Looking back in order to move forward

Once again it’s time to look back at the past year and ahead to the new one.

Last year taught me to be thankful for everything I already have, enjoy life’s little moments, and small successes.

I’ve always been very hard on myself, constantly wanting to improve and thinking of what I could do better. I love the process of continuous learning. I love to read books to gain more knowledge on how to be successful in life and I have to say that it all has helped me to achieve a lot. Clearly, this has also been pivotal during the journey of becoming an international entrepreneur. Lately, though, I have learned that sometimes just being you is enough. It’s also important to take some time off, be with your loved ones, and just enjoy life’s little moments. Otherwise, life just flies by, and what is the point if we are not present? We need to be present and instead of only looking ahead and planning our future, we need to enjoy the moments life has to offer now. There is so much around us to be thankful for - beautiful nature, smiling people, magical sunrise after not seeing the sun for weeks (hello Nordic winters). Just take time and notice. Last year I started a new practice of writing down those positive moments I am thankful for every night before going to bed. I found so many small things to be thankful for when I was going through the day in my head... I would have never noticed them if I hadn't taken the time to do it. I encourage you to do the same!

2022 felt very long because of all that happened in the world during the year but all in all with its ups and downs it was a steady year for us in Marimo.
It’s not easy to be a business owner during these turbulent times but by nature I’ve always loved challenges and this year definitely was a big one for me. Besides that, our family welcomed our 3rd baby at the end of the year. As my pregnancy wasn’t the easiest one, it made it harder to keep myself focused on the business when it was needed. But as they say, teamwork makes the dream work so during the times I personally was a bit off, my professional fashion team made it all happen. So my biggest thank you to all of them. 🙏🏻
It showed me again how important it is to create a system that works, and not be the system yourself. ☺️ I know that some of you have been concerned a how things will run in Marimo now that I have a newborn. I can assure you that now that we have a bigger professional fashion team, things will continue to operate as smoothly as they always have. Also, I don’t plan to stay at home because I already know from my last two experiences that everything can be done with a baby.

To sum up the year 2022, I’d say that one of the keywords was video calls. We have never had so many video calls with our international clients. In the last four years, many amazing women all over the world have found Marimo and I couldn’t be happier about it. It’s always been my dream to help women all around the world feel beautiful and confident every day and I am very lucky that I have this opportunity now. Thank you for your trust. 🙏🏻

We try our hardest with our team to offer you exceptional quality every step of the way. Each client matters to us. We love personal communication with you all and it’s been a real pleasure to see so many of you thanks to technology. It helps us to understand you and your wishes much better and I really hope that at one point we can meet all of you in real life as well. That would be amazing! And you know what - we need to be careful what we wish for because dreams tend to become a reality. 😉

To give you an idea of how wide the Marimo community reaches, we have created a little map where you can see the countries, where beautiful ladies are wearing Marimo pieces.

I believe that we all have a responsibility to give back. No one becomes successful without lots of hard work, support from others, and a little luck. Giving back creates a virtuous cycle that makes everyone more successful.

- Ron Conway.

Last year I heard a beautiful saying that luck is when opportunity meets preparation. We all need a little luck in our life to achieve our goals but before that, we need to put in the hard work to be ready when the opportunity appears. As my preparation and hard work have paid off, I have felt that it’s time to give back and last year gave me the opportunity to give back by helping young fashion entrepreneurs as a fashion business mentor at Tallinn Creative Incubator. It’s a new role for me as well and I’m sure that by helping others with their questions about high-end design, product, marketing, sales, branding, client relations, and strategic management I will learn so much myself. I will have the first mentoring session next week, so I’m very excited about it.

Last year we also focused on our YouTube channel where we create only valuable slow fashion and styling content. We have found the best video producers to create high-quality videos on various relevant topics and educate women to consume less and invest in high-quality garments. It’s not the easiest job in today’s world for sure but I believe that it's an invaluable contribution to helping Mother Nature. Our aim is to help women all over the world create their dream capsule wardrobes and look beautiful and stylish every day. We actually don’t need much when it comes to our wardrobe - we just need high-quality versatile pieces that would last for years and some useful tips on how to style and combine them in different ways. So if you haven’t subscribed to our YouTube channel yet, please do that now. 😉

Marimo's YouTube channel

As the company is growing year by year, planning and preparing gets more vital. It’s essential that the whole team understands where we are and where we are heading to. When I started back in 2010, all ideas were only in my head but now my focus is to see and create the big picture and make it understandable to the whole team. It is essential to know where we presently are, but also Marimo’s future plans, goals, and dreams. So my biggest goal for the year 2023 is to do less everyday stuff and focus on building stronger systems, and a stronger company. As I've done it all myself for many years, at times it’s hard for me to let go, but I understand that if there’s trust, you can focus on your tasks and trust everybody else to do theirs. It’s how we can create more value. I know that sometimes I can micro-manage (sorry, team 🙈) only because I’m used to it but I have to let go of it if we want to move forward.

The dream team (at least half of it)

In addition to sharing styling inspiration throughout our online platforms, we have also launched different styling services. Such as creating a dream outfit or a whole wardrobe with myself and my fashion team. You can also choose a custom Style Guide that will include nine looks with your Marimo piece for different occasions. So all you have to do in the morning is have a look at it and you will know what to wear. All of the services can be provided offline and online. Please find them here. I have seen how important the styling aspect is for you and I am glad to share that with you. How to get more out of one garment is the key to smart fashion.

NEW COLLECTION AND NEW KNITWEAR LINE

In 2023, we are launching two new collections, in March and in September, and also our new cashmere line. I can’t wait to share those new pieces with you all. It’s been an interesting project and has taken us a lot of time and planning to make it work. But I’m sure it’s all worth it and you will fall in love with our cashmere line as much as we already have. The excitement is real!

Our new collections will not be overly big, containing only ten new pieces. All the ones I see that are missing from our main product line and what women really need to create their perfect and timeless classical feminine wardrobes. So there are some really great new items to look forward to. My goal is to reach the point where you could get everything from Marimo. I see that it is a rising trend that you would love to get everything from us and I couldn’t be happier to see so many people value the quality we offer!

Here is a little hint to you of our new SS23 collection fabrics. ;)

We have also signed some contracts to start selling Marimo pieces for more classy women all over the world. I can't say much more about it yet, but it’s a big step for us and I hope you will rejoice with us once we can spread the news in Spring.

As the Marimo map indicates, we have reached so many wonderful women all over the world who trust us. This year brings me closer to some of you and I can’t wait to fly to some countries to really meet you. After being in close contact virtually, it feels really good to finally meet you in person. I’m thrilled that life offers me those opportunities and I have some ideas on how to create bigger events in the future where our whole team would have the opportunity to meet the amazing Marimo women from different countries in real life. I really feel that our community shares the same values and that makes it so much more than just plain customer service. We engage, support, and encourage each other. And I truly enjoy it. You give me the reason to create beautiful collections and you give our whole team the reason to create more valuable content to help you.