Children’s wear wholesaler Welly’s Wonders has published its first illustrated book, ‘Jenkins the Hare’, featuring the brand’s first character.
Welly’s Wonders is run by husband and wife team Adam Murphy and Demelza Haines, who collaborated on the book. Murphy, an animator for Disney, did the illustrations while Haines wrote the text, which is the story of Jenkins who is on a quest to find his missing scarf.
“Everyone went crazy for the book,” says Haines. “It’s such a beautiful addition to our range that we’re so proud of and it makes the most wonderful gift for nearly any occasion.
“The story really represents everything that Welly’s Wonders is about—love, friendship, kindness and adventure. We wanted to write a very simple and gentle tale that would be suitable and accessible for all ages.”
The duo launched the book along with four new prints and cards featuring their whimsical animal characters at Life Instyle Sydney, where they enjoyed meeting stockists and spending some time together.
“Adam’s currently working on the next instalment of the Lego Movie franchise so a lot of our creative or business conversations take place whilst stacking the dishwasher, dressing a toddler, and packing away Duplo blocks,” says Haines.
“That was one of the nicest things about the Life Instyle expo, it was the longest we’ve got to spend together for months and we got so much work done.”
Haines is currently in the midst of writing the next three Welly Wonder’s books, with one expected to be released later this year, and the pair is also working on a new series of prints that will be debuted at Melbourne Life Instyle in August.
Since starting the business in 2013, Haines says it has snowballed and they have been overwhelmed by the positive response. “I guess it’s a testament to how amazingly talented Adam is, to bring these characters to life and give them such personality.
“Now we’re on this brilliant ride, we just keep trying our best to produce new creative work while keeping true to ourselves, our characters and our brand’s motto: Love. Be Kind. Imagine.”
Haines is also proud to run an Australian-made business, with all print work done near their home in the Illawarra region. “We try and keep it as local as possible. It’s nice to see retailers supporting creative Australian brands.”
