Contact

I’m so excited to have Jaymee from Jayadores on the blog today and thrilled to have her as our first A Visit With interview of 2015! Jaymee is so talented and has a heart of gold. I first met her a couple years back and she is so welcoming and has been nothing short of encouraging throughout these few months I’ve been freelancing. I’m so excited she took the time to answer these questions and hope you all check her out and her blog filled with her amazing work and photography! Read more about Jaymee below:

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Tell us a little about yourself:
Hi! My name is Jaymee and I am a graphic designer and cinematographer currently living in Redondo Beach, California with my husband. I’m originally from Southern California but recently moved back after living in Hawaii for four years. I love being back in the golden state and I especially love trekking up and down the coast experiencing everything there is to see and do here!

Describe your path to becoming a designer + cinematographer:
My parents have been super influential and encouraging throughout this entire journey and have inspired me to create things since I was little. My mom is super creative and was always doing crafty projects while we were growing up; everything from sewing my sister and me matching dresses to throwing us the coolest (and most detail oriented!) birthday parties. Her attention to detail definitely made me start noticing little details and it’s what made me appreciate design in all forms.

My dad let us kids play with his video camera all the time and after seeing how fascinated we were by the whole process, he bought us some fancy editing software to see what we’d do with it. Our idea of a fun weekend was spending hours making a video, and then editing it exactly how we envisioned in our little heads. We have quite the collection of home videos of us with every single one of our friends. It’s really funny watching them now and I love the permanent memories we have because of them.

Needless to say…my passion for designing and filming began at a young age and I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to pursue these fields for a living.

How did you prepare yourself for quitting your full-time job in corporate america and opening your own business?
I started my blog back in 2011 while I was still working in accounting to have a creative space for sharing personal design projects. By the time I announced I was quitting my corporate job at the end of 2012, there were a few people who had been reading my blog and were kind enough to hire me to design their wedding invitations, logos, and websites. Having a few jobs lined up before I quit was a relief and made me think hey, maybe this whole freelance thing might actually work.

Also, savings. Because let’s face it, I probably made about $2/hour when I first made the jump.

What has it been like running a film company with your sister? That sounds like a dream!
It is a dream! Getting to travel all around and film weddings with my sister is so much fun and hardly feels like work. We’re best friends and we understand each other in a way that’s so unique to us as sisters. Our shooting and editing styles are really similar which makes it easy to work together. It also helps that we can be brutally honest with each other without it ever being awkward 🙂

How has previously living in Hawaii influenced your creativity?
Our goods friends that my husband grew up with in Hawaii are some of the most creative and talented people we know! From incredible photographers to very successful clothing, jewelry, and swimsuit designers, most of them don’t have traditional 9-5s and are doing extremely well pursuing their own creative paths. It’s been so inspiring to see their companies and brands grow exponentially over the past several years.

What’s a typical workday like for you?
I fully love and embrace how much freedom I have as a freelancer but I’ve been realizing I would be so much more productive if I had a routine. The past few weeks I’ve been getting up around 7 am and heading to spin class around 8. If I don’t get to spin class, I’ll try to get outside and ride my bike down the strand near our house. Then coffee, always. I work from home so after I get home and shower, I look at my Teux Deux list and get to work on crossing things off (that cross-off brings me so much satisfaction). Some days I’m designing websites or logos or wedding invitations and other days I’m editing films. Having designated days for designing and designated days for editing keeps me focused and prevents me from getting bored. It also keeps me excited to work on each project because after a day of editing, I’ll be missing Illustrator and vice versa! A lot of my work gets done between the hours of 10 pm and 2 am. I have always been a night owl (I get it from my parents – my mom would vacuum our house at 2 am!) and I get really productive late at night. Because of my wonky hours, a midday nap is usually on the agenda.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?
Hmmm. I’d have to say maintaining individuality and letting influence come from the right places. Balancing inspiration from Pinterest, blogs, and other creatives, yet still keeping true to my personal style and way of doing things can be a challenge. It’s hard to not just fall into the same patterns of what is popular, what is common, what is expected.

Who is inspiring you at the moment?
Lotta Nieminen. All of her work is impeccable and her eye for minimal and purposeful design is just so, so good.

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Find Jaymee here:
WORK | INSTAGRAM | BLOG