Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeanine Ertl. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jeanine, appreciate you joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

One of the most impactful lessons I learned was while serving in the Peace Corps in a remote South American rainforest. I was freshly graduated from UC Berkeley, especially optimistic, and ready to experience the world beyond Southern California. Even though my travels led me to a tiny village tucked away in the bush where I was settling into learning a foreign culture and language, I quickly learned something very important — that everyone loves to learn!

Although it can be challenging for all who participate (teacher and students, both) the learning journey is also incredibly engaging, often exciting, and usually includes a hearty dash of exhaustion for everyone involved in the mind-expansion. And so, life is really an active two-way street, with everyone learning so much from one another. And we each have so much to teach one another, from the most mundane skill that we think no one would have any interest in, to our more typically fascinating banks of knowledge.

Learning that we each have more to offer than we at-first think, made pursuing life in a bigger way, each and every day, a reality rather than a lofty concept and has found a special place in my small business journey.

Jeanine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

ANINI Designs began in my home 6 years ago. And what I didn’t expect but quickly learned, was that if you give something hope and the room to grow, it will! I started ANINI with an intention that my handwoven goods might find a place beyond my personal space…and within a year, ANINI had begun to grow in offerings. Adding a variety of unique, naturally dyed home goods and accessories, my tiny business expanded. And, as textiles and fiber arts grow in popularity, I now thrive in a space of creativity, sharing weaving and natural dye technique and knowledge through local workshops and offering supplies for the creative makers I find myself grateful to be surrounded by.
ANINI Designs is a small local business that breathes life into your creative journey, offering natural dyes, kits and a huge variety of natural fiber dyeables. May you always find a space in your life for inspiration, beauty and creativity!

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

I began ANINI Designs as one little space on the web offering a handful of handwoven goods. And as businesses are oft to do, one thing led to another and ANINI now offers a variety of Natural Dyes, Mordants, Natural Dye Kits, and Natural Fiber Dyeables, as well as in-person Workshops in Southern California. ANINI goods are offered at ANINIdesigns.com, on a variety of other online platforms, in local stores, and wholesale. I’ve learned and welcomed the concept that sometimes to make something work, we need to be open to creating a quilt with many seams, colors and textures! It certainly makes life more interesting.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Unlearning is a fun topic since I’ve mentioned how much I love to learn. I didn’t grow up with a great relationship to money, actively seeking to engage with it as little as possible, minus the go-to-work-get-paid routine that was the majority of my life. However, in my late 30’s I decided to re-calibrate that relationship, working hard to shift my internal vilified narrative, while learning to love, accept, find balance, and grow within the flow of finance. It likely sounds funny that someone with a small business could be averse to something as vital as money, but the process of beginning and now running my own business has truly allowed me the freedom to explore and enjoy anew that which offers so much growth, expansion and potential. I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow in so many new ways each day on this journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @ANINIdesigns
• Facebook: @ANINIdesigns
• Twitter: @ANINIdesigns

Image Credits
Photos by Jeanine & Joshua Ertl