Sponsor Spotlight: Chaotic & Collected Stationery Launches New Site

When I heard that creative extraordinaire Jess Downey was re-launching Chaotic & Collected Stationery, I knew I had to chat with her about all the excitement! The new site is still stocked with her trademark cards, party decor and party kits, but she’s turned the volume up a notch and really kicked things into high gear! I mean, just check out that pretty logo! Read on for all the scoop straight from the source! xoxo

Congrats on the launch of the new site! What made you decide to relaunch it?
Thank you! I am so excited about it. For a while, I’ve been thinking about ways to streamline my process. I’m only one little person and running a blog, a stationery store website and an Etsy store became a really big job. I also found that people weren’t really understanding my brand and who I am/what I do — people who knew about the shop didn’t know about the blog and vice versa. So in an effort to make things easy-peasy, I decided to do a little redesign. Make things easier for me and all of my readers/followers. Plus, any reason to make something pretty is good, right?

What was the most exciting part of working on the new site? The most stressful?
The most exciting part was making all of the new images and discovering exactly what I want my online presence to be. There are so many things you can do and places you can go! The most stressful was making the actual site. I used a theme and I’m pretty comfortable with the basics of code and all that tech stuff, but there’s things I don’t know and in the middle of designing, I broke my site. I thought I knew how to fix it, but I broke it more and I lost everything. I managed to restore it, but then some stuff still wasn’t working. It was quite the challenge, but it gave me a chance to really start fresh, so I guess it’s also a good thing.

What is new and cool about the new site?
I have a fun new bio that’s in a Q&A form. And now you can find everything — blog, shop, ME — all in one place. There’s also a spot to sign up for my newsletter, which I didn’t really have before. I’m being more active with newsletters. Subscribers get advanced notice for sales, plus deals, DIYs, recipes and many other things that aren’t available anywhere else.

What do you have in store for the future, in terms of new product launches, specials, events, etc.?
I’ve been working on adding some home décor items to my shop. It all started with a welcome mat, and now I’ve started to add other things (more welcome mats, signs) and other things are in the works. I plan on making lots more fun and unique items (including some things for Shark Week!).

What is most rewarding about running Chaotic & Collected?
So many things! I love seeing the things that I create out there in the world. I love writing a post that might inspire someone in some way or that others can relate to. And I just love being a part of something that I created.

What’s surprised you the most over the years?
Honestly, I think the amount of support I’ve received from people I don’t even know. Other bloggers and small biz owners that I’ve connected with through social media. It’s kind of amazing.

Is there anything else you think I should know?
I’ve started a new post every Friday called Happy Fridays. It’s basically just a post about things that made me happy that week. It started because one of my goals for this year was to remember to appreciate all of the things in life that make me happy — no matter how big or small. I’d love to get more people involved in it.