Giselle Jones is a Barbadian creative entrepreneur who expresses her talents through the artforms of painting, graphic design and culinary creations! We chatted with her for a bit to see how she finds inspiration and approaches challenges while staying authentic to her style of creativity. Read on for more details…
Tell us a bit about yourself
Hi! I’m Giselle and I’m a creative. I studied Digital Arts & Design at Full Sail University and while professionally I’m a Graphic Artist, I also dabble in quite a few creative things.
Tell us about your business
Sea Breeze Hand Painted Pots started off as a bit of self-care in 2016. It was a very therapeutic medium and provided a bit of a catharsis. Before that, I had not painted in a long time since attending Barbados Community College. I posted a few of my pots to Instagram and then the business just took off. These pots are great for any occasion, whether it be your BFF who is an avid plant mom, or your actual mom, as they make great gifts for Mother’s Day, a birthday or Christmas etc.
What keeps you inspired?
I am inspired by the colorful images of Caribbean animals, flora and fauna, but I’m definitely open to any unique requests I get from my customers.
What have been some of your greatest challenges?
I cannot paint cats or dogs! All jokes aside, the novelty of painted pots like anything else was just for a phase. So I then decided to turn Sea Breeze Hand Painted Pots into Sea Breeze Atelier. I realized my skill was more than just painted pots. I wanted to create “things”. Unique things… things that my customers didn’t know they needed or weren’t sure how to do them. As a designer, it’s your job to figure out what the client wants, with as little information as possible and bring it to life. So when times changed, the business evolved and now we’re much more than just pots.
What makes your brand unique?
I never paint or create the same thing twice. The point of Sea Breeze is for the person receiving the gift whether it’s a painted pot or logo, it has to be unique to that person. A one of a kind… No one will have that same special something as the other person. I will paint 100 turtle pots but it will never be the same turtle.
How do you promote or market your creations?
As I mentioned before, I dabble in quite a few things. One of those things is that I also own a catering business (Zellies Ready To Go Eats). Any kind of branding I do for Zellies is promoted back to Sea Breeze. I’m also promoted via word of mouth.
Tell us about your business/creations
When I customize a menu for Zellies like running a special for Christmas or Valentine’s day etc., I make my own tags, flyers, I even paint my cookie boxes at Christmas time. It’s always about presentation. I try to make sure each package is created with love. I ask the relevant questions I need to know about the recipient. Things like what’s their favourite color? Likes and dislikes etc. I treat the process like I’m designing a logo. After all, everything ties back together. Whether I’m cooking, designing a logo or painting a pot. You need to know who you’re catering for. It makes it that much more special.
