Kindred & Co, Boston, MA (2026)

02/28/2025

This is it. The last post. And it only feels fitting to end with -

THANK YOU 🫶

to every customer, friend, family member, fellow small business owner, collaborator, printer, and coffee shop that sustained me.

You made the “trying the business” into a “doing the actual thing” a reality for the last 5 years and I don’t know if I’ll ever fully comprehend that.

A full thank you and a final love letter is on the blog (link in bio). And if you want to stay connected, you can find me on my personal page or send me a DM (as this account will no longer be monitored after Monday).

May the years ahead of each of us continue to see us living out our human being-ness amidst life’s doing. May they be filled with joy, wholehearted connection, beauty and intentionally.

With joy & gratitude,
Val 💛

01/02/2025

Have you been seeing the trending 2024 Out and 2025 In lists across social media?

I’m not a trend person and tend to brush them off, but this one I actually had to applaud. I get the hype and I actually found some high quality reasons for why people are loving them. Myself included.

1. We’re nosy.
2. They require intentionality.
3. The lists develop a “look back to look forward” rhythm.

The last one in particular is this business owner’s fave.

Read today’s blog post for more details behind these reasons (and why being nosy isn’t actually a bad thing here). Link in bio.

Plus there’s a download for writing and sharing your own “2024 Out / 2025 In” list. See the blog post or check out our stories ⬆️

✨And if you want to take your list a step further - our 2025 Planners are now 30% off! Giving you ample space to write out all that you’re hoping and dreaming for the year ✨

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#2025

12/17/2024

This is it! Today is the LAST DAY to put your orders in for Christmas arrival 🎄

and if you’re worried about having to do any last minute wrapping - I’ve got you covered. You can opt for gift wrapping at checkout (I’ll even throw a hand lettered tag if you’d like!) 🙌

PS: I also recommend shipping directly to the place you’re wanting the gift to end up on Christmas Day so you don’t have to play a tracking game with UPS/USPS ;)

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12/12/2024

Kindred & Co. Pop-up at Madewell Prudential is today from 1-5PM! I’m all setup and can’t wait to help you personalize your gifts for the holiday season!

Whether you want hand lettered or printed, with a watercolor accent or not, and with all the ribbon color options, you get to customize your gift tags for each person perfectly.

Can’t make it in person? You can still order your personalized gift tags via our online Etsy shop until December 16th (link in bio).

PS: I also brought a subset of our Christmas cards which you can buy as single cards in person!

Hope to see you at the Pru this afternoon!

Val

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12/09/2024

how it started ➡️ how it’s going

what started as a “temp retail job” became a “oh I really like it here + these people.”

Which turned into those same people encouraging me to launch my own business which turned into our first popup in 2021.

and has become our second pop-up with them this week! the story just gets more and more full circle as it goes 🫶

✨join me this Thursday(12/12) at the Madewell in the from 1-5PM! I’ll specifically be hand lettering gift tags for Madewell customers but will have a handful of other paper goods with me too ✨

hope to see you there for this full circle moment 🎄

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12/02/2024

its not a glamorous or filtered image but a raw one of choosing gratitude in a season of hurry + temptation for more.

daily gratitude, specific daily gratitude, taught me that emotions + life can exist in juxtaposition.

I can both be exhausted and experience a little delight. There can be both overwhelm + grief, and comfort in the midst. I do not have to love every aspect of this business’ season and still be grateful for the support I have received around it.

daily gratitude has taught me there is a posture of rest + contentment I can lean into, instead of only cranky and hurried.

more thoughts on today’s blog (bio link) 🫶

plus, if you participated in our gratitude challenge, send me a DM with your completed list and I’ll send you a thank you gift!

(choosing) with joy and gratitude,
Val

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11/21/2024

Rumor is your holiday stationery is arriving to the shop tomorrow - holiday card sets, custom holiday stationery, and personalized gift tags 👀

I gave our holiday card sets an upgrade and I think you’re going to really love these:

✨ Image 1: The customizable holiday card - you pick the holiday saying you want lettered in the center (comes in sets of 5 or 10)

✨ Image 2: Your holiday card set including 5 separate styles

✨ Image 3: Personalized gift tags - you pick the watercolor accent and ribbon and who is receiving the added elegance to their gifts this year (comes in sets of 5 or 10)

Comment below ⬇ with which one you are most excited for and stay tuned for the a little early holiday shopping treat coming tomorrow! 🎄

11/18/2024

You’re wrapping your holiday gifts, which color tag + ribbon are you reaching for? ⬇️

I’m prepping for a pop up at Madewell (eep!) where I’m going to be personalizing gift tags for people as they shop! But I need to know what you think I should prep and bring.

