A 2022 reflection.

WE’VE BEEN FEATURING AND PHOTOGRAPHING MEMBERS OF GENUINE JERSEY FOR OUR ‘GENUINE ARTICLES’ AND ‘CRAFTY ISLANDERS’ FEATURES FOR ALMOST TEN YEARS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING YOU MORE IN 2023 AND THIS MONTH JOHN GARTON , CEO OF GENUINE JERSEY, LOOKS BACK AT SUCCESSES OF LAST YEAR.

We’re sure we’re not alone when we say the simple summary of Genuine Jersey’s 2022 was… busy! If we’re honest there’s never a year that isn’t. Much in part due to the number of Members whose interests we represent, currently more than 180; a figure which has continued to increase throughout the last few years, with several people still sharing stories of being inspired to change their lives because of the pandemic. There are some people who go as far as leaving their successful careers in the finance industry to become full-time makers, creators, or producers.

We offer our Members a great deal more than just the opportunity to use the Genuine Jersey mark on their qualifying products, we are also on hand to provide them advice and support with developing their businesses. They are also all offered the opportunity to feature in several local publications (including this one!) and take part in our Meet the Member video series, which are filmed by local company Slingshot and are made possible thanks to the financial support we receive from Evelyn Partners, our Patron (we’re always on the lookout for new Patrons or Sponsors!). We have produced more than 70 videos now, each telling the story of the Member and their product. If you’ve not seen any of them, you can find a full library on our social media channels, Facebook and Instagram. We love working with Slingshot Films on the videos, as they cleverly ease the Members' nerves to bring their stories to life. It's incredibly special to see.

We also, throughout the summer months, organised a number of artisan markets in St Aubin, and last year we also did three weekends the Royal Square, in order to bring our Members into St Helier. We currently have ten markets planned for this summer and the first of those will be in St Aubin on Saturday 22nd April, a full list of the dates and locations will be available on our website and, of course, we will also post them on our social media channels.

We couldn’t share a round-up of 2022 without mentioning perhaps the most prestigious of all the accolades received by our Chairman Jim Hopley, who in December was finally able to collect the MBE which had been awarded to him by the late Queen in her last ever New Year’s Honours list, for his support of local causes.

Other success stories for 2022 include Jersey Sea Salt making an appearance on an episode of the BBC’s Countryfile programme.

The Le Maistre Family continue to delight us with the creative ways they encourage people to visit them down at Master Farms in Grouville. This year saw them embracing Halloween with a Pumpkin Patch where you could ‘pick your own pumpkin’, dig your own potatoes or find your way through the maize maze. They are such excellent advocates for the local farming community, we can’t wait to see what 2023 brings. Congratulations must also go to Chris Le Masurier of Jersey Oyster Co. on his Institute of Directors win at the end of last year.

On a final note, if there are any businesses out there who might be considering their sponsorship options for the year ahead and would like to talk about ways we might be able to work together, we’d love to speak to them. We like to think we offer a fantastic way to align with a genuinely Jersey project, which goes on to support the island. We really couldn’t do what we do for our Members without the support of our Sponsors.

www.genuinejersey.je

Our crafty islanders are drawn from the ranks of Genuine Jersey, the organisation that supports local producers who create products on the island. Learn more about the organisation and how you could become a member and get featured here in future at www.genuinejersey.com