We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Orozco. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea to create The Whimsy Hideaway, formally known as Whimsy Rugs came from my husband. To make a long story short he wanted to give me something I could enjoy in my free time because at the time I didn’t have any hobbies. He fell ill in the hospital and that really pushed him to make the decision because you never know how long you’ll be on this planet. I was extremely nervous and scared; not only because I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but because he would be investing so much of his hard earned money on me. I wasn’t sure what my brand would be, all I knew was that it needed to be 100% me. It took me a couple days to come up with the name, but I still couldn’t focus on the theme I was aiming for. After a year I slowly merged into other projects such as jewelry making because I wasn’t feeling fulfilled with just making rugs. I needed Whimsy Rugs to be more me, be more magical and dreamy, and that is when I came up with the idea to change my name to The Whimsy Hideaway. With this new name, I no longer was tied to just making rugs, I could create whatever my heart desired. I eventually would love to own a small gift shop, perfect for birthday shopping or just treating yourself to a cute fun trinket. I did not want to limit myself to rugs, although they are so fun to make I wanted to learn how to create more things. This is a part of me that I want to share with others. It makes my heart so happy when I see customer’s eyes light up at markets when they see something they like. It feels like butterflies in my stomach! Nothing makes me happier than connecting with others with the things I love. I am still testing out the waters with this hard launch of only creating what I like because not everyone has the same style as me, but it’s what makes me most happy. It was easy creating what’s popular at the time, “on brand”, “trending” because I knew it would sell, but I was feeling empty and I was losing interest. The Whimsy Hideaway is what saved me, and hopefully one day we get to become a local gift shop for all the weird and magical people out there!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Jennifer Orozco, I was born and raised in Memphis, TN. I moved to Coldwater, MS for a couple years when I was a teenager, but moved back to Memphis at age 20. My family is from Gonzalez, and El Mante Tamaulipas moving to the United States in 1996, four years before I was born. I am the youngest of three, an Aquarius born in the most loving month of February! I have a son named Pepe who has four legs, a tail, and yellow and white fur. He’s a cat that has stolen my heart and everybody else’s. He is the center of my world, I mention him a lot online, or just in regular conversation. I’m about to celebrate my third year marriage anniversary to my husband, that is exciting!
I creat hand made rugs, coasters, papers, pencils, book marks, notepads, jewelry, curtains, and the list goes on. I mainly focus on markets right now, but towards the end of the year I start accepting commissions for customized rugs for the holidays. I love to tuft rugs, and I love working on designs I pick, but I also love working with customers and creating something special for them! If you don’t quite know what you want, and need a little push I am here to brainstorm with you to create the perfect idea.
I think what sets me apart may just be my personality, everyone in the tufting community may do a little of the same, but your personality is what separates you from the rest of the world. Your individuality. The tufting community in Memphis has skyrocketed, it’s amazing how many talented people there are out there!
I am most proud of myself when I remember where I started and how I never thought I’d be where I am. It was a far away dream, that came pretty quickly with a lot of orders and projects to improve myself on.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
The Whimsy Hideaway first began as a hobby, that slowly turned into me fulfilling orders for some friends and family, that then became taking orders from people I never knew before who saw my work online. I would work on orders after work, before work, and at night. I still do the same because I have a full time job, and other things I do after work so it takes a lot of self discipline to push myself to work, after work. It is always worth it in the end when i get to see my finished project. I do more markets now, and occasionally open up commissions so it’s never the same routine because I can’t do the same thing for too long without getting bored or overwhelmed. Markets really help balance that out.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to learn not to over share and keep my head up high. I heard a lot that when you have a business people in your life may change and treat you differently and I unfortunately saw it happen. I don’t dwell on it, and let people go. I am happy with the friends and family who have stuck by my side and for the friends I’ve created along the way.
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