Life got pretty busy after my last post. When your business is featured in the Washington Post, things get a little crazy. I spent a huge chuck of 2020 in my studio cranking out orders as fast as I could. When things finally died down, I needed a bit of a break. I kept Wehgo up and running, but definitely took a bit of a breather. I stopped doing markets, I scaled back wholesale, and I didn't release many new designs. I have slowly been ramping things back up. I'm also spending a lot of time thinking about where I want to take this business. Prices for the materials I use to make the kits have nearly doubled. Unfortunately, unless I find a manufacturer, I won't be able to sell wholesale. And at the end of the day working with a factory in china to make my kits doesn't feel like the right play. 

When I tightened up my brand a few years ago I made the following my tagline, "Makers of modern paint by number kits, and purveyors of crafty goodness." This year I want to focus some energy to that second part. I'd love to identify other quality craft kits to offer to you via this website. I also want to share my love of craft. I have so many ideas for video content and now feels like the right time to really dedicate some time and energy to it. You can also find new products like crafty printables in my Etsy shop, https://wehgo.etsy.comwehgo.etsy.com. 

If you are reading this, then you are obviously invested in Wehgo at some level, and I'd love to hear from you. What would you like to see more of from my little business? What crafty goodness is missing in your life? 

I was born in the District of Columbia and grew up (for the most part) in the city and Virginia suburbs. So I grew up with the Washington Post. My parents still read the post daily, although they live hours away from the city. So when a reporter contacted me a month ago to interview me for an article about the renewed interest in paint by number kits, I jumped at the opportunity. Last week the article came out (click here to read) and I've barely left the studio since it was published! I'm so grateful for all of the new customers and I sincerely appreciate every single customer who has helped me to grow my little business along the way.  Stay tuned for more exciting announcements in the coming months! 

I've done a lot of reading, listening, and amplifying of black voices in the last few months. I always felt as though I were on the right side of history. I've taught my kids to be kind to everyone no matter our differences. But as I've read and listened and reflected I've learned that it's not enough to not be racist. We have to be anti-racist. We have to confront it head on and recognize the implicit bias in all of us. 

As a parent I want to do more than teach my children to "not see color." I have learned that this is not really a way to confront racism, but it pushes the notion of racism under the carpet. Denying it's existence will not more us forward. 

Like many of you, we've been having a lot of important conversations in our home. I took my children to see the confederate monuments at the heart of the protests in Richmond. We talk about how our black friends and neighbors must feel about those monuments. We talk about white privilege and what it means. We talk about how we can take a stand and be anti-racist. 

Kids want to get involved and have a voice, and together we came up with a way for them and some of their neighborhood friends to get involved. We decided we would fill half of our neighborhood lending library with fiction and non fiction books about being anti-racists, and books that amplify black voices. The children and their parents donated funds and we purchased books from three local small book stores. We made sure we had a good mix of books for adults, young adults and kids. 

This week the kids came together (at a social distance) in my backyard to color bookmarks that I designed. The kids were really proud of their creations. The bookmarks will be laminated this weekend and placed in the donated books and in a little container in the little lending library. 

This was such an easy and positive way for the kids to be a part of the bigger movement. If you'd like to replicate our efforts in your own community you can download and print the bookmarks here.