Shop Good Blog

Dignify has grown over many years and stages, but much of it was built in the margin time of my life when my husband was working full time and I was caring full-time for a 2 & 3-year old. 

Isaac Newton worked on the early foundations of calculus & gravity during his isolation “annus mirabilis” (amazing year).

Do you need to start a side business or become a math whiz if you have any downtime? No! 

But, binge-watching wears out after a while... and there is absolutely a middle zone of creative, constructive ways 

In my recent reader survey, one reader shared this (remarkably prescient) comment:

“The world moves too quickly now and we are expected to keep the pace but in my opinion it is far from healthy and we need to realize that.” 

Here I am, in my home office, typing at my computer, surrounded by kantha blankets. This is nothing new; in fact, my work situation (and my husband, Wayne’s) is, on its best & most productive days, remarkably resemblant to “social isolation” or  “social distancing”. Some weeks (most weeks?), I barely leave my neighborhood.

But there's a difference...

Where does my kantha blanket come from?

I’ve written plenty about Bangladesh and how our blankets are made, and also some behind-the-scenes from the arrival of our shipments.

But, today, let’s join the journey with one kantha blanket, to give you a glimpse of the travels it takes from creation to enjoyment in your living room!



Today is our bonus day. The extra 24 hours we get every 4 years. 

But, like those months where you get extra paycheque, that bonus can be set aside for something intentional, or simply absorbed into the warp and weft of everyday life. 

Of course, I know that February 29th is not a day that exists outside of the calendar, outside of commitments or responsibilities. But, as an extra gift of time within the whole year, it is a reflective moment for me to ask myself, what is important to me in the time that I have? -

I was inspired by a goal that Elise Joy (goal-setter extraordinaire) set for herself for 2020: "Get dressed (in an outfit I feel good in) every day."

In Bangladesh, there are some cultural “rules” about what to wear that is appropriate. This amounts, basically, to covering your curves: two layers over your chest and rear. When I was there for a week, I essentially wore the same thing every day (a long, plain navy, cotton tunic, as well as a scarf). That had its own benefits (the ease of a "uniform"!), but I was also thrilled to come home and wear what I wanted to again.

But, with the freedom to wear whatever I wanted, the question came: what did I want to wear?

One subject I find really interesting is learning some behind-the-scenes of business and marketing. I've written before about how online brands use email subscriptions, discounts, and scarcity tactics to sell and grow. Some elements can be manipulative, but overall, I am just fascinated by how all of these hidden intricacies work.

In e-commerce businesses (retail stores that are all online) like mine, it is common to grow for the sake of growing. More sales, more staff, more products… isn’t that the definition of success?

Listen, I know that there are book lists for DAYS out there. This is another one, and I'm not pretending otherwise! It is completely biased and based on nothing other than what I have read recently. I love to read, I love to receive recommendations, and I love to share the books that I've enjoyed with others.

Every one of these books is my recommendation to YOU, but there are also ideas of other people in your life who might enjoy them. 😉 Comment below or fire me an email with your own best, recent reads! 

Dignify’s origin story has long been included, in brief, on our about page, and I refer to it whenever I’ve done interviews or podcasts or if I meet someone in person who inevitably asks, how did you get into this?

I'd like to share a bit of a wider panorama of the story, and an update. I have heard some tremendous stories from customers about the meaning that their blanket has had in some aspect of their life or a relationship. I'm so inspired, I would like to share more of mine, too. The story of dignify is very intertwined with my friend, Kathy.

I've taken a Halloween approach (thus far) that is almost entirely of a free-for-all. As in: Go trick-or-treating, have fun, eat candy, keep it in your room, go wild... and usually by two weeks in, it's all gone, forgotten, or lost its lustre. This week, though, our three kids brought over 1200 candies & chips back into our house (!!!). It was, to understate things... a bit much.

When you find yourself with an abundance of junk food, the idea of throwing it away feels inconceivable (at least for me). Maybe it is that candy is non-perishable, and there is a sense that throwing something edible in the garbage is abhorrently wasteful?

A little behind-the-scenes insight here... 

As a store owner, there are loads of resources out in the wilds of the internet, ostensibly to help me succeed in my business. Did you know that I start hearing about Black Friday (as in "are you prepared to break through on Black Friday?") in the summer?

It is SO EASY to find ourselves as consumers in the maelstrom of other people's (and corporations') marketing efforts, and not even remember how we got there, or even notice these (very intentional) forces working away on us.

Here are some actions we can take now to simplify the noise before the noisiest time of the shopping year: —

I shared on Instagram recently a post that Gretchen Rubin had written (taking concepts from her book, The Happiness Project), entitled, 

"7 tips for how money can buy you happiness"

I've written a lot over the years about spending wisely, thoughtfully, holding back, slowing down, and really considering, "Do I want to spend money on this [insert item, service, etc. here]?" I still think that this line of thinking is crucial — a necessary counter to the bombardment of our culture towards buy-buy-buy.

But, Gretchen was tackling the question from a different angle: yes, being thoughtful; but, actually with a focus on the positives of actually spending the money.

7 years after starting dignify... I have booked a trip to travel to Bangladesh for the first time. I am excited & apprehensive, and while I won't be public about dates (it is sometime in the coming 6 months), I want to share some details of the journey (and my process of getting this trip going) with you.