Zine 26: bounce back botanical boutique

TEXT: Jayda is a Canadian jewelry designer hand-crafting every piece with love and purpose. Partnered with nature, she manages to make her own space within a saturated resin jewelry market with Bounce Back Botanical Boutique. It’s not just the inclusion of flowers; the flaking & layering style she displays throughout add elegance. Within the simple geometric shape plays lies her textured holographic style. Like their maker, each jewelry piece is understated in the best way. A continent of complimentary colors grows grain by grain the closer you look. Where some jewelry is a playful wink, hers is a knowing smirk. That Etsy couture cohesion can easily be traced back to the reason her shop was opened in the first place; she liked what she was making for herself so she wanted to share it. Despite being taken by toxins in her life, Jayda is is a thunderstorm of positivity. A juxtaposed power of seeing light born from being subjected to darkness. And now, she just wants to create from that power; a place of love with space for her and her community.

Follow Bounce Back on instagram

Shop the Etsy store

Baby Ballou: When did you start making jewelry?

Jayda: I started in the summer of 2019 as a way to relax, and ease some anxiety. I have both an anxiety disorder and a depressive disorder so having an artistic outlet has always been important to me. I had a lot of interest in the pieces I was making for myself so I decided to make a little page to sell some pieces, and the rest is kind of history!

Tw: sexual assault, violence.

After experiencing 3 sexual assaults between 2018 and 2019, I was left with extreme PTSD to the point where I couldn't leave my room let alone my home. I was fired from my retail job of 3 years, and was forced to really make my business work as we then hit a pandemic and my work options became even more limited. Now I am thankful that I was pushed to believe in myself and my talents, and lean on myself for financial independence.

Baby Ballou: I am so fucking sorry that you went through that and I appreciate you sharing. I’m so happy you’ve been able to turn it into your own lil castle. Your style, transparent encasements of petals and pieces, there’s something emotionally evoking in that. Every time I see your work, it’s like a flash of something. (In a good way obvi!) Where does your creative aesthetic come from?

Jayda: Ahh thank you so much, your kind words mean a lot❤! I feel like my style is just an amalgamation of every style I've seen that I like. I see other people's work, especially the work of other Black women and get extremely inspired. A lot of my ideas, as weird as this sounds, literally come to me in dreams. I will see myself using or wearing something, and then will wake up like ?? Okay guess I have to create this as soon as possible. Where I'm from, a lot of people have the same aesthetic, and colour pallets so I try to be as unique as I can my straying from the norm in my city.

Baby Ballou: Dream made jewelry, I love that. People literally carrying your dreams around with them. You live in Winnipeg, yeah? Or where are you based?

Jayda: I never even thought about it that way, such a beautiful way of putting it! I was born and currently live in Winnipeg, for some reason people think I'm in Vancouver but not the case lolol

Baby Ballou: You said a lot of people have the same aesthetic, is that from conformism or a shared community? And were you around other creative Black women growing up or did you find a lot of your inspiration online?

Jayda: That's a really good question. I'm honestly not sure, from my perspective it seems like conforming as there appears to be a fear of straying from the norm and not succeeding. I personally didn't share that fear, so I feel that's how my aesthetic continues to grow stronger and more clear as time goes on.

I was around a lot of strong Black women growing up, all creative in their own ways. For example, I grew up in a church with a Black female pastor, and worship leader, and my mom is a hair dresser so creativity was truly all around. As I got into jewelry making however, most of my inspiration is online as there aren't a lot of Black jewelry makers in my area, but I have noticed that changing over the past month or so, which is great!

Baby Ballou: Do you have fond memories of your mom playing dress up with your hair? My mom learned how to dye hair for me and it was an ammonia high but also an act of love I like to reminisce on.

Jayda: My mom styles natural Black hair and has since before I was born, so she's always experimented with my hair. I remember this one time i was like 8 or 9, she did this intricate take on cornrows, took hours, legit all day, and once it was done I cried because knew I'd get made fun of for looking like a boy with "boy hair" so the next day she took it out and gave me what I was used to. I could tell she was frustrated as it was so cool, took a very long time and she was proud of it, but she didn't want me to be upset, so she did what she knew would make me happy.

