Democratizing Design

I've been working in fashion/ fashion retail / direct to consumer retail product development for over 20 years now, and the changes in product creation both in manufacturing, design process and resources available is galaxies away from where it was when I started. Gone are the days of huge investment into product inventory and huge barriers to entry for start up as a new business model has arisen in the form of on demand printing. From where I started in 2001 to today the whole process has flipped.

Back in 2001, after the birth of my son Archie - I moved back home from London, UK to Perth, Australia. This was a huge shock to the system not only for me personally as a new mum (mom) but what I really struggled with was the lack of cool stuff available to me in London was no longer available to me in Perth. This of course prompted the entrepreneur in me and I started my first business - a kids clothing company that I called Moppit.

Moppit started with me screen printing my designs on t-shirts in my garage. I bought tees from a uniform company - and I remember at the time impossible that process was, finding good quality stock products I'd want to put my child in felt impossible. Then the next hurdle - printing on them. Screen printing set ups cost nearly $500 per design, I didn't have that money. I was a new mum with a new business and barely any capital. So what did I do, I taught myself how to made my own screens, I screen printed t-shirts in my garage and used ink that allowed me to seal them with an iron. An IRON!! Mad as it was, it worked and soon I had a little cottage industry product being made in my house.

Fast forward 5-6 years, Moppit was distributed into over 6 countries, selling both in an online space, as well as in over 100 wholesale accounts. This growth thankfully came with a new business partner in my sister Melissa as there was no way any of this would have been possible alone. After all of the wholesale business we had done, an office became a real need, with that came the opportunity for a physical retail store. The days of in person inventory was hard - the capital outlay for the product was enormous, supporting local suppliers meant buying all your product components separately, production was run in house and driving fabric, labels, zippers between suppliers was a common task.

Over the years I have dabbled in nearly all categories of women's & kids fashion, and throughout the process of design & merchandising in order to create a product you always had to start with shape combine that very closely with fabric, and of course add on any print or embellishment. But here's where the world has changed and print on demand for a start up is truly a game changer. Not only do I not have to make a huge investment into products that I have tested in a market, I am reducing down on the environmental impact of having produce huge amounts that may not may not be in demand.

When I considered starting Joonbow the idea came from needing a creative outlet for my designs. I have always been creative, and I am creative as a day job. I love it, but I am more than a product designer or merchant, I am truly a CREATIVE in every way. I love to create interiors, gardens, landscapes and more recently DIY. Without wanting to invest heavily in a start up brand I wasn't sure it would ever be a reality. My sister (The Lot Co)- yet again my savior suggested I try print on demand and so the journey started.

In Jan 2022 I got covid and had a few weeks of isolation time to explore and research, I discovered a huge array of print on demand businesses (2 that I use are Printful & Printify) that did more than I ever expected. Once I had created my designs I found I could apply them to a huge array of products - this now covers prints, posters, stationery, bedding, clothing and even bath mats. I began to build a website and today finally I can officially say I am launched. Day 1 Of Joonbow is today Feb 18th 2022! With nearly 150 products live on my site www.joonbow.com I am ready to take orders and if it wasn't for the change in how products are made or this new business model of print on demand I wouldn't be able to create such a huge assortment of products.