Meet Jotce Chai

We recently connected with Jotce Chai and have shared our conversation below.

Jotce, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I used to find this question to be such a daunting one. The pressure of not living to one’s specific purpose and potential–it can feel crippling! I’ve definitely had many moments of uncertainty, but I often return to some sage advice a good friend once shared with me. We were chatting specifically about careers and she believed that treating a specific job to be one’s personal panacea was incredibly narrow-minded. When deciding on a career to pursue, she suggested to go broad rather than specific. When asking herself what she wanted out of a career (and life), she recognized a simple purpose: to help people. That purpose can be fulfilled by way of a myriad of careers, but the specific path she pursued was one of a librarian. I love her approach to living because it allows for so much generosity, curiosity, and creativity. I believe my purpose is to bring joy to those around me, and love that I can see this out in so many different ways.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Together with my business partner, Michelle Jolliffe-Saper, I run Present Studio. We specialize in bespoke branding and design for specialty e-commerce businesses looking to grow with intention. Our services include brand strategy, brand identity design, and website design and development. The work we do is incredibly personal. I feel most proud when we reach those moments within projects where our clients feel seen, understood, and represented in the work we create together.

Beyond the services we provide, we’ve truly enjoyed fostering community through the different marketing efforts we’ve maintained in Present Joys (our bimonthly Substack newsletter where we share our present joys and those of our peers) and Present Walks (monthly walks throughout LA). More info here:

Present Joys presentstudio.substack.com
Present Walks presentstudio.co/present-walks

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Maintain a sense of curiosity – I feel lucky that this comes quite naturally to me, but there’s also a practice needed in maintaining this. Read a book, drive across town for that exhibit, meet that friend you only know via IG. These small acts compound and open up new rabbit holes of discovery.
2. Experimentation is a good thing – My business partner is constantly teaching me this lesson. I can be quite a perfectionist, so this is especially helpful (and hard!). Experimentation can foster creativity, relieve a sense of pressure/preciousness, and yes, even lead to failure, which doesn’t need to be terrible.
3. Work is just one facet of our selves – This can feel like swimming against the current given the society we live in, but there’s so much freedom in recognizing this. We shouldn’t derive all our meaning and identity from our jobs.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

We’re always on the lookout for creative collaborators! Our work allows us to work with photographers, copywriters, and strategists. It’s great to be able to let everyone take reign of their expertise to allow for a project to truly shine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://presentstudio.co
• Instagram: @studioispresent
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/presentstudio/