Change

All through this past month, I've been thinking a lot about the concept of "change." Maybe because we are experiencing a lot of seasonal weather changes, the back-to-school mood, or because we have steadily entered the 2027 planner season. I was just sharing with the BK team member Amanda that I can't seem to fathom capturing all the details in my family master calendar... that I need a really large planner. Usually, I welcome these moments when I get to dream up the “Hopes and Dreams” for the following year with my analogue system as a medium. But combined with an intolerable heatwave that engulfed Southern California this past week and big shifts that naturally come with kids going back to school full-time, I have felt a bit more overwhelmed than excited. I have spoken with different families and friends, and I've realized that a lot of us are grappling with needing to adjust and readjust because something big is shifting in our lives. 

I have been designing and sharing artifacts that embed the ethos, life lessons, and insights I experienced along the way. "Journey is the destination, trust the process, on the quest for life well lived and loved, everything happens for a reason..." These are not random sayings but something that deeply resonated with me at some point in my life. As we are getting ready to restock our beloved "change is the only constant" brass plate, I am reminded that I have been here before. Not exactly at the same intersection of today's scenario, but something familiar when a shift in the tides completely disrupted my comfortable situation without any precursor, and I felt knocked off by a big wave. Knowing what I know from past experience, patience and resilience to get through the circumstances while being present is one of the only ways to come out of the water... to catch my breath and find equilibrium again. 

Change often comes suddenly, when we are least expecting it. Change can feel uncomfortable and plain challenging. Simultaneously, change can stir stagnant conditions and bring a much-needed breath of fresh air. Without change, we wouldn't have gone through our evolution. 

As I package those "change" brass plates today, I share my gratitude with the younger version of me who asked Frido to design this charm with a butterfly as a metaphor. It's powerful to be able to hold the vision of a beautiful emerging butterfly when I'm in the midst of (often chaotic) change. Also, if you are experiencing a big change in your everyday life right now, I send a gentle upward wind your way with lots of sprinkles in the color of optimism and expansion that can come from the change. 

-wakako,

always a metamorphosis in progress...

Topanga // September 1st, 2026

p.s. I settled to try 2027 MD Thin Monthly in A4 size! I haven't used anything bigger than A5 size for a long time, so it will feel very different. I'm nervous, and I am also really looking forward to the spaciousness.

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