Balgownie couple Demelza Haines and husband Adam Murphy have had great success since publishing their first children's book Jenkins the Hare last year. Their books and products are now stocked in over 80 stores across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, while they’ve just released their second installment of the Welly's Wonders series titled Morgan the Mischievous.
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The books, cards and prints have been flying off the shelves, especially in the UK. The characters’ names were based on Murphy’s Welsh heritage, which Haines said “struck a chord” with people.
One stockist in Cambridge recently placed a large order, as customer’s kept buying the prints when she was trying to hang them on the walls of her store.
“Everyone seems to be going crazy over them,” said Haines.
She was also amazed by the huge response from locals at the recent Wild Rumpus Maker’s Market held at the Wollongong Town Hall.
“People like buying stuff locally, they’re very supportive of that,” she said.
The success of the products is also a boost for the Illawarra economy as they are completely produced from start to finish in the region.
“I like to try and keep things as local as possible at the moment … and also you build relationships with people here too,” said Haines.
The second book was released late November, and follows the story of Morgan the bunny whose great desire is to become a pirate. It follows his adventure with a treasure map and teaches the reader the importance of love, kindness, friendship and home.
The original idea was to create cute characters for children’s clothing, which has still eventuated, but the books have taken precedence.
“We’re pivoting business plans,” said Haines. “We’re just focusing on trying to get a book out a year at the moment, so hopefully have another one out for Christmas next year.”
The entire series is already planned in Haines’ head, though producing the books has become quite a lengthy process.
“Poor Adam is working on the Lego Movie full time in Sydney, so he’ll get home at eight or nine o’clock at night then go into the studio and illustrate the book,” she said. “The only time Adam and I get to see each other is when we’re working together.”
The brand has grown so quickly the couple are trying to keep up with demand with ideas to also produce plush toys, book bags and bookmarks. While Haines believes there will always be a place for books in the digital age because nothing beats the feeling of turning each page one by one.