Jennie Fynn loves colour. When we sit down to chat, she's wearing a boldly patterned blouse, with colours as bright as the smile she breaks into when she talks passionately about the textile design business she runs from her Liphook home.
Brought up to believe she had to get 'a proper, serious job', she pursued a career in pharmacy but her childhood love of painting and crafting was never far away.
'Over the years, I always continued to paint and knit and sew things,' she explains. 'Every so often I'd come back to it.'
In 2004, Jennie completed a part-time Higher National Certificate in textiles, as well as an interior design qualification, working very briefly as an interior designer which, she says, she loved.
Her dreams continued to remain in the background of her pharmaceutical career but, when the pandemic hit and she found herself working long hours with all the stress that entailed, Jennie found herself drawn back to her artistic passions as a way to switch off from the intensity of her day job.
'It actually helped with my wellbeing,' she says. 'I found it very, very therapeutic. I always love bold colours and patterns. I just found it really uplifting and it had a positive effect on my mood. If I'm not surrounded by print and colours it really affects me. I've always loved really uplifting things.'
Jennie, who has two grown up children living in London, started to sell some of her paintings and began experimenting with putting some of her prints and designs onto cushions, testing the market at The Barn Emporium, near Petersfield.
'I sold some cushions and got some really nice feedback,' she says. 'Then I sent some of my designs to a publication, Uppercase. They featured me in their Surface Pattern Design Guide in 2021. That sewed the seed that there might be something in this.
'Being so passionate about it, I thought "why not see there this can take me?" That's how it all started.'
Jennie's design business gradually gained momentum. Last year she sold some pattern designs for a US women’s clothing company and, in December, participated in BBC One's Make It At Market. It was this that gave her the confidence to make the 'scary' decision to leave her pharmacy job at the end of March to work full-time on her creative career, which kicked off with a pop-up shop at John Lewis in Kingston that very same month.
'That really did confirm to me, going through that process, that it was now or never,' she says of the TV show. 'I had to just throw myself into it full time if I wanted to be serious about this. Now I'm finally getting to do what I wanted to do - pursue this dream.'
While Jennie admits it's been a 'really, really steep' learning curve, with a lot of trial and error involved, she's discovered a huge amount of help and support in the local creative community from other artists, designers and makers keen to share ideas and advice.
'The business side is something I still feel I need to learn more about.' she admits, 'but it's still very, very exciting. It's been a dream really.'
All Jennie's fabrics are printed in the UK using eco-friendly methods with environmentally friendly inks and without water. Her products are made by a UK social enterprise specialising in textiles and a local seamstress in her village in Liphook.
Jennie is still pinching herself that her brightly coloured cushions and tote bags are stocked at several independent businesses just across the Hampshire border, at New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham Maltings and Yard Market in Godalming.
One of her favourite things to do is meet her customers face to face to get their honest feedback.
'To see their reaction is invaluable' she says, 'that's a really, really important part of marketing – just getting out there and meeting potential customers. They just say "wow" and that it's very uplifting and joyful. "Gorgeous" is a word that comes up.
'It's not for everybody, but I'm not designing for everyone — I'm designing for people love bold colour and pattern, like myself. For people that really want to express their individuality and their personality. I think my personality comes through in my designs.'
With a growing trend for neutral fashion and interiors, Jennie remains fiercely passionate about the need for colour in our lives, referring to the 'dopamine décor' style, which encourages the use of bright, patterned accessories to boost your mood.
'I think my homewares and my bags mean people can add a pop of colour and pattern to their home without going overboard with wallpaper or painting a wall,' she explains.
'It’s a reasonably safe way of adding colour and pattern. That in itself can add uplift to your interiors. It does have a mood boost, and we need more of that.'
While living in the beautiful Hampshire countryside has its own uplifting effect on her creativity, Jennie loves to immerse herself in works by the artist Matisse and Scandinavian textile designer Josef Frank. These, as well as the memories of a trip to Japan ten years ago have a huge influence on her own work.
'Just to see the Japanese kimono patterns up close in museums and things, they were just beautiful,' she remembers.
'I always liked colour, but as you do more painting and designs, you look at other painters' and designers' work as well, just to get influences.
'There are a number of trends which I do follow, like the Pantone colour of the year. I do look at those and I’m aware of them, but I’m not heavily influenced by trends. I think, as I develop my brand and my business going forward, I'll probably take on more influences like that.'
Looking to the future, Jennie continues to work on putting herself out there, and is focusing on sourcing more local stockists. She's also keen to do some work alongside interior designers.
'I'm quite conscious that I have a very distinctive style already and I do have quite a few designs. But probably develop my tote bag range and also expand my prints onto fabrics, particularly for upholstery projects.
'When I first started out, I didn’t have much direction because I was painting and printing on fabric and lots of different things – stationery. But, as I’ve gone through the whole process, I realised it was my love for textiles and interiors that has been my true passion. That’s what I really want to concentrate on.
'As a giveaway to others starting out – try lots of different things and you'll find your true passion. Some things will work, some things won't work, but it’s always valuable and you'll always learn from that.'
jenniefynn.com
