2019 the year we hit 10 years in business but also experienced such sadness

2019 has been quite a rollercoaster for Cheeky Little Prints, we have experienced some amazing highs but were also hit with some tragic lows :'(   I guess every year is always a mixture.  I have been reflecting on this over the Christmas break.  12 months is a long time, there will always be great times and there will always be sad times.  I think the most important thing to keep front of mind is to live your life, spend it with those you love, those who appreciate you and make you feel amazing, like you can achieve literally anything.  Of course we will still be hit with challenges, some long term, some sudden and a lot totally out of your control but if you surround yourself with amazing people who will be there for you and support you, you will be able to face these challenges head on.

Big and exciting changes

2019 has seen much change at Cheeky Little Prints HQ.  We took the decision at the beginning of the year to niche specifically in pet paw prints.  We have such a lot of experience and channelling that into one specific area is exciting (and a tiny bit scary!) and we are loving it and have lots planned for 2020 so keep your eyes peeled and your tails wagging!  Having said that, we have tried to make sure we communicate to you that we will always still create silver hand and footprint jewellery and do so regularly, as well as stamps, mugs and Christmas decorations with hand and footprints.  All you need to do is give us a call or drop us a message/email and we will be more than happy to help.

Beautiful angels

We have created many beautiful stamps and silver jewellery with hand and footprints of angel babies again this year.  Creating these makes my heart hurt for their mummy and daddy, I can’t even begin to imagine how devastating it is to lose your baby.  On the other hand I am honoured to be able to create such a special keepsake for them.  I’ll be honest, these are tough to create, but I will always create them for you, as I would always hope someone would show me the same compassion and strength if I needed them to create something for me that they would find tough to make.

Ready, steady, launch!

One of the biggest changes this year was the building and launching of our brand new website.  That was a project and a half, that the very talented team at Smarter Media delivered for us 🙂   It took months of planning and a lot of work but we did it and launched in August!  We have had so many wonderful comments and feedback on the website, we are over the moon you all love it.  It is great to see the Your Pets gallery growing with photos of your precious furbabies.  If you would like to see your pet feature, please email your photos to lisa@cheekylittleprints.co.uk and we will wave our pawsome magic wand and make that happen for you.

 

In April of this year Cheeky Little Prints proudly celebrated their 10th birthday!  Well, we have been celebrating most of the year to be honest, but why not, only around 4% of businesses make it to 10 years so it’s a pretty big deal 🙂

 

You will also notice we have refreshed all of the product photography, colour scheme and our packaging.  We are very happy to report you love the gorgeous silver jewellery boxes and gift bags and the new presentation folders for our popular inkless paw print kits have gone down a storm!  Lots of you have been ordering kits to give as gifts to friends and family, which is fabulous.  Giving a pet owner the opportunity to capture their best friend’s unique paw print to keep forever is such a truly special and powerful gift to give.  A gift that should not be underestimated, as none of us know what is around the corner.  This was sadly proven to us in March and April this year.

 

Tomorrow is never promised…

My grandparents, both in their 90’s had not been in the best of health for a while but my grandad developed a chest infection at the end of March this year.  The wonderful nurses and staff at the care home let family know that the Dr was prescribing end of life medication just in case.  We visited him that afternoon, and I was so grateful we did as 2.30am the next morning he passed away with a lot of his family by his side.  Sadly my nan deteriorated quickly and within a few days couldn’t remember him passing away, this was very sad and difficult to see.  They had been married nearly 73 years and just didn’t function without each other. We all visited everyday, and had our mother’s day lunch at the care home with her.

 

Two weeks to the day after my grandad passed away we were dealt another tragic blow.  At 4.30pm on 9th April my dad found our beautiful tabby cat Tiger outside our house, she had been run over, he called me straight away but it was too late.  I can’t even begin to describe how devastated I was and still am.  I will try to put it into a blog soon, but it still hurts so much, she was only 4 years old and she always ran away from cars so something else must have been wrong but there was no sign at all.  I often get messages from pet owners who are about to say goodbye to their furbaby or who have just lost their pet asking for advice or thoughts so hopefully I can write some helpful blogs for you.

This wasn’t the end of our sadness unfortunately.  My nan continued to deteriorate and all we could do was visit, hold her hand and talk to her.  She passed away 2 weeks later.  4 weeks and within a few hours of when we lost my grandad.  She always said they just wanted to sit in a chair, hold hands and go together, well, they weren’t far off that to be honest.  They are all together now.  It’s been a reflective Christmas, the first without any of my grandparents, which has been incredibly sad.

 

Little rascals

Our house was far too quiet without Tiger, so after a while, we decided to rehome 2 beautiful kittens from Battersea Cats and Dogs home in London.  I know many of you have been following Sammy and Luna’s adventures since they arrived with us in July at a tiny and very fluffy 9 weeks old.  They are growing rather well and certainly keep us on our toes!  We will keep you up to date with their antics, sorry, I mean progress throughout 2020 on our social media channels and emails.  Sammy and Luna have brought much light and laughter back into our house, they will never be a replacement for Tiger but our hearts felt so empty and these two little rascals needed a home and lots of love which we adore giving them, I am sure you will all relate to this.

Happy New Year

We have been busy planning to make sure 2020 is pawsome and we will begin sharing some of this with you very soon.  Have an amazing New Year celebration and keep your furbabies safe and away from the New Years Eve fireworks I am sure we will end up seeing and hearing.

 

I hope your 2019 has been filled with more happiness than sadness.  I hope it’s made you stronger, more positive and more determined to live your life now and pursue what you really want in life.  You only get one life, and now is the time to live it

 

Lisa xxx