Mompreneur Jennelyn Faiwas of Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions

When Zeeka was 17 months old, I had a ceramic impression of her little hands and feet made by this very talented lady. You can check out my review here: http://mommyginger.com/2014/10/chubby-toes-ceramic-impressions.html Today, I’m happy to share with you the mompreneur story of the Jennelyn Faiwas, the owner of Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions.

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Mompreneur Jen with Julian

Who is Jen?

I am a licensed financial advisor, a breastfeeding peer counselor and a full time mompreneur. My strong advocacy is for breastfeeding. I believe that it is every mothers’ and babies’ right to breastfeed. Mothers should be given all the information about it and the dangers of artificial feeding. While the system protects , promotes and supports this right. I also love to babywear, cloth diaper and co-sleep with my son.

My son is 2 years old. I’m a single mom. And that is why my world revolves around my son. Before I got pregnant, I’m contented with my life as an employee in an IT company. But things really will change when you have other priorities.
Well, my dream is to be a bearer of financial independence to more people, to be a gentle birth doula, a very successful entrepreneur and a good homeschooler. A tall order eh? 🙂

My interview with Mompreneur Jennelyn Faiwas of Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions:

Ginger: Hi Jen! Can you tell us more about your business? 

Jen: Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions specializes in creating a unique keepsakes of our loved ones, especially the very cute babies. Newborn babies are my specialty. Because they just grow so fast. They start to be this teeny weeny creatures with tiny hands and feet then it feels like in an instant they will become this running, talking small people.

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So Chubby Toes captures this moment on clay and transform it to ceramics. I do children of any age as well, since they will just grow and grow but we can still capture their little hands and feet sizes now. I also do any member of the family, including pets! I started last year and it started growing. I have an FB account dedicated solely for my business. Recently, I also set-up a website that showcases my work since I started in 2014.

Ginger: Interesting and such a unique idea. Who do you plan to tap?
Jen: The primary market for my business is families with children or pets. Now, I have a vision of expanding my business as notable and special keepsakes. I am experimenting on my impressions so they can be used on occasions like weddings, debuts, birthdays, wedding, baptism etc.

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Ginger: How did you come up with this idea and what made you decide to start this kind of business?
Jen: Since giving birth to my son, I was always looking for ways to capture milestones and memories of his “littleness”. I have a monthly photo of him. I (tried to) journal his every milestone. So this included getting his hand and foot prints regularly. I have used ink and those DIY salt dough and plaster of paris. I used to be so crazy about it.

Anyway, I used to always encounter this ceramic impressions thing during my search for ways to capture (and display) my son’s keepsakes. I know that it’s not available here in the Philippines, but I so wanted it! I salivate just looking at all those beautiful ceramic plates, but all out of reach for me. So after months of constantly coming across it, I just thought why not start it here? How awesome would that be!
So I started to ask around and research about it some more. Then I met my mentor/trainer and things started rolling. I purchased a complete set of training materials, ordered my kiln. And so Chubby Toes is born.

I started practicing with my son’s impressions, then I asked friends and neighbors if I can borrow their babies and have their impression taken. Most of the time people can’t really understand what I want to do, or what my product is. But when they see the finished product in person, they are ecstatic that I have made this special keepsake for them. So I’m happy. 🙂

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Ginger: Were there any obstacles that you faced when you decided to pursue becoming a Mompreneur? What are these?

Jen: Yes, I used to be an employee with a decent enough income. When I took the leap, I have to adjust to the fact that it won’t be the same as when I hold a regular job, at least financially. Also I have to get out of my comfort zone. It entails meeting more people, marketing my product, etc. My usual routine before was to work then go home, that’s it. But now I have to constantly socialize and be out there, which really is a new experience and enlightening for me 🙂

Ginger: What are three traits that you think a Mompreneur should have when starting their own business?

Jen: It has been said before, but you really need to find a business that you are passionate about. We can all start a business, but sustaining it is another thing. And I think that’s what our passion does, it fuels us to continue and breeze through whatever we may encounter along the way. I sincerely believe that, love what you’re doing and success will follow.

I think another thing that made many Mompreneurs successful, is their motivation to always be there for their families. Being at home is a constant reminder of that.

