Down and Dirty Project:
A few days ago, I let you in on a big secret - I won a contest with Megan Gallagher from Method & Madness for three months of business coaching. Lots of you have shown your support and happiness for me, in person and on Facebook, and I just wanted to let you in on what I'll be doing over the next three months with Megan's help.

The goal will be to make manusmade better, in as many ways possible! For my lovely customers, it means better products at the right price. It also means a better experience for you - you'll be a bigger part of the whole process, things will be simplified and organized in a way that makes sense, and manusmade will become your go-to shop for so many aspects of your life - gifts for those special moments, home, baby, and more! For me, it means more efficiency by streamlining production, and it means a more organized thought process for all the designs and products. All useful things, especially as I continue to have a day job on top of manusmade.

Megan and I will be looking in depth at: the product line, the brand, the blog, pricing (and profitability, this is a business, right?), production, outreach and community, and a super-duper secret surprise that will be born in the new year.

Exciting, right? Yup! My little brain has been spinning ever since the first call with Megan! I'm excited for me, obviously, but I'm SO excited for you - I'm thrilled to be offering better products in a way that makes sense (I promise, in the near future this will make sense) to you guys. I'm thrilled to be able to build a more solid community around manusmade, and will be happy knowing that I'm helping to make those little moments in YOUR life happier (the Big Moments like baby showers and birthdays, or even just the littlest of moments, like drying dishes). Stay tuned!!

Birthday giveaway!
Speaking of birthdays..... mine is coming up very soon (Sunday)! I've always been a big fan of birthdays (especially my own, yes, I'll acknowledge that) and love celebrating in style. Last year I celebrated in Paris with my husband over very good champagne and was a little too busy eating macarons to celebrate with you. Sorry. It's not you, it's me. This year I'm here and ready to party - I'll be giving away a super duper little bundle of manusmade goodies starting Monday, September 19! I won't tell you what they are until Monday, though - that would ruin the surpise, of course! So definitely check back here on Monday - I'll be asking a question - your answer in the comments will be your entry, and at the end of the week, I'll be picking a winning entry at random. And I'd be awfully tickled if you could tell all your friends.