At the start of the pandemic when Gwyneth said that everyone should use this time to “write a book, learn an instrument or a language or learn to code online, draw or paint.” I think I (alongside millions of other people) cursed under my breath and reached for a bottle of wine. For a start, I had just doubled my workload by looking after two children under four, at the same time as working a full-time role, running an events agency. Our household was also trying to find a new dynamic of four people living under one roof 24/7. I didn’t even know it was possible to spend this much on groceries every week…
And then things got real.
Really real.
We found out that the agency I was working for was closing. In quick succession we found out that my partner was also losing his job. And suddenly it wasn’t about how much I could fit in a day. Or how will the children drive me insane today.
It was about what are we going to do to keep us afloat, how much could we not spend, and what happened to this career that spanned ten years and two countries.
But here’s the thing, the biggest disaster has turned into the biggest opportunity (and the biggest challenge of my life.)
And so, myself, and some of my most trusted colleagues and loyal clients have started our baby; Lemon Lane. We have created a full-service event management agency with a team of professionals who love what they do and want to deliver it in a fresh way. I have no doubt it is going to be hard (I mean seriously who starts an event agency in the middle of a global pandemic?). But you know what, we know what we are doing, we are good at it, and we feel confident that we can deliver bigger and better than anyone in the marketplace.
And most importantly it has given us a purpose, a vision, and a solution to what has truly been the strangest few months of our collective lives. I’m not naïve, I know that we are blessed, and there are so many people really struggling. I know that there will be people who have lost loved ones, careers, and livelihoods. But I also know that small pieces of positive can come out of the darkest times.
So, you know what Gwyneth, I take it back.
You were right, I was wrong.
So, let’s raise a glass to Lemon Lane.
— Lucy Francis
