I’m taking a year off.
Guess what? I’ve decided to take a year off.
It feels almost decadent to write these words. I mean, how can I even consider a year off? I have a business to run, after all. But it’s decided: I’m ending production, I’m closing my shops, and for the rest of 2026 it will just be me, all alone in my studio.
What’s changed? Well….everything, really, and it all changed rather suddenly: During three months of late 2025, the US tariffs ripped a ragged hole in Skinny laMinx’s income, and at the same time, my team changed shape in quite unmanageable ways.Â
In a nutshell, the fundamentals shifted alarmingly, and fast. But one day I looked up from trying to fix this unfolding disaster and realised…. This may be the opportunity I’ve dreamed of for years. This could be my chance to escape from behind a computer monitor and spend every day in my studio instead.
And there it was. Decision made. After 18 years of manufacture and retail, Skinny laMinx is going back to where it started: me in the studio.
As the current structure of the business falls away, I’m filled with gratitude for all the experience and opportunity and connection that it has brought. I know that Skinny laMinx has been such a blessing in my life, in countless ways, but at the same time, I’m completely at peace with my choice to take a break
Whatever happens next, the Skinny laMinx brand remains, recognised and appreciated at home and across the globe, with an 18 year archive of patterns, designs and colours… and now, a wide open opportunity to find a new creative expression.
Find me in my studio in 2026, eagerly exploring what comes next.
Beate
Dear Heather, Congratulations on your courageous and brilliant decision! In 2015, I also took a year off and closed my interior design firm, which was actually doing quite well, to rediscover my creativity in my studio. It was the best time of my life, and I thoroughly enjoyed following your work, especially the studio day. I wish you a wonderful year and hope that everything falls into place in a way that is fulfilling for you. Warmest regards, Beate (longtime fan from Cologne, Germany)
skinnylaminx
Dear Beate
Thanks for the encouraging note, and for sharing your story of making a bold move. It’s invigorating to take a big step and to choose something different, and it’s great to hear that you feel it was the best time of your life!
Also, thank you for all your support and comments over the years. I honestly think that Skinny laMinx would never have happened without people like you, leaving kind notes and enthusiastic messages. It’s hard to express how important they have been for me, so thank you for that.
Wishing you a wonderful 2026 ahead, Heather
Sharon Grussendorff
I’m so sorry to hear about the tough times you have been through. A year off sounds like a good soul incubation time. Sending much love, I hope it is a year of deep inner nourishment and fresh creative inspiration
skinnylaminx
It’s so nice to hear from you, Sharon! Thanks so much for the encouraging words and wishes.
I know you guys are making big changes too, with the sale of Solitude, and so I’m sending you lots of love and best wishes for the year ahead.
Lots of love, Heather
John
Hey Heather, wishing you an amazing year of creativity and restoration in your sabbatical year. I will greatly miss your weekly newsletters full of quirky and inspiring anecdotes, insights and observations on your creative process and life in general. I look forward to seeing where to next for you and Skinnylaminx (2.0?)!
skinnylaminx
Hi John. So great to hear from you, and thank you so much for the kind and supportive message. I didn’t even know you were reading my newsletters, but it gladdens my heart to know that you’ve been enjoying them.
I hope to keep up with my newsletters, so keep any eye out for updates, and let’s have more conversations online!
Wishing you all the best in 2026, and let’s hope we manage to connect again in person some day.
Lots of love,
Heather
Laurence Cruon
What a good decision for you. Best wishes of hapiness and peace with yourself and your beloved.
Laurence from France
skinnylaminx
Thank you so much for the good wishes, Laurence! I really appreciate them.
Wishing you a wonderful year ahead,
Heather
Kei Tsuzuki
Heather,
I’m just hearing of your news now, and wanted to send you my very best wishes for what lies ahead. I think 2026 beat all of us up – and I apologize for our crazy President and his tariff schemes! So many of us who have been in the design trade for so long are rethinking how to move foward. I hope your time back in the studio helps reengergize you and keeps your light bright.
With warmth,
Kei from Kei & Molly Textiles
skinnylaminx
Kei! What a delight to hear from you, and thank you so much for the order you’ve placed as well. It’s a bittersweet moment but I am feeling so blessed with the outpouring of supportive messages (and orders!) since I made the announcement.
Wishing you all the best with YOUR 2026 and plotting a way forward in such tricky territory.
Sending hugs,
Heather xox