Today, is the second year of neo. I think most of these sorts of reflections begin with an enthusiastic, “Wow, how time flies”, “Can you believe it?!?” and the like. But I think, my response is only 32% that and the remaining 68% is:

“Wait, I’ve only been at this for two years?” Followed by, " OH GOD... I have SO much more to learn!" 

 Since, February 2017, I feel as though I lived a lot of life. I pray to God, I don’t look it but, I’ve experienced countless failures and successes. Which I’ve found to provide a healthy balance. Without the consistency of failure I wouldn’t know the joy of humility and connection with others. Humility opens us up, makes us available to others, forces us to be honest with ourselves and encourages, not discourages, us to press on. 

Are you into the Enneagram?

Doesn’t matter, I’m going to go that for just a sec. I’m a 2 with a 3 wing, as far as I can tell. All that means, to me, is that I’m a helper, I’m fulfilled by helping others and building connection. But, that comes with a downfall that might not be so obvious.

Side bar: so, the Enneagram has been around for centuries, right? It’s just gotten into our young, beautiful, Millennial hands in recent years. In this rebirth, I've noticed, one of its main tenets has been lost which is that each number is associated with a deadly sin (oooooo spooky).

Mine, is pride. Is that surprising?? It wasn’t for me. But, maybe your view is “helpers put themselves before others and lower than others so they can serve them.” True, to a point! 

 [Gee, as I write this, I feel like I’m really going down a rabbit hole but this pertains to what I’m trying to talk about. So stick with me!] 

 Pride has always been a struggle of mine. Let me just paint a little picture for you. I found my favorite phrase at the ripe age of 3 and have held onto it with monkey, kung-fu grip ever since, "I DO IT MYSELF!!” 

But these last two years have taught me, I can’t. I can’t do it myself and frankly, I don’t want to. Because I have had SO much fun having others and YOU involved! This is the part I would like to share some of the highlights of my last year, maybe this was you, I’m going to use fruit pseudonyms in place of some your names because well, your privacy and information is valuable and fruit is (while, admittedly a little stripper-y sounding) very cute: 

- Meeting the sweetheart, Apple from Santa Fe who actually found neo from our first ethical blog collaboration ever with Stylewise Blog; which is Leah Wise's blog, a blogger who is based out of Virginia, isn't that random?! It was pretty magical to be connected digitally for so long and find out we lived in the same beautiful state! 

- OH EM GEE! This was an incredible moment for me! To be interviewed by Kestrel Jenkins, the founder of one of my favorite podcasts, Conscious Chatter. You can listen to it here if you’d like! 

- Rebranding the neo logo, site and brand with my bestest, best friend and incredible artist, Chlo Bo. A.K.A. Chloe Jew!

- Getting to connect with one of my most loyal customers, Clementine. She can DM about any prospective piece and I can tell her whether or not it will fit her just right. We’ve become very good at this! 

- Shooting with my photo girl Skylar and some of my lifelong and childhood friends. Plus, getting to know all the beautiful faces that have modeled for neo. All of you are nothing short of precious. 

- Getting my feelings really hurt by the first and only (for now) negative message/paragraph about my work. Lemon, while there was a much nicer and constructive way to express your concerns regarding pricing and the value I add. You helped me realize that negativity towards my business isn’t an attack on myself worth. I gave your concerns a lot of thought and even made some changes around them but greatest of all I gained the understanding and confidence in my work. I am adding awesome value and creating kickass pieces and I’m proud of that!

Man… there are so many amazing moments and I know once this is posted I will want to go back and add more treasured memories. Maybe I will. But, for the sake of word economy and your sanity we will stop here. 

I would also like to share some exciting things that I am expecting (because I am working toward) in 2019: 

1. The very first neo threader will join neo thread! This is already in the works and will be an independent upcycling artist who will make amazing, one of kind pieces you can purchase exclusively on neo thread’s site! This is the start to what I envision as a beautiful, upcycling community, so I am over the moon about starting!

2. A physical retail space in my beautiful hometown of Albuquerque! WHAT?!? Amazing? Yes! 

3.More community events including mending and upcycling workshops, clothing swaps, just all around a TON of fun! 

 In conclusion, I just want to say a HUGE, GIANTOUS, THANK YOU! To all of you, those that have supported with words, purchases, messages, your time and talents. No one gets anywhere without the sacrifice, encouragement (even a sprinkle of discouragement) of others and you have been important in this two year journey.Here’s to many more years of sustainable, ethical fashion that’s as one of a kind as you are. Cheers to neo thread!