Via uplifting snail mail, a beautiful friend encouraged me to enter the Australian Women's Weekly Women in Business Awards...
So, I did!
For me it is less about 'winning', and more about telling my business story, and giving myself a clear vision to grow. There's nothing holding me back from achieving my business dreams, I have learned how rewarding hard work can be, and I have the grit and determination to more forward (as long as the coffee machine is working).
I also appreciate where I am right now business wise, balancing a young family and working from home is not for the faint-hearted, but I'm enjoying my small business journey! I know I wouldn't be anywhere with out all of YOUR support! Thank you for joining me along the way, I feel like I have an enormous circle of friends out there! You guys are the best!
Here's my entry, should you fancy a read:
“While we’re sleeping, my mum sews cool stuff!”
– My seven-year-old eldest son Henry.
If only running a small business, from home, single
handily, with three young children (and a husband), was as simple as that
sounds!
I am a dedicated mum, and a passionate designer. Before
my children crashed beautifully into my life, I worked as an Interior Designer in
Sydney, and a Design Manager in London. Along the way I collected a colourful
array of skills, skills that would form the solid foundation on which I would
build my dream business!
The
seed for my dream business was planted when someone said to me ‘you should sell
these’, about a humble home sewn project. Those four words sparkled into my
life just four years ago, and I’m here to tell you that true, heartfelt encouragement,
heard often enough, can water the seed of a dream business, and make it grow!
I
launched Jilly Jumbles by ‘Julia Illingworth Designs’ in October 2011.
I designed and stitched away earnestly, whenever my children slept, subsisting on coffee and
big dreams, and within a year I released my ‘Handbag Sanity Saver’ range of travel toys for young
children – the response to these was exhilarating!!
The
concept for my ‘Sanity Savers’ was and remains simple - they stemmed originally
from my own needs as a parent when out and about with young children – to
provide an instant distraction for little ones in any given situation, saving
parents and caregivers ‘sanity’, while also providing developmentally stimulating
activities for the child at play. They were a HIT!
Uniquely
table top sized, Jilly Jumbles
‘Sanity Savers’ range in design from exclusively printed car and train mats, to
wallets for Lego, colourful counting rolls, travelling farmyard set, drawing
folios, and more. They are designed to be fun and engaging, they can be played
with independently or shared, and each comes with it’s own unique set of
features to encourage learning through play. Then they all fold neatly to be
stored in mum’s handbag, until next time…
Social media provided the powerful platform I needed
to gain exposure for my product designs. Facebook, and more recently Instagram
have proved instrumental in reaching my target market – of which I am
surrounded.
My
customers’ not only ‘got’ my products and purchased them at lightening speed, but
they also shared photos on social media of them being used by their beautiful
children! Everywhere! (Cafes are a favourite!) Teachers have purchased them, and
occupational therapists and speech pathologists have recommended them to their
clients – Jilly Jumbles has thrived!
So,
business is good, but I am a still only a one-woman-show. And I’m a full time
mum. I have the determination and experience to keep pushing, but coffee can
only project me so far….
Jilly Jumbles needs wings to fly!
Two, enormous, vibrant, colourful, strong wings!
1) On the one side, I need capital. If only I could: attend
a small business course; upgrade my website and business equipment; enhance
business cards and product packaging; advertise; and most importantly, finance
the modest fit out of my existing garage, to create a working space that will fundamentally
improve productivity!
2) Jilly
Jumbles’ main stumbling block right now, is being unable to meet the huge
demand for products, so here’s the other metaphorical wing to grow – I am in a
unique position to employ like minded creative people, with the offer of
flexible working hours! I have started to explore my options for employing
staff here in my own home, or possibly contracting them from theirs. For me,
being present for my own children, as babies and beyond, truly fills me up, as
does contributing financially to my family. It takes discipline and devotion,
but I get to do both! What a privilege it would be to be able to offer that
same rarity to someone else.
And to see Jilly
Jumbles soar!
I will continue to dream big, work hard, and
appreciate what I have right now.
Thank you for the opportunity to pen my dream.
Julia Illingworth
(Designer)
“While we’re sleeping, my mum sews cool stuff!”
– My seven-year-old eldest son Henry.
If only running a small business, from home, single
handily, with three young children (and a husband), was as simple as that
sounds!
I am a dedicated mum, and a passionate designer. Before
my children crashed beautifully into my life, I worked as an Interior Designer in
Sydney, and a Design Manager in London. Along the way I collected a colourful
array of skills, skills that would form the solid foundation on which I would
build my dream business!
The
seed for my dream business was planted when someone said to me ‘you should sell
these’, about a humble home sewn project. Those four words sparkled into my
life just four years ago, and I’m here to tell you that true, heartfelt encouragement,
heard often enough, can water the seed of a dream business, and make it grow!
I
launched Jilly Jumbles by ‘Julia Illingworth Designs’ in October 2011.
I designed and stitched away earnestly, whenever my children slept, subsisting on coffee and
big dreams, and within a year I released my ‘Handbag Sanity Saver’ range of travel toys for young
children – the response to these was exhilarating!!
The
concept for my ‘Sanity Savers’ was and remains simple - they stemmed originally
from my own needs as a parent when out and about with young children – to
provide an instant distraction for little ones in any given situation, saving
parents and caregivers ‘sanity’, while also providing developmentally stimulating
activities for the child at play. They were a HIT!
Uniquely
table top sized, Jilly Jumbles
‘Sanity Savers’ range in design from exclusively printed car and train mats, to
wallets for Lego, colourful counting rolls, travelling farmyard set, drawing
folios, and more. They are designed to be fun and engaging, they can be played
with independently or shared, and each comes with it’s own unique set of
features to encourage learning through play. Then they all fold neatly to be
stored in mum’s handbag, until next time…
Social media provided the powerful platform I needed
to gain exposure for my product designs. Facebook, and more recently Instagram
have proved instrumental in reaching my target market – of which I am
surrounded.
My
customers’ not only ‘got’ my products and purchased them at lightening speed, but
they also shared photos on social media of them being used by their beautiful
children! Everywhere! (Cafes are a favourite!) Teachers have purchased them, and
occupational therapists and speech pathologists have recommended them to their
clients – Jilly Jumbles has thrived!
So,
business is good, but I am a still only a one-woman-show. And I’m a full time
mum. I have the determination and experience to keep pushing, but coffee can
only project me so far….
Jilly Jumbles needs wings to fly!
Two, enormous, vibrant, colourful, strong wings!
1) On the one side, I need capital. If only I could: attend
a small business course; upgrade my website and business equipment; enhance
business cards and product packaging; advertise; and most importantly, finance
the modest fit out of my existing garage, to create a working space that will fundamentally
improve productivity!
2) Jilly
Jumbles’ main stumbling block right now, is being unable to meet the huge
demand for products, so here’s the other metaphorical wing to grow – I am in a
unique position to employ like minded creative people, with the offer of
flexible working hours! I have started to explore my options for employing
staff here in my own home, or possibly contracting them from theirs. For me,
being present for my own children, as babies and beyond, truly fills me up, as
does contributing financially to my family. It takes discipline and devotion,
but I get to do both! What a privilege it would be to be able to offer that
same rarity to someone else.
And to see Jilly
Jumbles soar!
I will continue to dream big, work hard, and
appreciate what I have right now.
Thank you for the opportunity to pen my dream.
Julia Illingworth
(Designer)
