A Breather.
It feels inappropriate to post anything frivolous today, and I’ve decided that my team and I are going to take a couple days to process all that is happening and think of the proper kind of content to post that may actually help in a meaningful way than to re-post more memes and quotes.
As I was doing some research I did find out this little home related tidbit that I did not know about, thanks to designer Sheila Bridges instagram (a fabulous African American designer I have long admired). Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the well know pottery and china company Wedgwood, was an active supporter of the abolitionist movement and created a medallion, used both on Jasperware and jewelry (read more about it here). Also, as a side note, he was also Charles Darwin’s grandfather- I had no idea. All of this proof that if you look a little closer you can learn so much.
Also, I am a week out from being induced and feeling much slower, tired and emotional, so I’m not entirely sure what my posting schedule will be like. Molly, Allison and Eliza from my team plan to pop on here and share some thoughts, ideas and Style Solutions over the next month as I take some time off so stay tuned.
I hope you all are safe, healthy and doing whatever you need to do to traverse this complicated and stressful time.
Browse:
Dear Erin, wishing you all the very best for the safe arrival of your baby, can’t wait to hear that she’s arrived. Xxx
Best of luck to you! Take care of yourself and we will be here when your back. I am so excited for you and your family on the arrival of your baby girl!
Greetings from Scotland! I didn’t know this Wedgwood history either – interesting. Fully support your approach to be considered and thoughtful.
In lighter news – I was induced two weeks ago and gave birth to our first, a wonderful little daughter called Lucy. The induction process and COVID visiting restrictions were tough but more manageable than I’d imagined… and I wish you the very best for the birth and the coming weeks as a family, having followed your journey on this blog for some time.
Laura x
Best wishes to you.
Thank you but also please note that images of slaves in bondage are triggering to people of color like myself who are African American.
Best wishes to you and your family as you welcome your new baby. Remember when you wrote about how you felt you might miss the specialness of a family of three? As a mom of two daughters now in their 20’s, I wanted to address that thought. You will always have the memories of those novel years with a young Henry. What’s nice to anticipate way off in your future are the same number of years with just your daughter at home, only she’ll be a teenager. Henry will pop in from time to time, but it will mainly be you, Andrew, and your amazing and complex teenaged daughter. Enjoy it all.
We as always are here and will continue to be so. Be well and remember at the heart of this all is love. Love of our partners, our children and family and friends. I am so excited for you as you and your family embark on this path of life and renewal. Feel all the love I know all your followers feel for you and yours. When you are ready we will continue this journey with a new life full of possibilities, your daughter.💜
Best of everything Erin
Thank you! Best to you and your family.
Ha ha. I just posted my email. LOL. Well, hope that brings a laugh for some.
What I meant to say is take care and thank you for the poignant image.
I was just thinking about you over the weekend and wondering if you had your baby yet. Thank you for posting and best wishes to you and your family. I enjoy your blog and classic style. Will be looking forward to your teams posts and yours when you return.
[email protected]
Post nothing. Rest. Breathe. You deserve quiet and time. Thank for the beauty you bring into our lives, now take some in for yourself. This is a sweet private moment for you and yours; we’ll wait. 💖
Erin your post today was lovely and thoughtful. I am a regular reader of your blog but do not usually comment. Your two wonderful books are on my living room ottoman right now. A constant source of inspiration.! Sending happy thoughts to you and your family as you prepare to welcome your new little girl. Wishing you so many moments of joy ahead. So glad Andrew stepped in to level that unfair conversation. Now I hope you just live in a blissful world for the next few weeks. Let us know the news!
Wishing you a speedy delivery and beautiful days ahead for you and family.
Thank you for acknowledging the current social situation facing our society. May we all become more respectful of each other.
Erin – as a long-time follower and lover of your posts, blog, and books – I wish for you only the joyous and family-focused time you so deserve to welcome your little miracle and watch Henry become a big brother. I know it will be hard, but give yourself the gift of peace and privacy to savor every moment. We will all be here when you are ready!!
But of course we will all want to know the big news!!!🤱🏻
Dear Erin,
Thoughtful words…..
Have been following your journey the past nine months and wish you and your family all the best as you
prepare to welcome your wee baby girl soon! Take care and be safe.
❤️ Holly
Lovely sentiments and info. This too shall pass. When I was little, we had the ’68 Hong Kong flu epidemic, the riots of ’68 and ’69 and the moon landing at the same time. It was a crazy time. VERY similar to today. Then when I was in college, there was the 70’s gas shortage and the ice age was coming. We will get through this – we always do. Whether we do it well or not, is the question. We shall see.
Safe travels through childbirth and we will see you on the other end! Take care little mama.
You’ve done such a great job calling attention to the need for gun reform, the importance of mental health and addressing eating disorders, as well as creating a safe space to talk about fertility; you can’t be all things to all people. These times are uncertain and stressful, and there are so many fantastic resources being brought to our attention for people to take action on race inequality and trying to create a safer world for POC.
Take gentle care of yourself this next week and I’ll be wishing you a straightforward delivery. You’ll be holding that sweet baby girl in your arms in no time xoxox
Good luck with your upcoming delivery! As the majority of your readers/commenters have said, we are so thrilled for you. I appreciated the comment so much about leaning into your own joy while still acknowledging the hurt others are experiencing right now. And kudos to your sweet husband for responding to the ‘high and mighty’ commenter in such a tactful, eloquent way.
