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

Hi Jaelan, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

Growing up, I never could’ve imagined that I would be where I am today. I always struggled with what I wanted to do when I was older. I would always give a generic answer, “whatever makes the most money” or “a doctor” because it was instilled in me that going to school was essential. College would help me get a great job in the future. I’ve had a few years of post secondary school but I’ve never had a formal job mostly due to my craft. I wish that I knew that being a creative was a job back then. I was in talented art all throughout school & it was always referred to as a hobby. I think there should be more education in secondary school about alternative career options upon graduation like owning your own business, entrepreneurship, and even different trades. My friend, Jamari, is a teacher at our Alma Mater. She started a Fashion Club & reached out to me to mentor and teach the kids how to create garments & learn the basics of sewing. I think initiatives like the Haus of EK Fashion Club are the missing pieces in preparing students with different options upon graduation. I love being apart of this program because i’m able to give the guidance I wish I had.

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.

My brand name is JaeRi or JaeRiStudios. I create hand crafted custom garments. I’m mostly self taught and I’ve been creating for about 3 years now. I’ve literally been creative my whole life but I found it hard to express myself fully on a canvas or paper. I decided to combine my love of sneakers and my love for art & began painting custom shoes. At the time I started painting shoes I was in school for Physical Therapy. My custom shoes business was beginning to take off and I knew physical therapy wasn’t for me so I switched to Apparel Design. I got about a year into that program before COVID hit and my business took off. The rest is history. I’ve crafted over 500 items so far, created for stars like G Herbo, Dess Dior, Tia Corine, Lay Bankz etc. I’m still at the beginning of my journey but I’ve accomplished so much and I’m eager to grow & touch more people with my work. I think my authenticity, & craftsmanships set me apart from everyone else, well atleast I think I’m too focused on me to worry about everyone else to be honest. I think one of the main things I want people to know about my brand is that your piece will be worth even more in the future.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I think the biggest key to growing on social media is being authentic and being consistent. I have around 48k followers on TikTok and 5K on Instagram. I gained all if those followers in about a year by just posting consistently. I’m actually not really a big social media person so I kind of slack off on posting sometimes but my work is too good someone needs to see this! Also, creating good content is important. I still have videos from 2 years ago going viral because I created something that isn’t just a trend but can stand the test of time.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think I’m actually in a pivotal point right now. There was this fabric that was a huge part of my brand. I made shoes, bags, skirts, sweater jackets literally everything with the fabric. It was discontinued suddenly and I was FORCED in the middle of production to pivot. I was able to create a few cool items in between but I feel like I was at a loss without my fabric. It had become my identity almost. I took some time to figure out who I was as a designer, the type of things I wanted to create & really tried to hone on my sewing skills. I feel like I’m at the end of my pivot and ready to take my next step now. Sometimes in those moments of adversity it can feel like you’ll never see the end, but you will, I always do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jaeristudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaeristudios