Changing Seasons
This is where the story doesn’t end, but changes.
hej hej Friends!
This is a bit long, so sit yourself down for a fika and please do us the honor of reading on…
Some of you may know the story…
We moved to Minneapolis from San Francisco with a dream to start our own business.
In 2017 we decided it was time to pursue this dream.
In 2018 we launched äventyr.
In 2019 we started our first ‘year in business’.
In 2020 a pandemic began, and we fell deeper in love with gravel biking in Northern Wisconsin
In 2021 another long standing dream we had began to take shape ~ we bought some land to go to to take a break from city life.
In 2022 we started to build the Spider Lake Crash Pad, and with that a vision for the way we live and work began to change.
This is where the story doesn’t end, but changes.
This will be our last newsletter for äventyr bicycle bags. But this is not our last newsletter.
AND…. This is not the end of äventyr ~ but a new beginning!
We have decided to shut down the retail side of äventyr for a multitude of reasons. The main one being, we will be splitting our time between The City and Far, Far Out of The City (in fact this lifestyle has already begun). This makes running a business that involves being at a big heavy (not transportable) sewing machine, being at weekend events, and having time to do ‘all the business related things’ no longer possible. That, and our sales just are not what we had hoped them to be.
I’ve known since last year this would likely be the trajectory of äventyr, but I also knew that it has been a great outlet for my creativity, and I didn’t want to let that go. Our intent with äventyr has always been that we would be able to grow it and evolve it in ways that may, or may not, specifically be about selling bicycle bags. Now is that time. From day one, we decided on a brand name that was flexible ~ äventyr = adventure. And wow have we been on one!
Before I get into our next adventure, I need to take care of some business. We need to sell our remaining inventory, shut down our online store, and then once that is done our domain (www.aventyr.cc) will move over to Substack, our new platform where I am writing to you from.
So lucky you ~ We are having A SALE! You all know we don’t do sales, but we are now ~ through December 21 (while supplies last)! 40% off all in-stock inventory, free shipping/free local delivery, all sales final. No need to enter a code, just go to the website and shop! I would love for you to start your äventyr, and also divest of the small amount of inventory taking up closet space in my design (or should I now say ~ writing) studio!
*If you purchase before November 16, your purchase will go towards our last Give to the Max Day charitable Donations from äventyr on November 17.
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Our next äventyr…
With the opportunity to evolve äventyr, I decided to stop doing the parts of äventyr that were not ‘bringing me joy’, and continue with the parts that were. Mainly, crafting stories through writing, photography, and technology.
I will be keeping our website (aventyr.cc) as a personal blog to share our cabin building process, our life in nature, our cycling adventures, aging as everyday athletes and how that plays into everything we do (rest, nutrition, exercise, etc.), and more, with you ~ friends and family.
I feel like I am going back to where things began for me when we first moved to Minneapolis in 2006 - a personal blog with no metrics (or money) tied to success. And I am excited about that.
I love to craft a good story. Many people (many of you) have told me I am good at it. Some of you don’t even bike, but have told me you like to read our newsletter (high praise!). So…
With this newsletter you are already subscribed to our Substack newsletter. You will continue to receive our newsletters (no more than once/month, likely less). [Not interested, of course you can unsubscribe (but we will be sorry to see you go for sure)].
I also have a separate blog feed on Substack ~ if you want updates every time I post, you can subscribe to the blog separately. Even better, you can download the Substack App that acts as a reader on your phone. I have been subscribed to Feedly for years, which is similar - you subscribe to blogs you like and go in at your own leisure to check for new posts. If you do not want to subscribe directly to the blog, you will be on the newsletter list and get a summary email of our going’s on, so you can stay updated and not have a flooded inbox.
Back to that technology part… Over the last two years I have developed an appreciation for people who are creating ‘slow living’ videos on YouTube that have helped me relax and destress. People like Jonna Jinton, Gorogoro Kitchen, Becki and Chris, and Dani Connor Wild.
And as we shared with you in previous newsletters, we have been building a cabin. It seemed like the perfect path to follow to combine our Spider Lake Crash Pad Journey with this new äventyr.
All Summer and Fall I have been filming the process of building our cabin (Spider Lake Crash Pad). I LOVE watching home shows, and something tells me you might too. Over the winter I will be creating videos (and updating our YouTube channel) to share videos that compliment my writing. I am excited about learning new skills in film editing, and sharing what has been a very personal journey for Kurt and I with you. We don’t plan to be YouTube ‘stars’ or ‘influencers’ (far from it), but it would be neat if you stopped by and followed along (you can subscribe if you want to get notices when we post new videos, and if you do maybe we can get our own name as our address instead of: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCmTNYfeHvK4H8rztPkOFA).
Closing the first chapter of äventyr to start a new one feels right, a bit sad, a relief, and honestly a bit fun. I have always been conflicted about making more ‘stuff’ to put out into the world, and because of that I believed structuring the business responsibly was important. But now I get to make ‘stuff’ in a different way, and I am excited about that.
Kurt and I want to thank you for all the support you have given us every step of the way. Your purchases have allowed us to support good people doing good things.
~ DeAnn & Kurt
P.S. The last post in my three-part series ‘How A Cyclist Eats: Aging” is still in my head, a bit on ‘paper’, and an evolving work in progress because it is based on some real world experiences I am going through.
I was not able to finish it before I sent this newsletter, so this will be one of the first posts on the new blog. I hope you will stick around to keep reading!