So, about last week...

If you follow the shop on social media, you probably saw that last week, my coach house had over £200 worth of jewellery stolen from it. The robbery happened on the first day of the shop's summer sale. Soph (she's been helping out in the shop recently) and I, were busy getting the coach house prepped with sale items. I was excited to start the planning the birthday celebrations at the end of August and felt so proud of nearly hitting the 4-year milestone. But, when I discovered that somebody had stolen my beautiful jewellery, I felt broken. £200 is a lot of money to anyone, but for a small (slightly stretched) business, it's pretty catastrophic.

Right now, every penny counts. Each penny spent in the shop goes on rent, power, bills, new stock, and when I can manage it, some pay to myself. Running a shop is really, really hard. And a bump in the road like last week is enough to send a small business owner into a pretty deep wobble. It made me question how I can keep the shop going and really put doubt in my mind about the future of home byKirsty.

Q. What helped me to get over this bump?
A: YOU!

Last week, although it was a major low point for me, the outpouring of love, support and positivity that I receive after the robbery absolutely blew me away. Your kind messages, shared posts and shop visits brought back my smile and sparked my determination to carry on. Now I've had some time to reflect, I wanted to share with you the 3 main things I'm taking away from last week, one of the toughest weeks of my shop life yet...

1. The power of community

Like I said, the love that you guys showed me last week was out - of - this -world! Helping me to spread the word has helped get the shop out there in front of fresh eyes, injected new life into my social media and show me what the power of positive vibes is capable of. Although the jewellery hasn't been found, I feel confident that we spread the word far enough to give us the best possible chance of a happy ending. Fingers and toes are still crossed.

2. The impact of 'Just a Card'

"If everyone who'd complimented our beautiful gallery had bought 'just a card' we'd still be open"

When you're browsing online or if you're passing by the coach house, please don't think that there is any order too small. We're proud supports of and big believers in the 'Just a Card' campaign. The campaign encourages shoppers to never underetimate the impact their purchase has directly an indie shop - even if they are only buying a card. For a small business, every single penny spent is personal. Every sale, no matter what size, is so appreciated and goes directly into keeping that business alive. So, remember, it's never just a card...

3. The importance of self-care

I am so bad at taking this. But, after last week's incident, I tried really hard on Sunday and Monday to just chill. Today, I have been DIY - ing, I so bad at sitting still! Yesterday, I took some anger on the hedge, mowed the lawn, but then I treated myself to a massage, which was total bliss. When you run your own business never stops, but I'm learning that you have to make is stop - or you burnout. I think I was super close to that last week - my eyelids were doing that twitchy tired thing. When you work a 9-5, you have weekends and however many days of holiday you get to take. It's totally my choice to work for myself, but I need to get better at looking after myself, as if I was my own employee - and not feel bad for having days off to recharge!

Thank you all for sticking with through last week, and helping to pick me back up. Here's to re-opening the shop again tomorrow, continuing our birthday sale and pushing forward to HBK's next chapter. KP x