Good morning! I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday. We’re enjoying our new home while moving through the flu. It’s been tiring in tandem with restful.
Between running up the stairs to comfort our little one back to rest, quilt puzzles in the library, holiday movies while wrapping gifts, reading in the sauna, sleeping in, staying up late, and eating leftover desserts — I’ve had clarity.
This hazy week between the holidays finds me organizing pictures, year-in-review reflections, sketching loose intentions, and writing in my planner. Pairs well with bubbles. Writing it all down centers me. It distills what needs continued nurturing and what’s headed for the compost pile.
This newsletter is headed for the compost, friends.
Last year, I closed my decade-long blog. The release made the necessary space for me to focus on book club, my design studio, our new home, and Fridays with my daughter — basically, more presence in my ACTUAL life.
And I, without any paper to hide behind. Sidney, in these past two or three years, I have become better at writing than living… On the page, I’m perfectly charming, but that’s just a trick I’ve learnt. It has nothing to do with me.
— The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The creative life is a constant checks & balances. I’m powering down some apps to get my power back. How did I get to tracking my drinks, walks, and books anyway?! My interview for VoyageMichigan reminded me of my long-term goal:
My work aims to have a common thread of historical reference + intentional symbolism. I enjoy working in mediums like watercolor, black ink, and minimal linework. My preference is print + traditional design as I prefer the tactical & analog nature of paper and print resources.
My goal is to answer the question, “How can I maintain being a designer while reducing screen time?”
It’s an odd challenge, some may say it’s a losing battle, but one that I *hope* keeps my work genuine with the imperfection of human touch.
It’s not only an effort to reduce screen time, I’m honing in on what I need and want most for 2025.
Coming Winter 2025
Looking ahead, my subscriber list (all 94 of you, thank you!) will operate through my website; a studio newsletter of current projects, studio merch, and product + tool lists I use in my studio.
This transition takes place over the next few months. You always have the option to unsubscribe from my emails but if it already sounds uninteresting, I recommend unsubscribing now to reduce any unwelcome inbox surprises.
Drop your physical address
I hope to write more physical letters in 2025. A few of you consistently respond to these letters which I LOVE. If you’d like to continue the conversation in a pen pal capacity, reply to this email with your physical address. Or you can email me directly at emilygracebode@gmail.com. I’m already excited to pick out special stationery for the endeavor!
New Moon in Capricorn
Very fitting for today’s New Moon in Capricorn:
How can we approach our goals with more care, resisting the pull of urgency in favor of deliberate, sustainable effort? The answer lies in Capricorn’s steady climb, reminding us that mastery isn’t about getting there fast — it’s about getting there with integrity. — New Moon in Capricorn reading by Magic of I.
Advice a blogger gave me years ago that I think of every time I rearrange my creative outlets: your website is King [Queen]. Free apps are not ours, meaning they do what they want with our content, our attention spans, how we scroll, what we buy, etc. It’s an uncertain fate on purpose. But your website, the URL you pay for, YOU own that online space.
Not goodbye, just see ya later.
This was a space in the margins during my early years of motherhood. This blog-like framework comforted me because it closely resembled blogging efforts in my 20s.
As I look to the year I turn 35, I’ve grown towards more fulfilling avenues.
Thank you for reading these letters. I appreciate you holding space for this spin-off the last couple of years; for witnessing the garden grow, tracking the moon in her ancient cycles, and listening to a Mother with a lot to say about these early years.
The next time you read a long-form essay from me, I hope it’s in physical book format and you’re preordering it. 😉
All the very best,
Thank you so much for all of the years of inspiration through your desire to write about topics all the way from "creative to personal".
Your brave girl spirit blog was like fresh air; A blossoming and a becoming!
Moving right into your newsletter shedding a light on new motherhood with all of its beautiful and challenging moments.
It has been a pleasure to follow along.
Wishing you the best in your writing endeavors, Em!