BEAT THE BLUES
January can feel like the hardest month — slower mornings, darker evenings, and a sense of everything waiting to begin again. But it’s often the smallest rituals that bring the most comfort. Handmade pieces invite intention into everyday moments, offering tiny sparks of joy when the days feel long. Here are five simple ways to bring light, colour, and care into the start of your year.
Write It Down
A handmade journal is more than paper and pages — it’s a place to gently untangle your thoughts. Writing things down can clear mental clutter, helping worries feel lighter and ideas feel possible again. Even a few quiet minutes with a pen can turn reflection into relief.
Add a Spark of Colour
When everything outside feels muted, colour becomes a quiet act of rebellion. Bright jewellery or a bold handmade piece can lift not just your outfit, but your mood too. A flash of colour reminds you that joy doesn’t have to wait for spring.
Bring the scents of the season into your home
Light a Candle
There’s something grounding about candlelight — the soft glow, the gentle pause it creates. Lighting a candle can transform an ordinary evening into something calmer and more intentional. Even the greyest January night feels warmer when it’s lit from within.
Take a Pause
Self-care doesn’t need to be elaborate to be meaningful. A handmade soap or bath treat turns an everyday routine into a moment of care. It’s a small reminder to slow down, breathe deeply, and look after yourself — one pause at a time.
Bright, joyful stationery for everyday planning
Brighten Your Walls
A colourful print can quietly shift the energy of a room. It draws the eye, lifts the space, and offers something hopeful to come home to. Sometimes, changing how a room feels is as simple as adding one piece that makes you smile.
BEAT THE BLUES
Blue and Silver Sparkles
Delicate blue and silver sparkles add a quiet touch of colour and joy. Crafted with care, they bring gentle brightness and a feel-good lift wherever they’re worn.
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Bumpy Plant Pot
Bumpy pot plant — a tactile concrete planter paired with a cheerful succulent, bringing natural calm and gentle texture to brighten grey January days.
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Let's Ava Cuppa
Let’s Ava Cuppa print — a bright, feel-good illustration celebrating comforting brews and quiet pauses, bringing warmth and cheer to lift the January blues.
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Dreams & Plans
Dreams & Plans journal — a beautifully bound space for fresh beginnings, gentle reflection, and hopeful intention-setting to help lift winter fog and bring clarity to your year ahead.
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Affirmation Cards
Self-love affirmation cards — a set of uplifting daily reminders to centre your heart, ease January heaviness, and invite gentle confidence and calm into each new day.
Shop Now ›ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: The Happy Company
The Happy Company was founded in 2021 by Jennie, a designer with over 15 years’ experience in high street fashion. After years spent working with colour, pattern, and trend-led design, Jennie found herself drawn to something more personal — the quiet power of affirmations and positive words. This shift was shaped by her own experiences with mental health, during which affirmations became a source of comfort, reassurance, and strength. When she struggled to find words that truly resonated, Jennie began creating her own — and from this deeply personal place, The Happy Company was born. Working from her home in Hertfordshire, Jennie now channels her lifelong love of bright, joyful colour into playful, uplifting designs intended to support everyday wellbeing. Each piece she creates is rooted in kindness, optimism, and the belief that gentle words, repeated often, can help shape calmer, happier moments — especially when they’re needed most.
The Happy Company was founded in 2021 by Jennie, a designer with over 15 years’ experience in high street fashion. After years spent working with colour, pattern, and trend-led design, Jennie found herself drawn to something more personal — the quiet power of affirmations and positive words. This shift was shaped by her own experiences with mental health, during which affirmations became a source of comfort, reassurance, and strength. When she struggled to find words that truly resonated, Jennie began creating her own — and from this deeply personal place, The Happy Company was born. Working from her home in Hertfordshire, Jennie now channels her lifelong love of bright, joyful colour into playful, uplifting designs intended to support everyday wellbeing. Each piece she creates is rooted in kindness, optimism, and the belief that gentle words, repeated often, can help shape calmer, happier moments — especially when they’re needed most.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
Lift the January lull with our favourite feel-good finds — from uplifting prints and mindful stationery to calming homeware and gentle self-care, each piece chosen to bring warmth, optimism, and a little everyday joy to the quieter days of winter.
Thank you for supporting independent makers and choosing pieces created with care and intention. Each one brings warmth, individuality, and a gentle lift — perfect for making winter days feel a little brighter.
Until next time,
The Art & Soul Team