THE WASH, crafty girls come clean

I've been so inspired and learned so much from the artists that I've featured on "THE WASH." This week's story shows what remarkable things can happen in a short year.

Jeanine Hays
MAIN CRAFT: textile designer and blogger
SITE: aphrochic.com
BLOG: aphrochic.blogspot.com
FACEBOOK: AphroChic
TWITTER: @aphrochic
LOCATION: from Harleysville, PA (little town outside Philadelphia) • currently live in San Francisco, CA

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You’d think by looking at AphroChic’s  home décor line of modern pillows that they’ve been present in the textile community for awhile. The beauty and luxurious soulful style of AphroChic is undeniable. It’s exciting to know that Jeanine Hays, the founder and creative director of AphroChic, is coming up on her one year anniversary in October 2010!

Jeanine started her career working several years as an attorney. She made her lifelong passion into a reality first, in 2007, by blogging about some of her favorite homes and designers. Then almost one year ago began her own textile company and launching her first line of pillows.

Lawyer, turned blogger, turned designer. Jeanine is a perfect example of following your passion.

“The journey has been truly amazing - going from law to design. And I am happy every moment that I made the change to follow what I’m passionate about.”

Currently Jeanine has two full time jobs.

“I still have a day job that helps support my ability to work on AphroChic and grow it into a self-sustaining company.”

AphroChic is a lifestyle brand that synthesizes high-end design and ethnic culture to create a style that is reflective of the individual while still being of the highest quality and the latest fashion. It is this belief, coupled with an unending dedication to environmental consciousness and sustainable design that gives AphroChic its unique blend of modern soulful style.

Jeanine finds her inspiration for her designs everywhere.

“A city, a visit to a museum, exploring the great outdoors... inspiration is everywhere.

Our next collection that will launch this fall is inspired by one of our favorite cities. I won’t reveal which one just yet. You’ll have to wait until November 1st to find out.

There are going be to be so many new items in store. We are excited to expand our offerings this year.”

Jeanine loves to come up with new designs just for fun. When working on AphroChic she works from her home office on her Mac.

"It’s a comfortable space that keeps me inspired. For each new collection I create a moodboard that’s set up in the office. I look at it constantly as I try out new ideas.”

She doesn’t do it all alone. Jeanine’s husband is part of the business. Besides it was his idea for her to start blogging!

“He is my life partner and business partner. We work daily together on growing our company and making our dreams a reality. I work on the design and he runs the operations. It’s a wonderful partnership.

It’s a challenge to balance work, family, personal life, etc. When you have your own business, it’s hard to know when work ends. I am up late nights pretty often.

To find balance, it’s important to treat your business like you would any job - give yourself a schedule, know when your work day ends, take off holidays and all yourself to take a vacation every now and then.

The biggest challenge my first year was finding the time to get it all done. I was wearing so many hats - designer, owner, and publicist all at once. The greatest lesson I learned was knowing when to delegate.

Now, we work with a fantastic public relations firm to promote our work. By hiring someone with PR expertise, we can now take the time to work on the things that we’re good at - design and business management.

In the last month I just started to give myself weekends off. It’s been wonderful to have some time to rest my mind and rejuvenate.”

Jeanine stays organized in style.

“I have a thing for cute organizational tools. I am in love with my Oh Joy! filing folders to organize contracts, receipts, etc.

I also cannot live without great storage boxes. I love Semikolon boxes from the Container Store. They are lovely, and keep my papers in order in style.”

Well Jeanine will be getting some moving boxes soon. Her and her husband will be moving to Washington DC in December.

“I moved from Washington to San Francisco to start my career as a lawyer, and funny enough, am moving back as a designer.

My husband and I are originally from the east coast, and we are looking forward to connecting with the design community's in DC, Philadelphia and New York.

Many of our customers are from the east coast, we are excited about having an opportunity to be closer to the community that has embraced us.”

Over the next year Jeanine hopes to continue to expand AphroChic’s home decor collection, participate in more design events that promotes her work and focus on her design philosophy of modern, soulful style.

“I am also interested in doing more freelance writing on interior design. I just had my first article published for HGTV.com this month. I hope to do more freelance writing on the latest interior design trends.”

How does Jeanine keep it all together?

“I keep on dreaming and never stop. I always give myself another goal and stay motivated by moving towards it.”

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AphroChic is up for California Home & Design's 2010 Hit List! It's an annual list published by California Home & Design magazine that highlights the best California designs of the year. Vote here AphroChic (#4). You can vote once per day, and voting closes Thursday, September 30.

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For more inspirational stories like Jeanine's visit "THE WASH."