We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jonathan Dritto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jonathan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Am I happy as an artist? I mean, wake up when I want to, create one of a kind pieces of art whenever I want, play with my pets, live life at my own pace, and navigate the seamlessly neverending rollercoaster that is running a small business? Yes! No matter what I’ve done, or continue to do in life I will always be an artist first. Do I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a regular job? Well, plot twist. I currently am working a regular job. Since around 2016 most of my income was coming in from my jewelry but I have ambitious visions for my time here on this rock so I’ve always had a side hustle. Just so happens that my side hustle turned into that regular job. As the journey continues so does the forever ebb and flows of life. After living for around a decade in Colorado I decided that rent was getting higher, the pizza wasn’t getting any better and my now jewelry business could be taken anywhere I wanted. I chose to make my move back to my home state of New York to be closer to family. With all my current projects, rebranding and building a tiny home/studio I realized I needed to pivot. My process was scattered and the whole “burning all candles at both ends” vibe was putting a stranglehold on my creativity. I pivoted my focus from one passion to another and after some digging I landed myself a position on an analytics team for a cannabis company. Learning to pivot in life is an invaluable lesson that I think everyone should learn. It’s about taking time to reflect and reevaluate the bigger vision and to hold space for what suits you and back burner what doesn’t. Pivoting isn’t just about eliminating what doesn’t suit you it’s also about giving the spotlight to the different skillsets that have been acquired over the years. This journey is an endurance race so learning tools that allow you to maximize your skills and take your goals the distance is huge. Next time you’re feeling a bit stagnant or stuck where you are trying pivoting into another skillset that you have.
Jonathan , 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?
Hey everyone! My name is Jonathan Dritto and I’m the owner, operator and artist at JDritto Creations. This is where I showcase Mother Nature in handcrafted jewelry. My infatuation for ancient artwork started at a young age while growing up in New York and having parents that brought us to the Museum of Natural History. I’ve always been creative but I didn’t apply any creativity specifically to jewelry until 2011. I started with wire wrapping which is one of the oldest forms of artwork where you intricately weave different gauges of wire together to form a cohesive piece of jewelry. I never knew where to get wire starting out so I sourced wires from unused appliances you’d see on the side of the road and used that to create my first pieces. This is where my love for ancient artwork and my modern world would start to collide. I’d sit for hours and create whatever pieces of jewelry came to mind using my rock collection I accrued over the years. Not only was the freedom to create soul filling but it also made me feel closer to my Arabic heritage. I’d sit with my Teta (informal for grandmother in Lebanese) at the table while she did her thing and I created. She’d tell me how she’d see people make wire jewelry in her village and she was one of my biggest supporters through it all. Flash forward to now 2023 and I’ve spent over a decade honing my artistic and metal smithing skills to help me bring all the creations to life. Being Mother Nature provides all of the materials that I use I make it my mission to showcase all those rare gems and precious metals in small batch and one of a kind pieces of jewelry. I’m currently working on a small production series but almost all of the pieces I’ve made are “one offs” meaning that there are clients out there who are the only ones in the world wearing that piece of jewelry and that’s so fricking cool is you ask me! I just see it like this, if Mother Nature gave me this one of a kind gemstones then I’d be damned to not to design a one of a kind pieces of jewelry to show it off. Its a proud moment when clients reach out with stones they’ve had for years and trust me to turn them from a stone catching dust in the drawer to a wearable piece of art that can be cherished for a lifetime. My books are closed while I rebrand and build a tiny home/art studio but nothing makes me happier than connecting with people to make a custom piece of art. I find that a beautiful part about creativity is that it comes in so many forms and even though I have my needs as an artist for creating such meaningful pieces it’s great to brainstorm with my someone to make a piece can wear and feel like it’s an extension of themselves. I’m always pushing my personal limits and skills to see what kind of designs can be created next and looking forward to sharing my creativity with this world for the rest of my life. Thank you all for tuning in.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Before jewelry most of my creativity and skills were within kitchens and the fine dining realm. Everything in that setting has to be perfect so perfectionism grew on me. When I began to dive into jewelry that perfectionist mindset was the most hindering thing I had to unlearn. It lowered my productivity and mental health because nothing was ever good enough. Every minor imperfection had my attention and my brain couldn’t let go of that expectation of how it “should” be. I fully embrace the “perfectly imperfect,” mindset these days. This didn’t happen over night and when you get into higher levels of stone setting and metal smithing perfection does have to play it’s role. I can’t ever take credit for eliminating being a perfectionist on my own though because it took the affirming words of all the supporters around me to help break it. I used to scrap all the pieces I never saw fit. I’d never show anyone, tear them down and send them to my scrap box graveyard until on day I had the courage to step out of that space. I remember one year I drove back to New York from Colorado to visit for the summer and entered a local craft show to vend. I’ve never really vended at that point and the event was a few days away. I had materials but not the biggest inventory so I burned the midnight oil over the next few days to make 40 pieces of jewelry to put in my booth. I was expressing my distaste for a majority of the pieces becuase I was focusing on their minor imperfections. I didn’t even want to do the show becuase I didn’t feel ready but my friends and family affirmed me that everything looked beautiful and I was focusing on things only I as the artist would see. The day of show time I got up early, set my booth up and presented all my wares. I still was a ball of nerves but one by one each piece made its way off with a smiling face. Come to find out all of those perfections I was destroying myself about were in most parts not even noticed but when they were they were admired as “the mark of a handmade item”. At this point I haven’t ever received this kind of attention for my work. I sold out that day and I can still feel the electricity of sitting in my car after packing up and reflecting on all the things people said to me. The “You can tell it’s handmade” comment is what always stuck to me and sent the lightbulb off in my brain to see things in a new perspective. All the things I once focused on negativity as a perfectionist were now looked at positively during creation and unlearning perfectionism has helped me unlock my creativity deeper than every before.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
There are so many positive messages to take from our seemingly endless world of stimulation. Off the top for books I think everyone could benefit from reading “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert as she drops some great perspectives on the world of creative living. Here’s some other top reads from my personal list “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, “Think Like a Monk” by Jay Shetty have all given me great tips and lessons for where I am now. When people talk I listen. Especially when those people are in positions or embody mindsets that I’d like to personally. In saying that I have been inspired by the likes of Alan Watts, Les Brown, Erik Thomas, Mel Robbins, Brené Brown, Jordan Peterson and like minded speakers. YouTube is always a great resource for me with so much to tune into and so many motivational speakers to find. The most recent thing thats impacted my thinking and philosophy has been a speech by Deion Sanders titled “Keep Making Plays”. It goes.
“There’s someone out there right now and the light ain’t on ya but keep making plays.
No one is talking about ya but keep making plays.
I know your sales numbers aren’t where your friend is but keep making plays.
I know nobody’s talking about ya and you’re not on the leader board but keep making plays.”
In this crazy world of social media validation where everyone is trying to be seen I watch many people, including myself who turn against themselves and think that views equal the value of you or your work. Well, it’s not so keep making plays because the right person just hasn’t seen you yet.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jdritto_creations?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JDrittoCreations?mibextid=ZbWKwL