We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Janara Banks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Janara, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I absolutely wish I started my creative career sooner. Creativity is in my DNA, always has been. But I also loved science and for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor so I went to school on that path. By my junior year of college at Howard University, my heart was no longer drawn to science but I wasn’t being pulled in any other direction either. I just knew I was in the wrong space. Down the road I stumbled onto graphic design and received my Bachelors and then my MBA in Marketing. I worked for a few years with the Chicago Catholic schools and then 10 years in HR. I was always their creative go to, which were the best moments in these positions but I was so unfulfilled. Even with a boutique graphic design business, I needed to work with my hands. I always wonder if just one person that knew me in high school told me to think about art as a career, if I would have taken that and run with it. When I see old friends now, no one is surprised that I’m in the art space. I wish I had found my creative career sooner because this feeling of fulfillment would have been met a long time ago. But, I don’t regret any of the path I’ve taken to get where I am today. I’ve met some amazing people along the way who I’m able to share my fulfilled space with.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

HI! I’m Janara, Master Designer and Owner of Sili+Bells. I was born in Harlem, NY and raised in Chicago, IL. I in 2001. I have a Bachelors in Visual Communications with a concentration in Graphic Design and an MBA in Marketing. Collectively I spent ten years in Corporate America both as the Director of Corporate Affairs as well as the Director of Public Relations and Marketing for companies in the Insurance industry. I have an extensive knowledge base in Human Resources and Marketing. I started my first company, Jais-lnk, in 2007 a boutique graphic design firm with a niche in corporate branding. I am married and a mom to five amazing children.

Sili+Bells, named after my daughters Silina and Isabella, started in 2017 when my oldest lost her second pair of Sterling silver earrings. Aggravated at the cost of replacing one lost earring for two children and the lack of variety of the “safe metal” earrings available for little girls, I ventured out to see if I could make some. And. Sili+Bells. Was. Born. My son Nico, 6 at the time, didn’t want to be left out so I made stretch bracelets as well. I’ve always been crafty and very artistic so this was right up my alley. Although I’m a graphic designer, working with my hands instead of staring at a computer screen all day felt amazing. This inspired me to start this business and push my creativity further than I could have imagined.

In 2018, I made the decision to move from heavier-weighted bead earrings to a lighter option because your ears and their health are extremely important to me. I experimented with several different fabrics, that I found around the house, before selecting the wonderful worlds of leather and denim. Since I started with repurposed fabric I wanted to maintain that as a core part of who we are. We strive to be as eco-friendly as possible. 85% of the materials we use for products and shipping are either repurposed or recyclable. In addition to this, we plant trees in your name with every purchase. And thus, Sili+Bells evolved into a sustainable company for women, children and men.

Sili+Bells offers handcrafted jewelry that is created primarily from upcycled leather and denim. I still work with beads: precious, semi-precious and fun, funky styles because beads are where we started. My goal is to provide fun, vibrant, eco-chic and lightweight jewelry so you’ll feel amazing while being green because you can look good, feel good and do good all at the same time. I create earrings, bracelets, necklaces and accessories. Sili+Bells has a collection inspired by me and the art around me. But I also love creating unique and one-of-a-kind designs on request.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect, for me, of being an artist is seeing the joy on someone’s face from something I’ve created with my hands. I make A LOT of jewelry and accessories and I fall in love with every single piece. When someone else falls in love with a piece I was inspired to create but not keep, I understand my why- and it’s pretty magical.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I am an artist as well as a small business owner. I think one of the biggest obstacles we face is funding whether trying to scale, buy new equipment or turn brick and mortar to. We always hear, look for grants or get a loan, which is great if you can and know where to look for them. I’m a researcher by nature. I’ll sit for hours, days, weeks and search for what I need- and then hope it’s reputable. Then I found Hello Alice in 2021. Hello Alice is a group that brings vetted funding opportunities to small businesses and artists. You can look at grants, loans, lines of credit and they offer workshops. You apply and do it all from their site so everything is in one place all the time. They are definitely a game changer and I wish I knew about them earlier in my journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://silibells.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/silibellsbeadbar
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/silibellsbeadbar
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/silibells

Image Credits
N/A I’ve taken and own all images and credits