Meet Jaylin Sutherland

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jaylin Sutherland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jaylin, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

The thing about overcoming imposter syndrome is that the decision is up to you. Once you decide who you identify as whether that be a designer, an artist, a chef, that’s who you are. You are no longer someone who just sews sometimes, draws sometimes, cooks sometimes. Once you make that decision, you can look back at all the proof you have to back it up, your evidence portfolio.

Obviously, it is a lot easier said than done and that’s where the people you surround yourself with come into play. Having people in your corner that believe in you more than you believe in yourself is so important, especially when you feel like you’re still building yourself. They don’t see the insecurity, the doubt, they see the person that’s putting their all into their craft.

Last year I started to frequent a new coffee shop. Every time I walked in, the manager would ask me, “What do you do?”
He always sensed my hesitation when answering which is why he continued to ask. See, the entire time I had planning and curating events but it just didn’t seem consistent enough to mention. Instead, at the time I told him I was an intern at a communications agency, a couple months later, that I was unemployed, then I was a teacher. However, now I was a teacher with a project, The Hood Highlight. I finally mentioned The Hood Highlight because it felt consistent enough.

The point here is that despite all the daytime job answers I had given, he always knew there was something more to me. Even when I wasn’t confident enough to declare it myself, I still embodied everything I was doing in my energy, the way I carried myself. I did a lot to build For the Kinfolk in silence, but with a year worth of work and a community of supporters to look back on, I’m working real loudly now.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My little story starts 23 years ago in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised in the same house all my life which is the reason I’ll never fail.

Watching your world change around you in a way that’s unfavorable to the things you love , really does something to the mind. Going to school and being educated on that change and the real weight of it, makes it personal. I was raised to believe that I can make anything I put my mind to, which leads us to For the Kinfolk.

For the Kinfolk in its simplest form is the curation of the people, for the people, by the people. In a city of rapid change, usually unfavorable to the folks who look like me, I realized that I have to be part of the people who ensure that we always have somewhere to go and that we are heard in our city. Whether that be through curating a gallery, a pop up shop, a clothes drive, a cookout, a paint and sip, or a series that focuses on amplifying our stories, For the Kinfolk is the way I do it.

What I love about For the Kinfolk, is that it isn’t just any one thing. It isn’t just a gallery thing, it isn’t just an arts and crafts thing, it isn’t just an interview thing. It molds to whatever the people want and need.

Speaking of what the people need, before the end of the year we will be launching a rental service that caters to various hobbies that require a pretty penny to get into starting with film and photography. We’ll be supplying the people with cameras, lighting equipment, etc., to break into that hobby.

Another exciting announcement, we’ll be hosting a free cookout for the community on August 5! Tap in with us for more details on that.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Trusting others. If doing everything myself was a crime, I would’ve been under the jail. At a point, I had to get real with myself and understand that it doesn’t hurt to know how to do everything myself, but it does hurt to actually try to do everything myself. Burnout will come much quicker which impacts the way you put love and energy into your projects. It is okay to let people help you, it’s easier that way.

2. Public Relations and Marketing. No matter what you do, you have a public to satisfy and something to convince people to engage in. Get knowledgable in knowing who or what your brand really is because that is when you will find your audience and your voice.

3. Very, very typical but, just do it. You can always improve as you keep going. You can’t improve on something you’ve never done. Forget all the perfectionism, even if it isn’t exactly how you envisioned it the first time you do it, at least you did it. You gain experience from practice. You gain nothing from overthinking.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

The first thing I have to do when I feel overwhelmed, is admit I feel overwhelmed. Once I do that, I can tell myself to just pause.

At that point, everything needs to go on paper so I can actually SEE what all is going on. After that is prioritization, starting with the tasks that have deadlines, then the ones that have most weight. Seeing everything allows me to put it in order and put my mind at ease from bouncing everything around.

Then I tackle the tasks, time-block by time-block.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forthekinfolk/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FortheKinfolk

Image Credits

@ncsharpxphotos
@ui.ukiyo
@doublegcg_
@danii__digitals