We’ll start with the obvious thought running through all of our heads: how in the world is it the holiday season already?!? Seems impossible, which we suppose is exactly the right adjective for 2020.
As we prepare for a holiday season during a year like no other, Team Smudge has been doing a lot of reflecting on this year and what role we play as a small consumer retail business. In a year that includes a global pandemic, a national reckoning on systemic racism, an election for the ages, and a crippling recession, do we really matter?
We have concluded a couple things. The first is that while in the grand scheme a consumer business isn’t *that* important (hello, frontline healthcare workers -- THANK YOU), we think there is a place for Smudge Wellness. We are, at our core, a company that tries to help people find the power within themselves to do all sorts of important things -- to heal themselves, to reach their best potential, to lift others up and improve the lives of others and the universe around them, particularly people who feel disenfranchised and excluded from more traditional forms of wellness. We think this really matters, and we are grateful and emboldened to keep striving to have this impact.
We also concluded that surviving as a small business right now is really hard work. So we have put our heads down over the last six months and really put in the effort. We rebuilt our website, we streamlined and expanded our product line, and we reconfigured our packaging to be more environmentally sustainable. We also refocused our energy on making content, bringing articles, videos, and other information about the healing and empowering tools and rituals of spiritual wellness, and created a platform for an amazing cadre of creators, artists, partners, and companies that personify what finding your inner rockstar really means.
2020 has shaken us to our core, but our resolve to thrive as a company is more solid than ever.
That said, the reality is that being a small business in 2020 means that we really need the support of our customers -- now more than ever. We are beyond grateful to all of you: for every product you have purchased, every social media post you shared, and for every encouraging text, email, and phone call you have sent. But this holiday season, we are asking once again that you consider purchasing from us, and every other small business in the same position as us. Every little bit will help us -- THANK YOU.
It has been such an honor to fulfill every order you have placed. We feel forever fortunate to count among our community the MOST generous and loving people on the planet. We cannot wait for the day we get to have proper in-person events again, and for the moment that we (sorry not sorry) get to never stop hugging you.
Until then, huge virtual embrace to each and every one of you.
Lara and Luigi
Click here to watch the Meet The Founder's of Smudge video on our YouTube channel.
Want a fun way to support Smudge this Small Business Saturday? Check out our Inner Beauty Grab Bag, a baker's dozen of travel-friendly crystals in our legacy vegan leather makeup bag. A limited quantity is available, so get yours today!
