I’ve been thinking about writing a blog for a while so I thought what better way to start the year by including time to reflect on where I’m at, in business and life in general I suppose. Today I found myself thinking about a wonderful customer I met in our pop up shop in the Canopy last year. She spotted a piece in the window and came in to have a chat about it. “Did you see the face in the window?” she said to me. “How do you add the faces to the pebbles?” I had, of course, no idea what she was taking about. This was a pebble art piece, a slim body and a circular head but a face? This was a new one. When I joined her outside the shop she pointed to the piece she was talking about – Always Say YES to adventures. I had to look twice, it was the strangest thing, I could see the face she was talking about. Two eyes, a nose and a mouth and to me I thought this was all a bit mad. “It looks just like me” she said. “I just have to have it”. Each to their own I thought and low and behold that piece was hers. We started chatting and she told me how she enjoyed crafting and she loved all things handmade. Do you know when you meet someone for the first time and you just know they’re a wonderful person – this was one of those times. This amazing woman was in her late 80’s and you could tell she just loved life. The stories and chats we shared were so enjoyable and she was just a pleasure to be around. Since then, she ordered other pieces, and whilst I find it hard to appreciate some things I make, she was filled with joy for even the simplest of gifts I made for her. As time went by and Christmas came closer, silly season was among us and there wasn’t enough hours in the day. I seen my phone light up and was delighted to see her name calling. “Unfortunately, I have some bad news Rachel, and I have a request for you but only if you can do it, I know it’s Christmas week” she said. “Yes of course, what do you need?” I asked. She had just found out she was terminally ill and she hadn’t long left. I was absolutely devastated for her and I could hear it in her voice, even though she was a great age, she still had so much more left to give. Being her caring self, she was trying to sort things out for her funeral and wanted me to frame her picture to put on the coffin. I have never been asked to do that before but she insisted she wanted me to do it for her. I offered to pop by her home and we could have a chat to see what she needed but she insisted, she was going to get in amongst the madness of the Christmas shopping to see me and the shop once more. When she arrived in the shop, we just hugged and cried together. It was strange, only having met a couple of months before but sometimes you just connect to someone. When she left the shop, my stress of Christmas seemed to disappear. Life is short and we do what we can, but is the stress, pressure and worry all worth it? Absolutely not. Your health truly is your wealth. Just this week, I heard this amazing woman had passed away. It makes me think of many things as she inspired me to live a full life and not to forget to enjoy the little things too. It’s amazing, I only have known this person for a short period of time, yet she had such an impact on my life. That just shows how a simple conversation in a shop can spark a friendship and help us feel connected as a community. For me, this highlights the importance of the local shops, the local faces and the services we sometimes take for granted. Being connected to your community is what it’s all about, each of us has a place that’s so important and I’m ever so grateful that this amazing woman decided to look in the shop window and pop in to say hello 💗
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam