2026 - an end to the Nantucket Sleighride

Have you heard of a Nantucket sleighride? Not a winter pastime, but a term used to describe the sudden acceleration that followed a harpooned whale, when it surged forward and pulled the sailors’ small vessel at breathtaking speed until, eventually, the whale tired and the real work could begin.

For a while after we left Boston, life felt a bit like that.

We had been living a familiar rhythm. Three children, steady routines, the same places we returned to year after year. Then, in 2023, everything seemed to open at once. Something shifted inside me. New ambitions emerged, along with an expanded sense of myself beyond my role as a mom and homemaker, more connected to the world around me.

We built a new house in a new town. I started Parker River Proper. We grew our family, first with two puppies and then our fourth baby. Phill left the company he had been with for fifteen years to build something of his own. Each change was intentional and meaningful, but together they arrived faster than the systems around us could fully support. At times it felt breathless, like moving forward before getting my footing.

What I’m learning is that growth isn’t only about expansion. It’s also about building the structure that allows life to feel steady. Season by season, that structure has begun to take shape. I’ve found a rhythm to my work that sits alongside motherhood rather than competing with it. Our home is still evolving, but we’re tending to it with care so it can better support the life unfolding inside it. Routines are forming, and with them, a sense of groundedness is returning.

As I look toward the year ahead, my intention is to continue rooting down, expanding my capacity to hold the life we have created, and softening into it enough to truly enjoy it.

That means paying closer attention to the small, sustaining details of everyday life and habitualizing self care, routines, and boundaries. Making the beds each morning, preparing nourishing meals, making sure I'm eating, moving, connecting with nature & building in time for rest. Slowing everything down enough to actually feel good at home. To take pleasure in the smells and tastes of food cooked from the earth. The sounds of laughter and music moving through the house. The comfort of rooms filled with objects chosen thoughtfully and lived with over time. The kind of beauty that comes from use, history, and connection rather than perfection.

This way of living has always been at the core of both my values and my work with Parker River Proper. While its momentum may have taken me for a ride, I never lost sight of my desire to create and share pieces that feel honest and purposeful, meant to be used and lived with, woven into daily life rather than performed for an image. Staying connected to the seasons and the natural world. Rooted in authenticity. Oriented toward holding more light.

2026 is about integration, making space for what matters and learning how to hold it with care. Just as a Nantucket Basket takes its shape from the mold it’s woven around, I’m curious to see what form 2026 will take when shaped by these intentions.

Thank you for being here, and for moving through this season alongside me.

Warmly,
Katie