Spokane’s Jáız Boyd Threads Collaboration and Creativity
Spokane-based Jáiz Boyd is a fashion designer, event producer, storyteller, and the creative mind behind Birds in the Coast. An inspired creative entrepreneur, Jáiz sat down with us to talk about collaborations, mentorship, getting out of your own way, and his creative thought process.
Collaborating can be challenging but you seem to have found the secret sauce to bringing people together to make amazing things happen. What have you learned that makes collaboration successful and fun?
For the most part, having people who know how to check their own ego and trust the other people they are working with is a big piece of it. When I’m brought in to be the creative director of a project, I listen to the backstory, hear what they’re inspired by, watch video clips, and then sit down with the folks who are front and center to say ‘this is what I see and what this data is all telling me.’ We then clarify and tweak the vision and we move forward with it. Because of the role I’m playing, I don’t feel like my ideas have to be the ones that shine through. But, I also am very fortunate to work with people who trust me and allow me to execute the vision.
I also have found that planning things out weeks or even months in advance is key. It sets us all up so that if anything needs to be changed in the moment, we know it’s a creative risk but we trust each other because there’s already been so much conversation around what we believe it should be. So, when something isn’t working, then there’s a reason for that and we trust the person who’s responsible for it to go with what they believe makes sense to solve the problem and still maintain the overall vision.
Tell us about your creative process to set the vision for an event and pulling together people to execute that.
I really see myself as a storyteller. I’m always reading people and I pull a lot from my senses, really everything is telling a story. So if I am working with a music artist, I think about how their music is making me feel, how it tastes and smells. ‘How does the room feel? Is it cold? Is it dark? Is it blue? What does blue taste like?’ Then I think about who I know that fits. So, pull in a chef I know who tells stories with their food and tell them we’re pulling together a dark and moody event, what foods go with that? Because I am a fashion designer, I also think about what your clothing and your attire is saying visually and how the consumer is going to take in that information. Immediately, they will know what it means to them culturally so thinking about who you are really trying to target and how you want to connect with them. What colors are good or bad? What do you want to articulate through your look? This is what I mean by all the conversations in advance of an event, we really dial it in so we all have an understanding of what the goal is in every sense.
What’s the hardest part of being an entrepreneur?
I would say it’s been realizing that I needed a mentor and I needed help. Sure, a lot of it is paperwork and I can Google that and figure out what to do, but the deeper understanding of really building a business, I need other perspectives and support in that. I know I’ve been blessed to have people who see the potential in me and want to be that support because I have a hard time asking for help. I also know that anyone can be a mentor, even if they’re my age. It’s really about finding someone you look up to, who’s reliable and knowledgeable.
Through these relationships, I’ve learned the intricacies of business from others who have their own creative businesses, gotten help in understanding how to navigate situations with grace and understanding rather than a knee jerk reaction, and been able to talk through the logistics like where am I going to make the accessories I sell, where am I sourcing materials, am I outsourcing anything or making it myself. My mentors have also really helped me see the progress I’ve made and to keep pushing, to keep putting myself out there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to quit but had someone in my corner who can help me look back and see what I’ve done and that even though there’s more to do, I can just take that moment to sit in the success I’ve had. Yes, I still want to keep pushing forward, so finding that balance is key.
