Still here: 13 Years of Jin Designs Homeware and Gifts

13 years! Jin Designs has reached the teenage years! I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing! What I do know is that I'm still here writing another birthday message to you. Something I will never take for granted.

I've always thought success was about growing in terms of turnover and profit and that I had to reach certain monetary goals. But as time goes on, and those distant monetary goals drift further away, I’ve had to look at things differently. Success could actually be a lot more ordinary than we like to think. 

Perhaps it’s not about money and hiring an office and taking on staff - but perhaps it's creating things people look forward to. A lot of happiness can come from quite ordinary everyday things. A favourite mug in the morning, a robin in the garden, your dog waiting by the door or your cat sitting next to you on the sofa. It's the everyday things. 

I’ve spent my life looking for connections. It’s one of the things I think that happens when you’re adopted. You grow up not knowing who you really are for years. And as you search for your own identity you try to find connections with people. 

It’s quite fitting then that I now spend my working life designing characters that we can all connect with. But more importantly, characters that help us to connect with others through the gifts we give and the cups of tea we share.

Everything seems to be changing so fast. It makes you appreciate the familiar things even more. And the connections between us.

Something simple, created by one human for another. It’s comforting. Even if it’s a cat on a mug, a robin in the garden or a dog at your feet. It’s a reminder of what we feel connected to and a reminder of what really matters to us in life.

So here we are. At 13 years of Jin Designs Homeware and Gifts. I’m not even going to say it doesn't get any easier, because it will never be easy! I’ve chosen a difficult route if you judge success by making money.

But perhaps success is more subtle than that. Perhaps it's hearing someone say "That's my favourite mug" or "It reminds me of my cat." It's knowing that you've designed something that's become part of someone's routine and everyday life. Maybe that's what matters. 

I'm grateful to be here 13 years on. Still going and still writing birthday messages. And grateful to you for reading them, for sharing your stories with me and for sending photos of your cats and dogs - and for reminding me why I started all this in the first place.

Thank you for being part of the Jin Designs journey.

Let's see what the stroppy teenage years bring now!

Jinny
Designer / Founder