From finance to home decor: Local woman’s bold career change

Carrick-on-Shannon woman Jennifer Flynn made a bold step in September by transforming her career to follow her passion for home decor and design.

Previously a financial advisor until March, Jennifer took a break to spend time with her family before launching her own online store.

Her shop features a carefully curated selection of sustainable items, including candles, bed linen, lamps, rugs, tableware and more, all sourced from small manufacturers and family owned businesses across Europe and Ireland.

“I always loved interiors and a neutral style. So I thought I’d take the plunge and give it a go, but it was important to me to have it as sustainable as possible. The products that I source to the best of my ability are almost all handcrafted,” Jennifer said.

As a newcomer to the business world, Jennifer is actively working to build up her brand - something she hadn’t anticipated would be so challenging.

“The challenge with an online business is you don’t have that physical storefront so you have to use media to get the name out there. It’s not as straightforward as I thought and it’s all new to me,” she admitted.

Despite this, Jennifer is slowly but surely getting there and was even recently featured in the Irish Independent ‘The Weekend Hitlis.’

Jennifer places a strong emphasis on sustainability and ethical sourcing, which is something that is increasingly sought out for from today’s buyers.

“There are people that are looking at buying bits for their own home and gifting, and I’m hoping that people are more conscious of buying sustainably.”

Leitrim entrepreneur talks growth and empowerment through women-led network ACORNS

Originally from Italy, Diletta Panero launched her business, DP Language Services in Kinlough nearly two years ago.

In the lead-up to Christmas, Jennifer has seen more business and shared the joy of seeing customers support her small local start-up.

“The first stranger that found you somehow through all the noise out there on the internet and they bought from you without knowing you, that’s the real best feeling,” she enthused.

Jennifer’s long-term vision for her brand is to reach a stage where she can hire a local employee to help with packing, and social media while also expanding to ship her products beyond Ireland.

Transitioning from a finance career to something entirely different, Jennifer has no regrets and advises anyone thinking of starting their own passion project to take the leap.

“I thought about it for so, so long and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner because I love it,” she said.

She spoke highly of the local support she received from the Leitrim Local Enterprise Office in the early stages and recommended that anyone starting a business reach out to their own local office.

“They’ve been unbelievably helpful between courses on how to start your own business, digital content and how to get funding,” Jennifer added.

Jennifer’s collections can be viewed on her site joli.ie or on Instagram @gift_joli 

READ MORE: Over 1000 customers in Leitrim still without power after Storm Darragh