This was her message to patrons today, trying to show how busy she's been and justifying how she deserves a vacation. She definitely went through the laundry list of items we mentioned here.
- Stephanie Jarvis
January 7, 2022 A Huge Thank You To You All
Hello dear patrons,
This isn’t a patron-only post, it’s this evening’s Chateau Diaries, but I wanted to post it here too, as I made it as a thank you to celebrate everything you’ve done for Lalande.
It’s been a glorious year because of you, and it was a joy to go through my footage and realise just how far we’ve come in twelve months. And I had to leave quite a lot out because of time constraints (starting the china pantry, my study & terrace, Narnia and the compost bin, etc!)
Unbelievably, our Chateau Unwrapped! channel made over €23,000 for charity, so our chateau community is truly making an impact well beyond the gates of Lalande
And, though I didn’t mention it in the vlog, it was a great year for our chambres d’hôtes, too, as we hosted 250 guests! I loved meeting them and eating with them every weekend - thank you so much to all of you who were able to make it here in 2021.
On the YouTube front, I made 263 videos in 2021 - averaging nearly half an hour each (across The Chateau Diaries, Chateau Unwrapped! and Patreon) totaling over 28 million views, and, whilst I’ve loved every second, I have to admit to being a bit exhausted, which is why I’m only making three videos per week in January (and maybe the first half of February). There will be one Chateau Diary, one Cadeaux at the Chateau and one Patreon video per week. I’m already feeling much more relaxed, and I know that this quieter period will help fuel a lot of creativity come spring
I have prefilmed the next two weeks of Chateau Diaries and Patron videos as Philip, Gerry and I will be on our way to see Mummy in South Africa! I will vlog once I get there so that you can all see Mummy and Percy and join in our adventures!
I simply don’t know how to thank you all for transforming my life and the future of Lalande in this way. As you can see from the video, I have decided that all patrons should have their names behind the panelling of the grand salon, regardless of their tier. You are all part of the fabric of this chateau.
As an extra thank you, the Dauphins and Dauphines of Lalande will have their names behind a set of the double doors in the grand salon, so that they will be able to see their name when they visit. For the rest of you, we will be photographing the name plates behind the panelling before they’re fixed into place, so you’ll all be able to download a photo of your names at Lalande.
Thank you again to each and every one of you,
Lots of love, Stephanie xxx