CHEERS TO ONE YEAR
Facebook told me today that it’s been exactly one year since the doors to Nickel City Wax and Wane have opened. I didn’t even realize. I’m not sure how to feel about that hahaha. I’ve been so busy, juggling so many things because a year ago I had no idea what I was truly getting myself into! I’ve been so busy that I almost missed a milestone like the doors to the studio opening to the public for the first time. 🤦🏻♀️
For those of you who’ve been here from the start, you know it looked a lot different back then from where we are now. After all the ups and downs this summer, I’ve been taking time to reflect on then to now and well I’m so damn stoked to be here still. It’s been an incredible ride, one filled with highs, lows, meeting and connecting with so many rad people, learning just how damn resilient I am, committed, passionate and human I am. I’ve made a lot of mistakes but thankfully I keep on trying to learn from them and have only come out better for it! It also helps to be surrounded by some of the most amazing people!
When I think back to the very beginning and walking through those doors for the first time to see the space, I felt like I was home. I felt such a burst of energy, a sense of calm, a sense of familiarity. From the moment I started designing the space I only kept saying I want Wax and Wane to be an experience. I want people to walk through the studio doors and feel at home, to feel a sense of wonder and whimsy, a sense of wanting to be creative, a sense of wanting to connect, to feel comfortable to be who they are. I wanted Wax and Wane to be a place where all were welcome; all ages, all abilities, all walks of life. I wanted a community to be built where we learned from one another, we supported one another, or sometimes we just fucked off and drank and laughed all night long, or cried and vented! When we made mistakes we saw them through and came out on the other side, stronger, smarter, better, more committed, and more passionate.
And when I look at where we were a year ago to where we are now… I know deep down in my heart that I am 1000% on the right path. I may not know what that path holds for me, may not know exactly where I’m going right now. But I know who I am. I know who I want to keep growing into. I know where I would like to take this and I’m so excited to see what the next year brings… the next five years… the next 10 years. I feel extremely lucky to be where I am, it’s not easy at all but it’s everything I want and more. I love sharing my passion with the people around me. I love seeing other peoples passion. I love helping people find their creativity. I love watching people help each other with their creativity, and pushing each other outside of our comfortable boundaries.
Where Wax and Wane is today, one year after we opened the doors, is far beyond what I had ever hoped and I hope to keep on sharing this with all of you. So I ask, please don’t stop coming. It has been what’s recharged me. It’s been what has pushed me to be and to do better for the people I want to serve around me. Please know that there’s always a space at one of my tables, no matter how dirty they may be, for you. I can’t wait to keep growing and building with y’all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of you who have supported me this year and before! I wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone’s support!! Y’all have been incredible!!! This has been one of the hardest but best years of my life in so many ways!!