We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Kearney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.

Jessica , appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

After earning my BS in Elementary Education (Go App!) I soon entered the classroom as a 1st grade teacher and fell in love with learning all over again. Years of teaching led to growing my own family and then shifting my work title to “stay at home mom”. As my children entered preschool I really began seeing the benefits of Sensory Play. I (hesitantly) sent my first batch of homemade playdough in for one of the classrooms to enjoy. I slowly began incorporating more hands on and screen free play at home. I would make playdough for friends and neighbors and then started pairing dough with popsicle sticks and pom poms for some added fun. My brain went in to overdrive and started themed kits! Today I offer themed kits with homemade playdough, sensory sand and dry bases like dyed pasta/rice. Each kit has loose parts to enhance play and work on fine motor skills!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My love for education and teaching propelled me into creating this experience for kids. My motto is “Dig in. Get Messy. Explore!” Sensory Play reaches across ages, genders and abilities. It allows parents a way to engage their children in screen free play and gives a space for expanded vocabulary, problem solving skills, fine motor skills and so much more!

I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and putting products out for families. I stand by my products in the fact that they are purposefully and carefully curated to meet different learning targets in children.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I am so grateful for my circle of family and friends who have supported this venture from the very beginning! As a small business I am very reliant on feedback and referrals from my customers. Word of mouth and positive reviews have kept my business growing from the start! Our presence on IG keeps followers up to date on current products and fun ideas from other sources for Sensory Play. With growing recognition I made the leap into retail! I am so grateful for these small business owners for opening up their shelves for my Sensory Products! Products are currently being sold in Concord, Huntersville and Denver, NC! (All Women owned businesses-yeah!)

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Making the leap into a small business was a nerve racking one! My brain is constantly moving in a creative way and ideas spill out quicker than I can manage at times! Over the years I have learned to pace product launches and plan carefully for seasonal launches. I want my customers to know the various options and products that are available but I also conduct a very fluid business where I can customize orders and experiences at any time! This year I have also had the opportunity to partner with other small business owners to create branded products for their clients!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlehandsworkco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littlehandsworkco