House9 winter and summer closures

So, we had another thought: what if we just compress those days together during two of our quietest moments in the year: after the Xmas break and during the summer when several of our clients in the art and culture sector are also closed. We are proposing the following:

• Winter: 

• our usual 3 weeks from Dec 23–Jan 10 

• two extra weeks from Jan 13–24

• returning on January 27, 2025

• Summer:

• We already take 2 weeks, but will extend to 4, matching our art/culture clients’ sabbaticals, typically mid-July to Mid-August

• Exact dates TBH, but we'd love some feedback from you

We think this will help in the following ways:

1. Give ourselves proper time away, to do often-neglected life-related tasks, and actually have a bit of time afterwards to truly relax, learn, engage, and bring that inspiration back to House9 and to you;

2. Allow ourselves time to travel, to visit family and friends abroad: travel is more expensive than ever, so we think it’s important to allow ourselves the time and space to properly get away;

3. Financial: we are mercifully doing ok, but times have been tough financially for us all. We want to be mindful that we’re compensating everyone fairly for their time and efforts, and where we lack the dollars, we can return the time.

This will of course be an adjustment and we expect this January to be a bit of a test and soft closure, while some of us work quietly in the background without meetings. We know we have deadlines with many of you and intend to keep them as scheduled. We are already working in a way that will help make these two sabbaticals possible, but if you have any concerns about your specific deadlines, I would love to hear them. I know we can find solutions together.

Thank you as always for being so good to us, for your loyalty, creativity and continued trust. Thank you also for helping us build a culture of care—we could not be who we are without you.