We've got some BIG news!
After 12 years, dignify is going to a new home & new owners. Wow!
This is massive news for us, personally (though it will not impact you much). I will debrief over the next few weeks (starting below), but here is the TL;DR overview:
- dignify is changing ownership from Shelley & Wayne in Calgary, Alberta to Lauranne & Shinod in Florida
- We're having a Moving Sale on select items through March 10th
- Canadians, read more here about changes specific to you
- The store will not close at all, but shipping will pause on March 11 for ~2 weeks while our inventory moves, resuming approx. April 1
Read more about the journey:
I (Shelley Jones) began dignify in 2012 as a side project in the margins of full-time parenting our 2- & 3-year old daughters. My professional background was in marketing, and after purchasing a Basha kantha throw for my widowed friend as a wedding gift, I was captivated by the product & its redemptive story. In a flurry of adrenaline & passion, I designed a website, name, logo, and packaging (and learned how to import goods, register a business, send for textile fire testing, etc. etc.) and we launched dignify with an in-person open house and to the internet on November 15, 2012.
Remember the OG Instagram filters?
Ten years and tens of thousands of blankets later, I felt that the Jones era of dignify was in its twilight. As my (now 16-year old) daughter recently put it, dignify has been a great story for our family, but it was time to become a great story for a new family. Personally, as a creator and an entrepreneur, I felt ready for a new challenge and adventure. As a family, our needs had changed and were reaching a point that would require big choices regarding the practical operations of the business.
And, for dignify as a business itself, I felt that it was ripe for a fresh wind to blow through… a new voice, new energy, new ideas. I have loved pouring myself into this product, this story, this community, and this newsletter for over a decade; but, I was pretty sure that I had said enough 🙂.
It took two more years before we met the perfect people to take up the mantle and continue dignify’s legacy into a new era. It was important to us that dignify continued under the care of people with the same values & ethos for dignified work, kinship, intention, & sustainability through all aspects of the business.
We are so thrilled to announce Lauranne & Shinod, and their daughter Lily, as the new owners of dignify!
You will meet these beautiful people more in the coming weeks (and years 😏). They are the real deal!!
What to expect for this weekly email:
In the coming weeks, I will tell you more! Expect a Q & A next week with Lauranne to get to know her better. I will subsequently share highlights of these first 12 years of dignify, and sneak in one final book list ;) and farewell. March 10 will be the last day of sales under our direction and ownership. Lauranne will pick up communications beyond that!
What to expect for the store:
Business as usual! We will continue to run dignify through March 10th; then, there will be a pause on shipping to you while our precious kantha moves locations from March 11, to resume by ~April 1.
Select items are on sale until the move; you can scroll down for more info.
You may not know that our operations are located in Canada. If you are a Canadian, read here for info pertinent to you for our move to FL.
Moving Sale
Some older kantha goodies will not be making the journey, so we are offering them to purchase at a discounted rate.
We want to keep the transition smooth & lean, and this is simply to lighten the load. This is not the end! New (full-price) kantha will continue to launch in the coming weeks and, of course, beyond.
It is impossible to express the depth of my gratitude for all of your involvement and participation on this dignify journey. I am beyond proud that dignify has the most wonderful group of customers and email subscribers whom I can introduce to Lauranne (and vice versa). I am elated that after seeing several similar businesses over the years seek an exit and ultimately close their doors, dignify has the roots and the strength of support to continue on.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I can tell you with full confidence & expectation, and zero false humility, that Lauranne will do a better job than we have done. We literally cannot imagine a better person to take the reins. So exciting!
— Shelley
Elsewhere...
Tried-And-True Tips for Sweethearts, Parents, Coworkers, & Friends
In honour of St. Valentine, this lengthy list is full of such great relationship advice! Along the same lines as "Do let the sun go down on your anger", one of the great pieces of advice we received — 20+ years ago when we were getting married — was, "Time out at 10." It's never been that 10pm was a magic number of a rigid timeline; it was the concept that important conversations shouldn't happen when it's late, or when you're tired. Nobody is functioning at their best!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Saga
Ok, wanted to give a follow-up to my request for cookie recipes. Here's what I know: I am trying to replicate my favourite childhood chocolate-chip cookie, which was a recipe from the Five Roses cookbook, but now somehow works terribly for me. 🤷♀️ I like the taste of one where the brown sugar is more dominant than the white sugar.
The closest I have now tried (thanks, Elizabeth!) is Martha Stewart's. I've learned that at high altitude (I'm at nearly 3,500 feet), a hotter oven is better (375°), and that overbeating the eggs makes a cookie more crispy/firm and I don't want that. I'm still not entirely sure about the baking soda/baking powder situation.
It also must be said that I LOVE these brown butter cc cookies, but the butter-browning is an extra step and I rarely have Skor bars on hand, so I was looking for a less fussy, more on-hand-everyday cookie.
Thank you for your companionship on this journey. 😂 To be clear, keep the recipes coming!