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They don’t want to wear anything else

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“I actually started making little outfits for my granddaughter when she started at day care aged 6 months,” says Janell. “My daughter was stunned to be asked where she found the clothes because they would like to get some themselves.” They were surprised to find out they were handmade by grandmother due to the high quality of the clothing.

After her previous occupation was retrenched, owner Janell Jolley was able to look after her granddaughter in between day care days. Janell then found time to rekindle an old hobby, which also stemmed from a previous patchwork and embroidery business up the North Coast. This involved teaching and designing her own patchwork and embroidery kits. Janell soon started taking orders for children’s clothes from other parents at day care. Suddenly, the new circumstances made staying at home an easier choice. Janell could look after her granddaughter, her daughter could go to work, and making children’s clothes was proving to be a great way to earn a living.

“Mothers love the fact that they can buy dresses that are made for little girls”

 

“My family has inherited talent,” says Janell. “We sit down and we do it, and we then read up about it afterwards.” Although she’s taken a TAFE course in the past, Janell insists that her talents for sewing and needlework came from her family.

Things then started to come together again allowing Janell to delve back into her arts and crafts roots. “I started hunting around and working out the best markets,” says Janell. “I’ve really built up a clientele.”

From it’s warm reception in the day care, Funky Frog Boutique has now been around for five years. Janell says that she’s spent the last three gauging what works and what doesn’t. “I like that little girls’ dresses are extremely popular,” says Janell. “Mothers love the fact that they can buy dresses that are made for little girls who absolutely love the dresses. I started out only making clothing from newborn up to size 5, then after lots of requests for larger sizes I now make up to size 10.” Janell also makes a range of accessories with the cooler weather booties selling as fast as they are made, similar to the unicorn-style beanies for little girls.

“I really do love seeing kids’ faces light up when they see the dresses”

 

“I can’t count how many times I’ve seen little girls put the dresses on, and they don’t want to take them off because they want to wear them,” says Janell with a laugh. “I really do love seeing kids’ faces light up when they see the dresses.”

Janell takes her inspiration from her materials. For summer it’s 100% cotton and for winter it’s cotton Lycra. She keeps an eye open for new materials and how to put new styles together. Janell is also careful not to change the styles too much as it’s what little girls love. She enjoys seeing customers come back and telling her that their children don’t want to wear anything else.

Funky Frog Boutique came to the Old Bus Depot on March 2017. At that stage Janell was still feeling around for which markets best suited her business until gradually she became a regular to the Old Bus Depot.

“It was actually pretty good,” says Janell of her first experience at the Old Bus Depot. “There’s a nice mix of locals and people on holidays.”

One of her favourite items she’s bought from the markets are Swarovski-studded aprons from Giardi.

Janell is ready for the upcoming Kids in the Shed event this 10 June. She says to expect the same high-quality handmade items with styles that customers have appreciated throughout the years. Clothing from each material are made in limited quantities and are one-of-a-kind.

Preview the different styles from Funky Frog Boutique by liking them on Facebook @FunkyFrogBoutique.

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