Baby Ballou: I feel that. One time my mom offered to let me dye my hair a really bright color - before we’d only done somewhat natural looking colors. And I wanted it so badly but I suddenly got terrified the boy I had a crush on would think I looked weird. Was that just a one time fear or did people pick on you to create a foundation of fear?

Jayda: Okay, good to know it wasn't just me worried about things like that! When it comes to my hair that was a one time fear, but I definitely think that being picked on for specific things (that i later realized all related to being Black) allowed me to get a realistic view of what my world would look like as I got older.

Baby Ballou: If you’re comfortable sharing, and no worries if not, what helped you realize those instances of being bullied related to being Black? I would never relate these but I just know in instances of my personal trauma, it can take years and then I’m like, how did it take me this long.

Jayda: I'm comfortable sharing! It was as i got older and did my own research about Black activists and leaders honestly. Both my parents are immigrants so the racism that goes on here, was unheard of to them as their countries had mostly Black people. So I really had to figure that stuff out on my own, which took long as I went to school with like 98% white kids; so how I was treated was just normalized and everyone pretended nothing was wrong with it at school. From the racist microaggressions to literally being called a dirty n*****, none of it made sense to my innocent mind. It wasn't until I began reading, watching and listening to Black activists (Malcolm X, Viola Desmond, Rosa Parks etc) experiences i was like wait ??? Thats what I went through, and then the connection was made. It was like oh shit, this happened because I'm Black. Like being told to "go back where I came from", or being targeted and bullied at sleepovers (people tryna suffocate me in my sleep). Like all that really happened because I'm Black. It was a harsh realization, but one I really needed. I probably started to really figure things out in probably 8th grade, even though I had been called slurs and been a target of racist remarks, attitudes and attacks long before that.

Baby Ballou: I know this may be a weird question, but what did it feel like when that realization hit and you realize it’s not about you personally or anything about you as an individual alone so to say?

Jayda: I think I had a panic attack. It felt like i was physically hit in the face and the gut. It was like something deep within me awoke and i was just pissed lmfao. and then I remembered always hearing my Grandma (who worked in healthcare) say "we always have to work 10 times harder, be 10 times smarter, and look 10 times better to MAYBE be seen as equals" and it all of a sudden made sense. I was seeing the world through completely different lenses. I became hyperaware of myself and surroundings at all times because I knew I wouldn't feel comfy being in an all white space, I felt the need to just be around more Black people. I was just mad, and so i really dove into social justice at that point. I had been doing it for a few years at that point, but that's what made me really just pour my heart into it.

Baby Ballou: What’s the biggest misconception people have about how they can help grass root social justice movements and small organizers?

Jayda: Everyone wants to give their opinions and criticisms first and praise second, when we are just regular people trying to do some good. Their opinions are definitely valid, but just because someone is in the public eye slightly more than you, doesn't mean you are entitled to their time or energy, doesn't mean they have to listen to you criticize them, and it doesn't mean they have to put up with any kind of disrespect. A lot of people who do not know me at all have come very disrespectfully into my DM's, and still everytime it happens I'm confused as to how people don't see organizers as just regular people.

The reality is everyone has a part to play in movements, everyone has different strengths, but people need to stop just talking about it and actually be about it. You don't like how the initiative im running is Black only or Black first? Thats fine, then go and create your own, don't come at me in my messages tryna tell me how reverse racism exists because I want to.

Baby Ballou: It’s very weird, and I say this as someone who’s trying to move away from idol worship, how as a society, we need to find a few people from any kind of topic were exploring to idolize or romanticize as as big as the movement. Especially us white people who tend to project a sense of unbreakable strength on Black women rather than seeing Black women as more than just a tough stereotype. I can’t imagine the onion level of layers of feeling undermined and not listened to. The reaction to Black only spaces by white people, of wanting to tear it apart. There’s a white comedian, James Acaster, he uses an analogy for why you can’t treat people equally before you have equality. To paraphrase, he points out how ridiculous it would be to pull a bully off of someone and then yell at the victim “for balance sake.” What’re your favorite things about being in Black only spaces?

Jayda: It just feels extremely comfortable, it feels like home, there's no other way to explain it.

Baby Ballou: Does it feel more rewarding to see your jewelry loved by a Black consumer?

Jayda: I am just happy to see people wearing and buying my stuff, I get joy seeing everyone in it. Feels surreal sometimes that people want to support my work in this way