Farewell to Our August Sage Family

A Letter from Founder, Rowena Lei

 

Hello Our Lovely Friends,

I wanted to give you an update on August Sage. We have made a tough decision to close down on September 20, 2022. The feelings are bittersweet, but we feel that this is the right choice as we move to a new stage in life. We started August Sage over four years ago and built this community around the concept of love for the home and the importance of filling it with true meaningful objects and beauty from all corners of the earth. Working with our wonderful partner artisans has been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done in my life, and it has been an absolute joy and privilege to share this with you over the years. I know at my core, what we were doing was vital and the key to environmental sustainability and shifting economic impact and equality throughout the world.

It has been wondrous seeing what we’ve built thrive and flourish over the years, and I’m immensely proud of the brand. But sometimes, even with all the dedication of blood, sweat, and tears - countless sleepless nights, stress, and endless pivots -  it’s hard to admit that we’re not able to see the traction we need to sustain the business. As a completely boot-strapped retail startup, ultimately it's difficult to scale, and we came to a crossroad where without a significant injection of investors and capital, we couldn’t keep it up long term. In the end, these didn’t seem like the avenues we wanted to take ourselves through without losing a lot of the company’s soul.

Looking back at this journey, I don’t regret a single moment of it, and it has brought me even closer to my calling in life. Grant and I talk about it all the time; we learned so much about how building August Sage gave us context into the world, how it works, an understanding of business and entrepreneurship, and the realization that life is truly limitless. I hope that this inspires you to take your own leaps in life and that there is no such thing as failure, only endless opportunities. 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU -  to all our friends, family, customers, business mentors, retail partners, creatives partners (an amazing group of photographers, stylists, PR, and graphic designers), and especially our artisan groups for believing in us and believing in me all these years. I’m proud of the relationships and the community that we’ve built, and couldn’t have reached this moment without you. 

What’s next? I’m not quite sure, we’re considering quite a few options of what August Sage can morph into, especially as I expand my foray into the interiors space. But really, we’re taking some time right now to rest and see what the universe presents us. See you all again soon.

With all my love,

Rowena Lei Bursey