I've just been working on the social media planning for Riverstones. It's a mix of photos of jewelry from our City and Soul collections and inspiring quotes. Reading them back, I suddenly realize they all have to do with slowing down and peace. Not surprising, since the quotes are always about things that are on my mind at that moment.

And as an entrepreneur and as a person—because these two things are, of course, indistinguishable—I'm at the stage where I realize I need rest. I've been feeling this for a while, but it had to get to the point where my body literally said: "Hey Ronja, if you're sitting at your laptop for too long, it's not good for you. Hey Ronja, if you're biting off more than you can chew and wanting too much, I'll sound the alarm."

Last year was one of those years. It started in the first few months of 2023 with a completely new website branding. It's something I'm excited about—thinking about where I want to go with Riverstones and creating beautiful copy and images to support it—but it also turned out to be much more work than I'd anticipated and was very stressful. I often worked late into the evening, after my boys were already in bed, to make sure I had time for them during the day.

During the same period, I was working on expanding the City collection to include several Dutch cities and Paris . Besides designing such a collection, there's much more to it, of course:

• Supervising the production
• Thinking up names and texts – luckily I always have help with that
• Preparing, planning and supervising photo shoots
• Putting products on the website etc. etc.

I noticed that when any of these things didn't go as planned...and when does something go exactly as planned...I found it difficult to cope. In addition, several collaborations didn't go as I'd hoped, which ultimately led to me being sick on a winter sports holiday.

After launching the new City collection in May, we opened a two-week pop-up store in Amsterdam's 9 Streets district in mid-June to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I designed a newSoul collection that we launched in early September at showUP (the trade fair for retailers where Riverstones exhibits twice a year). Then, the holiday season was upon us, and I started working on the new items for the City collection, which we would launch in February.

One of the important messages behind our jewelry is that you really need to take time for yourself every now and then and reflect. Last year, I tried to listen to my body and rest or take a walk in the dunes. But the dizziness and the feeling of being constantly rushed persisted.

So, in December, I decided that things really had to change in 2024. Practice what you preach. I had to put into practice what I wanted to share with you with Riverstones jewelry. In January, I really took it easier. And when I broke my elbow figure skating in February, I ultimately saw it as a sign from the universe that it was good for me to take a step back. Enjoy everything we accomplished last year and carefully plan for the new year. I noticed that I had the space to zoom out and make decisions about things that had been simmering in my business for a while, which also felt good.

Last weekend, I allowed myself a few days away by myself. It helped me so much! It doesn't have to be long, but you'll see the healing effect. With the jewelry in our Soul collection, we want to inspire you to consciously pause and take time for yourself and the beauty around you. With this personal story—which is quite exciting to share—I want to let you know that it works.

So all these posts about slowing down and resting aren't coming out of the blue. Of course, there are always things that need to be done by a certain time, but more rest is definitely planned as well. So, let's pause for a moment regarding ambition. That doesn't mean there aren't all sorts of fun things coming up, but there are also many fun things we're pushing off to next year.

                                                   'Finding beauty in the rush of life'