As I sit here in my cozy studio, creating the first pieces of 2026 and welcoming this new year, I find myself reflecting on what has been one of the most challenging and transformative years of my journey with Intambo.
When Everything Shifted
2025 started with a something I didn't see coming. Honestly I think nobody saw this.
I lost my American customer base due to the new De Minimis tax, or VAT, I'm not sure what really is it. Almost overnight, orders that had been flowing steadily for years simply... stopped. The connection I had built with customers across the ocean, people who trusted me to create their unique, one-of-a-kind pieces was severed by circumstances beyond my control. It's really painful to me.
For a small, independent jewelry maker like me, where every piece is handcrafted and custom-made, this wasn't just a business setback. It was personal. It was financial. It was emotional.
My main source of income disappeared.
I won't lie, it broke something in me. There were days I questioned everything. Was I good enough? Should I keep going? What's the point of creating if no one sees it?
Finding My Way Back to the Markets
But something interesting happened when I was forced to pivot.
I started attending local markets here in Hungary. At first, it was purely out of necessity...
I needed to find new customers, new connections, a new way forward. But what I discovered there was so much more than I expected.
I fell in love with it.
Why I Love the Markets
There's something irreplaceable about standing behind your table, surrounded by your creations, watching people's faces light up when they touch a piece for the first time.
The human connection. Online, you send a package into the void and hope it arrives safely. At markets, you watch someone try on a necklace, see their eyes widen, hear them say "This is exactly what I needed." You're there for that moment. You get to be part of their story in real-time.
The instant feedback. When someone picks up a piece, turns it over in their hands, asks about the stone or the weaving technique - that conversation teaches me so much. I learn what resonates. What questions people have. What matters to them.
The energy exchange. Every piece I make carries intention, carries energy. At markets, that exchange is direct. Hand to hand. Heart to heart. There's no screen between us, no digital barrier. Just two people, a piece of jewelry, and the magic that happens when they meet.
The community. I've met the most incredible people at these markets, other makers, kindred spirits, people who get it. There's a warmth and support in the local artisan community that I didn't know I was missing.
The Unexpected Gift
Here's what I didn't expect: losing my American customers forced me to show up differently.
It forced me to be brave in person, not just behind a screen. It forced me to talk about my work, to share my story face-to-face. It forced me to trust that my pieces would find their people, even if those people were right here in my backyard instead of across an ocean.
And in doing that, I found something I'd lost somewhere along the way.
That spark. That fire. That certainty.
The woman I was a few years ago - the one who started Intambo with nothing but hemp, gemstones, and a wild belief that she could make something meaningful - she'd gotten buried under worry and doubt and the weight of trying to keep everything afloat.
But she's back now.
Standing Stronger
January 2026 finds me different than I was a year ago.
More grounded. More certain. More me.
The financial hit was real, I'm not going to romanticize that. There were months when I didn't know how I'd pay for materials. There were moments of genuine fear. But there was also growth. There was also recalibration. There was also remembering why I started this in the first place.
Not for the money.
Not for the followers.
Not even for the sales.
I started this because I believe in the power of handmade things. In the magic of natural materials. In the way a piece of jewelry can carry intention and energy and become a talisman for the person who wears it.
That hasn't changed. If anything, it's clearer now than ever.
Looking Forward
2025 was a year of breaking down and building back up.
It taught me resilience. It taught me adaptability. It taught me that when one door closes, you don't just find a window - sometimes you discover there was a whole forest behind your house that you'd never fully explored.
So here's to 2026.
To new beginnings. To showing up, even when it's scary. To trusting the journey, even when the path isn't clear. To finding the light again, not because it was ever really gone, but because you finally remembered to look for it.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Intambo through this transition. To the new faces I've met at markets. To the customers who've trusted me with their custom orders. To the people who've sent messages of encouragement. You've been part of this rebuilding, and I'm so grateful.
Here's to a beautiful new year. 🌿
May it be filled with light, connection, and pieces that find their way home to the hearts that need them.
With love and gratitude,
Barbara
P.S. If you've ever felt like everything was falling apart, only to realize later that it was actually falling into place - I see you. Keep going. You're amazing!