I've had a lot of calls and messages asking, "where are you?", "Are you still working?", "How are you in the midst of the corona virus?" Sorry, Friends, for not publicly addressing this sooner. We have been in survival mode for a bit now. I'm not sure if we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel or just finally getting our feet underneath us as we plow forward.
We are still here. We is a bit of a loose word. I have had to move the business back into my home and thus am working by my lonesome these days ( If you don't count the tiny people that belong to me and often help tag items.... sorry if they are not straight! I blame the 5 yr old!)
In March, when the covid-mayhem hit, my commercial lease was at a cross roads. Just before the lock down, unknowingly, I had verbally committed to a lease renewal. There was so much excitement in the growth and future of JKO. All that changed as the murmurings of lock down came to fruition. The emergency health order to shelter in place sent kids home from school and closed the doors of my retail space. I couldn't in good conscience renew that contract with so many things up in the air. We are a military family and at the time I had a deployed spouse. The burden was heavy and decisions had to be made quickly. We are so thankful for an understanding landlord who allowed me to take my time getting my shop cleared out with no penalty. The amount of people that stood in the gap for us was enormous. Team Kain will forever be in debt to those who cared for us in that season.
The last layer, I've begun to share with clients, is that I will be working at a slower pace as we continue in the year not just because I'm now running the business in my home and have children distance learning to monitor but also due to some health concerns. Covid hit amid my efforts to resolve some on going symptoms. I suspect that the stress of a pandemic, atop the military lifestyle, exacerbated an on underlying health issue. As I take a moment to figure out my health JKO will be slow rolled. I want to make sure I'm still here to re-imagine your squadron merchandise for years to come. Now seems to be a good time to slow things down as the whole world has paced production. I will continue to design and produce but bear with me as I deal with not only internal issues but external with the supply chain breakdown.
All the love,
Jenni
