UPDATE: I will be taking the HoleHeartedLDN.com webstore offline and ceasing all sales on Sunday 2nd May 2021 at 11:59PM (UK Time).
TL;DR:
After a lot of thought I have decided to close my body piercing and high end jewellery business, Hole Hearted LDN.
Here are the key points.
- I will no longer be taking piercing appointments
- I will continue to sell online (see sale below) before ceasing trading completely
For more information see the full post.
UK PIERCERS
I was going to make a list of London piercers and then realised this map is allowed to be shared (this is what I’d have used to make my list) https://bit.ly/3tYvfxF
Remember to still research the piercer you choose!
Closing Sale – Everything Must Go!
Get 50% off all items by using the code HalfHearted at the checkout.
This code cannot be used in conjunction with any other sales, discounts or codes.*
UPDATE: I will be taking the HoleHeartedLDN.com webstore offline and ceasing all sales on Sunday 2nd May 2021 at 11:59PM (UK Time).
Why I’m Closing My Business
The beginning of this story really starts at the beginning of 2020. Or at least those first couple of pre-pandemic months. Things were going well and business was on the up. I was fully booked in the weeks leading up to the first lockdown, but then we had the first lockdown.
At first it wasn’t too bad. I got to have a bit of a break from life but I had access to my stock so I could still sell online as I have been for years even if I couldn’t pierce. For the first few months of the pandemic, I actually had a bit of a boom.
However as lockdown went on I got thinking and reflecting about the life I want, the life I need and the life I have and questioned whether I was doing the right thing. And by that I don’t mean the correct thing, but the right thing for me.
Things continued to go well though so I cast my doubt aside. My family invested money into my business so I could expand my range and i started looking into getting my own premises so I could have more space to display that range.
As the ball got rolling with my new studio, things started to go downhill RE coronavirus and I ended up revisiting my previous life reflections.
I realised that I, for a variety of reasons, wasn’t excited to pierce anymore and the career doesn’t align with the lifestyle I want for myself (even if there are still many reasons I do enjoy piercing).
Despite this realisation, I was hesitant to make any changes. Especially now I was in the process of getting my own premises.
My hesitation to act on this desire for a different life came from what’s called the sunk cost fallacy – which is basically our tendency to follow through on an endeavour if we have already invested time, effort or money into it.
The problem with to sunk cost fallacy is it’s never actually kept me invested in something. At most, all it’s ever done is made me waste more time until I eventually quit. And I’ve quit A LOT of things.
I quit every instrument and extra circular activity I ever took up, I dropped out of 6th form and quit college right after. I have quit my fair share of jobs and changed careers a number of times. If something no longer serves you, you have to move on.
Part of me hoped I might have a change of heart once I opened my own studio, but for me it just confirmed my what I already suspected. While I was proud of myself for the achievement, it wasn’t enough of a reason to continue doing something I wasn’t happy doing.
With that in mind, I started to think about an exit plan. Since I hoped to go to uni in Autumn 2021, I thought working until the end of Summer 2021 sounded reasonable.
What I didn’t anticipate when I made this plan was the effect the ongoing pandemic would have on my mental health.
As the months went on and my own personal issues arose it has become harder and harder to keep doing something my heart is no longer in.
If you follow me on social media you may know I’ve recently learnt I’ve been autistic this whole which for me explains a lot of the struggle I have doing certain parts of my job, such as interacting with customers.
Since having this new understanding of myself all I’ve wanted to do is adapt my life to suit my needs. In theory, could I hold out closing until August? Probably. Would it be good for my mental health? Not at all.
Right now I have the perfect opportunity to take a few months to focus on myself and give myself the foundation I need for my future- a foundation I never really gave myself at the start of my adult life.
The idea of not piercing and just selling online crossed my mind. It’s how I started out after all. The reduced need for face to face interaction would mean it’s less mentally taxing, but the kind of jewellery I believe in, as products rather than just pretty pieces of jewellery- those high end brands all require you to be a licensed piercer to order from them. This is to support the industry and add some quality control to who resells their pieces.
But I’m an all or nothing girl- that’s why I called the company Hole Hearted LDN. If I can’t do it big, do it proper and do it legit I don’t want to do it at all.
I know I am oversharing. It’s a bad habit of mine. However, I hope it helps you understand why I am closing.
I also hope if you’re in a similar position, you consider how maybe you can adapt your life or aspects of it to better accommodate your needs.
I hope if you have the opportunity for relentless growth you know it’s okay to take it and there’s no need to feel guilty.
And if it’s not mental health or strange brain and you just had a change of heart, don’t let anyone shame you for packing up and setting off to explore new land – just make sure you’re equipped to do that.
These are all things I wish I knew at the start of all this.
Most of all though, I hope you understand that I am closing my business because that’s what this is all about.
I will not be opening my doors or taking appointments anymore.
There are lots of other fantastic piercers around the UK. I was going to make a list of London piercers and then realised this map is allowed to be shared (this is what I’d have used to make my list) https://bit.ly/3tYvfxF
Remember to still research the piercer you choose!
As for my online store I’m sure you can still order for the time being.
I’m not sure exactly when I’ll cease trading online for good – I guess it depends how fast stock shifts.
So if this is the last update you get from me before I go I just want to say thank you to everyone who has ever gotten pierced by me, bought from me, supported me, shared my posts, watched my videos, sent photos, written reviews, taught me things, encouraged me, inspired me and helped me get where I am now.
I never thought I’d get here. Thank you for making it possible
I do have plans for other businesses in the future, so if you want to stay up to date with what I’m doing feel free to follow me on social media (Twitter, Instagram).
But for now, I’ve done all I can here.
Goodbye.
P.S. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions- I’m doing my best to stay on top of emails.
Closing Sale – Everything Must Go!
Get 50% off all items by using the code HalfHearted at the checkout.
This code cannot be used in conjunction with any other sales, discounts or codes.*
UPDATE: I will be taking the HoleHeartedLDN.com webstore offline and ceasing all sales on Sunday 2nd May 2021 at 11:59PM (UK Time).
*This has ALWAYS been the case with my codes. I have had messages about using reward points but that is an additional discount that is redeemed as a code.
I was faced with the choice of a 30% off code and let people use points, or 50% off and keep it for exclusive use like all my sales.
I chose the bigger discount for all.
If you would like to use your reward points, you can remove the 50% off discount code (but you won’t save any more as you can only use reward points to pay for 50% of your order anyway).
Please trust me you are already saving as much as you possibly can. You are already getting 50% off.
