Farewell to 2020

Let's face it, 2020 did not turn out how we imagined it would. 

I do not like to dwell on the negatives, so instead I have decided to summarise the top 9 nine things that happened in 2020 for Concrete & Lavender in no particular order. 

1. Concrete & Lavender was founded. This needed a mention as C&L was only launched in July of this year.

2. Our packaging received an overwhelmingly warm response since day 1. I wanted the packaging to be as sustainable as possible, whilst not being boring and plain. So whilst I was still brainstorming brand names and colour schemes I picked lavender from my front garden and dried it so I could use with the packaging. The rest came from pinterest ideas and trial and error. 

3. The NEO collection. When I started C&L I didn't think I could achieve many colours with concrete, so I concentrated on greys, and experimented with some reds. However my partner pushed me to try to achieve white and black, and that's how the NEO collection was born.

4. The overwhelming support of other small business owners. Whether this meant discussions about potential suppliers, or sharing and commenting on each others posts; I have found a very supportive community of small business owners that I'm grateful for. 

5. The Instagram community, and everyone who shared images of my products in their homes! I have enjoyed looking at my tagged images every week to select the 'photo of the week'.

6. Being part of @inthecollective, a community of creatives and mentors. I debated whether I could afford to join in September but I'm so glad I did as I have learned a lot in my first 3 months! 

7. Supporting Ecologi through Concrete & Lavender. We have planted more than 100 trees so far, and I'm considering adding the option of planting 1 tree with every order. Sustainability is very important to me, and I'm glad there is something I can do to offset our carbon emissions, and fund tree planting projects across the world. 

8. The 'not so random' acts of kindness I run through December. I asked my instagram and facebook followers to nominate their friends that had a tough year and needed a pick me up. Through their nominations I sent 5 parcels of different concrete gifts to people around the country. you can find out more about #CLRandomActsOfKindness on my instagram highlights. 

9. Lastly, putting myself out there. I won't say that I am a shy person, I have done a lot of presentations in my academic and professional career. However I was always presenting, or representing work that was completed collectively. Concrete & Lavender has been my project from day 1. I create everything from the items to the website and branding, and everything in between. I'm customer services, social media manager, operations manager and chief research and development officer :) I should also be chief finance officer but I'm not good at the accounting part just yet! I am proud of what I have created, and I can't wait to show you what I have planned for 2021! 

See you on the other side ;) 

Maria