In the Shop Window with Jane Gray Design
Your business in a nutshell – I am a one woman design house 🙂 I offer a mix of prints and fabric designs that feature my own hand-drawn illustrations. Each fabric design starts as one of my hand-drawn illustrations and are then transformed into unique fabric designs and homeware accessories. I take a lot of my inspiration from the nature that surrounds us. With my aim to help bring a wee bit of nature and comfort into your home.
Most popular products you sell – Scottish Gin Tea Towels and Fankled Flooers Handmade Velvet Square Cushions.
What draws people to your work? – I would say initially folks are hooked by the style of designs as they find them nostalgic, and comforting. Also with all the fabrics and homeware accessories they are either made to order or will have a limited run so making them potentially unique item that only the customer or their loved one will have.
Best things about being self-employed – Having the freedom to be creative and work where I want – love sitting outside in the sunshine with my sketchbook, and a cuppa 🙂
And the worst – It can feel a bit isolating at times. Also as a relatively new business the imposter syndrome is always lurking in the background.
Previous jobs – Previously I have been an Assistant Manager for a serviced office building and an Operations Manager for a digital agency. Both I enjoyed enormously, but I decided back in 2016/2017 to change career paths from working in business to heading back to school to gain my degree in Textile Design 🙂
Long-term goals – My aim for this year is to:
– offer more fabric designs for individual’s to purchase for their home projects – I love seeing how folks use the fabrics in their own homes.
– provide more lampshade workshops.
– get my wholesale side of the business up and running (I am sure though that was on my list last year, but this is the year).
Long term is to turn the garage finally into a print studio where I can get messy again screen printing 🙂
With hindsight – Don’t try to do it all at once. Pace yourself, research more and don’t get too bogged down in the admin side.
Shops that stock your products – Currently in at Leith Makers, Leith Walk, Edinburgh and very soon in the Corner Shop Collective at One Dalkeith
Other small businesses you admire and buy from – Little Yellow Scribbles, Freya Mable Makes, Jenny Lockhart Jewellery, Variorum Island Homeware and Interiors with B
In any spare time you like to – Eat cake, read crime fiction, and play board games whilst eating cake 🙂
What do you listen to while working? – Solved Murders: True Crime Mysteries.
Favourite Scottish places to eat – Oh so hard as so many, but restaurant would be The Bon Vivant in Edinburgh, pub wise has to be Teuchters Landing in Leith, and cafe would be Soleburn Garden Centre just outside Stranraer – best strawberry tarts ever 🙂
Best Scottish celebrity – Peter Capaldi
Best Scottish film – Local Hero
Favourite Scottish destination – Sandhead beach followed by a visit to Portpatrick harbour
Do you believe in Nessie? Aye why no 🙂
Money no object, where would you on holiday? New Zealand