Waiting for your good news!! franki
Erin. Your most important job right now is to bring that beautiful baby girl into the world and into your family. Indeed we are in truly difficult times. Once again you choose to take the higher road and focus on what is most important. You also continue to bring joy and beauty into your messaging, as does your team. Thank you for being a highlight to my week and doing so with grace and poise and style! Wishing you and your family the best. Stay safe!!
As is usual for Canadians, I will apologize if what Isay offends you. It is unfortunate that only now, the design community is choosing to highlight talented people of colour. I have made it a priority since I was a teenager in Toronto, to educate myself to issues of race relations and systemic abuse. I choose to follow designers of diverse cultural backgrounds, I choose to read literature from Indigenous writers sharing personal stories of colonial oppression, I choose to seek out art from oppressed peoples; African, Eastern European, Indigenous, African American, and I choose to support manufacturers with a collective world consciousness. It isnt hard to do, if you are earnest. Respectfully, it is white privilege to even remark “doing whatever you need to do to traverse this complicated and stressful time.” Being white means we get to walk the streets, after dark, with a hoodie, listening to rap, carrying a gun, and not worry. Being of colour means you are a target…now that is stress! Being of colour, means that stressful and complicated time is never-ending. I am white, and I have family that are Indigenous, from Sri Lanka and Syria. They worry, are over-looked as leaders in their fields, and targeted daily. That is stressful. Our white lives…not so much. Perspective is key.
No, no, no…you’re doing this wrong. What are you hoping to accomplish by coming on here and saying, “I wish you had done this earlier…like me.” That now that the thing you have been passionate about is in the spotlight you feel it is your duty to go and tell everyone who hasn’t been doing it as long, how wrong they are? There lots of righteous causes to support. One person can’t be in support of all them all the time. When the spotlight is on the thing you are passionate about and people start to see why you are, then thank them. Tell them how great it is. You diminish the cause by these comments. Use your anger elsewhere for better purposes.
Bravo, Andrew! Anti-racism activists state that white shame is useless. What matters is change – in our hearts, words, and actions. This poster forgot to check herself. I’m glad you did it for her.
Bravo, Andrew! I applaud your response as I have seen far too many negative and mean spirited comments similar to this over all forms of media in the past week. I am going to assume that most people are going about their daily lives doing the best they can with what resources they have. I know I am. I am always learning and trying to do better and applaud and cheer for people as they try and figure it out. Life is not a competition to be won.
I have been following along on your journey for many years. So happy for you and your family.
I support Erin’s post and your response here entirely. I am sending your family much love and am excited for you to meet your newest member so soon! Congratulations to you all.
Andrew – excellent reply. Thank you for calming me down and reframing her words. Ugly elitist comments won’t change anyone’s mind. When people try to shame others, they fail miserably. I learned that the hard way on social media. Erin is right to be thoughtful about this and not just post another meme. They’re a dime a dozen.
This is a special time for you guys, and we wish you well.
Nothing is ever enough for people like you, is it. Guilty white liberals are the worst people.
“people like you?”….
All the best, Erin, with your delivery, recovery and early days of being a mom of two. Heck, all the best over the next couple of decades. I wish you a peaceful time while you are enjoying getting to know the newest member of your family. Blessings🤗
Wishing you a healthy and happy delivery. What a journey! Thank you for sharing this part of your life with us.
Healthy baby and a safe delivery. Looking forward to a photo of your new daughter.
Thank you for acknowledging what is happening and addressing it.
I wish you the very best as you bring your baby into the world!
Best wishes to you for a healthy labor and delivery. Thank you for this post. Looking forward to seeing you as Mom of Two very soon.
Bes of luck to you with your delivery of your sweet baby girl! So exciting. Am so happy for you. Perfect time to find the joy in new life. Put the world aside for a bit and relish this beautiful gift of life. It’s been a long time coming. You deserve to feel all the joy in the world.
Sending well wishes for you and your family! Enjoy your time together!
Thank you – all the best to you in the next week and the weeks that follow.
I SO appreciate you hitting the pause button in an effort to be thoughtful and relevant. Schumacher is one my my favorite fees in Instagram and I’ve been super annoyed with them this week carrying on with their usual posts as if nothing were happening. What a great opportunity for them to have featured designers of color, or their own employees…it has felt so tone deaf I had to unfollow them.
Back to you for a moment – wishing you peace and joy with the upcoming arrival of your baby girl. Sometimes we can feel guilty leaning into the joy and happiness of our lives when we know the hurt and turmoil in the lives of others, but it’s okay to experience and revel in your own joy while acknowledging (as you have) the hurt of others. Mixed emotions are allowed!
You, your new little girl, Henry and Andrew are a few of the bright spots in this chaotic world. Enjoy your time off, and I can’t wait to see the new family pictures!
Sending you wishes for an easy delivery and some time to enjoy your beautiful family!
Best wishes to you during this time, Erin. You certainly deserve some time off. Looking forward to hearing the news in your life. Rest well and stay safe!
Many have been with you on this long difficult journey, and now many get to rejoice with you as your sweet family celebrates the triumphant arrival of your baby daughter! Thank you for sharing this joyful moment!
God bless you!
So well said! Sending love and good wishes as you approach the end of your pregnancy! We will be cheering you on from afar, mama.
Also, please read barack obama’s post on medium. He said everything I would want a leader to say. If I could ask everyone to read one thing, it would be this.
https://medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067
And, if someone thinks leadership doesn’t matter…
This is thoughtful and smart. Wishing you and your family a peaceful week before baby, an easy delivery, and all the happiness you deserve as you welcome a new little one.