FROM THE WORKBENCH OF THE MADE COZY STUDIO:
A COZY THINGS NEWSLETTER
November 18, 2024
Made Cozy has always been centered around our desire to design and make anything and everything for a cozy home and lifestyle. While it has been thrilling to wear many hats, doing so means that I am unable to give my full attention to any one aspect of the business. How does a founder become an expert in custom furniture design, readymade furniture, kitchen tools, kids toys, and home decor all at once? In organizing my plan for this Holiday season, I found myself saying: this is impossible to market everything. People who love cooking and would purchase our oven mitts aren't always the people who are looking for bespoke furniture, or an all natural kids toy, or a cozy pillow to curl up on the couch with. How can I expect customers to get to know our brand if our brand represents so many things?
Our current business kept us busy, but bouncing between designing, making, and marketing a wide variety of products was not sustainable. So, while we will continue to be Jacks of all trades in our personal lives, we have decided that our business needs to be focused on one category. To design, make, and sell the best cozy, playful, heirloom objects, I need to allow myself to become an expert in those objects and the customers who need them. Founders should recognize when their business needs to pivot and adapt. We are at that stage.
In 2025 Made Cozy will be going through a rebrand: we will be designers and makers of cozy, heirloom children's toys. This decision was not random but based on a combination of passion about the subject, and what we are hoping is an opening in the market for a niche toy brand.
I have been making children's toys since I was a kid myself. I learned to sew when I was 5 and immediately made stuffed animals. In college, Oliver and I designed a couch inspired by stuffed animals. If you know me personally and have a child, your child likely has a toy I made for them.
In the Spring, when I launched our bunny, Aster Cottontail, not only did I find myself more passionate and focused on the project but I noticed we had a stronger reaction from our small community of customers than we usually do. When doing marketing research, I found that toys made of all natural materials, that are ethically made in the US, were few and far between but at the same time there are many parents who want to move away from plastic and overconsumption. Toys that are carefully crafted and designed to live with children throughout their lives tend to make us nostalgic and inspire us to treat them with love and care. These are the ideas we'll be holding onto as we plan our relaunch.
This change means that this Holiday season is your last chance to purchase from this current iteration of Made Cozy. Have you been wanting our side table with hand cut dovetails but never pulled the trigger? Now is your last opportunity. Are you looking for gift ideas for your family who loves to cook? Our oven mitts have been our most coveted items for years and our pasta boards are truly unique gifts! Our webshop, as you know it, will go under construction Friday, December 20th.
As always, we are so grateful for our community of customers. We fulfill every order in house and smile when we recognize your name as we print your shipping labels. So many of you are customers from our upholstery business days, friendly patrons at a craft fair, or parents of children we went to school with years ago who have made the effort to keep up with our lives. We would be thrilled if you stuck around for our next chapter. We will be back here to keep you updated on our process.
Till next time,
Haviland and Oliver
Founders
Made Cozy