Looking back at 2017, it's been an amazing year for Jenny K Home!
I'm very pleased with how my designing and making has progressed into a more serious activity, so much so that I've now entirely taken over the spare room in our house! I'm very grateful for all the positive customer reviews I've received on Etsy and for the support of fans of my work on social media - a massive thanks to Pippy the Budgie Bird who has been seen posing with a Jenny K Home budgie mug and budgie cushion...
A Few Jenny K Home Highlights from 2017
In the early part of the year, I started experimenting with different budgie cushion designs, writing a short blog on each and posting them for sale on the Jenny K Home Etsy shop (although my photography at that point in time left something to be desired!) Below are a few more recent snaps of those early budgie cushion designs.
Jenny K Home packaging style developed more at this point in time, with the advert of adding budgie ribbon to a vintage brown paper parcel. I wanted customers to feel like they are receiving something special when they get their Jenny K Home package through the post.
In April, I was then asked by Beautiful Homes Magazine if I want to have some of my cushion designs feature in their May and June issues in their spring and summer collections, which showcased a number of independent Etsy artists and makers. Naturally, I was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity...
Over the summer time, I expanded the budgie designs from cushions to include mugs, and the first range of Jenny K Home budgie mugs was born. I also had many ideas at this point in time around budgie stationery, but that may have to wait until 2018 to materialise.
As well as creating unique designs for various products, Jenny K Home also took on a number of custom pet cushion commissions. The first was for a lovely couple who have recently married in Australia featuring their lovebird on one cushion and budgie on the other.
The other commissions were from UK customers. One featured a lovely terrier walking outside in the grass and the other featured a lovebird, tabby cat and cute curly haired black dog (I'm not very good with identifying specific dog species just yet...)
In the late summer, I set-up a small store on Zazzle however I wanted to keep the designs different to my Etsy shop, so customers feel like they are purchasing something unique. To be honest, I haven't sent much time developing designs for the Jenny K Home Zazzle store at all. I'd rather spend time creating new designs from quality materials for my Etsy shop - I did read that Zazzle has received some mixed reviews about product quality.
In the latter part of 2017, my thoughts moved to other items I could cover with cute budgies! I created my first ever range of printed budgie scarves which where made using super soft cotton.
Another design then developed from this range of budgie scarves into the below, which I'm very pleased so say have done remarkably well on Etsy - I have almost sold out of these budgie scarves!
2018 - A New Year Ahead for Jenny K Home
So, what does 2018 hold for Jenny K Home and budgie designs? Well, I'll be experimenting with some new cushion colours and designs in different materials as well as developing some new home textile products, fashion products and perhaps some budgie stationery too...
I'm excited to see 2018 and to think about what Jenny K Home could become over the next year. I also want to design and make some non-budgie items for a bit of variation.
One significant area that has caught my attention is the affects of the use of synthetic fibres in clothing and home textiles, and the damage this causes the environment when certain types of synthetic materials are washed in people's homes as part of everyday use. It's no surprise really, as it's a topic people have been talking about ever since the airing of David Attenborough's Blue Planet 2. In all Jenny K Home items that I make, I try to use natural fibres and fabrics such as cotton, so in 2018 I will keep that pledge and improve upon it wherever I can.
So to all budgie lovers and pet lovers out there, Season's Greetings and have a Happy New Year. May 2018 be a prosperous year for us all!