Hello everyone, it’s Helen here, the voice (and stomach) behind Serious Sandwiches. I’m writing this personal message today, to say that Holly and I have had to make the very sad decision to press pause on this newsletter, indefinitely.
I’ve thought hard about how to explain this, particularly to those of you who have supported us by taking out paid subscriptions and I think, while it may seem like oversharing, it’s best to simply tell you the truth.
2022 has been an extremely hard year for me, full of unexpected knockbacks, upheaval, and change. We had been planning Serious Sandwiches for 6 months before it launched, and, with so much work behind us, we went ahead and did it when, with hindsight, it would have been a wiser decision to set aside time for my recovery.
You all know that I *love* sandwiches, and could write about them endlessly - I have so many more ideas I wanted to share! But, ultimately, I knew I wasn’t writing the very best newsletter that I could every week. I felt constantly frustrated at the lack of time I had to dedicate to it. There is only one of me, and it’s time to admit that I pushed things too far. To those of you I know in real life, who have asked me, constantly, ‘how do you do it all?!’ Well, I’m afraid I can’t.
It’s also been tough to make the newsletter work financially - on top of commissioning freelance writers and photographers, we needed to pay for ingredients for testing and shoots. Costs really mount up, not to mention the struggle to find the time while I work full-time Monday-Friday, make a magazine several times a year and work on another big project on weekends.
I’m sorry to let you down, sandwich fans! But something had to give, and it was either this newsletter or my mental health. Holly and I are both really sad to say that the final Serious Sandwiches newsletters will go out on 12th and 13th of January.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past few months. Yearly subs, we can offer you either a refund for the portion of your subscription that won’t be fulfilled, or one of our frankly amazing tote bags, which are worth £18.99. Get in touch to let us know what you’d like to do - serioussandwiching@gmail.com
I’m really sad right now, so if you do make a great sandwich and want to share it, you know I’m @FoodStories on Instagram. Helen x