Ginger: Any unforgettable moments or lessons that you learned as a Mompreneur?

Jen: Things won’t always go as smoothly as we plan. I have my day clearly planned, but no, my son won’t allow me to do my things. He needs to feed, he needs me to change his diaper, I’m the one he needs to read him the book he wants. It’s crazy really. But I think it’s part of all the fun and challenges as a Mompreneur. And I love every bit of it! 🙂

I clearly remember my first customer, she contacted me through my facebook page. With full faith she asked to have her son’s impressions taken. Ok, with what I do, sometimes clients can’t really appreciate my beautiful product, at least on that first meeting because they will only see the plain-looking gray clay I use for taking their baby’s impressions.
So with this customer, I handed her her son’s impression plate after it was completed. And she was so happy and said “Maganda nga pala talaga!”. And so it made me happy too, to have had a chance to preserve a special keepsake for them that they can forever cherish. 🙂

Ginger: What advice can you give to other Mompreneurs?

Jen: Find that something that will light your inner fire. It is sometimes easy to jump on the bandwagon but always ask yourself if this is really what you want to do. You have to have a clear vision of why you do what you do. And if the going gets tough, you will only have that fire to hold on to.

Ginger: Thank you Jen for such inspiring words. For those who want to contact Jen, the information of her company is seen below. Thank you again for reading this inspiring mompreneur story! 

Contact information on Chubby Toes:

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Website: chubbytoes.com
Email address: chubbytoesph@gmail.com
Mobile Number: 0917.840.7405
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChubbyToesPH
Instagram: http://instagram.com/chubbytoesph

Love lots,

Mommy Ginger

Mommy Ginger

 

 

 

 

PS. Please follow me on instagram! http://instagram.com/mommyginj

Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions

My golly! September was a busy month and I can’t believe it’s already October. Thank you so much again to those who greeted me on my birthday. Just wanted to share that during this whole month of October, I will be continuously promoting and asking for donations for my advocacy for this year which is Enzo’s MAD campaign. Read all about it here: http://mommyginger.com/2014/10/birthday-wish-make-a-difference.html

Aside from supporting that advocacy, I have gotten to chance to meet some new and amazing entrepreneurs. One of the entrepreneurs that I have met was Jen Faiwas. Jen is the owner of Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions. I saw her work during one of our First Time Parents workshops under Manila Workshops. The ceramic impressions that she made were so classy and cute! I wanted to have one made for Zeeka (even if she was already 17 months old).

So the day came when we finally booked a house call with Jen. We (although it was more me than Zeeka) eagerly waited for Jen at home.

Waiting for Tita Jen of Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions!

Waiting for Tita Jen of Chubby Toes Ceramic Impressions!

When she arrived, I was expecting her to bring huge equipment (since I really didn’t understand how these ceramic impressions were made), but she arrived just bringing a plastic container with these tools inside.

Her tools!

Her tools!

The clay was already ready to be stepped on! It was protected by a damp towel. Jen explained that the clay can harden fast if it’s not kept moist and soft.

The hard part was actually getting my baby to leave her imprint on the clay. Baby Z is the type who refuses to step on anything wet or to hold anything icky and moist. Clay is not something she loves playing with. So as soon as she felt her fingers touch the clay, she screamed and cried. We needed more time to pacify her and play with her first to make her feel comfortable before we got this…

Yey! We got Zeeka's hand impression!

Yey! We got Zeeka’s hand impression!

It even took more than 15 minutes to get her foot imprint! We are sorry, Tita Jen, for having you wait. Thank you for being so patient! But, at last we got these perfect impressions!

Zeeka's hand and foot!

Zeeka’s hand and foot!

Baby Z loved looking at the heart shape color samples. I chose to have a medium circle made in Mustard Yellow color since it went well with the color of our home’s walls.

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Here are samples that you can choose from!

Here are samples that you can choose from!

After two weeks, I got the final product and I was so happy with it!

The finished product! AMAZING!

The finished product! AMAZING!

Isn’t it perfect?

For those who want to order, this medium sized circle, one color is at Php 1800. I know Baby Z will appreciate looking at this ceramic plate in the future.

For more information about Jen’s products, you can visit her facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ChubbyToesPH