The Willway Yard Build
Learning, laughing, dynamic struggles. Compounded by a pressure we both feel in different ways. Blood. Sweat. Tears. And the mystery bruises.
This chapter has built us and broken us. I am writing this on the other side of our re-opening on 19th September 2024. We are both starting to feel a sense of calm we have not had for over a year. As the coritsol leaves our system I want to document this moment so we remember what has passed.
We got into Willway Yard on 5th August. The delay from our prospective January move to late summer had meant we were no longer in a position to get extensive help with the build. Many months of being “one month away from the move” had been tough on little NT. So the two of us set to work scratching our heads, sweating our tits, and greasing our elbows. Plumbers came in. We built walls. Electricians came in, we built ceilings. I dropped a box of 20 x 24inch film out of its packet in the moving van. I cried a lot. Then in my flustered state I scraped the hire van.
An intense time on top of an intense year. We found out how differently we deal with stress. That we shut down at different times so the other one could carry the wieght. We had the same vision and different ways of going about it. And it was hard. But it was also hilarious. And hopeful. And made me grateful for my choices.
And then we got married! A different kind of intense, with lots to do and a different joy and a parallel commitment and we absorbed the love that was poured our way by our friends and family and each other.
In the last two weeks we were finally able to ask our NT friends for the support we needed, being able to delegate jobs where we hadn’t previously been able to. And the call was answered by friends new and old and they came with joyous energy that we needed and we realised on reflection of their excitement just what we had built. We feel incredibly lucky.
Does every small business owner feel like they don’t know what they’re doing? It can be scary how much is needed, and how much we need to focus on simultaneously. The tasks are endless and the day is too short. We learn rules of the game and we don’t want to play that way. We want to build something that reflects who we are, what we want to work on day to day, and what people have said is missing for them.
We exist for you, whoever you are. If you don’t see yourself represented here, please come and be that person so it means someone else does. We are an organic community and Tim and I are putting everything we have into building something robust and kind and supportive. Photography can seem to be synonymous with “content” these days, but we want to show people that the art of handmade prints is a rabbit warren of learning and a quest to master so many variable skills and techniques. It doesn’t always need a camera, and it doesn’t need to end up in the digital sphere. It can be just for you, just for us - and those lucky enough to witness.
We are so committed to this project. So excited for our next chapter. We have been so yearning for business as usual and yet so aware not to wish this time away. We have so many plans for us all to enjoy. The next few months we will be remembering what full focus on our company can accomplish, while we settle in with tea and biscuits. The rain is currently falling on the metal roof and it is delightful. We feel at home.
