Each year I pick a word.  That word is supposed to represent what I want for myself and 2015.  And every year I have lived that word, like really lived it.  Words have power, they have meaning, and picking my word of the year is something I have really started looking forward to.  

I usually spend the first week of the new year looking through “the list” and writing down every word that stands out to me, take a day or two to mull them over, and choose whatever is speaking the strongest.  However this year was different than the past two years.  This year my word appeared to me in early fall.  I didn’t know it was my going to be the word, but when I couldn’t get it out of my head I knew what 2015 would bring.  Intention.  To live, work, and love intentionally.

I’ve always, always, always said; “just because you could doesn’t always mean you should.”  Words I haven’t been paying the utmost attention to.  2014 was the year of saying yes.  The year to doing everything.  To overbooking.  To doing it because I could, not necessarily because I wanted to.  To doing it well, but not always great.  To never enough time, to 15 hour days, to sleepless nights, to building a book of business.  And I don’t regret any of it.  Not one single moment.  I think when you build a business you have to do those things; stretch yourself thin, prove your merit, test your boundaries.  But I’ve done that, and I’ve passed.  So this year will be the year of intention.  If I take on a project, if I say yes to anything, if I commit it will be because I’m in it 100%.  It’ll be because it’s where WOM is going, because it represents our future.  This my Loves will be hard.  It’ll mean turning down projects that pay (which is never easy), stretching myself creatively to be better than WOM has ever been, and it’ll mean saying goodbye to things and arenas I’ve done a lot of, and enjoy, but just aren’t who we are anymore.

But it feels good, this whole being intentional thing.  And what feels even better is that we are going to be walking the walk with a brand new look and feel.  We’ll be re-launching this site, the Shop site, and launching the MKR styling site mid/late January.  We’ve been working extremely hard with Cassie from Veda House and her team of coders and I cannot wait to reveal the final result.  We’ll be offering new and different services under the WOM umbrella, announcing new collaborations, introducing Creative Contributors, and moving it all forward with a new mission statement.  So stay tuned for that, but back to the word.

As I said above words have power.  And because I believe so strongly in “the word” I’ve teamed up with my amazingly talented friend Jenn Gietzen for a little Write On Design-WOM Collaboration.  You pick your word and we’ll (and by we’ll I mean Jenn) will paint it for you initials and all.  She’ll actually hand letter each and every one as they are ordered!  So frame it, stick it on your inspiration board, whatever you need to do to live your word just do it.  I had Jenn letter all my words from the past three years and I’m going to frame each one and start collecting them.  Someday I hope to have an entire wall of words and I’ll be able to point to a word, and know exactly what year around the sun it represented. 

But wait, the fun doesn’t stop there!  Along with “The Word” Jenn and I thought we’d bring a monthly quote into the mix as well.  Everyone loves (and needs) a little inspiration right?  And what better quote to start the new year off than with one from yours truly.  It was something I said in a post I wrote last year, it was never an actual sentence that was supposed to be quoted.  That was until it was quoted by the lovely ladies who I get to work with on a daily basis; “The unexpected is usually what brings the unbelievable. #dontstop”  Like the word, Jenn will hand letter this quote to keep close and hopefully inspire you to always take the leap.

In conclusion; words have power, say yes to the unexpected, and happy 2015!  Cheers!  Truly, MKR

P.S. Both the Word and the Quote are limited edition and only available through January 31st so hurry hurry!

*Photography, Kathryn McCrary 

Each year, as I look back and prepare to turn the page, I choose a word which I believe will define the next.  In 2013, my word was “connect,” 2014 was “go,” and 2015 was “intentional.”  These words were intentions that powerfully became a complete representation of the year.  It’s amazing the power words have.  Now in my fourth year, choosing a word of the year is one of my favorite ways to begin again.

This year, I had my word well before the clock struck midnight.  I thought for sure 2016 was going to be the year of “endurance” or “fortitude.”  But when I began the process of going through “The List” (an exercise I never skip when selecting my word of the year), a different word caught my attention: “structure.”

By definition, “structure” means: “the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.”  As a verb, it means “to arrange according to a plan; give a pattern or organization to.”  So when I look at 2016 plans, “structure” could not be more perfect.  As WOM has grown, putting structure, policies, and all of the (boring) back-end procedures in place has completely been ignored.  But I recognize that it’s the foundation—boring or not—that will make WOM successful for years to come.  It will be structure that allows the business to continue to grow, and “to give a pattern or organization to.”  

Also, WOM has added many new team members recently, and will continue to do so in 2016.  While it’s exciting to have a growing team, it’s also very tricky, and it takes a skill set to manage and lead that I’m still honing.  But I’ve learned that it’s the people—the ones making up the blueprint of your organization—who will ultimately make you sink or soar.  So focusing on “the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something as complex” as people will be my number one focus this year. 

So there you have it friends; 2016 is looking a lot more structured.  And like last year, we’ve partnered with Jenn Gietzen of Write On! Design to hand-paint your chosen word (or words) in either watercolor or metallic ink and offer them for sale in the Shop for a limited time only.  I’m collecting my words, framing each one, and hanging them in my office.  I can’t wait until the day I have a wall of words…how powerful will that be?!  Truly, MKR