December | endings & beginnings
LET’S GET PERSONAL:
As I wrap up this year, a year that felt like it had 72 months in it, I’m reflecting on so much I want to open up about with you. You’ve got your friends that knock on your front door for a visit, right? Then you’ve got your friends who park as far into your driveway as possible. That friend (dressed in joggers and not even the cute kind) comes to the back door, walks right in and proceeds to make their own coffee with a cup they keep at your place just for these visits.
That’s how cozy we’re about to get as we go beneath the surface of 2023. Is it all pretty? Absolutely not. But it’s honest and raw and wholesome and gives me so much hope for next year for what this space here will be about.
Let’s start with adversity, those beautiful humbling moments that we get to learn from. Behind those organized and curated scenes you see on the ‘gram, I’ve gracefully found myself on the healed side of divorce. I think healing of any sorts is an ongoing process, of course. What I’ve learned though is that some chapters are heavy, some are long, some are short, some are a rollercoaster - but goodness, all the chapters are all beautiful seasons, even the ones that are hard to close, that play a role in the whole book.
The start of this next chapter for me has been eye-opening. I welcomed growth, I welcomed happiness, I welcomed new love, I welcomed concerts and weekenders and simple moments at home. I welcomed myself back into a part of my life that needed me. Being vulnerable is hard. Going to therapy is hard. Doing the work is hard. Driving out of town solo on a 5 hour drive with three kids that all need to go to the bathroom at different times is hard. But it was a good kind of hard.
The coming seasons and stories are going to be great ones and I can’t wait to share them with you.
From the surface, I was routinely getting the work done. But boy oh boy, beneath the surface, a lot of sowing and reaping was and is still happening, and I’m so happy to find myself where I am during this present time.
I knew I needed to return to the roots of my studio and let go of some irons in the fire I simply couldn’t hold onto anymore. Towards the end of the summer, I made the decision to part ways with the local coffee shop my sister and I started in 2019 and launched at the height of Covid (with quarantine kids and a newborn by 2020). So when I say the last 4 or 5 years have been a helluva chapter, goodness gracious, I am not kidding.
Beneath the surface, there were hardships, there were quiet celebrations, and there were mundane moments that were actually pivotal and beautiful. There were photos of perfect days that were never posted as squares on grids. Beneath the surface of my year, I had all of that and now, hindsight to boot.
What does next year look like on the beneath those squares? There are a lot of unknowns, and for the first time ever, I’m okay with that. But there are some plans, literal plans, in the works for some big shifts on the home-front (more on that later). I have that warm and fuzzy feeling that 2024 is going to be a really fun chapter.
EVOLVING THE BRAND: new name coming 2024
I speak about seasons metaphorically often (personally and professionally), and this studio practice has been through many of them. If you’ve been around a bit, you will remember my letterpress printing and wedding stationery days. Actually, if you’ve been around for a long bit, you might remember my Etsy shop days. Stationery is where my creative hands began and letterpress printing was my medium of choice. The more I printed, the more printing equipment I collected and 2024 is calling me back to more printing.
The Little Blue Chair was the name of my business. Humble beginnings, indeed. When I stumbled across a collection of antique block printing stamps at a yard sale, my interest in textile printing and pattern-making was sparked. I started to incorporate patterned illustrations within my wedding stationery.
What evolved into a full-fledged collection of repeating patterns, I began to pitch my work to companies in need of artwork for their products, like Saranoni, Pink Chicken, Cotton + Steel, and other fun brands and features. As my stationery work came to an end to focus on pattern-making and licensing my work, my name transitioned to “by Hope Johnson” to better showcase the artist behind the work.
I still have and will continue to have a big heart for collaborating with businesses - especially women-owned and small business entrepreneurs that started out just like me, grassroots style. Although, it’s undeniable that my heart belongs in the world of the home. Over the last few years, my brand has nestled into the language of the homebody with the launch of my wallpaper and upholstery textile line.
That’s something that will stay put. Don’t worry. Wallpaper and fabrics aren’t going anywhere! But as my work continues to settle in this space, the name must underpin all that is to come for next year and the years to follow. I will always be the hands behind the artwork you see graze whatever products I offer.
So, byHope, yes. …and in addition to wallpaper and textiles, there will be more coming for the home in the seasons to come. A lot has come with the change of the name. This feels right and gives me a stage to perform all things home on. What will this look like? You’ll just have to stay tuned.
WHAT’S CHANGING:
I mean really, we needed an outfit to suit the mood and byHopeatHome has a ring to it that feels just right. Wallpaper and textiles aren’t going anywhere, babe. Nothing is changing there.
WHAT’S COMING:
Well, this is just pillow talk talkin’. Get it? Pillows. Okay also, more jokes are coming. Puns are great. Exclusive pillow collections from the fabric line will be dropping this spring and as seasonal drops from there. There are also NEW COLORS coming for some of the wallpaper’s best sellers. Grasscloth wallpapers will be launched in late spring/early summer and SO many more little happy journeys to follow.
SNEAK PEEKS: coming January 2024
We’re all just characters in a script. Sometimes, the book is unconventional. Sometimes, it’s a little wild. Most of the time, there’s adversity. ALL the time, there’s ebb and flows. I hope more often than not, there are 100 beautiful moments a day and you catch all the green lights. I hope you watched Ted Lasso over the last couple of years and remember to “be a goldfish” in moments that break ya down. And I hope that whatever goes on beneath the surface for you is met with a comfort knowing it’s a part of your story - the easy and the hard along with the good and the bad.
My sister and I use the metaphor of “the big picture” and “pixels.” A picture is made up of 1000s and 1000s of pictures. When you focus on a couple of dark pixels, that might not feel so good. When you focus on a couple of light and bright pixels, well, that feels good. But if you step back, you won’t see those individual pixels. You’ll see the WHOLE picture of your life and hope you know know, beneath the surface, you can live it beautifully.
xx,
H
