Newsletter
edition 14
Dear friend,
Some months at 440 & co. are more full of general shop happenings, and some are full of florals. February was quite a month as a florist shop! From spring weddings to events to Valentine's Day, we were bustling all month long. But we are so thankful for every moment and memory we got to be part of.
*cover photo by Rylin Noelle Photography
a few things highlighted this month:
  1. We want to introduce you to Kaelyn rose! Our owner just had her beautiful baby girl on Valentine's Day. She is the best spring flower we could hope for! Rylin Noelle Photography did a beautiful job capturing baby girl's first moments in the world. See all the photos down below!
  2. We had a beautiful Valentine's Day at the shop, with lots of floral creations and sweet moments shared. Florals are such a special way to be part of the moments that matter in people's lives, and we are honored every time we are asked to create something unique.
  3. We welcomed several beautiful new artists to our shop, including Broken Circle Soap Co. Come see all the new things in the shop!
 
rewritten monthly focus
 
blooms and
new life
 
 
Our REWRITTEN focus this month is spring blooms. We love flowers not just for their beauty, but for the ways they make us reflect on life.
The sign up for tomorrow's floral workshop closes at this afternoon at 5, so make sure to get now your ticket if you plan to attend, or keep an eye out on Instagram and our website for future floral workshops!
 
 
 
 
 
REWRITTEN
a reflection on
NEW LIFE

 
Image item
 
Meet our beautiful baby girl, Kaelyn Rose Neal, born on Valentine's Day.
 
Seasons of grief do not come with a guarantee of tangible redemption on the other side.
 
It has been ten years from the loss of our first-born baby girl to this celebration of new life. It’s an awful, yet beautiful, journey to shed the layers of fear to enable hope to grow.  Regardless of the pain, I highly recommend taking the risk to make this shift. I believe our human makeup is wired to make a choice to either fear or hope.
In my journey from fear to hope, I was fortunate to be surrounded by others who had walked the narrow road that was ahead of me, and known the struggle to be worth it.
I am here, friends, to say it is.
 
When we find ourselves hopeless, our vision becomes blurred. We can't see or sense the future ahead of us,
 
 
 
because we are entangled in the pain of our past. The progression of time does help to heal wounds, even those as deep as the loss of a baby. Nothing, though, can entirely remove the pain of grief and loss. But as I hold our new baby girl, and feel the scar of my loss, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness that hope has allowed me to enjoy new life.
 
I challenge you, my friend, to find where fear can be replaced with hope and where light can illuminate that dark space. And just maybe, the hope of newness in the unexpected or unexplained will have a chance in your life. Ready to step into the journey? I think you should.
 
As we walk into the newness of spring, let's shed our layers together and embrace the beauty of new life, finding freedom and vision for what is ahead. A new season. See you at the shop or in class!
 
 
 
rewritten,
Kimberly Neal
photos by Rylin Noelle Photography
 
 
SHOP FAVORITES
 
 
FROM THE HEART OF THE ARTIST
Image item
meet tahnee and desiree
from
THE BROKEN CIRCLE SOAP CO.
One of my favorite parts of this job is connecting with the community of artists in Tucson. There are so many people who use their hands and hearts to craft beautiful things, and I love to hear the story of what drives them to create.
I came across Tahnee and Desiree through Instagram, and was excited to meet up with them and talk. They brought in their products, which we fell in love with (HELLO LOCALLY-MADE LOTION!), and they shared their story. I will let them share that at a later time, but what impressed me yet again was the power of our stories in driving us forward.
That is why we love making/selling/shopping artisan made products: you get a sense of the person behind the product through the work of their hands. And that is infinitely richer and more rewarding than buying from mega-brands, isn't it?
I am always honored to draw the portraits of the artists that we feature in our shop. It is a sweet way to connect yet again to the human touch, the imperfectly perfect, the purpose in the product.
Swing by to see all of the new artists we have in shop, or support them through buying online (more items will be added soon!).
 
Thank you for joining us in this artists' journey,
Ashley kron
 
 
 
Image item
 
 
May your month be filled with
the blooming of life and hope,
 
 
Instagram