Meet Jenna Thornham of Peoria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenna Thornham.

Hi Jenna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I love glitter/sparkle/shimmer- I’ve always been drawn to it. As a kid, I’d always choose the glitter option in anything; as an adult, you will find glittered objects throughout my house. The fancy glasses I registered for at my wedding are laced with the gorgeous gold shimmer swirls, lol- anywhere I can sneak it in, I do. I bought my first custom, glittered epoxy tumbler in the Summer of 2020, and as soon as I opened that package, I ran to Etsy and bought another one. Within a couple of months, I had already bought several.

What type of tumbler am I talking about? You start with stainless steel double wall insulated tumbler cup. Then, over 5-7 days, you create this beautiful, custom masterpiece of a drinking container using all sorts of materials- glitter, adhesive, epoxy-resin, vinyl, mica powder, etc.

Like so many other people in 2020, I decided to get crafty at home, and in November of that year, I bought some basic supplies to make my very own glitter tumbler. The original intent was to get good enough at it to have unlimited glitter cups for me and possibly to give as gifts to friends/family. After a couple of weeks of playing around and doing research on different products, I quickly realized that there was a whole world of creativity waiting for me, and I fell hard, totally obsessed with it. After I had made several tumblers from start to finish, my husband told me he was super impressed with how comparable they were to the ones I had bought from Etsy months prior. He encouraged me to start thinking about possibly trying to sell them as a little business and give me something to do for myself while our daughter was at school. I continued to hone my craft without telling anyone- my husband was the only one who knew what I was working on at home for several months. I finally gained enough confidence to start an Instagram for the business and slowly started posting my finished tumblers, and then within a week or two of that, I opened my Etsy Shop. My shop officially opened at the end of March 2021, and I got my first sale 2 weeks later. I follow a lot of other creators on Instagram, which was super helpful in learning to do the whole social media thing in regards to marketing myself, and little by little, I started to gain traction. As of August 2022, I have over 900 followers on Instagram and sold 70 tumblers on Etsy. I’ve completed appx 60 custom orders, have made and gifted over 30, and have been quite successful at the Parkwest Market in Peoria, AZ, where I’m at 2 Saturday’s a month Oct-April. Overall, I’m thrilled with my growth. I’m not looking to create a 50-hour-a-week job for myself- I want something that keeps me busy and creative, but the second it feels like work, I won’t want to do it anymore. First and foremost, I’m here for my family and to take care of the house but getting to work in my shop a few hours a day has been perfect for me!

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have a little community of fellow crafters on Instagram, and it seems that no matter how successful you are, it doesn’t always 100% go your way every time. I’ve had some slow periods where nothing has sold, no new followers, etc., but I find that persistence pays off, and you keep pushing. I’ve seen people burn out and give up on their creative dreams. None of this is life or death, so try to go with the flow and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create custom tumblers- I either come up with the designs, am inspired by another maker, or people send me ideas. This is the general process of making the type of tumblers I make:
-Start with a plain stainless steel tumbler/mug
-Sand and wash the tumbler
-Spray paint the tumbler to prepare it for glitter
-Apply glitter with adhesive (mod podge/epoxy)
-After drying, apply another coat of glitter
-Put the tumbler on an electric turner and apply a clear coat of epoxy over the entire cup to fully coat the glitter- cup then spins on the turner at a slow rate for 6-8 hours
-Apply another coat of epoxy, spins for another 6-8 hours
-24 hours later, sand the tumbler getting any imperfections out of the epoxy (bubbles, etc.)
-Apply another coat of epoxy to get a glass-like finish to the tumbler

This is basic- if you add vinyl or decals to the cup, there would be extra steps. Overall, 1 tumbler takes approximately 5-7 days to make from start to finish. I’m proud that I have a great reputation for putting out an amazing product— only 5-star reviews on Etsy, and I’m constantly getting amazing comments outside of that.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My husband is extremely supportive, and my daughter loves to be involved and help in any way she can. This is not an inexpensive craft/small business to get into, and the quality of the products you use makes a difference, so having a partner who truly believes in me and encourages me to put out the best product I can is invaluable. Chad and Ellie have been a huge help at all of my vendor markets- the physical labor of setting up/tearing down falls pretty much on Chad, and then they willingly hang out with me and spend their Saturdays trying to sling tumblers. Ellie also likes to tell people that her mom makes pretty cups- she’s proud of me, which makes my heart tingle.

Pricing:

• Tumblers range from $30-60

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @the.stubborn.opal.az
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/thestubbornopalaz