Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janna Barker . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Janna , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I don’t know that I had a hard tangible moment that I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally. Growing up, I felt more of the pressure to get that 4 year college degree and pursue “real” career kind of work. I ended up getting my BA in Anthropology. However, I was always involved in the arts in some way (painting, photography, etc) because it is something that I love and gives me so much pleasure. I graduated during the recession so finding a job was very difficult at that time. All I knew at the time was that I really wanted to do something that would include my love for art, cultures, travel and humanitarian work. I just wasn’t finding anything like that so I decided to make it happen for myself.

In 2016 I felt that I had lost my creative self and in attempt to find it again I decided to sign up for a ceramics class with a friend. I ended up loving it so much and just didn’t want to stop creating. I was making so many things that I needed to have a reason to make more! I started putting my pieces on Etsy and when I got my fist sale from a non friend/family member it was the best feeling ever! Then not too long after a friend who owns a coffee shop commissioned me to make a set of cortado cups for his shop. My confidence in starting my own business only grew from there.

I created isiko to be a global marketplace to share the arts of indigenous peoples from around the world. I make the ceramics and most of the jewelry as well as source other items from artisans around the world who make their crafts using traditional materials or techniques. Giving back to others has always been important to me so I choose a different organization throughout the year and give back a percentage of sales.

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 Manila, Philippines and spent my entire childhood traveling from place to place. Doing so exposed me to a variety of cultures, environments, and most of all impactful experiences that have shaped me into who I am today. One of my most vivid memories took place at a market with my mom who offered a poverty-stricken mother, holding her new born child, a guava. Seeing this, a group of children swarmed us also wanting a guava to eat. The simple cry for help in their eyes was enough to leave me feeling untethered to the seemingly privileged life I knew before. I was stuck by this experience so much so that it became by mission to someday be able to give back to those less fortunate.

After studying Anthropology in college I yearned to immerse myself in the lives of others, specifically indigenous cultures. There’s something profound about the way ingenious people live completely off the land and utilize their recourses in a sacred way. So, after college I joined the Peace Corps where I served for two years at an orphanage in a rural village in eSwatini, Africa.

Imbued with the experiences from my childhood and my time in the Peace Corps I decided to pursue my lifelong dream of creating a platform that celebrates traditional handicrafts and art forms of all cultures around the world. I am beyond grateful to have a platform that gives back to under-served communities and where I get to share and preserve the skilled arts of indigenous artisans.

My hope is when you own an isiko piece you are inviting a part of another culture into your home. You are receiving a connection to a place far from your own and yet creating unity with people from around the world.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My main goal with isiko is to be a marketplace for indigenous artisans. However, finding artisans to work with takes time. It takes time to find them and build relationships with them. So in order to launch isiko I had to start with what I had and could provide. I love being creative myself so I used my blooming passion for ceramics to start. Little did I know that ceramics would take off and my customers would respond so well to that aspect of isiko.

I think I am more known for my ceramics more than the other parts of my business. Covid has not been helpful in traveling to work and build relationship with artisans so having the ceramics to depend on has been a wonderful part of my work. However, I do hope to redirect isiko back to its original intention of being a global marketplace to share the wonderful works of traditional artists from around the world.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I make 3D ones! ;)

Contact Info:

• Website: shopisiko.com
• Instagram: @shop.isiko

Image Credits
Nicole Gagne Natalie Mitchell