From Sailboats to Stationery: A Chat with Jenni, co-founder of E. Frances

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March 16, 2025 By Tory Reiff|art inspiration

You spent years sailing the world—what were you doing and how did that experience shape your perspective in building the E. Frances brand?

How fun to answer these questions! Well, it was a lifetime ago, so let me try to remember… there was definitely a lot of rum, dermatologist-shamed tan skin, and wildly gorgeous places. Except for one extremely ill-fitting position of stewardess, I was a deckhand on some insane private sailing yachts. Which means we cleaned, sailed, then cleaned again. It was all awesome.

Sailors are known for their superstitions—any good ones from your sailing days that stuck with you?

I will definitely never be able to whistle on a boat ever again, that’s a definite no-no, and not just a superstition, you will make the wind ANGRY! I’ve seen it! Wait… does that make me superstitious??

Sailing and entrepreneurship both come with unexpected challenges. What’s a lesson from your time at sea that helps you steer the business through rough waters?

Adjust, adjust adjust. In sailing or in running a business. When you arrive in a new harbor that has no San Pellegrino, you panic, then adjust. When you order a massive amount of product and there is a defect, you whistle into the wind because you can, and then you adjust. And you learn that life is never smooth… and stress arrives when you expect it to be. If you know things are going to be bumpy, you’ll have a much easier, more peaceful time getting through any of the challenges that come up.

Yacht crews have to work together seamlessly—how has that experience shaped the way you lead and collaborate at E. Frances?

Have you ever seen an episode of Below Decks? The only thing seamless is the drama! Kidding, I was actually never on a charter boat like that. But you are right, when actually sailing, a crew has to work together, and the best way absolutely was calm communication. In other words, no yelling. I’d say the only time for yelling on a boat is if you’re about to crash or see whales. The only time for yelling in a work place is when a certain someone in shipping sets up pranks to scare the living daylights out of you.

You could’ve built this business anywhere. Why was Newport the perfect harbor for E. Frances to call home?

I arrived in Newport on a boat, and realized how unique and awesome it is here. It’s ocean-y. And farm-y. And New England-y, which feels like home (go sox). And sailing is at the heart of Newport for sure, but then you realize how much more is here, and how awesome the people are. And somehow, we found the best of them all to be part of our E. Framily.

Spending years on the water, you must have seen the impact of plastic pollution firsthand. What did you witness, and how has that shaped E. Frances Paper’s commitment to reducing plastic in packaging and business practices?

Oh jeez louise… how many pages do you want me to write?! I can, and often do, go down the rabbit hole of plastic pollution depression. When you’re sailing across an ocean and see the amount of plastic, it hits hard. It has affected me deeply and really plays into every decision we make at E. Frances. It is very difficult to run a consumer goods business and try to eliminate plastic, but we are trying. We saw huge success when we stopped using a plastic sleeve on every greeting card. It is now our norm, and wonderfully accepted, but when we started 90% of the feedback was negative. People are so addicted to plastic protecting their goods, but we hope that change is coming, in this industry and others.

What is it with ocean animals in striped sweaters?

The brilliance of our artist, who one day just painted it for cute factor. And we know if the three owners (who are all so different) like something, it will be a winner. We love that Frankie in her magical sweater, and our Moms taught us to share and share alike, so… stripes for everyone!