About Jin Designs

A Note from Jinny, Designer and Founder of Jin Designs

Thanks for taking the time to find out a bit more about Jin Designs. Jin is me - Jinny, actually short for Virginia. But that's just between you and me!

I’m a Graphic Designer based on the sunny south coast of the UK, in a place called Hove Actually, next to Brighton.

For a long time, I wasn't sure where I was going with my life. I drifted between jobs, never really knew what I wanted to do and felt trapped by the 9-5. I had skills and ambition. I just didn't know where to put them.

Then I discovered graphic design through a temping job and slowly started to develop my own clean and simple style. I launched Jin Designs originally as a graphic and web design studio, but in 2013 I decided I wanted to create something physical. Something you could hold, use every day, give to someone you love - and perhaps even keep for years.

Where it all started

The first designs were Sitting Cat and Sleeping Cat. Simple outlines. They could be your cat, my cat - or anyone's cat. They came from a much-loved cat I had growing up and had been drawing for years. Looking back, I think it was a way of holding on to something I couldn’t hold on to anymore. There's a story about this you might want to read.

Jin Designs started with fine bone china mugs, hand-decorated in Stoke-on-Trent. Simple designs, no clutter and plenty of white space. Life is complicated enough. I wanted the designs to give us a bit of space to think and a moment to pause in the day.

Tea has always been a comfort to me too. It reminds me of family, growing up and drinking tea with my grandma from her collection of fine bone china mugs. I still have the black cat mug my parents gave me for my eighth birthday.

Mugs hold memories. I think that’s why I started there.

A bit more than cats

Over the years, the cats have been joined by dogs, birds, British wildlife and a few seaside characters. The collection has grown too, from mugs to tableware, cushions, doormats and gifts. But the thinking behind Jin Designs hasn't really changed.

Simple by design

I want to create simple things that you can use everyday that reminds you of a much-loved pet, a person, a place or a shared memory.

When I recently asked customers what Jin Designs meant to them, words like simplicity, quality, calmness and comfort came back. It feels like what I've been trying to do all along.

Designed and decorated in the UK

I design everything here in Hove and work closely with trusted UK manufacturers to make products that are good quality and made to last.

The fine bone china is hand-decorated in Stoke-on-Trent using traditional skills that are sadly, slowly disappearing from the British pottery industry

And finally...

Pebbles joined me in the studio in 2018 and has been a big part of Jin Designs ever since, helping with everything from product testing to social media and generally keeping an eye on things.

It's taken a lot of hard work to get Jin Designs this far and there have been plenty of ups and downs along the way. But I'm very grateful to everyone who has supported Jin Designs over the years, and I'm still excited about what comes next.

Please get in touch if you'd like to say hello. It's always good to hear from you.

Jinny x