A bit of a longer one… but worth the catch-up

What a lovely break that was… and somehow it still went in a blink. I’m going to apologise now because this one’s a bit longer than usual — but we’ve got lots to catch up on.

My birthday sits right in that in-between bit of the year — 30th December — so we usually try to make something of it. This year we kept it simple (in the best way) and went to Hickories Smokehouse. If you’ve never been, and you’ve got one near you… please go. The smoked meats are unreal, and they’ve got loads of veggie options too, so no one gets left out.

I turned 35, and after the madness of Christmas orders it just felt right to slow down for a day and be properly present with Sam and our daughter. So we got our messy mat out and started with 'play doh'. Who knew such a simple kids toy could be so much fun! After, we wrapped up warm and headed to the zoo — a proper family day out, even though it was absolutely bitter. It dropped to around -5°C here in the Midlands, the kind of cold that makes your face feel like it’s gone numb.

Then came the first flurry of snow.

I’ve always loved snow — it makes everything feel quieter and a bit magical — but seeing it through your child’s eyes is something else. We went straight to the park to hunt down some hills because there was one thing I’ve been desperate to do with her: sledging.

She loved it. Proper loved it. The sort of joy that turns into chanting “more, more!” without even thinking about it. And yes… I got on the sledge with her too. I couldn’t resist. It was one of those little moments you know you’ll remember.

And of course, Duke was there too, doing what Duke does best: being involved. At one point he ended up proudly “watching” mummy’s earmuffs while she dashed off for a wee — like he’d been given a very important job.

We’ve been back at it since Monday, working through orders and getting things moving again, so honestly — thank you if you’ve been patiently waiting for yours. We’ve just had a new batch of stock arrive and we’re busy updating the inventory of watches and bracelets now, because Christmas absolutely flew through them.

I do want to share something a bit more serious too, because it’s been on my mind.

The stress of the Christmas period definitely caught up with me, and it ended in a trip to A&E with worries about my heart. It wasn’t a fun experience, but after scans and tests I’m thankfully all clear. They think it may have been anxiety — which makes sense when I’m juggling a thousand thoughts at once. I’m also very aware of how much pressure I put on myself to do more and be faster, and sometimes I need to remind myself: I’m not a robot. I’m not Amazon. I can’t fulfil orders like a machine — and that’s okay.

So January is going to look a little different.

More reflection. More steady pace. And more time for something I love and miss when things get hectic: drawing.

I draw a lot for The Wood Look already, and I genuinely find it calming — that mix of switching your brain off while still creating something real. Going forward, pretty much all future designs will be hand-drawn by me. I used to push myself to bring out 2–3 products a week, but that pace just isn’t always sustainable. Now I’m giving myself permission to enjoy the process. If a design takes a couple of weeks, it takes a couple of weeks — and it’ll be better for it.

I’ll pop a photo below of something I drew over the break. I’ve fallen back in love with pen and ink lately — there’s something really grounding about going back to paper and a proper pen.

One last thing I wanted to float… I’ve been thinking about drawing people’s houses. Maybe a “first home” illustration, or even a way to capture past homes and memories.

What do you think — would you be interested in something like that?

That’s it for the first week of January. Hope your year’s started kindly 💛