Jessica Reynolds is founder and brand designer of Artemis Art
Are you where you’ve always wanted to be?
No, but that is okay. I am working on it, with the understanding that living is a process and nothing happens without a properly set foundation. Things cannot fall into place if there is no space for them to go, so that’s where I am now: creating the foundation for the life that I want to lead.
What is your biggest professional challenge?
Showing restraint while growing my business is always my biggest professional challenge. As a creative, my mind is always turning over ideas and information at a rate which can be a little hard to keep up with. Being able to discern between an idea worth pursuing and one that is not viable can be a tricky process. Even if you have multiple ideas worth exploring and realising, you have to learn to prioritise so you don’t exhaust your resources unnecessarily. It’s a challenge I grapple with often.
What is your biggest life challenge?
Making sure that work doesn’t overtake my personal life. Having so many ideas can be exciting, and the work needed to bring them to life can be long and arduous, but I try not to see it as the be all and end all of my life. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to pursue my passion at such a young age, but I also have to constantly remind myself to take time for myself and to spend time with my loved ones. As far as I’m concerned, life is for enjoying experiences and work is only one part of that experience. I don’t want to miss out on the life I’ve been blessed with while only cultivating one aspect of it!
When you look to the future, what do you see?
I see a strong local business which is heavily invested in building Barbados (and Barbadians) up. That is the future that I am working towards, and am emotionally invested in.
What is your favourite pastime?
I enjoy reading a lot, so I tend to do that whenever I get a chance. And even though I constantly design and create work, I also love to spend time drawing as well.
What is your favourite meal?
I’ve never been a particularly fussy eater so there isn’t one meal that I could safely say is my favourite, but I do have a soft spot for lasagne!
On Saturday nights where are you likely to be?
On any given Saturday night, I’m likely to be having a quiet night in with my partner. It’s my time to relax during the week.
What upsets you the most?
I believe that every person on this earth has a talent that can result in truly amazing things if nurtured. Nothing upsets me more than knowing that way too many people are denied access to the facilities that would allow them to live a purpose filled, meaningful and productive life. There’s often a lot of conversation around people who do not make good choices in life. While I agree that personal responsibility can never truly be taken out of the equation, I feel as though often times, there is not enough conversation or action focused on the deprivation that many people face in terms of access to basic amenities and quality education. Instead of getting the help they need, large groups of people are effectively abandoned, and I find that to be deeply upsetting.
What is your guiding philosophy?
In short, “hunting greatness”. To me, it means that I need to be extremely honest with myself: What does “greatness” look like to me? What resources do I have? What am I capable of and what am I unwilling to do? It means I have to truly understand myself and what I really want out of life before I can even plan to achieve anything. That way, when I set out do anything I am sure that I am not betraying who I am to get things that I really never wanted in the first place.
If you had the chance to manage Barbados for a day, what would you do?
I think my main focus would be finding ways to make doing business in Barbados easier while also creating incentives to hire and train locals, especially those from more vulnerable areas. There is a lot of information available regarding these things, but they’re not always well publicised so that would be something to focus on, as well as creating a dialogue between businesses and the different governmental bodies that they interact with. It would basically be 24 hours dedicated to creating channels of communication, increasing accountability and education.