Interview with Chrissy Jensen: Owner of Domestica

Monday, December 5, 2011

Interview with Chrissy Jensen: Owner of Domestica

Photo by Erich Ernst

Shop owner, music lover, poster collector, and 60s mod aficionado. Chrissy Jensen took some time out of a business holiday season at her shop Domestica to share how her business got started and what and why she pins.

Chrissy’s shop Domestica in Des Moines, Iowa

First, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name’s Chrissy Jensen, I live in Des Moines, Iowa with my husband Craig + my son, Carter. I grew up out East, but came to Iowa to study fashion design at Iowa State (Go Cyclones!). Circa 1985, Iowa State was not a fashion design school. Not at all. After a semester of sewing puffy sleeves and darts, I switched to journalism.

How did Domestica get started?

It really kinda all goes back to Etsy and the power of the internet. I’ve always been interested in design - industrial design, graphic design, architecture. My dad had stacks of print magazines everywhere and my mom rocked the hottest pad in Philly - butterfly chairs, daybed couches, a surfboard coffee table, abstracts.

After school, I sort of fell into a career as a photo stylist. First in film and then in magazines (Des Moines is home to Meredith Corp, publishers of magazines like Do It Yourself, Better Homes & Gardens, etc. It’s a great resource for creatives here). In 2005, while researching an idea for photo-based crocheted throws, I “met” a kid online who had developed a program to Pantone color-match the Masters’ paintings. He, in turn, told me about a site his friend was working on where you could search product by color. I was so excited. All these various color bubbles appeared on screen and when you clicked them, other bubbles popped up with matching products. That was Etsy.

Craft was taking off, but wasn’t nearly as big as it is, now. Buy Olympia was the only online indie craft shop + there were literally just a handful of craft blogs. I couldn’t get an editor to jump on a craft story if I promised Martha Stewart herself would write it - it just wasn’t on anyone’s radar. But I started my own craft blog anyway, met a ton of great people through the blog + eventually found someone who wanted to open an indie craft shop with me.

The thought of having this cool little craft bubble in our own town excited us. We worked on it for about a year, but weren’t making headway with our local SBA. They didn’t understand or believe in the concept and just kept us in limbo. They even told us the name sounded like a Hispanic cleaning company…

I think this is where sometimes you just have to be bull-headed and power through despite the obvious signs. My business partner moved to Minnesota (she’s still one of my closest confidantes), but I still believed it was possible. I found another partner who really pushed the idea through, and although she didn’t stay with the shop, she gave me that extra push I needed.

Photo by Erich Ernst

Domestica is all about handmade, but that still covers a huge range of things: what do you look for in consignment pieces or products for the store?

I’m definitely drawn to clean, modern, cheerful designs. We’re fortunate that designers/makers are drawn to our shop, so we get a lot of inquiries. It’s hard not to take everything - especially when the artist is clearly at the top of their game, but keeping it modern and cool gives our shop a little different feel. Oh, and prints. It’s a sickness. We have hundreds of prints + posters.

Chrissy’s group board “Mad Men Style”

You collaborate on a group board devoted to “Mad Men Style.” Is 60s modern your favorite design-style or period and, more importantly, who is your favorite Mad Men character?

Let’s get to the more important Mad Men character thing first: I only have two “star” crushes, Dean Winters and Jon Hamm. That said, I like Don Draper better when Peggy Olson’s in the room. It’s dynamic when the two most complicated characters share the screen.

I used to like Betty best, but this last season, they made her so pinched and uncomfortable. I liked her better when she was, as my friend once put it, “like Grace Kelly with a crack in her skull” - standing on her front lawn pulling birds out of the sky with a shotgun while a cigarette hung from her mouth.

And yes, I love the 60’s and really, ‘62-’65. The clothing, print and ad design…

Chrissy’s group board “Des Moines”

Since you’re an Iowan (and we also have two Iowans on Team Pinterest!), what would you say are the best parts about Des Moines or the whole state?

I’m not a native, but I’ve lived here 25+ years now (really?). I think being in the middle geographically has an affect on Iowans’ sensibilities. Iowans are some of the most traveled, most politically savvy, most culturally checked in people I’ve met. Even in the smallest towns, people are checked into what’s going on in the world. They’re definitely more conservative in smaller towns, but I think being farmers/landowners gives them a sense of the value of individual freedom.

Lots of people like to characterize us as living the simple life, but in a way, it’s true. Life’s so easy here. Des Moines offers many of the same cultural + recreational pursuits as larger towns, plus you get the added bonus that you’ll actually get Wilco tickets when they go on sale.

Gig posters available at Domestica

As a music and poster obsessive, what’s on your wishlist of bands you’d love to see or posters you’d love to have?

Right now, I’m listening to a lot of Sleeper Agent, Wild Flag, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Jeff the Brotherhood - I’d love to see any of them. I already have the raddest Wild Flag poster by El Jefe - one of my faves in the shop right now - and he did an awesome poster for We Were Promised Jetpacks, too.

If we had more room/resources, I’d love to get work by Mat Daly, Mike Perry, Dan McCarthy, Miss Amy Jo, Little Friends of Printmaking, Burlesque…there’s just so many people who rock screenprint. We have some of the best already, so I’m thrilled to have who we have.

Chrissy’s “Mad About Print” board

How do you use Pinterest, both for Domestica and for yourself?

Wow. it’s really changed over the last year. At first, it was definitely just a clever way to clean up my desktop. Then my friends and I started a board just to share things with each other and then I think the full scope of Pinterest’s value set in.

I think I tend to use it as a community more than anything - connecting with people I don’t really know, but who have similar interests or who know something I might find valuable. I don’t tend to pin our wares so much. I see boards dedicated to people’s creations or their Etsy store stock, but I worry that it’s too one-dimensional - it doesn’t tell a very rounded story about me or who I am.

I’ve been trying to add a Pin It Button to our blog posts and shop items, that’s a huge! marketing tool, thank you, but I’m still not sure I’m coding it correctly. :)

You can find Chrissy’s boards here and shop online at Domestica here. Happy holidays and thanks so much for sharing Chrissy!