2020 In Review

I’ve been struggling to write this post all week. 2020 has been such a difficult year, and it’s hard to look back on it. But… some good things happened.

In 2020, I went to BreyerWest in Colorado.

While there I tried pastelling a Stablemate,

and gave sculpting a go.

I got to see plenty of real horses,

and later got to visit with tigers!

In July, I was able to virtually attend BreyerFest:

The event going virtual meant that for the first time, I could finally participate. I tried to make the most of it and ended up having a really fun weekend.

Early in the year Breyer asked me to work on another prototype for them. This was the costume for next year’s holiday horse, Arctic Grandeur. Like Yuletide Greetings, my task was to create a 3D version of Breyer’s design.

The final version looks really nice and I’m glad that so many people like him!

My blog did really well this year, and I’m not entirely sure why? The pandemic/lockdowns? A cleaner, updated makeover? Whatever it is, my yearly stats doubled, and in November my blog made it to another milestone: 1 million views! 🎆 I know I haven’t posted very much this year, but thank you for sticking with me. ❤

I only put a handful of tack pieces together in 2020, but for once I’m happy with all of them.

The hobby’s return to photo showing did play a part in a couple of these… this bridle was going to be for a bad performance entry, I think? I never did participate in any of the photo shows, but that didn’t stop me from day dreaming about possible entries.

Just being inspired to work on tack again was good. Maybe, if the photo shows continue, I’ll feel up to giving one a try?

2020 wasn’t at all what I was expecting or hoping it to be. But I am grateful for the opportunities I had and the places I got to see. I’m grateful that I didn’t lose my job and grateful that my family has all been healthy. If anything, it’s taught teaching me to focus more on gratitude and to not take things for granted.

Last year, my goals for the hobby were to create more for myself and work on downsizing my collection. I can’t say I’ve made a whole lot of progress on either, but I would like to continue with both in 2021. I’ve also been trying to spend less time on social media, and for the time being I’ve stepped away from Facebook as it just makes me so unhappy. (my page is still up but messaging has been turned off – I can always be reached at desktopstables@gmail.com)

Here’s hoping for a better year. ❤