Take a Trip Down Hopscotch Lane

Give a girl a blanket and you keep her warm and cozy; teach a girl to sew and she’ll build a business keeping others warm and cozy. When she was twelve, Jenn Griffith’s grandmother taught her how to sew. As a child who loved creating gifts and crafts for family and friends, this new skill opened up a world of possibility. Fast forward several years, a husband and two children. After making quilts and baby blankets as gifts for her friends, Jenn decided to turn her passion into a business. To the pleasure of babies and parents everywhere, Hopscotch Lane was born.

Made of super soft minky dot chenille fabric, Hopscotch Lane’s personalizable baby blankets, snuggle blankets, throws, burp cloths, pillows and gift sets are a treat to give and to receive. With a selection of twenty-nine delicious colors to choose from, you can customize your purchase to match virtually any decor.

“We take great pride in our work and make each one as if it were for our own children,” says Jenn, who in the summer of 2004 joined forces with Amy Struhall, fellow creative designer and mother of two. “We love to create personalized and custom items for people as those are the ones that are cherished and used the most. Most of our products have been tested out on our own kids, if they love them then we know they are a hit. My son has two lovies he won’t give up…his pillow and his blanket…and if it holds up to him carrying it around everywhere and sleeping with it every night, then by our standards, it’s a great product.”

Clever Parents caught up with Jenn to talk about making her own clothes, volunteering for Make a Wish Foundation, and hanging out with celebrities in Beverly Hills.

Clever Parents: Tell us about Hopscotch Lane.
Jenn Griffith: After my daughter was born in 2001 I quit my corporate world job to stay home with her and I started sewing again. I made lots of quilts and baby gifts for friends. Then when my son was born in 2003 I decided to start my own small business doing it. So in January 2004 the company was formed, that summer at a local craft show Amy and I decided to go in together and form a partnership. We then made samples and just walked in to several local stores to see how they liked our items and also had booths at many local shows. We now have a couple of reps who sell for us at markets and have about 40 stores in several states.

Clever Parents: Tell us about your products.
Jenn Griffith: We use the fabulous minky dot fabric in all of our items. We make four different sizes of blankets from an infant snuggle blanket to a large adult throw. We also make pillows, pillowcases, burp sets and soon to add a travel changing pad this summer. We are different from other blanket companies in the fact that we offer our products in so many different and unique colors. We have a total of 29 colors to choose from and we have chosen the most popular sets to choose from on the website. But we still do take custom orders for any combination. We offer personalization on any of our items as well to give it that little extra something that makes it a super gift.

Clever Parents: How do you and Amy come up with your ideas?
Jenn Griffith: If we made everything we brainstorm about we’d have a thousand products! Once we start thinking of things to add to our line our minds go crazy. We usually try out a sample or two on our own kids or friends and see how they like it. If it’s a hit we will take it to one of our shows and try it out and see what the customers think. So far all of the items we now have are very popular, especially since we have things for adults as well.

Clever Parents: What kind of handmade gifts did you make when you first started?
Jenn Griffith: I used to make some of my own clothes, growing up in the country I loved to make cute skirts that no one else had. Learning it at a young age definitely helped me make a prefect grade in Home Ec too! I always made handmade gifts for friends and family whether it was sewing something cute like pillows or using a glue gun to create photo books or putting together hair bows for me and my friends.

Clever Parents: What are your best selling items?
Jenn Griffith: It’s really hard to say! Lately the large throws have been selling great, but I think by far the best seller is the baby blankets. Since we offer them in 29 color choices we can match any room theme or color preference. And now that we are at the very end of the licensing approval for the University of Texas we are hoping that our custom made burnt orange will go flying off the shelves.

Clever Parents: What items have your children most enjoyed?
Jenn Griffith: My son sleeps with his blanket every single night, no exceptions. My daughter loves her blanket, but she most likes me to make her cute things for her dolls out of my scraps! And I absolutely love to curl up on my couch with my throw. Amy’s 2 daughters don’t sleep without their blankets and her husband will not sleep without his pillowcase!

Clever Parents: What’s next for Hopscotch Lane?
Jenn Griffith: The next big thing for us is being a part of Jayneoni’s Rockin’ Baby Boom Boom Room on June 2nd in Beverly Hills. We will be in her celebrity gifting suite handing out samples and information to the celebs coming through as well as the media and press she has attending. We are hoping to meet with some great boutiques while we are out there as well.

Clever Parents: When you’re not busy running a business and raising a family what do you like to do?
Jenn Griffith: I’m not sure, our days are usually a combination of both! I do love to get lost in a good book when I can find the time and we love to have a girls night out once a month to enjoy some good “me” time. I just started volunteering for the Central Texas Make A Wish Foundation’s room redecorating committee, which seems like it will be tons of fun helping to grant room makeover wishes.

“We love what we do and we love to create fun and unique gifts for people to enjoy. We love it that we have so many repeat customers who call on a regular basis to order baby gifts or Mother’s Day throws or just something for themselves to snuggle up with. We love that we have a product that people enjoy and even though being a mom is our main job, the recognition from the growth of our business is really awesome!

Learn more about Hopscotch Lane’s beautiful blankets and gifts at www.hopscotchlane.com.
Jenn Griffith (pictured right) is a Clever Parent to Emma, 4, Cooper, 2, and is expecting baby #3 in a few months. Amy Struhall (pictured left) is a Clever Parent to Makayla, 4, and Hayley, 1.

Visit Hopscotch Lane at www.hopscotchlane.com.