Enough is Enough.
What a weekend at Field + Supply reminded me about showing up, slowing down, and trusting the in-between.
Two weeks ago I went to Field + Supply’s Spring Market in Kingston, New York with my longtime friend, collaborator, coworker, and cheerleader, Ellen, of Stryker Made. Both days the brickyard was absolutely buzzing. Shoppers had arms full of canvas totes and brown paper bags. The tangle of music, conversation, laughter, and excited squeals were incredible. It’s the kind of energy that’s hard to find in day-to-day life, but so needed when you’re in an inspiration rut.
Within 20 minutes of walking down the gravel path and into the pavilion, I was immediately struck by a piece by Jann Cheifitz of Lucky Fish. Two words, stacked vertically, mirror-imaged: Enough is Enough. You know that feeling when you see a piece of art and feel it deep in your bones that it needs to come home with you, that it’s speaking directly to you? That’s what happened, instantly.
While Jann was ringing me up, we exchanged excited words about the piece and I mused about where exactly to put it. Living room, son’s room, office. I told her I’d just launched my business a few weeks ago and she didn’t hesitate,“Oh, your office! It absolutely has to go in your office.” And there it landed. Reminding me every day.
I’ve been going to Field + Supply since 2021. As a buyer, as a seller, and as a shopper. Every time I go, I reconnect with a community of familiar faces and genuine relationships. My little network grows each year. Favorite products I have to stock up on. New makers to discover. And this year, more than any other, I left feeling like the market itself was saying something. We’re all out here. Still building. Still showing up.
I left with pockets full of business cards. A ceramic fish pendant necklace. Two oil sticks that combine into the most heavenly all-natural scent I’ve smelled in years. A ceramic bowl that will hold collected seashells. My tried and true soaps. A new face oil. Artwork for my son’s room and a sweet travel play mat of the Hudson River. I could have left with so much more. (I’m still dreaming about two different sets of espresso cups (here and here) that would have been perfect together for my someday dream studio, a quilt, pretty tops and dresses…) Slowly but surely, my little collection of treasures will grow. Both the objects and more importantly, the people.
As I browsed the booths and chatted with founders, we kept echoing the same thing back to each other. Sometimes it just takes one. One purchase. One conversation. One introduction that unlocks the next thing. It’s not a formula. It’s not a funnel. It’s just showing up, being present, and letting the right people find you.
With all of the tools and platforms and optimizations available to a small business right now, it can feel like nothing is ever enough. There’s always a new update, a new version, something else to improve. That frenzy is loud. And it will drown you if you let it. Especially right now, when it feels like every week brings a new AI tool that promises to change everything. There’s a version of all of this that genuinely helps. There’s also a version that pulls you further from the thing that makes your business worth finding in the first place. (More on that next week.)
What I keep coming back to is this. What you have is enough. What you’re building is enough. You are enough. The market is hard right now, yes. But the answer isn’t to become something you’re not. It’s to get smarter about where and how you show up, and to trust that your right customer is out there looking for exactly what you make.
Sometimes it just takes one.
QUICK HITS
Five things I read, heard, or noticed this week. All worth the two minutes.
