A Look Back at 2020
It’s time to look back on this past year, a time of much growth and change for Lady Farmer.
And just like that, it’s 2021! What a year we’ve had. The early weeks of 2020 found us immersed in several projects. Not only were we focused on launching our Lady Farmer podcast, The Good Dirt, but our five week “Slow Living Challenge” as well, and also preparing for the spring launch of our book, The Lady Farmer Guide to Slow Living.
Little did we know that we were all about to experience an unprecedented slow-down in our lives that extended from each of our homes and across the globe. Stay-at-home orders were announced mid-March and all non-essential businesses closed down. Our book was released for sale on March 31st, with the tagline, “Cultivating Sustainable Simplicity Close to Home.” Talk about timing!
Even in the midst of crisis, these events seemed like an affirmation of everything we’re about at Lady Farmer, which encouraged us through the weeks that followed. It was time to make decisions about our annual retreat, an event that has been fundamental to expanding our community and sharing information that, by this point, was growing more relevant by the day. Given that no one could predict when large gatherings would feel safe again, we made the decision to “go virtual” with the retreat, without even knowing how to do it or what it would look like!
Fortunately, we have a small- but -mighty team of bright and creative women who took this challenge head on, and made it happen. Our third annual Lady Farmer Slow Living Retreat took place the weekend of November 15th-16th, all online, offering sixteen interactive workshop sessions, a live, interactive episode of The Good Dirt podcast, a daily yoga session and informal coffee chat, a panel discussion and happy hour get -together. Within this new format, we were able to present more classes and discussions covering more topics on sustainable living, and include many more participants as well. It was a success in every way!
Having created such a strong community of slow living enthusiasts over the last few years, we wanted to establish a platform for sharing information and continuing our connection. This month, we launched The ALMANAC, our online membership community that allows us to gather together sharing skills, experiences and insights into the sustainable lifestyle journey.
Within this community, we share seasonal guidance around slow living, including articles, essays, home-centered activities such as gardening, cooking, food preservation, mending (to name a few) as well as music and book recommendations, workshops, discussions and opportunities to get together virtually at least once a month! All of this is within a platform that allows members continual online access to sharing and interaction.
Our mission at Lady Farmer in sowing the seeds of slow living is to offer guidance and information for those seeking a more intentional, meaningful and sustainable lifestyle, and to cultivate a supportive, structured space for becoming more empowered in affecting change in our everyday lives.
If you’re new to Lady Farmer and this sounds like something that interests you, we invite you to take a look at all that we have to offer. Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know what’s coming up. You’ll also find our online Marketplace, where you can get The Lady Farmer Guide to Slow Living, and view our entire selection of sustainable clothing and lifestyle items for your slow home. Explore membership benefits for our online membership community, The ALMANAC, here. And don’t forget to check out The Good Dirt Podcast (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart, and Stitcher!) where we take a deep dive into all things slow and sustainable living.
Wherever you are today, we would love to have you join us at Lady Farmer in our exploration of sustainable living, remembering that each of our choices has the power to create a more regenerative world.
Wishing a joyful and inspiring New Year to each and every one of you!
Lady Farmer Love,
Mary and Emma