Red, green, blue, yellow or blank accent tags?

Red, green, blue, white or gold silk ribbon?

Give me your opinions below!

✨And if you’re in the Boston area, come grab your personalized set of hand lettered gift tags from me at the Prudential Madewell on Thursday December 12th ✨

If you’re not in the Boston area, be on the lookout in the coming days for ordering your own personalized gift tags 👀

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11/05/2024

Dear friend,

I have felt many things leading up to this Election Day. Sadness and frustration for how people have chosen to act towards one another. Disappointment for how individuals claiming to be authority figures seem to act more like my three year old than the adults they are. Numbness as the temptation to tune it all out creeps in. And somewhere in there, a small inkling of hope in belief that it will be better, one day.

I imagine I am not alone in feeling a range of emotions, and I invite you to take a moment of breath with me.

To stop the scroll (especially the doom scroll), to slow our fingers from typing, and check in with ourselves.

My daughter has been practicing her deep breaths to help regulate her emotions so would you do that with me now?

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

And as you go about today, would we be people committed to practice kindness and respect? To see people with dignity because they are human beings with worth?

I confess I sometimes don’t want to do that, but then that means I buy into the lie of this or that when a lot of life is “both and.”

I can both disagree with someone and still have a quality conversation with them. I can both struggle to understand a viewpoint and also still commit to seeing the person beyond what their views are. I can also both distance myself from people who are out for violent rhetoric and not bash them unnecessarily.

So today, let’s take our deep breaths. Maybe step away from the media. Check in with our hearts. And practice a posture of both and.

With joy & gratitude,
Val

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10/17/2024

Introducing the VIPs (very important pages) of the 2025 Kindred Planner:

⭐ The event planner aka the planner guide
⭐ The inspirational encourager aka the starting prep pages
⭐ The visionary aka the calendar overview
⭐ The organized one aka the logistics pages
⭐ The jack of all trades aka the monthly layout
⭐ The accountability partner aka the monthly tracker spread
⭐ The one with every second planned out aka the weekly layout
⭐ The one who just wants to celebrate aka the end of the year spread
⭐ The one who has lots of random ideas aka the notes pages (10 of them)

The 2025 Kindred Planner team arrives October 23rd at 9AM EST.

Comment below with who you are most excited to “meet” ⬇

#2025

01/27/2023

Last year was a bit of a frantic push to getting the 2023 Planner out to the best of what I was given. Not this year - frantic is not my word for the year. or near it.

So we're starting early on hearing what is working or not working with the planner. And well everything else with Kindred.

I never wanted this business to be about me and what I think would be great and want for you all, it's about you and what is going to help you live a life of intentionality and joy.

So friend, come join me on instastories today and tell me - what do you want to see from Kindred this year?

You can participate in stories or drop your comments below, fill out the link in bio or send me a DM. honestly I"ll read it all :)

01/18/2023

Starting a new planner can either be intimidating or exciting. Which one are you? Drop it below.

I'm the excited person (can you tell?). I love the fresh unwritten pages and while I'm nervous to put my pen down the first time, just give me a few more days and I'm scribbling all over the place, neatness gone.

But for those of us that find new planners intimidating or even where to begin, I've got some tips for you.

And for our pros, maybe you'll learn something new and/or share with us your best planner tips. Here we go:

1. Start with last year's planner - flip through the 2022 year and see what was true about your year to help you dream up your new year

2. Use last year's groundwork for this year's growth - i.e. what dreams were sparked or started in 2022 you want to step into this year? what rhythms would have been helpful in 2022 you want to try for 2023

3. Turn those into actionable items - whether that's setting a phone limit every day, setting a water drinking limit, or buying a book you'll read the next 30 days - choose something actionable to help you work towards that growth.

Bonus: write it all down in your new planner prep pages. That way it lives somewhere for all the year for you to reference.

For more tips and tricks, check out the most recent post living on our blog (link in bio)

#2023

Kindred & Co