ABOUT ME
Jenni and Eve at our 60th Birthday!!
Sew Jenni Retreats
About Me
My name is Jenni Domansky, this is my story.
Since 2013, my family has owned a caravan park and motel complex in Swan Hill, Victoria. The pandemic was really challenging for our business; state lockdowns mandated by the Victorian Government forced us to shut down again and again, for what turned out to be an all up total of approximately 12 months. We are slowly returning to our pre-pandemic occupancy levels, but progress is gradual.
In May 2021, my husband Roman retired and joined me in Swan Hill. Our goal was to unwind, step back, and enjoy a tranquil life. For many years, I managed the park alone while Roman stayed in Melbourne with our daughters for their schooling. (We homeschooled our girls)
I realized early on that I would need a hobby to help fill my time for me to effectively be able to step back.
After seven years of working mostly solo and being on call around the clock, I needed an activity, something I could do that would give me time to create, while still being close to our Reception. I chose machine embroidery, inspired by my cousin Eve’s years of experience.
Not long after acquiring a second-hand embroidery machine late in August 2021, I was diagnosed with Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma. Within three weeks, I had undergone over 12 hours of lifesaving surgery and was in the ICU. Almost three weeks of being alone in hospital during the pandemic was unbearably lonely and overwhelming.
The journey to recovery has been long, accompanied by daily ongoing permanent side effects from the surgery that I am still trying my best to learn to manage and live with. I had my stomach, oesophagus and part of my left collar bone taken as part of the surgery that saved my life. Losing part of my collarbone has left considerable pain in my shoulder when sewing, and I struggle daily with extreme swelling and pain in my neck after eating or drinking. None of this pain and swelling will ever go away, but considering the aggressive nature and generally low survival rates associated with Oesophageal Cancer, I feel immensely fortunate and truly grateful to still be here with my family.
Moving forward, I plan to embrace life wholeheartedly, with awareness, joy and thankfulness.
Prioritizing my recovery, it was six months before I was able to even touch my new (to me) Brother Machine and start machine embroidering in February 2022. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed delving into this new passion! I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole and I’m loving every minute!
Recently, I’ve also ventured into bag making, a skill I wanted to learn. Following an unsuccessful and disappointing attempt to organize a bag-making retreat in 2023 with an experienced instructor, I’ve decided, one year later to run my own retreats from 2024. I offer Basic Beginner Bag Making Retreats, aimed at introducing the elements and techniques that can be used in more advanced bag-making. We will be working primarily with vinyl and faux leather. I adore the look and feel of vinyl and faux leather. Everyone will complete multiple projects and have lots of finished items to take home.
These retreats are run at or below my cost. Running a 24/7 business requires my presence onsite for most of the week. Our personal goal for Roman and myself, remains, (now more than ever) to step back and enjoy a quieter, more tranquil life together. We have this wonderful facility here at Hilltop Resort, so for me, offering these retreats is my way of meeting new people and getting to work with like-minded crafters and create beautiful things and spend time together. The retreats allow me to be here onsite, at the park, doing what I need to do, and they also allow me to be doing what I WANT TO DO. I think of it as a win win for me!
I get to MEET people! I get to spend time with people! My purpose is to share the knowledge and skills I’ve acquired. To do that, I’ll be focusing on teaching basic, beginner techniques. The aim is to learn and have FUN!!
I also will continue to run Machine Embroidery Retreats. I will also host a Christmas Retreat annually, it will be a Christmas Machine Embroidery Retreat where we will all make a large Kreative Kiwi Christmas Design.