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Tonight is a drop night, and if you've been around here for a while, you might notice something a little different: this one is smaller than usual. On purpose.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how I want this little shop to feel - for you, and honestly, for me too. Sweet As April has always been about making things slowly, with care, one bonnet at a time. But I'll be real: when a big drop goes live, and orders flood in, it gets hard to keep up with that pace without something slipping. I don't want anything to slip.
So here's what I'm doing. Smaller drops, more often. Instead of big waves every once in a while, think of it more like a steady stream - new pieces showing up regularly, in quantities I can actually stand behind. It means faster turnaround for you. It means I'm not stitching until midnight to catch up. It means every single order gets the attention it deserves.
And tonight's drop? Small in number, mighty in everything else.
What's coming tonight at 9 PM EST
I packed this one with things I'm genuinely excited about.
There are upcycles - which, if you know me, you know those are always my favorites. Taking something with a past life and turning it into a bonnet for someone's baby is still one of the things that makes this work feel meaningful to me.
There are new exclusive prints that you won't find anywhere else. I don't take that word lightly - these are prints I design specifically for Sweet As April, you really won't find them anywhere else.
And there's patchwork. Lovely, considered, time-consuming patchwork. The kind where you can tell someone thought about which pieces go next to which.
The preview is live on the homepage right now if you want to get a look before everything opens tonight.
Why I'm telling you all this
I could have just sent a "shop opens at 9" email and left it at that. But I'd rather you understand what's happening here and why.
I've been making bonnets for about ten years. I drafted my own pattern originally because I couldn't find one I actually liked - and that same stubbornness about doing things the right way is still very much part of how I run this shop. Smaller drops are just the next version of that. A way of protecting the quality of what I make, and the experience of what it's like to order from me.
You'll be hearing from me more often now and I think that's a good thing.
Tonight at 9 PM EST, everything goes live here
The preview is already up on the homepage - go take a peek and come back tonight.
love & bonnets,
Carrie