The Year of Relationships: How a Community Became Home
Hello, January! And hello to a brand-new year. But before we delve into fresh beginnings, forecasts and goal-planning, perhaps it’s time for a precious pause. Let’s take a moment to look back before we look forward and, yes, reflect on the past twelve months. If I had to choose a theme for 2025, hands down, the very first thing that comes to mind is relationships; personal ones and business ones; building them, cultivating them, and appreciating them – especially in this small town.
As newcomers to Fredericksburg three and-a-half years ago, we first met a diverse group of people through pickleball. Yes, I will admit that pickleball was our immediate priority! Instant friends. A lot of friends. And because we decided to pop into a local business here and there, one conversation would lead to another, and the next thing I knew, I was invited to join a ladies’ coffee group; and I met another diverse group of lovely ladies. Curiosity led us to explore the Hill Country wineries and tasting rooms which, again, brought impromptu meetings with strangers — who we now call friends. Our circle of acquaintances just continued to grow, with staff and guests alike, adding to the mix, friends of friends.
2025 brought the launch of our new home decor retail business, Style 208. Our website was up and running; we investigated a Point-of-Sale system, gathered and sorted our inventory, started our Instagram and Facebook pages, and texted all of our friends to announce that we were finally excited, nervous, but ready, (kind of) to open our doors on Valentine’s Day. All our pickleballers, my coffee ladies, and our acquaintances and friends from the wineries showed up in spades. Our friends told their friends, and they told their friends.
We joined the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, but little did we know the opportunities that would follow our ribbon-cutting: decorating the Chamber VIP Tent for the Christmas Parade last month, which was a wonderful creative project for us; an introduction to Fredericksburg Coffee Co., resulting in the creation and branding our very own coffee label: “Fringe Coffee”. The “Fun After 5” Chamber monthly gatherings have brought us cherished personal friendships and the ability to form professional ones in just a few short hours. It’s at one of these events that we met the publisher of the Fredericksburg Neighbors Magazine, James Rice!
During an anticipated visit to the Western Museum of Art in Kerrville, a volunteer noticed my custom boots and commented on the squash blossom necklace that I was wearing. After a lengthy conversation, we learned that Mark was part Cheyenne and ran his own trading post in Gallup, New Mexico back in the 1970s. His wealth of knowledge regarding Native American jewelry, weavings and pottery is inspiring. Our relationship is built on a shared love and admiration for Native American treasures. He’s our source for a lot of the vintage turquoise jewelry we carry in our store, and he’s become a good friend.
This past Octoberfest in Fredericksburg is where we were introduced to the masterful artwork of Eric Fasking. My husband struck up a conversation with him about his western scenes and asked him about representation. We invited Eric and his wife, Susan, to Style 208 where we shared some wine, sat and chatted together for hours. Another wonderful relationship has been cultivated, and we are very honored to be representing Eric’s work in our gallery.
The most unexpected relationships are those created with the people that visit our showroom. They may walk in as strangers, but after we share our story and learn theirs, we become fast friends. These relationships cherished. It was a great year. And we’re looking forward to building more wonderful relationships in 2026.
