Heather Fuller’s nifty ideas

Heather Fuller’s friends know she’s the ultimate gift-giver. They also say she can sell salt to a slug, so it’s no surprise that her business, Jifts —’making jars the perfect gifts’— is doing so well.

It was in November 2014 that the idea was born. Fuller was shopping for a friend’s baby shower and wanted something unique.

“Everyone is used to the usual stuff but I wanted something genuinely unique, yet cost effective. I had no idea what sort of gift I wanted to get her and so I went out looking. I was walking in one of the supercentres in town and saw a jar. My first thought was that it could make an excellent gift idea.”

She said she bought the jar then sought to make it look pretty. And when she presented her gift to her friend at the baby shower, everyone was in awe.

“…Then the requests began coming in,” she said.

With December right around the corner, Fuller quickly set up shop for her jars. One month rolled into another and soon she was preparing for Valentine’s Day in February.

With her gifts having functionality, in that they can be kept as souvenirs, the appeal of the jars has heightened significantly.

“I remember I did a Jift for a client’s husband. He loved that jar so much that he took it everywhere he went. Every party her attended, he took it with him. The jar was customised and so he felt a special attachment to the jar. My client laughs and tells me that now he goes to parties not just for the parties, but to show off his jar.”

Though Jifts is currently in its infancy, Fuller is wholeheartedly dedicated to growing the business.

“I really do believe in the concept. I find that everyone is tired of the usual gifts; they want something totally unique, something customised. I really believe that I have found a niche market.”

Focused on concluding more projects, and expanding the colour scheme of her offerings, Fuller, with help from her friend Georgette Russell, wants to move from just doing baby showers.

“I want to also do bachelorette parties, weddings, and I want to break into the party scene,” she said.

“Ultimately I know that I want to own my own business and so that is what I am currently working on.”

An only child, Fuller spent most of her life in Portmore, St Catherine.

The Wolmer’s old girl had an innate hustler mentality and was inspired by her mother growing up.

“She was from a very humble background. Starting from little to nothing, she got a Government job and she managed to work her way up in the organisation. My mother invested everything she had in us to ensure that we had a better life than she did, and for that I am very grateful,” she said.

She said her dad was also quite supportive of her endeavours, often providing encouragement when she needed it the most.

While a student at the University of the West Indies, the entrepreneurial bug bit Fuller and from then there was no turning back.

She would sell phone cards to students on campus as a means of supplementing her income at the time.

“I started out with the physical phone cards until I came to the point where I was able to get a machine,” she said.

With the machine in hand, Fuller was able to take her business to the next level. Sales soared as she was able to target a wider demographic off campus.

Fuller studied psychology and human resource management at the bachelors level after which she went straight into the master’s programme where she completed her master in business administration.