“It helped re-frame myself and how the industry sees us" Storymix founder Jasmine Richards on how Reframe made change easy
What do you do if you spot a glaring issue in your chosen sector? If you’re children’s publishing professional Jasmine Richards, you start trying to fix it. “When my son was five, we were in a bookshop in the five to eight section and the shelf was so white,” says Richards, remembering the moment that inspired a new career path. “I felt furious but also angry with myself because having worked in publishing for 15 years at that point, I had been involved in making lots of those books. That’s where the idea for Storymix came from.”
Founded in 2019, Storymix is an inclusive production studio helping publishers boost the number of diverse titles they release each year. By pairing pre-packaged stories with new writers from under-represented groups, the company has already seen great success. Today, Richards’ Watford-based studio shares its stories via a multitude of mediums - and thanks to some key pivot advice gleaned via our Creative Enterprise Reframe scheme, it’s ready to take the next step via a recently-launched Kickstarter. However, as Richards tells us, it all started with the written word.
“I have experience as an author, screenwriter, editor and packager so I had all these skills that could change the bookshelf,” explains Richards, speaking to us after her Reframe experience. “I had a moment of clarity where I thought ‘I could write one book a year or I could start a business whose sole purpose and mission is to create opportunities for black and brown writers and centre black and brown characters in adventure stories.”
Adventure is the operative word. Fun is front and centre in all of Storymix’s varied output, with each story prioritising creativity over things like trauma. Using editorial packaging, a process where fresh ideas are transformed into complete stories by a team of experts before being assigned to a new writer, Richards could deliver this concept at scale. “I knew I could take that formula, which lets us hold onto IP because we’ve come up with the characters and world, and specifically commission writers and illustrators of colour to bring them to life.”
Despite having the experience and a strong central goal, Richards’ horizons were broadened when she joined the Creative Enterprise Reframe cohort in early 2025. This intensive programme of founder support helps entrepreneurs identify new business models and revenue sources, while building bespoke creative strategies that future-proof their endeavours.
“It really made it clear to me that I needed to stop thinking about myself as just a book packager,” admits Richards of how her time on a previous Creative UK scheme helped open her eyes to Storymix’s full potential. “I was referring to Storymix as a ‘book packager’ but what we actually were was a storytelling house. We could be more agnostic about how our stories might take their form. Our mission remains the same,” she adds, “but books didn’t always have to be the first iteration of these stories.”
With Reframe, Richards became part of an eclectic group of creators who were all in pivot mode. Through one-on-one mentoring and coaching sessions, Reframe helped Richards make creative changes quicker while ensuring her choices were optimised for long-term success. “Reframe felt perfect,” she tells us on her decision to join the programme. “It’s been very helpful for reframing myself and what I do, and also what Storymix does and how people in the industry can see us as more than just a book packager.”
Her time on the course also let her gain a better understanding of her target audience and the content they currently digest. “Understanding that the landscape is so different to what it was was a big thing that I took away from Reframe,” she says, highlighting the new ways kids consume media and realising that delivering written-word stories is still possible in the age of YouTube via subtitles. “We’ve got to meet them where they are and still get them reading and consuming quality storytelling.”
While the coaching sessions she received left Richards feeling like she had ideas “leaking out of [her] ears,” the supportive nature of her fellow cohort members proved to be just as invaluable. “We’re on a WhatsApp group,” she smiles. “If I have a specific question about something, I feel like I’ve got a group of people I could go to who are very supportive - and not competitive.”
However, perhaps Reframe’s most useful tool was the emphasis it placed on the long-term - or third horizon - element of Storymix’s own narrative. It’s something that’s easily overshadowed by day-to-day business tasks. “Reframe forced me out of the office to have several days sitting in that third horizon space,” reasons Richards. “The Kickstarter is a direct result of [that]. You never make time for it so it was really helpful. It’s how companies remain relevant and survive.”
