The end of the year is a good time for introspection and to take stock of the past year before starting a new one!  

Besides, it’s 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 tricky) because we all tend to see the glass as half empty... when it’s also half full! In short, we tend to remember the little daily annoyances while quickly forgetting 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’s also the time to celebrate all the work we accomplished with joy and good spirits!  

Let’s look at this together!

First of all, it’s necessary to review our 5 resolutions for 2024, our guiding principles 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 yourself. 

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 love to push the walls out! No way around it, our Alibaba cave isn’t getting bigger but the selection is. We kept looking for a bigger space in our neighborhood but nothing so far: either the available spaces are too small; or they are way too expensive and therefore economically unfeasible! We haven’t lost hope but are a bit disappointed not to have big news to share about the space by 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 find a solution! 

In the meantime, Gaetan and I, since we couldn't push the walls out, made them grow! The sashiko selection has grown a lot; 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 hasn’t been easy this year, but I think we’ve done pretty well! 

We have created new courses during the day and in the evening... some were very happy 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, as well as Tuesday afternoons. 

All this naturally impacts schedule management, which is why Céline joined us full-time starting in March. 

Today, we are at full capacity for courses with our current staff. 

To be honest, it’s time to recruit a new gem to complete the team. You may have seen the announcement in last week’s newsletter. Once again, 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. C'est du Joly Development

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 items. Since these are end-of-stock items, we can offer you gift prices, and that’s fantastic! 

On the other hand, our pattern library has been greatly enriched with paper patterns but also PDF patterns. In 2023, we only had Coralie Bijasson's PDF patterns. Today, more than 20 pattern designers collaborate with us, and it’s very rewarding to share and introduce you to great pattern brands! 

Finally, we have expanded the store's offerings, whether in fabrics, haberdashery, embroidery, crochet, and knitting... we have increased the range of materials, reference works, brands... and we are very, very proud of it! Among the successes, I am really proud of our sashiko embroidery selection, the 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 range of threads, hana fukin, panels, needles, thimbles... and of course a major development point this year was our meetings with our Japanese suppliers. 

I was also lucky 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 was lucky to be interviewed twice this year. 

3. Training 

It's not always easy to find time to train... By the way, people often ask me, don’t you knit? Well no 😂 I hold back... because it’s important for me to keep training in sewing and embroidery to offer you great and "up to date" courses that are technically modern and well-tested, so I avoid spreading myself too thin!

The same goes 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 to my notes, my books, and researched the "current trends" for patchwork. I dedicated many hours to practical training so I can 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 focused on crochet and offered you new courses in 2024: the top, the summer bag, the granny square cardigan, the introductions, and in 2025 you will discover new themes like the shawl or "all about granny squares"... and much more, some surprises are promised! 

Training report: ✅

4. The pleasure of sewing and embroidering

Let’s be honest... I lack time. Even though I try to plan, it’s not easy being a busy woman 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 pressure 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 patterns I wanted to sew but there are also many on the wish list that haven’t moved forward at all. It’s just postponed. 

I would still say that I enjoyed sewing and embroidering this year, I never felt forced to do it and that is priceless! 

So, pleasure report: ✅

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 gentlemen's share in courses and in-store is increasing! Well done gentlemen, we’re happy to see you among us!
- more than 30 pattern designers are available in-store and on the webshop
- more than 1200 fabric references including over 300 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? Feel free to tell us, we always love hearing from you! 

Get your needles ready!