We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chloe Kono. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chloe below.

Chloe, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I have always given myself a hard time about the time I “wasted” before I made up my mind to pursue my working artist lifestyle. When things aren’t smooth, or when it’s simply one of those self-doubting days, I would get hung up on the idea of how much more progress I would have made by now. I would imagine that I must be a lot more “successful” all together. What I have come to realize, however, is that even if I did gather enough courage to start being my own boss earlier, I would not have the tools I have today. And by tools, I am referring to the skill in my craft, the knowledge of the business side of the field, the connection I have built with peers and venues, and most importantly, the trust and confidence in my own abilities. So even though the short answer to this question might be “yes, I wish I have started sooner.”, I truly am thankful for being exactly where I am at right now.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I fell into the metalsmithing scene completely by accident! I was taking a break from drawing and painting, which I thought was going to be my major when I started my Bachelor of Fine Art degree at CSULB. I took one beginning metalsmithing class and the head of the metal program saw my potential in the media and invited me to take more classes and consider to be a major. I was so fascinated by the material, I felt like a wide eyed little kid who didn’t want the party to end in every single metal class I took. After college, due to space and equipment limitation, I naturally geared toward jewelry in stead of continuing down the sculpture route, but soon learned that my creativity actually connected with wearable art even more.
A decade and a half later, with detours and all, I am now creating whimsical artisan jewelry, with the intention of lifting people’s spirit up. I mostly make things that make myself smile, and aspire to spread the joy of my making to other quirky souls. I enjoy creating my own collections, as well as designing for my clients and bringing their visions alive. I believe that we all crave primitive and genuine connection with others and the idea of my work being ice breakers and conversation starters brightens up my day.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Being a small (tiny, really) business owner means that I am wearing a million hats. Having no base pay could sometimes bring on so much pressure that I would feel guilty to take a day off. I have overworked myself without understanding what that was doing to my body, until the aftermath showed up in the form of tendonitis. My doctor has advised me to take a month break so that my hands can heal properly and I realized that I did not know what to do with my own limbs without my work! Deeply loving what I do has made the line between work and play very blurry. I am currently learning how to be patient, and finding the right balance in between my ambition and my physical and mental needs. They say, “if you don’t make the time to rest, your body will make it for you.” I am experiencing exactly that, and I am unlearning the idea of productivity = worth.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Generally speaking, if everybody can be a little more mindful about how they spend their money, it would make a huge difference. Sure it is convenience to order everything online from we all know who, but not caring where the products come from or how they are made is a very ostrich-in-the-sand way of living. I think we are better than that, but we do sometimes choose convenience over quality or uniqueness. I don’t think it has to be as extreme as buying everything from local artists and eating every meal at mom and pops. But how about a little more of that whenever we can? And how about paying a tiny little more so that we are supporting the people who are giving it all, instead of paying less and actually helping to send a millionaire to the moon?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chloeography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloeography/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/chloeography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloeography/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chloeography/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chloeographybychloekono2613
• Other: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chloeography Wholesale: https://www.faire.com/direct/chloeography

Image Credits
All images owned by Chloeography