There is something very definite about the change from summer to autumn. As I step out of my studio in the mornings, the air suddenly feels crisper. The sun is still shining as I write this, but the leaves are beginning to turn, the evenings are drawing in and there is that unmistakable feeling that summer has packed its bags for another year.
Living and working on the edge of the Chilterns means the seasons are hard to ignore. But I’ve realised over the years that I don’t just see the seasons changing outside my studio window. I can see them in my business too.
A stationery year has its own seasons
Some of the patterns are fairly predictable. Christmas is, unsurprisingly, a rather important time of year when you make cards and stationery. Valentine’s Day is another favourite at Tall Order — although, as anyone who knows my designs will tell you, I rarely need an excuse to make a love heart card.
But there are other little seasonal rhythms that I probably wouldn’t have noticed before running this business. January, for example, brings a mini flurry of thank-you notes. Christmas presents have been opened, people have stayed with friends and family, and suddenly there are lots of reasons to put pen to paper and say thank you.
Then another thank-you season arrives in the summer. The end of the academic year brings thank-yous for teachers, while weddings, parties and summer gatherings create their own stream of notes to be written afterwards. It turns out gratitude has seasons too.
Spring and summer bring more orders for my plantable seed cards, which makes perfect sense when gardens are coming back to life and we’re all thinking about growing things again.
And then there is September. September is often quiet.
Everyone is back from holiday, children are returning to school and life seems to become about getting organised again. After the bustle of summer, stationery buying can suddenly take a little breather.
Learning to go with the flow
A couple of years ago, I bought myself a five-year diary from Martha Brook. Rather than writing pages and pages each day, there is just enough room for a few lines. I started jotting down little notes about Tall Order: what was selling, when things suddenly became busy, when they went quiet and the odd things I noticed along the way.
It has become surprisingly useful. Now, when September feels suspiciously calm, I can look back and discover that September was quiet last year too. Rather than immediately wondering what has gone wrong, I can remind myself that this is simply part of the rhythm of the business.
And because I can see what sold at different points in previous years, it helps me prepare for what my customers might want next.
Following the rhythm rather than fighting it
I think one of the things I’ve learnt from running Tall Order is that a small business doesn't move in a straight line. There are busy weeks and quiet ones. Products that suddenly come into their own for a few months and then retreat again until next year. Colours that somehow feel right in October but not quite right in April.
And perhaps that is one of the nicest things about designing stationery. The things we send and write are so closely connected to what is happening in our lives — celebrations, Christmases, weddings, new beginnings, thank-yous and ordinary everyday moments.
So, as autumn settles over the Chilterns and the leaves outside my studio begin to change colour, I'm enjoying this particular season rather than rushing too quickly towards the next one.