UPDATE: From October 14, 2020, Playfully Grownup home has been closed for business. Thank you for your interest and support; I wish you all the best!

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Playfully Grownup Home is a limited run and one-of-a-kind textiles company, owned and operated by Eppu Jensen. Each item is designed and handmade in my Massachusetts workroom. The designs combine functionality with my two long-time loves: saturated colors and geekiness.

The motivation for my company is two-pronged. On one hand, I believe that loving our homes and surroundings contributes to our well-being; on the other, that cultivating playfulness, creativity, curiosity and humor improves the quality of our lives. This attitude is also reflected in the Playfully Grownup motto: Because Fun Keeps You Young.

Playfulness is an inclination to think in novel, flexible, creative and humorous ways. Playing and playfulness are most often associated with children, but they should not be excluded from the adult life. Creative activities such as puzzles or art have been linked to flexibility and increased cognitive capacity in older adults. Closely connected with creativity are intellectual curiosity, lifelong learning, playfulness and humor. For me, geeky interests and hobbies are a natural extension of playfulness.

Although hugely popular works such as Game of Thrones, Doctor Who or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have brought nerdy interests into the mainstream, they still carry a social stigma. I want to contribute to a world where being a geek and being a grownup are, in fact, not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, I believe that the more mutually respectful, diverse, and inclusive our society is, the more we all benefit.

About Eppu

The brain, hands and heart behind Playfully Grownup Home is me, Eppu Jensen. Sewing is my favorite creative outlet at the moment. There’s nothing quite like taking a stack of raw materials and turning it into a beautiful, practical item!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to creative activities and science fiction and fantasy. I love stories, both on paper (books, comics) and on the screen (movies, TV series, games). I love visuals and organizing: arranging, styling and taking photographs; I dabble with drawing. There are also many other things I love to do, and I want to keep trying new things. I love blogging (fifteen years, still going strong!) and sharing both funny and meaningful things in social media. I love languages, early history, Anglo-Saxons, Jane Austen, textiles and textile history, music, art, puzzles and games, and SF/F. I love spring and saturated colors, especially blue.

Outside the creative field, I am a linguist turned librarian. I have a Master of Arts degree in English Philology, and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science. I have over 30 years of combined professional and volunteer experience in retail, library and non-profit settings.

In the summer of 2013, I decided to concentrate on my own creative business. Now I am the owner, designer, driver, creator, photographer, stylist, writer and general all-round worker for it. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to start on my own.