2025: A Year of Clarity, Craft, and Coming Home

There are years that push you forward quietly, and then there are years that fundamentally change you.

2025 was the latter.

It was not the year I expected. It was not fast, flashy, or optimized for growth-at-all-costs. Instead, it was slower. Heavier. More reflective. And ultimately, more clarifying than anything I could have planned.

This year reshaped how I work, why I work, and who I work with. It refined Atlas Studio into something more intentional, more sustainable, and more aligned with who I am — not just as a business owner, but as a person.

This is a look back at the year that changed everything, and a look ahead at what comes next.

Q1: Grief, Pause, and Perspective

My dad passed away in March.

There’s no neat way to explain what that does to your life. Grief doesn’t follow a linear timeline, and it doesn’t care about deadlines, launch dates, or business plans. It asks you to slow down whether you want to or not.

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who showed patience, flexibility, and kindness as my family navigated a difficult chapter. It meant more than I can properly put into words.

From a business standpoint, I made a conscious decision to temporarily close Atlas Studio. I didn’t add anything new to the queue. I simply focused on completing and closing existing projects with care and integrity.

It wasn’t a dramatic shutdown. It was a pause.

That pause gave me space — space to think, to breathe, and to reassess what I wanted my work to look like going forward. I spent that time gaining clarity and heavily investing in my education. I sharpened my skills, deepened my technical knowledge, and revisited the parts of my craft that originally drew me into this field.

When everything else felt uncertain, learning grounded me.

Q2: Letting Go of the Traditional Agency Model

As spring arrived, so did a realization that had been quietly forming for a while.

I don’t actually want to run a traditional agency.

I love the work. I don’t love managing for the sake of managing.

As Atlas Studio grew in past years, I noticed something unsettling: the bigger the agency became, the further away I was getting from the actual work. More meetings. More oversight. Less time designing, building, optimizing, and solving problems. That distance never sat well with me.

So in Q2, I intentionally moved away from the traditional agency model and toward a more focused, project-driven approach.

This shift benefits clients in a very real way. It keeps costs down in a fluctuating economy. It removes unnecessary overhead. It creates efficiency. You’re no longer paying for layers of management you don’t need. Instead, you’re primarily working with me — as your personal creative director, strategist, and hands-on partner.

Behind the scenes, I still collaborate with a small, trusted network of contractors and agencies I’ve worked with for years. Some are former team members. Others are specialists I deeply respect. I also maintain strong referral relationships for services like branding, social media, paid ads, photography, and video.

The difference now is intentionality. The right people, brought in at the right time, for the right reason.

Q3: Niching Down My Marketing Services

By summer, clarity turned into structure. I intentionally niched down my marketing services to reflect how I do my best work — and how clients get the best results.

Web design and development are now offered on a project basis. These are focused, intentional builds where strategy, structure, and performance matter just as much as aesthetics.

SEO and content marketing are offered on a retainer basis. This reflects the reality of how these disciplines actually work. Sustainable growth doesn’t come from one-off optimizations. It comes from consistency, iteration, and long-term thinking.

A typical retainer may include technical SEO, on-page optimization, local SEO, off-page strategy, blogging, PPC support, website maintenance and updates, troubleshooting, and priority service. Not because every client needs everything, but because flexibility matters.

You’re only paying for what you need, when you need it.

This model allows me to stay close to the work, deeply invested in results, and aligned with clients who value progress over gimmicks.

Q4: Rest, Refinement, and Reconnection

If the first half of the year was about loss and recalibration, the second half was about rest — and learning what that truly means.

My husband and I both run businesses. We were married in Scotland in August 2024, and in many ways, our lives changed forever that year. We’re both recovering workaholics. Both perfectionists. Both deeply driven.

In 2025, we made a conscious decision to live with more intentionality and presence.

I still love the outdoors, but my relationship with it has deepened. I feel more connected to the land now, grounded in a way that’s hard to articulate. Global travels over the past two years have been a key influence in that shift.

I’ve also leaned fully into a passion that keeps my creative flame lit: Scottish highland dance. It challenges me physically, mentally, and artistically. It reminds me that creativity doesn’t only live behind a screen.

More than anything, I feel like myself again. Refined, but not precious. Capable of nuance, but still willing to roll up my sleeves and get dirty. If I had to describe the aesthetic, it would be something like the Scottish countryside — weathered, intentional, and built to last.

You’ll see this reflected in a new website and updated branding that finally sounds like me. You’ll also notice more refined systems and processes behind the scenes. Less chaos. More clarity.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Atlas Studio will be fully open again starting Monday, January 5.

I’m excited to stretch my web muscles a bit more in the year ahead. While I primarily work with service-based businesses, I’m equally comfortable supporting product-based and ecommerce projects. I’d especially love to partner with a hotel or B&B, as well as a winery or distillery — brands rooted in experience feel particularly aligned with where I am now.

More than anything, I’m returning to a spirit of adventure — the very reason I went into business in the first place. This January marks five years of Atlas Studio. In an industry that often prioritizes speed over sustainability, that milestone feels worth celebrating.

I’m no longer focused on the sprint. I’m focused on the journey.

If you’re tired of TikTok dances and quick “go viral” schemes, we’ll probably get along just fine. If you’re looking for thoughtful strategy, solid craftsmanship, and work built for the long haul, I’d love to talk. Let’s book a free consultation and explore what will truly serve you — not just now, but over time.