To our remarkable community,

Sometimes life hands you challenges that help you grow and learn in the most beautiful ways, which I've come to think is true of both the beginning and end of Sheltered Co. As of next month, we will be taking our last orders as a company and saying goodbye to this magical little company. 

 

In the beginning, life presented us with the challenge of helping our daughter. We were desperate for something that would help her calm her body so that she could sleep, regulate, or just have mini successes throughout the day. We absorbed this challenge head on, learned what she needed, and out of this—Sheltered Co. was born. 

 

While the ebb and flow of life has created unanticipated transitions for us, I've always stayed true to the values I set out with from day one. 

 

I wanted to stay true to my love of vintage and repurposing—breathing new life into items that were already in existence. 

 

I wanted to create an environment that made people feel like they were at home from the second they walked through our doors. 

 

I wanted to be a boss who led with encouragement, kindness, and grace.

 

I was the first to do anything like this on a large scale and, to this day, Sheltered Co. is the only company that crochets weighted blankets. Ultimately, I was aware that the 40-70 full yards of fabric per blanket and 6-8 hours to complete each one was going to be difficult. Compromising on quality was never an option for me, so I chose the harder route... and I couldn't be happier with our design and process.

 

Over the past 4 years, the challenges intensified as multiple companies popped up with lookalike blankets at a much more attainable price. Our sales began to drop and, once news of the pandemic hit, we were closing our store downtown and just hoping for the best. We made the difficult but necessary decision to shut down our entire operation for 3 months, while still paying out our monthly overhead. The collaborations we worked for all year fell apart, we had devastating losses within our families. We desperately attempted working with influencers and running ads, but our margins are literally miniscule and, without the big tech budgets that the lookalikes were operating with, we ended up as a side note in posts and articles. We lost the momentum we built and, at this point, there's no recovering. 

 

I've walked the warehouse multiple times—touching every piece of art, all the plants and trees, the beautiful lights and the cozy lounge area. I can't help but sob so many confusing tears of joy, sadness, mourning, accomplishment, and helplessness. I quite literally put my blood, sweat, and tears into every inch of this company and just like that... it's gone. At the end of the day, I know that we changed lives. We gave so many people hope and my heart aches to think that I may be letting everyone down. 

 

I've never worked anywhere with a never ending outpour of people sharing their stories and hearts and hardships and triumphs. People have shared that our blankets have saved their sanity, comforted them through unthinkable losses, held them through a life-altering battle, soothed their babies to sleep after months of sleepless nights, offered support after a long year of unknowns. 

 

With all of my heart and soul, I want to thank each and every one of you. You played the most magical role in the most beautiful story. This is not a failure, but a gracefully triumphant moment in time and I'm so grateful you were here for it. 

 

xo, 

Pamela