Peaches & Co. Products and Q&A*


I am very lucky to have been sent some stunning little hand mirrors and 2 stunning watercolour prints by Peaches & Co., I was offered one of the stunning phone cases that are for sale by the shop but unfortunately my model was not available so instead I got an extra hand mirror. 

The three mirrors I got are the Concealer That B**** , the Giraffe and the You're a Gem pocket mirrors. The mirrors are 76mm across, they are about the size of my palm making them a fair bit bigger that any other pocket mirrors I own and yet they're so portable and easy to store. Because of the larger mirror it makes it super easy to touch up your make-up on the go! Not only is the size amazing but the super cute designs on the back of the mirrors are what makes these mirrors super adorable and unique, each is designed by the lovely Danielle Jeffery!

I also got sent two of the stunning A5 art prints that are so dainty and sweet, these are prints of watercolour originals scanned in to print on high quality art card. I absolutely love things like this because I can feel super feminine when I pop them up, they would also be really amazing gifts for if someone is feeling a bit glum or even a little something for someone's birthday, or maybe even valentines day! I got the Hello Sweetpea print and the Cheer Up Buttercup print, can we please appreciate how cute they are? Thank you.

If you want to check out Peaches & Co. then the social media links and website are all going to be linked at the bottom of the post so carry on reading!



I also got the chance to ask Danielle Jeffery some questions all about her little business and products so here that are! 

1) What motivated you to start your own little business?
From as long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for Graphic Design. I am also a complete perfectionist which can be both a help & a hindrance to me whenever I'm designing new things. I am the typical creative person; my room is a constant mess whenever I'm creating something different, & I drown myself in tea in the time I'm not holding a pencil.

I pay lots of attention to detail in everyday life, & I'm a huge people watcher. I'm the girl you make awkward eye contact with at the traffic lights.

Anyway, back to the motivational aspect, I started up Peaches & Co without the intention to actually create a shop. The idea was really just to give myself a visual portfolio for a future career path after I decided that university just wasn't for me. Peaches & Co also allowed me fill the space where I’d usually be doing coursework. It was around August 2015 that I was approached by strangers on social media & asked why I wasn't making something more of my ideas. I love this current era, social media is such a great platform for self-promotion. I am able to listen to what others think of my designs, & I get great feedback in the process. A job should be something that you enjoy, not just something you do. The idea of starting up my own shop has just given me more of a drive & passion to expand my ideas and follow my dream of having my own high street studio & becoming a freelance designer.



2) Where does your inspiration for designs come from and what is your favourite technique?

Most of my ideas come to me when I'm on the edge of sleep & then I’d spend the early hours of the morning writing lists and little sketches. At the moment I am using a budget drawing tablet that connects to my laptop via USB. This technique allows me to draw directly into Adobe Illustrator & create smooth curves and vectors which I love, but there is something missing. Although the design and concept is all mine, the design Is too perfect. Recently, I have decided to go back to my roots & my love of watercolour.

Watercolour is without a doubt, my favourite painting technique. It’s the first technique I learnt and it’s just such a free way of painting. I am currently trialling a freehand painting technique, without the use of pencils. Colour is the most important element within Graphic Design & I love the raw and natural style that you can create with watercolour.

All Professional Graphic Designers have their own style, their own technique that gives them their individuality. Watercolour is mine. The irony is, the new technique isn't perfect & being a perfectionist you’d thing that would be a huge issue for me. I think that’s why I like it, it allows me to detach from the OCD I have & not let it define who I am. There is also something so unique about watercolour. Being able to actually appreciate real life colour pigments on real life paper means so much more than just working with digital colours. Through using this technique I am able to reflect my honesty within my designs & in turn, leave my own personal mark on my products. I have recently been working on a ‘Garden Tea Party’ print for phone cases. When coming up with what to put into an idea I usually start with three to four elements. In this case, I hand painted strawberries, peppermint leaves, tea bags, and blueberries. From this, it gives me the colour theme that I need to work with & also helps me to paint more components associated with those colours. It’s also important to stick to the subject I am dealing with so I don’t get lost in a design. Painting is similar storytelling, you create all the components of the story, and then you find a way of putting them together so that it flows and makes sense to the reader. The pattern is fruity & refreshing, as fruit tea is. I cannot wait for the new line of products to be released. It’s really going to be something special.



3) Can you list 3 goals for your independent business to achieve in the next year?

This is a great question! I’ve never thought about it before, I try to take each day as it comes & not set the bar too high for myself. The first of my three goals would be to expand to around 50 products. It’s not lots, but you’ve got to remember that I’m a 19 year old girl working in retail, funding for other things within my life (mostly food) & I’ve had to budget myself to what products work and which don’t so I don’t make a loss.

However I’m now using the money that I’m earning through my shop to expand which is great.Another goal would be to have more stability with sales. I can get anything between 3 to 25 orders a day, so good days & bad days.

Finally, I’d love to see more people get involved on social media, I’d love to see more photos of purchases people have made. It gives me such a warm feeling & makes me feel good to see that someone out there loves something that I’ve put a lot of time into.



4) Was it hard setting up your business?


With anything, there will be challenges and problems that you face along the way. As for starting Peaches & Co, the hardest challenge was finding suppliers. You really have to do your research. Finding great quality suppliers with a budget is extremely difficult. Quality tops everything & therefore I bought lots of samples to test all sorts of things. With phone cases, I look for colour vibrancy, weight and resistance. If you’re thinking about setting up your own business the advice I would give would be to not stress and do not give yourself too much work at once because you’ll crumble. I find if you give yourself deadlines, it’s so much easier to commit to and it really gives you that push you need. Overall though, I’d say go for it because it could turn into something really amazing. 




5) What is your personal favourite product and why?

If I had to choose a favourite product, I’d have to say that the ‘Origami Phone Case’ steals my vote. Although the ‘Bee Yourself Pocket Mirror’ is a close second. They have been the most popular since my shop has been open, & they were the most challenging to create. I love the pastel colours of the Origami Case; greys and pinks is a great combination I think.

I do love all of the products in store though! I’ve put equal amounts of energy and time into each design so I’m very happy with the result.


Peaches & Co.;
Twitter
Instagram




What do you think of the lovely things Peaches &Co sent me? leave it in the comments!


Thank you for reading,


Mandy x

16 comments

  1. Replies
    1. I know right! Very cute, I am so happy to be able to feature brands like this on my blog! <3

      Mandy x

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  2. I am in love with those prints!! They are both right up my street Xx

    www.whitecinnamonn.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. They're so nice aren't they! Super cute

      Mandy x

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  3. These are the cutest! Love the prints! X
    http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/?m=1

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! They are adorable aren't they omg x

      Mandy x

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  4. These are so cute! 😊

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    1. They are arent they! Have you had a chance to look at the rest of the stuff on Danielle's store? Its all so cute

      Mandy x

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  5. So totally cute!! I wish that they had cases for my phone as well. Sigh. But hey those mirrors are a great prize too.

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  6. The products are so adorable, loved the photos! x
    www.blossomofhope.blogspot.com

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  7. Great photos and I love your writing style so much!

    Marti| pinksmartiesblog.blogspot.co.uk

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I like my writing to be friendly and not like you're reading a really formal thing, much more personal I think x

      Mandy x

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  8. These mirrors are so cute- I love little shops like this, they have the most unique items and I love having things that most people don't have. The interview was also really interesting to read, do you think you'll be doing more with other bloggers? x

    Celeste | www.celesteinayear.com

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    1. Definitely. I am looking for loads more brands and bloggers to do collaborations/ interviews etc with!

      Mandy x

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