Jo Hanna Taylor is all about creativity
Jo Hanna Taylor’s Envi I Designs are all about creativity. “Whether it is jewellery or spoken words, I live breathe and think creatively,” she tells All Woman.
A fitness trainer at Golden Eye Resort & Spa in Oracabessa, St Mary by day, Taylor learned from an early age the value of hard work.
“I learned from early how to be inspired by the simplest things. As a teenager a tight budget inspired me to use old seeds and beads my mother had to make jewellery for myself,” she says.
“I don’t think one should deny that creative part of them if that is what they are good at – if that is what drives them.”
Her uniquely hand crafted jewellery pieces are made using bamboo, semi-precious stones, clay as well as Jamaican and African wooden indigenous seeds all delicately attached to copper and gold wiring. Her bold pieces have been getting a lot of traction as her mostly Afrocentric clientele is gravitating towards her high quality products.
“Most of the material I use to make our jewellery is recycled and so our ecofriendly customers gravitate towards that,” she says.
Since launching in September 2013 there have been many challenges which Taylor has had to confront.
“As a small business owner who works with artisans not just locally but internationally as well, the high income taxes and processing fees result in a fluctuation in raw material costs,” she explains.
To confront this problem, Taylor has forged relationships with her suppliers. She has also received business advice and training from the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship of the Caribbean as well as the Jamaica Business Development Corporation.
And her jewellery is not just for profit, she uses her business for advocacy too.
“I am very passionate about violence against women. I want to tackle this issue by doing a series of handcrafted collections which would place emphasis on increasing awareness about this problem in the general public,” she says.
“This collection that I have in mind would be created by rural women in workshops that assist them with spotting and responding to violence not only against themselves, but against women they know as well.’
A vegan and a fitness enthusiast, Jo Hanna has also created a wellness outfit which offers corporate consultations, nutritional tips, exercise advice and how-tos.
“Right now I am focusing on brand awareness. I really want to show people the powerful and motivational concept behind my jewellery and so I have a few projects underway that will have us expanding the brand,” she says.
