We were lucky to catch up with Jave Christie recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jave, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Am I happier as a business owner? I most definitely am. I have not been employed in office for almost a decade now and I am only a few years under 30. Do I sometimes think about what it would have been like if I had a regular job? Haha honestly, Yes I talk to myself most days wondering what it would have been like if I still operated under someone else’s wing. My friend of 14 years also does Graphic Designing and he also builds websites, I stopped by his workplace once where I collected a Hard Drive which had on approximately 500 GB of content on it to be edited and his “BOSS” made a great deal about my friend pausing work for a few moments only to just hand me the external drive so I could make my exit. This would have taken 10-15 minutes, Time that my friend would have given back his boss obviously because he took time out to hand me the Hard Drive and his boss went off in flames. He was livid, Dealt with my friend almost like if he worked on a slavery plantation. I stepped in and added myself to the conversation and told his boss that this is the same reason why creatives hate working under supervision because it hampers the creators mindset / vision. When I got home and viewed everything that took place in its entirety I smiled and said to myself this is why I Jave made the move to go work on my own and figure it out because external factors such as what my friend had to go through with his boss humbled me and allowed me to see I made the right move. Having a regular job limits creativity in my eyes, In my opinion that is, When working for self and working for clients you get to experiment more and you’re most definitely in control of your time more.
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?
My name is Javé T. Christie. Born and raised in Kingston Jamaica, A Published Grammy Viewed Graphic Designer. Honestly I was introduced to the industry from a tender age, Both my brothers who are older than I am are in the media world so I saw some major productions at the time and fell in love with graphics and coloring overall. I worked within a Marketing Agency / Night Club where I was the lead Graphic Designer, I worked 12 hours on a daily basis, A few months later whilst working these 12hr shifts, I thought to myself I needed more money for the hours I did daily. I spoke to myself and said I have all this knowledge and the skillsets required to start the journey so what am I waiting for to get going.
From there, I started to save with the end goal being able to purchase the relevant equipment I needed to branch off on my own. I worked at this same agency until I felt I had enough funding available to start on my own and see what that world felt like. I knew that it had to work, either this or nothing at all. The journey has definitely been one for the books and it pays to learn. I got where I am today because of perseverance and the ability and willpower to stay immensely focused throughout and to also remain patient. What sets me apart from others I believe is my passion for the industry itself and being in love with art from as young as age 8 or 9. Everything inspires me and I had the best at the time in Jamaica learning from.
What I am most proud of is seeing my work cross International barriers time and time again, It’s one thing to see your artwork posted around on a normal basis but to see it on the screens of GRAMMY & Billboard Hot 100, That for me is very satisfying. I have worked for Grammy Nominated / Grammy Winning Artists and Producers both Locally and Internationally.
I do a myriad of things, Graphic Designing, Web Design / Web Development / Creative Directing / Video Editor / Social Media Marketing and many others.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Being a young entrepreneur with no clientele at the time, I started networking and did numerous free designs for persons who had influence. In exchange, they would give me exposure for the free art I did, Some persons took the art and gave me no exposure and they practically went ghost.
These are some obstacles that most young Creatives face. Clients taking advantage of the talent you possess by either underpaying you or clients paying you half the deposit for a specified job and once you’ve completed the work you had to wait extra long periods to be paid. Lack of communication from clients who owe you and being given constant excuses as to when you will be compensated. Those are some of the things I went through as a young inexperienced campaigner and I am quite sure most creatives might be either faced with this problem now or had it to deal with it when they just started.
Without being resilient I would have given up and went to another profession but no, I stuck through it and it hasn’t paid off yet but its paying off slowly but surely.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
This question touched me. The only thing that drives me daily, The only one thing that keeps me going on my creative journey is my dad. He died 4 years now this April. He is the Pilot, The Captain, The OG and I swore and told myself this is a legacy I personally have to carry on for him. Keeping the Christie last name in the mouths of others as it related to being some of the most creative persons inside or outside of Jamaica because this how all his kids look at our family. My dad unfortunately will not be around to see me at my peak but he saw me pass the worse but yes I do have a particular thing driving me up this hill. My love and heart goes out to my dad Devon Z. Christie.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javedesigns_/
Image Credits
No Credits.