2019 – the year’s round-up

Bonjour from Normandy! My 2019 round-up

  I’m writing this with a smile on my face. We are at the end of a big busy year and I’m so looking forward to closing the office for a week, while my team and I enjoy some quality family time, and relax.

While my children were growing up, the mantra I repeated the most often was “work hard, play hard”.  And that’s what this year has felt like at MFCH. We have worked hard to improve our boxes, the tours and of course the magazine, but we have had a lot of fun pulling everything together too!

A large part of what we do here is highlighting the talent around us.   In the magazine we are always on the lookout for awesome photographers to supply the breathtaking photos that the magazine is known for.    For our boxes, nothing makes me happier than sourcing an artisan creator for our curated collections of French treasure. And here on the blog, I try to showcase the people and places that I enjoy as I live my everyday life here in France.

But today above all I want to thank you my readers for making all this possible!

The Tours

This year for the first time we ran a total of five tours.   Twice to Provence, twice in Normandy and Paris, and our newest tour destination to Burgundy.   I so loved meeting each of our clients, and sharing with them my favourite addresses.  We drank a lot of champagne, we visited some jaw-dropping homes and gardens, created floral art, took cooking classes and of course found time for some shopping.

I was particularly touched to have so many return clients this year, some for the fifth time!  A huge merci to you all!  I am already looking forward to our  MFCH tours in 2020.

The Box

Our boxes have been delivered to all continents this year, and that is very exciting.  My Stylish French Box has become a true ambassador for the finest French brands, and I am proud that we curate collections including items from iconic names as well as creations by smaller artisans, who I am fortunate to discover here.  Thank you to all our box clients for your continued custom and enthusiasm for our boxes.

The Magazine

The MFCH Magazine started in January.  Who knew I’d ever publish a magazine?!   And why didn’t anyone tell me what it would really involve?!     Seriously!   Yes it is a crazy intense project, but I love it and all the new doors that it has opened for us here.  A massive thank you to everyone who trusted us and subscribed to this project.  Thank you for your patience as we found our feet on the digital and print distribution, and for all your emails telling us how much you like it.   You are the best!

The blog and our social media

The blog remains at the heart of everything we do here, no matter how much we evolve.  I am ever grateful to people who stop by to read me, and to check out our social media.

We have Instagram pages for the blog, the box and the magazine, and that is a great way for hearing about our latest news or entering our regular giveaways.

This year on Facebook we created the MFCH community group which is open to anyone who has bought our box, been on a tour or who buys the magazine.  I love to stop by and see the messages shared here, the excitement around an imminent box arrival, or compared photos of an MFCH tour. If you don’t belong to this group yet, you can apply on the page directly.

So as the year draws to a close, and I am already excited about 2020, I just want to say one big, massive, heartfelt

We are closing the office for the Holiday week, but of course keeping an eye on emails in case there’s anything urgent.   We’ll be back in 2020 with our batteries recharged, and ready to bring you more of everything French!

I wish you all a very happy Holiday season, take care, enjoy time with your loved ones and stay safe.