The Nitty Gritty of 2025

Win, Lose or Draw...2025 was a year for the record books. Did I meet all of my professional goals? No? Did I meet some goals I didn't even know I had? Yes!

Here's a list of some of the things I am most proud of accomplishing this year with my little business. Also included are the things I wished I had done differently, and having learned all these lessons, my plans for success in the new year!

Sarah Sonder's Studio heading into 2026!

Not all success is quantifiable by dollar signs and this list is proof of that. Let's celebrate the wins, no matter how big or small. Cheers to each and every one of you who have been here this year, joined us just recently, or have been here since the beginning. I couldn't do what I do without all of you!!!

2025 Wins-

• Quit the "day job" I had worked for 4+ years to go "all in" on Sarah Sonder and my art career. Scary and beautiful at the same time!

• Updated our website-but more like a website make-over! I think it will always be a work in progress, but I love the direction we are headed in!

• Added 36--THREE-SIX-- jewelry making classes for the first quarter of 2026; the most I have ever been on top of my planning.

  

  Sarah Sonder Studio Classes

• Completed the shedding process of leaving behind the artist formerly known as Brazen Jewelry. Taking down photos, hanging new signage and allowing myself to lean into this new phase has been therapeutic in so many ways!

  

  

• Rebranded our packaging to include a long-awaited wax seal. The 12 yr old version of me was squealing right along with the 40 yr old version when I pressed that first branded seal into our packaging going out!

• Rebuilt our booth design in a big way. We added three walls, updated the colors to reflect the bright and cheery nature of our work, and brought together years of merchandising and retail composition knowledge to create a fantastic and professional looking booth that reflects our brand precisely.

  

  Dialing in our booth design!

• Redesigned our studio with creative additions and removed all of the Brazen Jewelry signage/photos. This was a big one that I didn't even realize needed to be done. The vibes have been upgraded and the environment is ideal for creating within. Classes and solo studio time have both been improved with the redesign of our workspace.

  

  I love this pre-lit willow tree from Goodwill

• Applied to and got accepted into art shows throughout the country. Back in the day, I traveled the country doing art shows to bolster my income and spread more brand awareness. After stepping away for so long, it was nice to see that I could still hold my own in a juried competition and get into the shows that I applied to.

• Collaborated locally for pop-ups several times and really enjoyed supporting small business with my small business. Expect a lot more of this from me in the future!

  

  

  

• Went LIVE for the first time-semi-successfully. Not many people hopped on while we were live, but we had a good time with the crew who showed up, and lots of folks have enjoyed watching the playback since. Dan and I are planning a fun "LIVE" schedule in 2026, so get excited.

• Added branded merch to the website and made me feel like a real-live brand. I have had merch before, but utilizing drop-shipping is such a great way to carry branded merch for my business and not have to invest in space and money for a ton of inventory.

All this while getting engaged + married to my soulmate and raising 4 boys!

Shortfalls-

• I took swings and missed. The Christmas Fair in Columbus, OH is an example of a big ol' whiff. You can vet a show, do your due diligence, and still come up short. Not all shows are created equal and sometimes effort doesn't yield profit. But it is a hard lesson to learn, even one time, let alone this far into my career.

• I lacked consistency almost all year. Consistency in posting on socials, on keeping a schedule, on putting my business and my work first in my day. Consistency equals success and it takes a lot of work and passion to keep that up along with regular life. Quitting my "day job" this year helped create more space for consistency in the last quarter of the year and keeping things consistent might be my biggest goal for the new year.

  

  All signs point to Sarah Sonder!

• I taught very few classes and they were all small in size. This is mostly because I didn't promote them correctly, or even at all. This would also fall under the "consistency" umbrella, but is a big piece of my studio life that I let fall short this year, so it deserves its own bullet point. This is a major place for improvement for me and I look forward to being more.... forward about my class offerings in the future.

  

  
  

Lessons learned-

Bigger doesn't equal better. I know this, but sometimes we have to re-learn lessons a few times before they sink all the way in. I lost way too much money on our trip to Ohio this Thanksgiving, reminding me that big sparkly show out of town isn't always the best bet for time spent and reaching new customers like you would hope. This lesson will lead me to think more locally in 2026 with a goal of staying within the confines of the state of Illinois for markets and art shows. Let's see what we can do here in the Midwest, shall we?!

Letting go is cathartic and makes room for new things to exist! Letting go of the Brazen Bago and Jewelry pictures in the studio, branded packaging I had been repurposing, replacing the old signage, and allowing myself to re-imagine the studio space and make it speak to my new vibe was mood-changing and life-giving. Dan was a huge part of making this space the place of my artist heart's dreams and I simply could not have done it without his(and the boys') help! There is fun lighting, signage, display and relaxation areas, along with all the same space to work and create in. It is fun, lighthearted, colorful and exciting. I love going to work each day and that changes your outlook on life if you can swing it!!

Updating the tables to reflect our personality!

Two heads are always better than one. My whole career I have done everything myself. My former husband did a lot of the construction work, that's true. But the nuts and bolts of the business; the money, the time, the profit/loss margins, the soul of what I am doing each day was something I kept all to myself and never considered partnering with someone on. Asking my husband Dan to come on board officially, as the CFO, entire data analytics team, sounding board, construction crew, and personality hire was definitely the best move for Sarah Sonder. Having someone believe in me, but also have the data to back up his belief takes so much of the pressure off my shoulders to be my own cheerleader, and to make sure I know the business is successful and moving in the right direction. Working alongside your spouse is not for everyone, but for us, we couldn't imagine it any other way. I am sure Sarah Sonder will be more than I could have ever accomplished on my own and I am more than happy to say we did it together.

My guy.

I am working to live, not living to work. I am drawn to create art. In the depths of my soul, the inspiration festers and cannot be contained. I also chose to work for myself to best balance the life and time it takes to raise kids, be there for their events and available when they need their mama. Sometimes this means less production, missed deadlines, and dropped balls for my little studio. I hate to do anything other than excel(ha!) but I learned to balance my work and life better as I was reminded that being there for them is the whole point. Without affording myself that flexibility, I am just creating the same constraints a "typical" job would produce.

I made a lot of pieces I am proud of in 2025.

In the last quarter of the year, I nearly doubled the revenue I had from the entire year to that point and that was double what I made in 2024! I put in more hours than ever in the studio at my bench, and kept real "office hours" to allow for all the work to be done during the day, leaving my nights open for family. I increased my social following, social engagement and website traffic, although all of those things still need improvement. I committed to selling 5 pieces a month in the last quarter of 2025 and met that goal, and then some.

Is my businesses a success? I think so. Can I change the world with my earnings this year? No. Not even close. But that is where I am headed and I think the lessons learned in 2025 have set me up to get there even sooner than I previously thought possible!

<3 Sarah Sonder