As 2020 wraps up, a plethora of words come to mind. 

Excitement. Clarity. Vision. Wonder. Surprise. Confusion. Redirection. Prayer. Focus. Peace. Encouragement. Creative Thinking. Unexpected. Amazement. Hard work. Growth. Frustration. Creation. Adventure. Busyness. Juggling. Challenges. Mountain tops. Hard conversations. Unmet expectations. Exceeded expectations. Milestones. Amazing people. New opportunity. 

Your list of words might look a bit different than mine, but boy has this year come and gone in ways I never imagined. Despite the bright outlook at the onset of 2020, I had no idea what the year would behold – it took me by surprise in the most beautiful ways. 2020, to our wonderment, has been the greatest year for Onyx + Alabaster! We’ve been blessed to reach goals I never expected to achieve in a year marked with difficulty. Big things happened – we began the year with four team members and are excitingly ending with thirteen. We’re shortly beginning the process of moving to Main Street in downtown Franklin and have completed some of our biggest projects to date. Alongside all of the victories, 2020 has also come with great challenges. It has been a full year of learning + stretching + seeking. From navigating hard conversations, to juggling new levels of demand, and nurturing growth within myself and my team. Like many, it has been a lot to process in this season. It’s never all peaches and cream, life is hard and at times I’d rather crawl into bed and watch a rom-com. And we all know we did a little of that this year.

So, as I look back on 2020 – my greatest take away can be summarized like this….

• Life is to be fully lived and embraced no matter how challenging; it is a gift. Take nothing for granted, love everyone you come in contact with, cherish the small things, press into difficulty, love the people you call family, and let go of the things that don’t matter and fear of what others might think. Live one day at a time, pray a lot and never give up. 

I pray that 2021 catches you by surprise in a good way and that anything that was lost in 2020 will be restored 1,000 times over. I hope that new creativity, a new adventure, deeper love and closer relationships are encountered like never before. A new year means new opportunities to change the way you think and believe about life. It’s a new year to reimagine a life worth living, removing the things that cloud your mind and path. It’s a new start to pursue a life of purpose and beauty. Here’s to the alchemy of home and living!

Wishing you and yours the most beautiful and happiest of New Years!! Here’s to 2021!

Your friend and designer,