emBoxed
Janet Dorey |
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Janet Dorey is a wonderful example of a woman who has reinvented herself abroad. Janet, who double-majored in music and biology, is now running a business in cartonnage – the art of making decorative boxes out of cardboard and paper, thanks to her willingness to try new things abroad.
The winding road that brought Janet to cartonnage begins in her birth town of Melbourne, Australia. Right after university, Janet moved to England and took up various roles in marketing, advertising, public relations and sales.
After more than a decade in London, Janet moved to the United States with her British husband, who had accepted a job in Indiana. But without work status in the United States, Janet took up art classes and became involved in the local art society, volunteering her time as the advertising director. Two years later, Janet and her husband left the U.S. and briefly relocated back to England before her husband's new role moved them to Paris in 2001. |
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Captivated by traditional French crafts, Janet signed up for a course in cartonnage. Friends started noticing the high quality of the work she produced. Soon, she started taking personalized orders for her well-made boxes and selling them at private sales and through local shops in the 6th Arrondissement in Paris. She proceeded to build a website to take orders and with that, emBoxed.com was born.
In 2007, Janet moved back to England again. However this time, instead of wondering what to do as a "trailing spouse" yet again, Janet had a new identity: she was an entrepreneur – excited about developing and growing the business she started while abroad. |
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Expat Women's Interview with Janet
Expat Women: Janet, what do you remember of your transition time from a working woman in London to a trailing spouse in Indiana?
Janet: I believe that every change is an opportunity. While in Indiana I had great deal of time to immerse myself in volunteer activities that are the life-blood of small communities in the USA. For example, I volunteered as the advertising director at the local Art Society, using skills from the workplace to benefit the organization – and to keep me busy and engaged in the local community. |
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Expat Women: How did you first become interested in cartonnage? |
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Janet:
After we moved to Paris, my husband traveled a lot for business, so I quickly became involved in the British Commonwealth Women's Association (BCWA). I acted as the Secretary there for over a year, enjoying all the activities the club offered to its members. One of the activities was a course in cartonnage. I was fascinated by traditional French crafts and like a duck to water, I was hooked. |
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Expat Women:
What motivated you to turn your hobby into a business venture? |
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Janet: Living in Paris, I had a problem finding storage for my things, so I used my newly-learned skills in cartonnage to design and build boxes to fit into any available space I had. As expats, we tend to have a lot of personal documents to keep track of and everyone I met seemed to have the same home/personal office storage problems. Soon, it became clear to me and others that the quality of the work that I produced, plus the customizable designs, made for a very marketable product.
My first opportunity to test out this theory came at an annual local holiday sale. It was an exciting time and I was amazed by the customer reaction! That motivated me to take my products to small independent stationery boutiques in the neighborhood, and I took it from there. |
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Expat Women:
What key challenges did you face in building your business and how did you meet those challenges? |
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Janet: In the beginning, I sold from stock. I quickly discovered though that no matter what stock I carried, customers always wanted something the same but in a different color and personalized for their daughter, mother, best friend, and so on. So, I addressed the problem head on and changed my approach. I ceased selling from stock and only took orders from samples. From the samples, I went around to a few shops to see if there was interest amongst them – and there certainly was.
In order to keep my creations fresh, I had to learn about paper suppliers and make good choices. As a buyer choosing from the most exquisite papers I have ever seen in the world, it was fun to hunt out new suppliers and hone down which suppliers to go back to. And, I did, many, many times. With two collections arriving every year from the French and Italian paper manufacturers, the excitement was renewed every other season. It was only a matter of time before I also learned to appreciate the beauty, simplicity and versatility of the Japanese papers too.
Since I was relatively new to this, it helped that I had several excellent teachers during this period, for which I am very grateful. |
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Expat Women:
What obstacles did you encounter when you took your business back to England with you in 2007, and how did you overcome them? |
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Janet: My main concern was finding a place to source materials. The variety and quality of materials that I had access to in Paris is not available in the UK. So I have to look to France, but that is okay as it ensures a continuity of the products' unique character. |
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Expat Women: What five tips would you offer to women living abroad who are thinking of turning a passion/interest into a business? |
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Janet: |
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Get yourself into a network of other expat women; |
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It is necessary to understand what people like locally – what local tastes and customs are – so you sell to people what they do like, not what they should like; |
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Think of potential things from your home country which could be of interest in your host country; for example, your home country cuisine might be of interest locally; |
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If you are making products, do not make a huge stock that you hope will sell. Instead, test the market first because local tastes might be considerably different from your expectations; and |
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If you are turning a passion into a business whilst you are abroad, it is not just about making money. The main benefit you will derive is from being engaged with the local community and you can think of customers as your new friends! |
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Expat Women: What do you have planned next for emBoxed? |
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Janet:
I am certain of the products, but I need to ensure a wider client base so I am looking for partnerships with interior designers and professional home organizers. |
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Expat Women: Janet, we applaud you for successfully developing a business out of your unique passion developed abroad. We thank you for your time and we wish you and your business all the very best! |
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December 2010 |
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