You Can Just Try It

As we enter the last couple of months of the year, I just want to take this time to say thank you.  Thank you for being here, for walking alongside me and EPC. I am grateful for your love and support, the kind words you’ve shared for our products and the personal stories some of you have shared with me. Thank you for making me and EPC a part of your life.

I think I’m just going to ramble a little today.

These past few years have given me many aha moments. With the passing of my parents, my own health issues, the evolving planner landscape, business ups and downs, the ever-changing world and… well, just getting older, I’ve come to approach planning and EPC a little differently. Firmer in some of my beliefs while gaining new perspectives on others.

I’ve always believed that planning is more than productivity. It’s more than getting things done and making sure that nothing falls through the cracks. I believe that our planners hold our lives, and that they reflect our values and priorities.

I would like our planners to give us the space and a moment to pause and take notice of our lives. What’s important this month? What’s one thing that’s non-negotiable? Am I heading where I want to go? What has derailed me? What’s one thing I want to protect? What delighted me this week? What put a smile on my face today? What new things do I want to try? What do I want to do more of?

A planner that goes beyond appointments and to-do lists. A planner that helps us live more consciously, more proactively.

I started doing that with the 2027 collection, introducing new prompts as part of the planning routine. These prompts may feel like little “roadblocks” to some (lol), as they seem to force you to slam on the brakes when you just want to get on with your planning. But I hope you’ll give yourself a chance to slow down enough to reaffirm your values and priorities, take a closer look at who and what are around you, and what’s happening in your world.

 

For the first time, I’ve created a set of 12 dashboards for the year, each related to a particular month and season. I hope that these Noticing dashboards can serve as a gentle reminders to take a closer look at your surroundings.

And for those of you who have shopped with me recently, you may have noticed the Fragments vellum pieces that I’ve been including in your orders. Just little observations.

I’ve also expanded our paper goods section this year. As a stationery lover and a naturally reflective thinker, I’m exploring the different things I can do with paper.

Starting with Paper Moments. I’ve always wanted a wall filled with small prints if I ever owned a physical shop. All sorts of colors. All sorts of themes. Prints that don’t pretend to be useful. They are just beautiful. Just pretty and interesting to look at. I’ve sat on this idea for so long and finally decided to just take the plunge this year. I hope these pieces will find a place on your desk, in your planner or on your wall.

And then there are the newest additions: Mini Perk-Me-Ups and The Good Things Greeting Cards.

Mini Perk-Me-Ups are an introduction to Paper for Thinking. Research suggests that writing on physical paper can help us slow down and engage more actively with our thoughts. We often think better on paper, but we don’t always take the time to do it. Or we don’t know where to start and what questions to ask. This is where I hope to be of help to you, by providing you a starting point to work through some of the issues and questions on your mind, or even those little friction points that have been bugging you for the longest time but you’ve just been brushing them aside.

Our very first greeting cards hit the shop yesterday. Yay! Another finally-did-it and bold step-outside-my-comfort-zone moment. I’ve had the cards and envelopes sitting on the shelf since 2021 lol. You know I love my clean, minimalist designs. With a less-is-more approach, these first greeting cards each feature a single statement block of color and a simple message that holds so much love and thought. Thoughtful simplicity, printed on premium thick matte cardstock. A little way to deliver your heart to someone you’re thinking of.

So there you have it. My evolution. EPC’s evolution. I like to think that EPC is a living piece of me. Growing and changing with me.

I’ve realized that I’ve somehow become more timid over the years in this business. Unlike the early days, when I was more open to taking chances and just trying out ideas without fear. More reckless, you could say. Possibly because I didn’t know enough then. Ignorance was indeed bliss and it gave me unfounded confidence lol

Well, I’m trying to be brave again. I may succeed. I may fail. But I won’t know until I’ve tried, won’t I? Won’t we?