Samantha Jones is not your average 19-year-old. Jones is a fashion designer and art guru in the making.
Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Jones learned how to sew at an early age from her mother, a kindergarten teacher who taught all her children the craft. Having always been handy and creative in her own right, Mrs. Jones gave her children the freedom to run with their creativity, always supporting their every desire.
“She always said, ‘Go for it’,” said Jones, As the oldest of three, the college student led the pack of creative geniuses in her household. Her younger sister, Sarah, is in cosmetology school and brother Spencer is an avid designer in his own right.
Before her teens, the Jones family moved from various suburbs in the Chicago land area before settling in Homewood, a middle-class suburb in Illinois. Jones went to Parker Jr. High then to Homewood-Flossmoor High School, a three-time blue ribbon school. It was in high school where Jones’ peers learned of her artistic talent. She took clothing classes and an independent study.
Jones says her defining moment was when she realized that she could sew. Her desire to design developed after seeing items she liked but could not afford.
Currently, she is a student at Prairie State Community College in Chicago Heights and hopes to transfer to Roosevelt University or Georgia State. Neither sound like art schools, but that’s because she will be majoring in either finance or actuarial science. Both seem to be a far cry from the designer’s creative roots. She refuses to go to an art school because she already embodies the talent.
“I get it. I don’t want it dissected to me. I will sew regardless,” said the petite fashionista. However, Jones has other hidden talents under her size 0 belt.
Jones has been an entrepreneur since 2000, as the creator of “Friends from Above,” an angel ornament line. She hand makes the angels herself using clay and paint. The clay dolls portray a variety of skin tones but all wear decorative dresses. Her angelic figurines can be found at Cha Cha’s Treasures in Oak Lawn, Ill., Art for Soul in Homewood, Ill., and will soon be in Crafts Superstore in Lyons, Ill. She uses the revenue from this business to use toward her fashion design business. She will be opening an online store where she will sell T-shirts and accessories at edsie.com/theresultofboredom.
The intricate beading on her necklaces and her ostrich feather trimmed dress appear to be hard work. Most of her necklaces are made of at least seven individually beaded strands that braid together.
“It’s labor intensive, but I have a vision in my head of what I want something to look like,” Jones said as she critiques her beaded tee.
She makes sequined dresses, two-tone pencil skirts and even shoes adorned with rhinestones. Jones describes her line as “luxe rich girl.” She plans to have it moderately priced like Express. Like most designers, she has her favorites like Thankoon, Alexander McQueen, and of course the legendary Coco Chanel.
“Fashion is an art form, you get to change it according to how you feel,” says Jones. She often uses the motto when she gets dressed in the morning. “I wear what I feel at the moment. I like to mix n’ match.” Jones is called Barbara Bush by her siblings because of her love for tweed. She refused to put herself in a box about anything. “If we limit ourselves to certain stores, we miss out on opportunities to create wonderful looks.”
One recently popular look, edgy punk attire, seems to have gotten new acclaim since stars like Rihanna and Beyonce ushered in the trend, when only a few short years ago, those who dressed in that style were considered outcasts. In regards to this, Jones, who knows the trends but doesn’t follow them, said, “We have made it popular. More commercial images are learning not to be so bubbly. It’s based more so on how you feel.”
Jones is prepared for any obstacles that may come her way with faith and hard work. However, she hopes to share her blessings and never become selfish. That’s why she wants a factory in America where she knows her workers will make more than minimum wage. On top of that she said that she truly wants to make a difference, which is one of the reasons why she wants to open a store like Bloomingdales, to showcase the talents of up-and-coming designers.
It seems to be that Samantha Jones understands the rules of the world and her heart. She knows give and you shall receive, but she also knows that only her tenacity and character will take her to the top. Of course, the fashion landscape is rough, vicious and highly competitive, but she believes, “I’m not really competing with anybody but myself.”
