In the middle of last year, I left you all with a “silent” goodbye. I started a new job, moved back to San Francisco, and focused all my energy on work and enjoying life with my loved ones.

Now, I’m back to share a few special things that happened and provide a path forward with this newsletter.

June 2021

I found “my people” at Hodinkee. Those who cared about watches, cars, design, and most importantly, style. Previously, I’ve never worked with an entire company who cared about the details as much as I do. It feels amazing and I’m grateful to spend time working with a great team as we make the world of watches better.

July 2021

I looked into classes at San Francisco’s Community College for sewing, pattern making, and business. After announcing I was going to launch a brand, Loden, I needed to have a better understanding of how to actually go about doing that. I’m thankful to the friends who provided insights into how a few Bay Area brands make their clothes.

August 2021

Here’s when things stalled for Loden. Along with not releasing a newsletter for a few months, I lost interest in pursuing an education for making clothes. Work was taking up a majority of my day and I was putting in 100% of my effort. I didn’t have time to take on something else.

September 2021

A few projects I worked on launched! I was so excited to put something out into the world and it was rewarding, both emotionally and career-wise. I was the lead designer for our Shop’s new landing page: https://shop.hodinkee.com

October 2021

Things stayed busy at work as the team continued launching projects. It was one of the busiest times ever and we put some great stuff out into the world, including the launch of Pre-Owned watches: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-new-hodinkee-pre-owned

November 2021

I visited New York City for the first time. And, it was amazing. I came back from my week-long trip inspired. The people were overwhelmingly friendly, well-dressed, and had this sense of “cool” that I wanted more of.

The shopping there was on another level. All of the brands who matter most to me have a presence there, whether that be in SoHo, on Bleecker Street, or in another part of the city. There’s much more I’d like to see next time I’m back in the city. I’m also going to need a bigger suitcase.

December 2021

The holidays roll around and I’m still figuring out what to do with this newsletter and the unconceived brand of Loden. I decided to take even more time to think and re-focus on how I could take smaller steps building towards something.

Where I’m at Now

All of this brings us to now. It’s the first week of the New Year, and I’m taking a small step by sharing this news with you all.

After reflecting for the past six months, I realized I missed writing and sharing things with you.

I also overcommitted and need to take a few steps back. I’m not going to pursue things with Loden for the time being and try to figure out how I can provide value with the newsletter.

As I mentioned before, I’ve always struggled with naming things, so there might be a slight tweak to how this newsletter looks, feels, and possibly is named moving forward.

As always, I appreciate you being here for the journey and thank you for taking the time to read.

Talk to you soon.

Special thanks to Justin P. for motivating me to continue working on something I love. Thank you for always checking in.

Volume

Don’t Call it a Comeback