Community Highlights: Meet Megan Jenks of Charms & Chapters

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Jenks

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Bailey and I came together through our book club. We clicked instantly and found true friendship. Then I found out that she designed and sold book related stickers. I bought almost every one that she had and that was when the lightbulb went off – “Why not turn the stickers into shirts?” It was then that Charms & Chapters was made. It took us a while to fully decide on our name but we fell in love it the same way we feel in love with books. Bailey handles all of our designs, bringing our favorite things revolving around books to life. I handle all of the logistics in the company such as the website design/lay-out, order fulfillment, and customer interactions. We both contribute to our social media accounts (although Bailey does handle a good portion of the content creation). We started Charms & Chapters back in August and are excited to see how far we can take it. The main goal behind what we do is to bring our love of reading and books to the world and help others express it with cute and fun designs.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part our journey has been smooth. There were some struggles with perfecting designs, figuring out how to reach our target audience, building up our social media followings, etc. Bailey and I both have other commitments outside of the business so managing time to give it the time and dedication it deserves takes more than we had expected but we make it work and have turned it into something we are both proud of. Sometimes we struggle taking a design from our minds and making it into something tangible but Bailey and I are two sides of the coin. We know what the other is thinking before it’s even a fully formed thought. Being best friends in business has helped us overcome so many challenges while getting this off the ground.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Charms & Chapters ?
Charms & Chapters is all about the book community. Those that love to read and share those books/experiences with the public. Our designs are cute and fun but also cause for conversation amongst the book community. While we aren’t licensed to create or sell merchandise from specific books or series, we strive to create relatable book styled merchandise that are representative of the largely diverse reading community. We are women-owned and operated which we believe makes us stand out. Also our designs are all original ideas and hand-drawn. We wanted to stand apart from the flood of repeated and over saturated designs that are seen everywhere. We understood that this might cause our take off to be delayed but we accepted it and used it to our advantage.

We’re proud of the fact that our designs can bring readers together and may even help get others into reading. Reading is a life-changing experience and should be shared in every way possible. We offer sales and discounts throughout the year as well as free shipping. We also do giveaways with various prizes as well as brand ambassador opportunities with their own coupon codes for personal purchases and posting on social media.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Eventually we want to expand from t-shirts, sweatshirts, and stickers to cups, tumblers, and even hats. We’re also looking to become licensed by authors so that we can create and market designs for big authors such as Sarah J Maas and Rebecca Yarros. We may also want to expand to have more employees other just Bailey and I but for the time being we’re happy with what we’re creating. We also have a dream of opening up a book shop where we can sell our products in store as well as provide a comfortable and cozy space for all readers to enjoy their books. Our designs will continue to shift as the reading world moves and grows. We follow trending genres and styles that are popular as well so there’s always ways to grow.

Pricing:

• T-shirts with two designs: $24
• T-shirts with one design: $20
• Sweatshirt with two designs: $40
• Sweatshirt with one design: $30
• Stickers: Pricing varies

Contact Info:

• Website: https://charmsandchapters.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charmsandchapters_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564323131409

Image Credits
Bailey Gordon & Megan Jenks