building a business is so embarrassing 🫣

As I've slowly built up uno+ichi over the years, I have been embarrassed by so much 😆. Yet somehow each day I find the strength to keep going anyway.

There are some past designs that I find embarrassing. Some customer interactions I totally fumbled. I don't post regularly like I know I'm supposed to. I still pack all the orders myself, all over the living room with piles of boxes here and there. I try to make sure none of my hair sticks to any of the tape. And most of all, I procrastinate for weeks on writing these Lab Notes to you! This email in itself is kind of cringe and embarrassing to me (which is why I procrastinate).

I'm sharing this today because all of this has been on my mind lately. It's kinda funny how I can get really bummed out sometimes for not meeting my own expectations. I want the words to come easily, the glaze to come out flawless, to plan out my day and then execute it without fail. And when it doesn't it?? Shame.

But lately I've been catching 🎣 the moments I feel some shame, discomfort or resistance and have been allowing it (even welcoming it). I've been allowing its presence and getting curious about the value hidden in these uncomfortable feelings.

Anyway, I'm sharing this with you in case you're working on something and feeling the shame of it not being there yet. I think it's crucial to hold the vision of what something could be while simultaneously accepting what it is right now. It can be difficult, but I think we get better at it if we practice it!

For those of you who are procrastinating on starting a project, I invite you to notice and catch whether or not you're feeling some shame or discomfort around those first baby steps being embarrassingly imperfect. And I encourage you to be okay with that. 🫶🏽

There is going to be an uno+ichi shop update at the end of this month, with a restock on the Neighbor Cups, plus a brand new neighbor: Bear! It's taken me MONTHS to get his glaze decoration right, and in all that time I haven't come up with a better name than "Bear" 😅. In addition, I'll have more Royal Dogs and about ten one-off plates that are super special! Keep an eye out for emails in the coming days for photos and info on those.

Until then!
<3 Hana