What we've been up to during Lockdown!

If somebody had told me one New Year’s Eve last year, a blow by blow account of what’s happened thus far in 2020, I’d have laughed and called them crazy. Yet fast forward 4 months, and here we are, in one of the most challenging, worrying and bleakest periods of our existence.

Just like most, as a business, we’ve been affected but rather than bore you with that, I wanted to give you an insight into the radically different pursuits both Kristian and I have, on a daily basis.  There have been tantrums, screams, shouts but in equal measure there have plenty of giggles, smiles and memories created. Not only that, but not everyone has been wearing their daily contact lenses while stuck at home. Some days I've worn my glasses too!

So let’s set the scene. Kristian lives with his wife Emma and his beautiful daughter Ayla, who is 2 and runs the world (who runs the world, Girls).  I however, live at home with my two dogs Duke & Wesley (French Bulldogs, run my world at least). 

Hats off to Kristian and Emma though, while both running their own companies, just like all parents in the UAE/World, they’re left with the balancing act of looking after and homeschooling Ayla. Not only that, but Kristian needs to balance all of this with his new career as a TIKTOK influencer. If you haven’t seen the videos, I suggest you do immediately. 

Away from TIKTOK he’s really embraced home schooling and his IG stories are the highlight of my day. He’s made cars out of cardboard boxes, held a sports day in the garden and done the arduous process of getting all the painting stuff out, only for Ayla to paint for 47 seconds and want to do something else. Here's one of Kristian's many wonderful creations:

Flip over to my house and well, I’ve embraced running. Running in my garden to be precise. On Friday I did 12 miles in the garden which involved me running up and down my garden 1200 times. LOST. THE.PLOT - When I’m not running, I’m ‘walking’ the dogs in the garden too - they’ve got to get the exercise in too right? I’m reading some excellent books too, “When Breath Becomes Air” is phenomenal and a really poignant read right now. 

And then the glue that keeps us together and motivated, is Hopi. It’s really tough but we’re probably talking to each other more than before. I’d say there’s at least 4 phone calls a day (some not even about work) and maybe a couple of Zoom’s, a couple of slack messages and a whole host of meme’s on WhatsApp/instagram. We’re a walking ‘working from home’ cliche.

In all seriousness, we’re doubling down on our customer service, making sure orders go out and get delivered in a timely manner. We’re revamping the website too and we’re so stoked to get that live in the coming days! What’s key, as business partners and friends, is being there to pick each other up. We have bad days, and it’s essential that we pick the other person up. I know it’s tough, and it’s ok to be feeling down about it, but don’t dwell on it. Try and embrace this as the new reality, rather than waiting for it all to blow over. As Churchill famously said, “Keep buggering on!