We were lucky to catch up with Jo Ann Chism recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jo Ann, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

It might sound crazy to you – but as soon as I started my jewelry design business I knew I would change the name. And I was totally fine with that.
The first name was… well… that’s not really important. I guess I would say it was a place-holder name.
When I started designing jewelry 15 years ago it was out of a life-long obsession with beads. Any beads. This obsession bubbled up to the surface and had to come out. So I grabbed any beads that caught my eye and played with color, shape and design.
Which was fine for a while – but I knew that I was not at the place I would end up.
I had not yet settled on the materials and designs that would define my style. The answer came out of frustration. As I learned more and more about where the beads and metals I was buying came from I became more and more concerned about the people making these materials. Were they being paid a fair wage? Were their working conditions safe? So I stopped paying for any materials that came from questionable sources.
Searching the internet for fair-trade beads from around the world became a story I told customers at my craft shows. The importance I place on knowing the chemical elements of the metals I use became another story. The way I use bead color, shape, pattern became a story about the mid century design elements that I’m drawn to.
These stories brought up memories for me – my grandmother’s collections from her world travels… my other grandmother’s dress designs. Visiting the mid century modern home my grandfather (Dean of Architecture at the University of Florida) designed and built… asking my other grandfather (a professor of chemistry at the University of Florida) for help on my chemistry homework. The elements of my design and business integrity that I shared with my customers were imprinted on me from my grandparents.
Now I just had to let all those stories simmer in my subconscious brain until I arrived at the name to define my brand. It came to me one day while cooking in my kitchen: CURRICULUM.
I love the single-word name. I love that it’s old and Latin. I love that it connects with all the teachers and life-long learners in my family.

Jo Ann, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi
I’m Jo Ann Chism
I am the owner/jewelry designer at CURRICULUM. My business is my creative outlet which I started 15 years ago. My career is in television. I’ve spend over 20 years in local, national and international television marketing.
My superpower is solving puzzles…. finding creative ways to take things that already exist and put them together.

When I was going to college my teachers in television and radio told us “Someone has to die in order for you to get a job”. Not very encouraging. But with great perseverance I got my first job as a promotional writer/producer at a local television station. From there I continued to stay in the creative side of the medium moving to New York City to work in national cable networks – attracted to jobs I felt were a fun use of my skills of creative puzzle solving. Playing with video, music, sound effects, voice-over and special effects all in an effort to get more people to watch television was a perfect fit for me.

I took a break from my career when my children were young and during that time I started to lose my hearing. After a few years I found myself faced with getting back into the work-force with a disability that made it impossible to do my former job. For the past 13 years I’ve been on the strategic side of television marketing. It’s been an amazing part of my career journey to see how my skills can grow in new ways I never originally planned on.

In a need to have a creative outlet I also started jewelry design 15 years ago and I am the owner/designer of CURRICULUM. It is a true reflection of my design taste and integrity as a business owner.

Creating a personal brand has come naturally as I have poured my heart and soul into the things I am passionate about. No matter what you do or field you are in look to the parts of you that have remained consistent. Lean into that. Your personal brand is unique because it comes from you.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I tend to be project oriented. I get my head in a problem and I don’t really want to come up for air – and that includes noticing the people around me.
I remember early in my career asking a coworker for something when she pointed out to me I had not even said hello to her all day. It was a lesson I took to heart and it has helped me tremendously.
Since then I make it a point to notice and get to know coworkers at my career job and other creatives in my art/craft world. Making those connections has also been one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional life.
Working in this post-covid world has made it even more important to be purposeful in reaching out to coworkers and teammates to foster the trust and relationship that is needed to make and organization run – and be an enjoyable part of our lives.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Currently, I’m on my second reading and creating a study for The Four Agreements (written by Don Miguel Ruiz). The four agreements are part of an ancient Toltec wisdom that will radically shift your attitude and how you engage in relationships.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.curriculumjewelry.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curriculumjewelry/#