The Seed No. 1
The Seed No. 1: Thistle & Poppy Turns 1!
A year and a day ago, my youngest kiddo and I dropped off his older brother at forest camp and returned home with celebratory croissants. I'd just launched Thistle & Poppy's website and spent the morning packing the first few orders (thank you, dear friends!) while my 3 yo played adjacent to me. That's pretty much how the year has gone -- orders here and there, packaged up between nap times and snack times, school pick-up times and bedtimes.
My little shop still feels a bit unreal to me. Opening a boutique was a dream I whispered only to myself for a very long time, and not something I thought to articulate aloud until it felt like the inevitable next step. I'm trained as a historian and high school teacher, and had never thought of myself as a small business owner, or someone with design or artistic sensibilities. I'm still learning how to undo these ingrained beliefs about my limits and instead focus on my ability to learn new things and grow. With no prior fashion or business background, I am proud of what my shop achieved this year and very excited for what's to come.
A local Seattle porch delivery <3
A few milestones from Thistle & Poppy's first year:
- Launching a website and brand. It was terrifying to take the leap!
- Participating in pop ups, starting in November 2022. Hands down my favorite part of this whole journey: connecting with customers and fellow vendors.
- Bringing new brands to the U.S., namely Oersaa, Swedish small batch clothing maker, and Miramara, Australian small batch clothing maker. So looking forward to continuing to seek out small makers across the globe.
- Fundraising for a few non-profits doing critical work both locally and globally. Much more of this to come.
- Delivering sustainable and pre-loved goods to lovely people, from hyper-local porch drop-offs in my own South Seattle neighborhood to shipping across the Pacific.
On the horizon:
- Moving into a shared warehouse/co-working space in July. We will be able to offer by-appointment shopping and local pick up options very soon!
- Our new blog! Here we are. Not sure where this is headed yet but you can expect content relating to crafting and making, thrifting, small business adventuring, creative inspiration, etc
- New logo! We can't wait to share this one (currently in the works)
- Launching a consignment component to the shop! Love a good closed loop economy.
- Bringing in more housewares and slow clothing for grown ups.
- More predictable drops of curated vintage and re-love goods.
- Expanding our customer base (please share our shop with your friends, family, and neighbors <3)
- An in-house label of small batch goods + merch?!
- A lookbook?!
- And a personal one for me: Leaning into my strengths / less comparing my shop's progress to others. We're all on our own path.
I'm so, so excited for all that is to come. Thank you sincerely for being here on this small shop journey with me. Happy summer <3
With love, Cat (Thistle & Poppy founder/owner)
Ps. Head over to our Instagram to give us a follow + enter into our birthday giveaway!