What Keeps Me Going After 12 Years in Business

Twelve years ago, I started Jin Designs Homeware and Gifts. I’d been selling my services as a graphic and web designer and wanted a change. I wanted to create something physical. I wanted to create a product. Something more lasting. Something people could hold. Something they could enjoy everyday, on their own, or with friends and family.

I knew I had a clean and simple style along with the skills to create something special. And I felt there was a place for my designs in the world. Something I found quite inspiring at the time was looking around and seeing others out there doing it - Sophie Allport, Emma Bridgewater, Orla Kiely, Cath Kidston - all-inspiring female designers and business owners. I remember reading Sophie Allport's About Page and realising she was the year above me at Leeds University. I honestly thought, well if she can do it, maybe I can too!

So I took the leap and began building a business - one design and one product at a time.

Why do I do what I do?

Essentially I think it comes down wanting to give people a sense of comfort and joy, and help them through everyday moments in life - and yes, sometimes through the serious times too. I want my designs to connect people to people, to create conversation and make people feel better about a situation they are in. Even if it's only for a moment.

We can’t hang on to people and pets that we love, but we can hold them in our memories for as long as we live. If my designs help someone to remember something or someone they love, even in a small way, then that’s why I'm here, doing what I do.

Sometimes the meaning is subtle. It could be a gift that says "I saw this and thought of you". It could be a shared memory or a familiar character on a mug or a design that feels like a companion. It's something special with a story behind it.

The story behind the mugs

I wanted to create mugs because they hold such personal connections and memories. They also remind me of a few moments when I was younger, like the fine bone china mugs that my Mum had. And the one my parents bought me for my 8th birthday. It had a black cat on it. I've still got it. It’s strange how a mug means more than just for holding hot drinks. It holds memories.

I remember when our first dog died, Bonnie. My Mum made us all a cup of tea as she said it would help. The tea tasted so sweet. She must have put a couple of heaped teaspoons in at least as it was thought that sweet tea was comforting. And it was that day. 

I used to drink tea with my Grandma. She always had an array of fine bone china mugs and I had a favourite that had strawberries on. A couple of years or so before she died, I bought her a couple of Cath Kidston mugs - a blue and a pink one. I would always make us tea in those mugs when I went to visit. I loved tea with my grandma. She was such a special person to me. She was always there and she listened and loved me for who I was.

Finding space, time to breathe

Life isn't always simple. But through design, I’ve been able to create moments of simplicity. A bit of calm in the clutter. And space in the chaos. That’s what I try to offer in my products. So it's not just a design. It's a feeling. You'll always find space in Jin Designs products.

What keeps me going

Even after 12 years, I still feel excited about what’s next. Even though I don't know always quite know what design will be next - but I know it's coming! And I know there are people out there who are waiting for it.

I'm proud of what I've built. I have kept going year after year even when things have been so poor and sales so low. I've kept on even when people haven't bought the design I really thought they would love. I haven't given up. And I won't give up. I'll keep on going. Partly because I care about what I'm creating - and partly because I know there are people out there who value it too.

A note on AI

Basically, AI is going to have a massive effect on small businesses like mine. Some of it will be positive I'm sure. But when it comes to design in terms of products and creativity, it’s already changing the landscape incredibly.

It won’t be long before homeware designs are generated at the click of a button. Well, it's happening already - and that's quite scary.

But this is the future. Just like the motorcar changed everything for my grandparents, and the computer for my parents, AI is the thing that is changing the world for us. The difference though this time is that the change is happening a lot faster.

For businesses like mine, every design has a story and every product is created with meaning and thought and care. I won't be able to compete with AI but I can carry on doing what I do best. And that's offering something thoughtful, something real and something created by one human for another. While we still enjoy originality, let's carry on creating it, and connecting, and feeling.

To the people who've kept me going

If you’ve bought from Jin Designs, whether it's once or ten times, thank you. I want you to feel valued. Because you are. Every time I get an order, there is someone out there about to receive something special of mine that can now be special to them. This is what keeps me going and it keeps the designs coming! Let's keep spreading the joy!

Twelve years on and thankfully, I’m still here. Who knows what's around the corner or what life will throw at us. But for now, I hope you'll continue with me. 

Here’s to the future, whatever it brings us. Hopefully a few more designs!

Jinny
Designer/Founder
Jin Designs