Jen's Story

JTEESinc founder Jen O'Flynn Irish native living in Spain

After 26 years of financial services and a lifetime of travelling all over the world, JTEESinc founder, Jen O’Flynn swapped high heels and suits for shorts and flip flops, the London city buzz for a laid-back beach life.

What began as one of those crazy “one day I wish I could” remarks in a casual conversation, 3 years later had become reality, when Jen and partner Geoff, moved from a little town near London to a far corner of Andalucia, Spain.

where we live

Mojacar Pueblo, famous white village on the foothills of the Sierra Cabrera mountains overlooking Mojacar beach resort

Mojácar Playa, Almería (Spain)

Irish born, I grew up in Cork and spent childhood summers on the beach in Crookhaven, a tiny village on the South Coast of Ireland. It's mystic and wild and steeped in history, and in that sense, moving to this part of Spain has bought my life full circle. For the first time in almost 40 years, I can again wake to the sound of waves crashing on the seashore.

perfect start to the day

Opening the shutters on the balcony facing the ocean as the sun comes up. Never an early morning person, I'm now addicted to seeing the sunrise over the sea.

View of sunrise over the mediterranean ocean from the bedroom terrace of a beach house in Mojacar, Andalucia Spain

Then it's a freshly brewed coffee…critical, before settling down in front of BBC News in English. followed by some yoga stretches on the roof terrace. That to me, is the perfect start to my day.

inspiration behind JTEESinc

We feel incredibly lucky to live in this tiny corner of Spain.

Birds eye view of Mojacar pueblo, world famous Spanish white village, where the Moors surrendered to Christians in 1488

It’s stunningly beautiful, but there is little opportunity for work here. That said, we are fortunate to have reliable Internet, which is not always something many can rely on here, so that was the basis for some brain storming.

Secondly, as a child I was programmed to believe I had no creative talent. While it's true I’m not the world's next Picasso or Dali, I know colour, love design, and the idea of streetwear prints communicating who you are and what's important to you, excites me. JTEESinc allows me to combine all that, make a living, and live on the beach. #livingmybestlife

what motivates you

Definitely our insta #jteeandme programme - seeing selfies of people from all over the world wearing JTEESinc designs, looking happy and feeling inspired. I'm fascinated to hear where they are from. We want to give away FREE TEES every month, click the link to find out how…

my favourite design?

Wow! That's like asking a Mom to choose a favourite child!!! Truthfully, I love them all, though some do hold a particularly special place in my heart. PEACE, LOVE, FREEDOM, Inspirational Affirmations and Plastic Sucks ! are each aligned to worthy causes important to me.

young red hair latina girl wearing a denim jacket and black t-shirt with JTEESinc single use plastic sucks graphic print

Designing for these collections gives an extra dimension to my work. And, it was a no-brainer to give back. So a portion of profits from these collections go to charities and organisations who support these causes too.

best part of running my own business

Designing is exciting. Seeing an idea come to life and having the freedom to run with my imagination, with no one to say I can't. If I think it's a good idea, the buck stops with me. I have notebooks full of TEE design ideas. It’s getting the time to develop them all. Working for myself also gives me the freedom to live where I love. So in a word, I would say the best part of running own business is freedom.

the hardest part

taking a deep breath having released a new design, never knowing if it's going to take off or not. But I hope if I like it, somebody else out there will too. It's a question of me making sure you all can find me and jteesinc.com

so what's next for JTEESinc

Keep designing. Definitely develop more collections aligned to worthy causes. We are after all ‘inspirational print design with a social conscience’. It is a real priority.

I would also like to go multilingual on our site. Spanish first, of-course! And, I want to target markets like India and Brazil. From what I've experienced of these cultures, I think they might really tune into how we use colour.

what we do for fun

Summer here in Andalucia, is the best time. Each week, there's a village Fiesta or Fería, summer is a time for celebration and Spanish culture celebrates BIG!

Mojácar 2019 Moors and Christians annual fiesta poster, featuring a woman in costume with elaborate headdress and makeup

Every weekend, we head to the beach. It can get up to 40 C (104 F) quite often, so the cool sea breeze and a dip every now and then is a must.

Some days, if we need to step back from our PCs and clear our heads, it’s ‘roof down and wind in your hair’.

Selfie of Jen and Geoff of JTEESinc Mojacar against the backdrop of playa de los Muertos beach Almeria Andalucia Spain

We love to drive out to any one of the amazing places all around us. Here are just a few - Playa de los Muertos | beach in the background of the pic above, Tabernas Desert | home of the spaghetti western, Agua Amarga | village on the beach, Rodalquiler | once gold mines, now uber-cool art village, or Mojácar and Bédar pueblos | 500+ year old Moorish White Villages, typically built on top of very steep mountains with stunning views out to the sea.

but tonight....we are off to FLAMENCO!!!