We recently connected with Jade and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jade thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name pretty people just came to me one day honestly. For months I went through a multitude of different brand names and concepts. Often with the premise of turning the negative into a positive. It felt like I was throwing paint at the wall. By asking friends, family, and strangers about the brands they use in their day to day lives I was able to gain some glimpse of clarity on the direction I was headed as a artist & entrepreneur. Simplicity is the intention. Researching the inception of brands apple, nike, HMBL, A24, McDonalds, & etc. I was able to understand the perspective of the not just the owner but consumer as well. By starting off 2024 immobile due to knee injury I had nothing but time to think about my life and what I wanted to convey. Realizing this conviction stems from depths of my childhood and teen years growing up South Philly. Taking SEPTA and seeing those whose fell victim to opioids I started to understand at a young age that life is truly about perspective. All people truly want is to feel seen and to be heard. Humanity. Or at the very least seeing the humanity in others is what sparked the name of the brand. pretty people in its minimalistic form represents the sonder & absurdity that life has to offer.
Jade, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Prior to focusing primarily on cinematography & photography I was mainly making music and attend college amidst the pandemic. Due to bored started looking into new hobbies I came across street photography videos and film analysis. It started with a polaroid camera and some friends. My mother saw that I was interested and had a eye for photography bought me my first camera for my birthday. All I had was the kit lens and an sd card or two. On an empty campus I started taking pictures of the wild life and some of my friends at the time. I had no intentions of really showing any of my work. During my last year of college 2022-2023 I was attending a fashion show at my school and I ran into Malcolm Savage who happened to be one of the designers in the show as I walked into the auditorium. We had a great conversation and he invited me to my first official photo shoot. There I got into fashion, portraits, and video. By learning these skills I am able to provide my clients with a well rounded approach to their marketing and campaigns. Primarily focusing on narrative and capturing authentic moments. I’m able to create art that resinates deeply with the audience while holding their attention in a day and age where everything is fast food. Timelessness is what I aim for in my personal work and work with my clients. What most in important to me as and artist/entrepreneur is not just the way things look but the intention behind it.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew more about lighting and how camera lenses worked. When getting into flash photography and shooting at different focal lengths I was honestly so confused as to why my images weren’t coming out how I envisioned them. Getting the correct exposure seemed particularly difficult until I upgraded my lens. The glass effects things such as color, sharpness, and light coming in which all having an impact on the final product. I’m not somebody who wants to be editing forever so I my goal is get it right in camera so that I’m not wasting time later on.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Asking questions. In particular asking the right questions. When you are intentional with how you speak and know what you want and also know what you are talking about others see that. I ask the stupid question because you never know the gems people might give you. Understanding that my perspective about this for of art is very different I know that I need to figure out what works for me. I’m not the biggest gear person or even super technical with all of this. But I know vision and what I want to convey and I’m willing to learn in order succeed. I always keep in mind its not always about what you have its about how you use it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ppl.x01 @sondernabsurdity
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@prettypeople-PPL
- Other: TikTok: @ppl.x01
