2022 - The Best Bits

As I write this on the first day of 2023 to be honest I'm still feeling a little dazed & confused from 2022. At times this year I think many of us in retail felt like we were clinging on waiting for the next hurdle to appear on the horizon....Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused many ripples from supply issues and rising costs as well as just the wave of woe and worry and sadness we all felt.

Following hot on the heels was the political turmoil of three PM's and the cost of living crisis...plus the loss of the Queen. None of these factors have made this year straightforward, but we weren't alone...it's been tough for most small businesses I suspect.  So we did the only thing we could...Team WM dug in, got busy & I am really proud that we are still here. A little bit wiser and hopefully with a few more tricks up our sleeve to navigate 2023.

However, we have definitely had lots of fun and some big wins this year too though - so lots to celebrate in amongst the challenges

Supporting Ukraine at Easter

When we were offered some beautiful hand-painted eggs from the Czech Republic to sell it seemed like a no-brainer to use them to raise funds for Ukraine as they are a traditional Easter decoration in Eastern Europe. We were thrilled to raise £650 to donate to Children on the Edge - a local charity that run projects in that part of the world.

New products launched

From lamps with beautiful new block printed shades, to footstools made just down the road in Portsmouth by the brilliant Lesley at Hilda's Lounge. We have been working hard at continuing to offer well made products that you won't find anywhere else. And it's always a delight when the interiors magazines are excited about your new launches too!

All the Kiwis at No 29!

It was a big year for my family with my nephew's wedding in May giving my loved ones in NZ an excuse to fly over and for us all to be together.  An event that last happened over 10 years ago.  It was such a joy to be able to show them round and share my little business with them.

Our Sisterhood candle launch

You can read the full story of our Sisterhood charity candle here which we launched on Black Friday with the intention of 'donating not discounting'. The one thing the blog post doesn't cover - is our customers' amazing response to the product. We sold out the first weekend and this continued to happen every time we restocked until poor Nic at Pure Cariad got a winter lurgy and we decided that was it for 2022. We will have more stock landing in 2023 and the intention is to have it as part of our collection for the foreseable future. It does good & smells AMAAAZING - so it's win win!

The Christmas Window competition



We love that the Chichester Christmas window competition gives us an excuse to do something really creative, with my lovely friend Sally doing all the clever illustrative stuff.

The theme was a literary one, so we decided to do a giant pop-up book of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. Potato printing, amateur electrics, recycled cardboard - all held together with tape and wooden skewers. Production values were high! The competition was judged by author Kate Mosse and....well....we won. Such a lovely outcome - the cherry on the cake at the end of the year!

Our Team

So we had to say goodbye to lovely Sarah T. this year as she moved away (for the best of reasons...his name is Mr Darling!) - which was definitely not a highlight - but it did show me how lucky I have been with the lovely women that I work with at Winter's Moon and that fact that I have managed to mostly hang on to them thus far. They have all really gone over and above this year in so many different ways. Thank you Emma, Jess & Rosina, you are all brilliant! 

Finally - it's all about you!

We really wouldn't be here without our customers showing us the love whether they are buying from us or just popping in for a browse. We know that we have had more people discovering us this year, and the lovely responses and instore chats we enjoy make it all worthwhile. 

So thank you, for being our customer, for opening our newsletters, for reading this blog - for supporting small business, we are so grateful to have you in our corner!

Wishing you a happy & healthy 2023

Julia x