Week in Review #9: Reflecting on a difficult decision I made last June and how it ended up being the best thing.
Plus 9 favorite outfits from May, a June moodboard & more...
June!! End of the school year. Summertime. Vacation. (Hopefully) slower living & more time outdoors. It’s all happening this month, but it doesn’t feel like it yet because, as usual, it’s gloomy and a bit chilly here in San Diego. I love cloudy days, but once June hits I admittedly am ready for the sunshine to come through the windows!
This month I’ve been reflecting a bit, because June marks one year since the beginning of the end of a business partnership I was in last year. This week last year was when we began the process of separating ourselves professionally (and ultimately personally) and it’s wild to think that it was a year ago that it happened. It simultaneously feels like it just happened, and that it was a lifetime ago. Life is so different now! And I’m very grateful for that.
What happened exactly? I won’t get into it too much, but I will say that I was the one who asked to end the partnership, and I ultimately decided to withdraw from the company for a variety of reasons. After months of legal battle, and rejected buyout offers, it was clear that we were getting nowhere fast. It was a hard decision to withdraw after putting so much work into the business, but I knew in my gut that I just needed to walk away and let things shake out how they would, rather than continue to waste time and money.
I remember crying and telling my husband that I was terrified I was throwing my whole career away. I worried I’d lose trust, respect and connection with the brands I worked with as well as customers. It felt like a massive public failure (still kind of does if I’m being 100% honest with you), but it ended up being a beautiful opportunity to get back to my roots, and the whole experience taught me more about business than I ever learned in college. It also did wonders for my fear of failure — I tried something, it didn’t work out, a ton of people knew about it, and everybody moved on. A blessing in disguise for sure.
While initially successful, nothing much ended up coming of that business (though the website still exists passively), and it’s sad to see because I know how great it could’ve been. At the same time, I’ve been able to live out much of the vision I had for that business through my own company that I decided to re-open, Natalie Borton Designs. Ethically sourced & responsibly-made products. A growing & authentic community of supportive and positive people. Design partnerships with fellow brands (like THATCH, Abby Alley, and others coming up soon that I can’t wait to share about). It didn’t work out the way I expected back in 2021 when I first entered into that business partnership, but I think it all happened for a reason and the way it needed to.
June 2023 felt like the end, but it really was just a new beginning. A chance to start fresh. An opportunity to be humbled (never easy, but very important). A way for me to build a business I wanted to build, just in a way I didn’t expect.
Thought of the Week
9 Favorite Looks from May
Skirts and dresses really dominated my favorites this month, which I find kind of surprising. Perhaps it’s because they feel fresh after months and months of pants? Who knows, but I do know that as much as I hate micro shorts, I very much am into mini silhouettes.
June Moodboard
Last month I put together a moodboard for May and it was such a fun creative exercise. I’m going to continue to try to make one each month as a visual representation of what’s inspiring me — hope you like them
What I Wore This Week
Mini skirts, wide leg jeans and double denim came through strong with this week’s outfits — my favorite look is below (tied with the outfit I wore on Tuesday, which is just another version of it)! See all the looks here.
Posts I saved this week…
Where I Find the Time to Read | “These days we are encouraged to be glued to our phones — from social media platforms giving us notifications for every single action happening on their little apps and the ability to endlessly scroll, from our jobs demanding that we respond to each email within the hour or even from our friends or family who expect us to receive a text back in minutes. And I know it’s not just our phones preventing us from picking up that book — life gets in the way, too. Some have kids or elderly parents to look after in their free time. Some just have other things they’d rather do than read — like play with their pets or go workout or join a fantasy football league (yes, this is a subtweet to my husband).”
It’s All About Personal Style | “For my first post, I thought it would be fun to walk through the entire process of Inspiration to Purchase. I want to start off by saying that Cris and I started FRĒDA to connect with and empower women. You all inspire us daily. We see you IRL, we see you on Instagram, we are excited to see you here. We love seeing your style because it inspires ours. So when I am out in the world taking in street style or scrolling through IG, in it’s simplest form, this is how it goes down:”
I Am Tired of Scrolling | “What truly changed the game for everyone was the social media algorithms. Gone were the days of an actual timeline as an Instagram feed. Now we are all victim to the algorithm gods, hoping it shows us content we actually like.”
Hope you have a great weekend — until next time!
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As someone who’s followed you for years I will say that sometimes good things come from unexpected endings. Something about that failed venture felt off to me. As a matter of fact I unfollowed you for a time because of it. I started following you again by chance because I ran into a random post in which I noticed that you were back to being YOU. People grow and change, and that’s good so long as it feels genuine. I love this current iteration of you.
I really appreciate you sharing this. Going through something hard right now, professionally and really needed to be reminded that things will work out.