A Year of Stillness, Bloom, and Beginning Again
Some stories begin quietly, so quietly that we don’t realise they are shaping us until much later. On 21 October 2024, I walked away from a job I hated. I didn’t know what would come next and I didn’t have a plan. I only knew that I wanted to breathe again, even if it meant starting from nothing.
Two weeks later, Laluna was born. What started as a small, spontaneous idea, a little panda with a gentle presence, slowly grew into a tiny universe of its own. I began creating with my hands, meeting kind people, sharing booths, and building a life I never imagined would be possible. It felt magical in the softest way. Not loud success, but quiet joy. Those little wins kept me moving.
This past year was full of warmth. I laughed, I learned, and I poured my heart into every piece. I created collections that carried stories of resilience, softness, and hope. And for a moment, I thought maybe I was finally doing okay.
But life moves in waves, not straight lines. On 21 October 2025, exactly one year after I left my job, Lalunathepanda IG account was suddenly disabled. The timing felt unreal. A shock. A strange reminder of how life can turn without warning. It wasn’t because I didn’t put in the work or the time. It wasn’t because I didn’t care enough. Sometimes the world is simply unkind in ways we cannot explain, and that day it felt like everything I built had been taken away in an instant.
What makes this even more bittersweet is that right before everything fell apart, I had been creating a new range. It was meant to remind myself how grey and black can bloom into colour. How stillness can become life again. Even though this setback shook me deeply, those designs became a quiet anchor. They reminded me that life is both grey and bright, heavy and hopeful. That anything that rises can fall, and anything that falls can rise again.
This year taught me that beginnings don’t happen only once. They happen every time we choose to stand up again, every time we choose to hope again, and every time we start slowly from wherever we are. So here I am, still learning, still growing, still dreaming. A little bruised, but not broken.
Thank you to everyone who stayed with me through every season, the light ones, the heavy ones, and the ones I am still learning to understand. Your kindness keeps this small dream alive, and I am grateful beyond words.
Here’s to beginning again, gently and with hope. 🩶🌸
