This pandemic has required all of us to make some difficult and sometimes life altering decisions over the course of the past five months. Being a parent and a small business owner, I’ve been given my own set of challenging decisions as well. We have two young kids who were signed up to go to public school in the fall: Addie who just turned 6 and will be in Kindergarten and Arlo who will be 4 next week and will be in Preschool. We had the difficult decision to make to send our kids to school or to continue schooling at home. As a former teacher myself, the answer was a no brainer. I already work from home and I have experience teaching. The safest option for my children will be to keep them home and school them here. This would have been my son’s first experience in school. I don’t want him to have his first experience wearing a mask and being much more isolated than previous preschoolers got to experience. I didn’t want him to have to sit in a desk most of the day when I know that he is a busy and kinesthetic learner who needs movement to succeed. I would be doing my children, especially Arlo, a disservice by sending them to school. I am aware that not all parents are as fortunate as our family is and some families have no other choice but to send their kids to public school. Unfortunately, there are no ideal situations (although I have always dreamed of homeschooling, so in a way this is quite ideal for me!). That said, I am needing to slow down and take smaller strides in my business to be able to take extra off my plate to make room for our homeschooling adventure.

I will not be shutting down My Lovely Muse. Far from it. I have many new things up my sleeves and in the works as we speak, so hold on tight, there is more yet to come this year! (we’re crossing our fingers that it all turns out WONDERFULLY contradictory to how the first half of this year has gone…)

I will be removing alteration services for the time being. The good news is that I have a fabulous local seamstress who can make all your alteration dreams come true! Her name is Anna Signor and her business is River City Sewing. You can find her via her website, facebook, and instagram. Anna is located out of Grand Rapids, MI. She is a seamstress I look up to and consult when I’m stumped myself. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

I will also be removing custom clothing services for the time being. In the past I’ve been asked to make car seat ponchos. I do have a very close friend of mine who runs a business focused on car seat ponchos. She is fun, creative, bright, and bold and you will LOVE her! Her name is Grace Churchill and her business is Kid Culture Co. You can find her via her etsy page, facebook, and instagram. Grace is located out of Jenison, MI (like me!) but ships worldwide. She makes other dress up items and continues to add amazing, magical, kid-approved goodies to her shop.

I WILL continue to update inventory that I have currently available on my website as well as selectively adding events to participate in person. I have many new prints for reusable snack and sandwich bags that I will be adding as soon as I can. I do still have the option for custom eco-conscious housewares that I will keep available on the website. If that ends up being too much, I will give notice, but for now that option is still available.

Remember to use code “LOCAL” to eliminate shipping costs if you choose to pick-up your order from Jenison instead of delivery or shipping.

We began homeschooling a week ago on August 3, so these changes are effective immediately and until further notice. I appreciate my followers and fabulous community in supporting me over the past 3 and a half years in business and I hope to continue to provide you with the best of the best in sustainable wares even if I need to take a bit off of my plate for the time being.

Remember to take care of yourself first, because if you’re not taken care of, you won’t be able to take care of others. I love you all. Stay healthy and keep on keeping on!

Consciously Yours,
Christina Threloff