No one really tells you what running an online business actually involves.

You assume it’ll be products, a website, maybe a bit of marketing here and there. What you don’t quite expect is to end up learning a bit of everything — websites, SEO, payment systems, VAT, PAYE… and now, apparently, how to tile a floor without making a complete mess of it.

Somewhere along the line, you realise you’re not just running a shop. You’re building one as well.

And I mean that quite literally.

The past few weeks have involved more trips to the hardware shop than the wholesaler. There’s been tile adhesive in places it definitely shouldn’t be, a fair amount of standing back and saying “that’ll do”, and the slow realisation that maybe we should have got a professional in.

That said, I do like to think I’ve been getting properly stuck in… rather than just standing back, nodding, and saying “just one more coat”. Although it turns out that no matter how long I stare at something, it doesn’t actually get done by itself.

And through all of it, the kettle’s been working overtime — proper builder’s tea, holding the whole thing together.

If you’ve seen a few of our recent posts — the tiling, the paint, the bits of work happening in between everything else — that’s exactly what it is. Not a big reveal, not a polished plan, just the work as it happens.

But there’s something good in that.

Something new slowly taking shape, one slightly wonky tile at a time. An oak counter getting another polish, a new bit of kit arriving, and a space that starts to feel more like something you recognise — even if you’re still figuring it out as you go.

And, quietly, we are building again.

May your walls be straighter than ours, your paint stay where it’s meant to, and your kettle always within reach.

Nick asnd all The Interdelightful Crew 💫