06/26/2026
Five years ago, Anna Lange Design began as an idea dreamed up by a version of me that doesn’t really exist anymore.
In March of 2021, sitting in my parents’ house with a Canva account and more hope than experience, I started this little business because I wanted to spread joy. Faith. Encouragement. I wanted to make beautiful things and, hopefully, pay for family vacations through my creativity.
For a while, it felt like I could.
Then life happened.
Since 2023, it has felt like every time I caught my breath, another wave came. Postpartum depression. Autism diagnoses. Car accident. Religious trauma that completely unraveled what I built this business around. My son nearly died. Financial stress. Three grandparents died within a year. We said goodbye to the cats that had been with us since the beginning of our marriage.
I never stopped long enough to grieve any of it.
Instead, I kept making, posting, smiling, marketing, showing up to markets, stressing myself sick to afford life. I was trying to convince myself that if I just worked harder, I’d eventually outrun the grief.
There were reels, and jokes, and I tried to cope with humor while simultaneously hanging on by a thread that’s only gotten more worn.
The world changed too. The economy has changed. We all feel it. I’m not faulting anyone for not being able to afford t-shirts and trinkets, because that’s not in my budget either. Craft shows that I was banking on were cancelled suddenly. Selling handmade work, especially in a small town with smaller ideals, is harder than ever. The rise of generative AI has made it increasingly difficult to be an artist who wants to create ethically. I’ve decided where my line is, and I won’t cross it. If refusing to replace human creativity with AI ultimately costs me this business, then okay. I will always be people over profit. Always.
There were other things I never expected, too.
I never expected private conversations to become public without my consent.
I never expected people to speculate about my marriage or my family while I was doing everything I could just to survive another day.
I never expected to carry so much shame over circumstances that were never mine to control.
So after five years, I’m stepping back completely.
I’m no longer taking custom orders. For now, Anna Lange Design will continue only through print-on-demand while I focus on healing, paying down debt, writing, and figuring out who I am outside of constantly producing something for other people.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be selling a lot of inventory to clear out supplies, pay down debt, and hopefully start to move forward. I’m in the process of writing a book, with a hopeful publishing date in 2027.
To every single person who ordered, shared my work, stopped by my booth, sent an encouraging message, or believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself:
Thank you.
You helped carry this dream much farther than I ever could have on my own. I don’t know exactly what comes next, but I know I can’t keep sacrificing myself just to keep a business alive.
