When I started Wit & Delight at twenty-four, the world as we know it today looked very different. For a little context, the iPhone had just been released, the economy was in a tailspin, Obama had just been elected president, and I was broke, insecure, and scared. Despite how hard this time was, I was incredibly optimistic about the future and excited to share whatever I had inside of me with the world.  

Wit & Delight was where I grew up. I wrote posts about what frightened me, delighted me, inspired me, and made me feel at home. This website has supported me as I’ve broken down, gotten married, blown my life up, sent myself to therapy, grappled with mental health challenges, birthed babies, created product lines, and worked with the best brands and people one could hope for.

A Season of Change

It’s hard to imagine ending something that has ultimately been about creating things for a community of people who share a common thread: the beauty and delight in being alive. You are my people, and I have loved this time with you. 

I have felt the subtle calling to step away from publishing for some time. It terrifies me if I’m being sincere. I am unsure of what I’ll do next. I’m realizing that it’s ok not to have it all figured out. So I’m taking a similar leap as I did when I published my first blog post, stepping optimistically into the unknown.

While I will continue to show up on social media and share essays and project updates on House Call, running Wit & Delight full-time is something I know I have to step away from. 

In short, you’ll still be seeing me—just a little less often. 

The Team That Built Wit & Delight

Because I have decided to step away from publishing content full-time, it means the team who creates all the incredible content for Wit & Delight will be moving on as well. I am devastated to lose the people who put so much of their time, creativity, and passion into making this space what it is today. 

Simply put, Wit & Delight wouldn’t be the same without the team who built it. I would not have been able to continue to produce the amount of content we have at the quality we have been committed to without this team. Period. My gratitude and appreciation for those who have believed in the brand, me, and the value of what we do cannot be fully expressed. While I’ll be stepping away from running this brand full-time, my team is ready to move on to big things.

If you are looking for rockstar people who know editorial strategy, content creation, or project management, I would love for you to connect you with my team members. They know this business better than anyone out there. I cannot wait to see them go on to much bigger and better things shortly. 

Bridgette Dutkowski

Bridgette has been with me for eight years as our brand director. She does it all and makes it look easy (spoiler, it hasn’t been). There isn’t a project or problem she couldn’t figure out, and I am lucky to have been able to work alongside her. I wouldn’t be here writing this post without her brilliant mind and ability to make clear and actionable paths out of my creative chaos and often half-baked ideas. She knows influencer marketing inside out. You can connect with her via email at bkdutkowski@gmail.com or send her a message on LinkedIn. 

Jackie Saffert

Jackie has been with me for the past four years as our editorial director. I’m grateful for her steadfast guidance, intuition, and detail-oriented approach to editing. Her editorial strategy and gift for storytelling are baked into everything we post on Wit & Delight. I am a better writer and storyteller from working alongside her. Read more about Jackie’s expertise and background on her website. You can connect with her via email at jackiejsaffert@gmail.com or send her a message on LinkedIn. 

Greta Philip

Greta has been running our social media accounts for three years. She has her finger on the pulse of real-time shifts in social media. She has been our Swiss Army Knife for balancing the art of creativity and strategy around all of our social content. Not only has she been a sounding board for navigating a changing landscape, but she is also as reliable as they come. Greta is hoping to find another position in the social media space working as a social media manager or social media strategist. She is available for remote work in both the US and Canada, or in-person work in Toronto, ON. You can connect with her via email at gretaaaphilip@gmail.com or send her a message on LinkedIn. 

Nancy Lausch

Nancy has been my executive assistant for three years. She’s been the glue that has held me together and an incredible coach. She has the intuitive sense of knowing what needs to be done before the rest of us realize it. It is often the things we do not see that make the most impact, and I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to learn invaluable lessons from working with her. As Nancy steps away from her role at W&D, her aim is to grow her life coaching business with additional individual clients, as well as team and small business coaching. She has previously done interior design consulting and styling and hopes to continue as a personal assistant in a contractor capacity. You can connect with her via email at blueskieslifecoach@gmail.com or send her a message on LinkedIn. 

Carolyn Monke

Carolyn has been our designer for three years. While also working for other brands and clients, she has managed Wit & Delight’s graphic design needs, adding her own flare and creativity to our branded content, theme graphics, and social look and feel. I can always rely on Carolyn to add value to our creative ideas. She’s a quick study and has been adaptive to whatever design challenges we’ve faced. You can connect with her via email at carolynmonke@gmail.com or send her a message on LinkedIn. 

What’s Next and Where You Can Continue to Follow Me

We will continue regularly publishing content on Wit & Delight through the end of June. I’ll be digging into the archives and highlighting some of the articles that have been most meaningful to me—and to you, the Wit & Delight community—over the last fourteen years.

We’ll be publishing a few sponsored posts I’m excited to share, both in June and throughout the summer. I will also sporadically share design updates we make to our home. The website will remain live this summer and beyond. I may pop on from time to time to share additional updates.

I will continue to publish my newsletter, House Call, at the regular cadence. Please follow along here for essays and design project updates. I will also continue to show up on Instagram whenever the mood strikes.

Wit & Delight product lines will continue to be sold with our current stockists. We will continue to share updates, new product offerings, and collaborations on Wit & Delight and our social channels. 

If you’d like to connect with me in the future, my email will be the best place to reach me: kate@witanddelight.com. 

Thank you for being with me during such a transformative time.

I’ll see you soon.

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.