Joana Gube: Jewelry designer, mom to 2 kids, entrepreneur
A leap of faith. That’s what Joana Gube took over a decade ago when she chose to tap into her creative side, one that had been there all along. She had just left her previous job and was deciding what to do next.
“I was at a major crossroads in life,” Gube told Lifestyle in an email interview. “I had to make a choice between taking a traditional 9-to-5 job with its perks of a guaranteed salary and predictable work hours, or risk it all for a dream I’ve had since I was in my teens, which was to design and create fashion accessories.”
Even as a child, she had always been good with her hands. It certainly helped that she grew up in a fertile environment, one that continuously fed her imagination and opened her eyes to the beauty of handmade items. Her father had a handicrafts business while her grandmother sewed curtains. Making things by hand was something that came naturally for her, and she focused on creating tiny bits of jewelry.
When the time came for her to look for a job, she tucked all that behind her and geared up for adulthood. Gube recalled the time she was between jobs and was pondering what to do next. “Looking at my savings at the time, I had maybe two or three months before running out of funds to pay my rent, bills, and basic necessities. I opted to put it all on the line for a chance of making my dream a reality.”
She named her fledgling business Heyjow even if she was well aware of all the attendant “craziness” that could come along with striking out on her own. She decided to believe in her dream even if the business didn’t immediately take off.
“The first year or two (or three) were scary. At the start, there were many sacrifices, long hours, anxiety, and self-doubt, and more than my fair share of missteps, failures, and setbacks—what you might call my hard-earned lessons in entrepreneurship. But I had to make it work. Slowly but surely, I got better at my craft, interest in my pieces increased, and sales began to pick up.”
Covetable pieces
Apart from designing covetable pieces, Gube has a knack for layering them to stunning effect. This has gained for her a loyal following that looks forward to her quarterly collections as well as her weekly drops that she posts on Instagram (@heyjowph). Her clients know that they can mix and match existing pieces with one or two from her new collections.
She explored this craftiness for her wedding a decade ago. Instead of hiring a wedding planner and florist, she did everything herself with help, of course, from like-minded friends and relatives.
“When my husband and I decided to get married, we chose to have an intimate garden wedding in our new home. I went to Divisoria for décor, ordered flowers from Dangwa, and with help from my creative friends and family, we styled everything ourselves.”
The result was a celebration that was intimate, heartfelt, and a reflection of their values: creativity, resourcefulness, simplicity, and independent thinking.
She and her husband have instilled this same sense of wonder in the tactile world in their 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.
“They see both of us creating and designing daily. We do a lot of arts and crafts and creative projects as a family. For example, one of their recent projects was to create a playable custom board game where they had to come up with the rules of the game, draw the artwork, and craft the play pieces all by themselves.”
Her daughter recently started learning how to crochet while her son is learning how to design and code on a laptop, and is pursuing an interest in 3D printing with his dad as one of his creative endeavors during the school’s summer break.
“We’re mindful of opportunities that give our kids the chance for creative expression. We encourage, teach, and support them to create—whether it’s making their own toys, writing their own comic books, creating DIY custom stickers, visiting museums, exhibits, and galleries, learning a musical instrument, crafting jewelry, or coding video games on the computer,” Gube said.
Hands-on
She’s aware that being hands-on in raising her children is a result of her nontraditional job as a jewelry designer and maker. But it’s also a conscious effort for her and her husband. “Having flexible work schedules allows us as parents to find many opportunities to spend time with our children. Time management for us is all about determining what is truly important, what isn’t, and what can wait.”
They make opportunities to be together and seek out new experiences regularly, whether it’s rock-climbing, cycling, traveling, snorkeling, baking, swimming, or coding video games. “Our family time is centered around creative projects, fun learning experiences, outdoor family adventures, and physical activities that nourish the mind and body and require us to be interactively engaged with one another. The only passive activity and screen time we have together is our weekly movie night.”
Gube doesn’t follow a strict schedule when she’s designing. She’s aware now that being too rigid can lead to predictability and staleness, given her line of creative work. “I have dedicated design days and photoshoot days every week, and that’s enough of a structure to help me consistently create fresh designs, and enough to keep the business side of things growing and evolving.”
After 12 years of designing for her label, does she sometimes experience a creative drought? “Thankfully, the creative well hasn’t experienced a drought yet, but when I feel the water levels are falling a little low, I make sure to step back and seek rejuvenating experiences that top up my creative juices.”
Her inspirations can come from the most mundane of things, like the colors of a matcha latte at a café or conversations with friends. Gube also enjoys collaborating with fellow creatives. She recently collaborated with a friend, Mia Sison, who makes tasty, plant-based meals. The resulting collection was inspired by the sensory experiences one gets from Filipino fruits and vegetables.
“When I started Heyjow, the dream was to build something around the life we wanted as a family. I don’t mind taking things at my own pace as long as our desired quality of life is intact. My husband and I made it clear from the beginning: Our work should support our life, not the other way around.”
The leap of faith Gube took 12 years ago is one she does not regret.
