Thursday 15th January, 2026

In Which Synchronise Begins and Fabric Is Acquired

Busy day today. Kris and I officially began a new process we’ve dubbed Synchronise. The idea is simple - she’s a paper girl, I’m a spreadsheet girl, and somewhere between notebooks and Google Sheets, messages keep slipping through the cracks. So every day we’re determined to sit down for fifteen minutes, compare notes, consolidate our messages, decide who replies to what, and stop ourselves from drowning in correspondence.

In theory, this takes fifteen minutes.
In practice (today was the first one) it took two hours, and we still didn’t finish.

Kris, however, powered through her entire list by midday, notebook closed with the satisfaction of a woman who has wrestled chaos into submission. I, on the other hand… did not. Stars came in to paint (beautifully, as always), and between chatting with her and helping customers, my laptop stayed closed and sulking on the counter.

But honestly? Even with the delays, it felt like a good beginning.

We had planned to close the shop an hour early so we could go to Officeworks and Spotlight for supplies. But the moment we began pulling the door shut, a lovely woman and her family popped in. She wandered the shop for a good forty-five minutes, discovering things that delighted her at every turn. She left with a mug, a notebook, a book, and several treasures besides. It was impossible to feel anything except joy about staying open for her - some customers just make the whole day feel brighter.

After closing, we still managed our Officeworks run, then headed to Spotlight where Kris collected a glorious armful of fabric and patterns for Blue Sparrow, our medieval/ren-faire clothing line. Watching her pick materials with that spark in her eye was half the fun.

The shop ended the day pleased - Synchronise had begun, and the future smelled faintly of fabric and possibility.