We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chae’ Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Chae’ thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I was about five or six when I first knew I wanted to do something creative. It wasn’t until after high school that I believe that I could pursue a creative path professionally. I was always doing little shows for my family and friends. Wanting to see them smile. I remember I was watching a show on tv at a young age, it was my favorite show. The way a co-star delivered a particular line just rubbed me the wrong way. I thought that I could’ve said that line better, and in a sense the seed was planted. Being a content creator wasn’t something I had considered before but I found it was another way I could hone my skills.
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 grew up in a small town where we didn’t have a drama club. Our school was more focused on building the sports program than the arts. I got interested in the entertainment industry because I fell in love with the art of storytelling. I wanted to be a part of that art and share in telling those stories to help the next young person the same way that it had helped me. I was always curious about how things were made. I filmed my first feature film during Covid as a supporting character. titled, “Lynnwood High”. It’s a coming of age story and it was a lot of to film. I also filmed the live action film of a voice acting fan series that is available to watch on YouTube. Becoming a content creator was at first something to do during the pandemic, yet something I really thrust myself into doing when I discovered I really enjoyed it. I have always been the person who has diverse interest and wanting to learn and do as much as I could.
Creating a platform for myself that allows me to embrace all my interests is something I’m very proud of because for the longest time it didn’t seem like that could be possible. My goal has always been to stay true to myself, make you laugh when I can, educate you from time to time on things you may not know about, a show or a movie, and just continue to love what I do.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am pivoting my content to stand in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA in their strike for fair pay, job security, protections of their work and likeness against artificial intelligence, having health insurance,and, and the ongoing disparities that has grown due to streaming among other demands. I have goals to one day join these unions and I can’t thank them enough for fighting for not only their members but for future members who will one day be apart of them. I will not be posting any videos promoting any movies or shows from struck companies. My content will continue to report on strike news, make educational videos in regards to how past media was affected by strikes of the past as well as the present. I will also explore my love of books, musical theatre, and make more skits. I have a multi-niche page so I’ll be able to share more of my interests with my audience.
For all the magic, all the tears, and the ability to bring us into worlds we’d only ever dream of, the members of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA deserve to have a livable wage.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I am still amazed at how far I’ve come on social media when I started to focus on doing content creation and figuring out what I wanted to do. I thought I’d focus on just one aspect because I’ve always loved it but as time went on I had to remember that I have never fit into a box no matter how many times people tried to put me in one. Why should my content be any different? I built my audience by being authentically me. It turns out that people really enjoy that. This journey has not been easy but I love what I do. I also plan doing a little more cosplay content because I really have fun with it.
My advice for those just starting to build their presence is to do the things that makes you happy in regards to your content. If you love knitting, books, dancing, etc show that. Don’t be afraid to only do one thing with your content. Eventually, people who enjoy the same things will see it, and they’ll follow you. Find friends that will mention your name in rooms they are in because they want to see you succeed as much as themselves.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspoonfulofchae/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-lBdQT7CUXrZqg_HosbACg
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@aspoonfulofchae
Image Credits
Still from Lynnwood High Jacob Buber *All other images taken with cellphone*