Dear Family and Friends,
Another year gone by… seems hard to believe that we are already writing another New Year’s letter. Let me start with, we hope you have the most Happy Holidays this year. We are thrilled that you are apart of our life, and while we live far away, you are all close to our heart.
It has been quite the year for The Brand Fam. We have moved 6 times (2 in NYC at the start of the year and 4 times in Guatemala) and each time we have literally built a home that suits the house style, the needs of the kitchen, etc. We have gone in and out of our storage in Newburgh 10 times and even living in Guatemala we ventured back for 1 visit to get what we needed. Rache has completed two very intense work projects, and Kurt has had very little time to paint due to all our moving which has given him an expansive amount of time for thinking and preparing for execution. Iza is walking, talking and eating us out of house and home… she is a kid. We are different than we were last year this time, and it feels good to be heading in a new direction, one which is hopefully forward towards our future goals.
Looking back is pretty scary, but also enlightening. We have made so many bad choices, but have had so many learnings which have helped to shape our current goals. We are happy as a family and fulfilled in so many ways, and as most people say, “these are the best years of our lives.” We work hard, play hard and rest hard. In between we are really breathing towards the little moments and finding salvation in our love for each other.
What have we been doing?
A LOT. Everything from working on our art, to learning Spanish, to working with Rache’s clients, to building a long-term business plan, and executing on all of it. We have been working our butts off, and all mostly without power and internet. We are learning the ways and customs of life without our creature comforts, living in an emerging market. Ultimately we are in the throws of ‘finding our voice’ and trying to build something sustainable.
We Miss Everyone.
We are in a place where time stands still in someways and Groundhog Day appears regularly, and it is far away from what we know. The busyness of NYC, the solitude of Ormond, the snow and toasty fires in Cincinnati, the salty sun-rays of Maryland, the conversations from Vermont / NoHo, the laughter in Lancaster, and the clever shops of Berkeley. We are here: our home in Guatemala. It has been a beautiful adventure, and one that we needed to reignite our zest for life and recharge our batteries (odd phrase since having no power has literally offered enough sleep to truly recharge), and one that we will force ourselves to continue until our lease ends. That’s right folks, a 1-year lease. Somehow we can commit to a child, but committing to a lease is very difficult. 🙂
Our Goals are BIG
This coming year we plan to hunker down and not go anywhere; focus on our passion projects and make things happen for ourselves. Kurt’s studio projects and Rache’s patterns are two very tangible directions… but there is a lot more about to happen. We will share parts and pieces throughout the year, but we hope you are there with us in spirit and rooting us on, regardless.
We wish you all a Happy and positive start to your New Year. We see this as a fresh start for us and we hope our passion has reignited you too.
Love, blessings and a million hugs and kisses.
Kurtis, Rache & Iza