’t hesitate to tell us, we are always delighted to hear from you!
Get your needles ready!
