We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Flores and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up just outside of Chicago. I was the creative kid in the family. My grandpa taught art and would teach me to draw the details I find in little things I see. I had a heart for art and began to expand that passion into many mediums like chalk drawings on peoples driveways, sketching, acrylic painting, then clothing. I loved clothing from an early age. I would watch YouTube videos on clothing hauls and sneakers. Guys like Jacob Wallace, PAQ, Locust and Wild Honey were guys I’d watch regularly to see the clothing they’d wear. I had no money to get those clothes, so in high school I began to draw on T-shirts with sharpie and selling them to my friends who were going to Lollapalooza. I saw that people loved it and I had a fun time making them so I just kept doing it. Once I made enough money, my two buddies and I decided to spend our money on screen printing my drawings onto tees and we started a small local brand. From that point on, I was hooked. Marrying art with clothing and on top of that, it’s MY creation? I was sold. Now I find myself using those experiences to fuel my creativity and sewing endeavors, wanting to amplify my childhood memories into quality pieces made with my own two hands.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art can be seen as giving new life to old rags. I make it a point to use thrifted elements and give old, discarded fabrics new uses to design and create garments that can see new seasons of life. I learned how to sew from YouTube because I wanted to create at a higher capacity than just screen printing T-shirts. As time went on, I challenged myself to take on new projects and broaden my abilities. I started with sewing patchwork pieces and decided to jump into the deep end by making clothing from bags to hoodies to pants from scratch all while learning pattern making all on my own in my basement with my mom’s 20 year old sewing machine. The learning curve was a tough one, many late nights just researching sewing concepts and fundamentals and learning from mistakes made during the process. As a person of deep faith in God, my whole life can be summarized as being remade from old into new and that extension of myself is found in the art I make through clothing. To be able to revamp vintage military blankets or some grandma’s tapestry or your mechanic’s beater Wrangler jeans into clothes someone wears proudly to work or school is how I can use my work to remind everyone of how much one’s life can be changed and been transformed for the better, even if it started out less than ideal. To be known as someone who creates out of passion and gratitude, values quality over everything, and can impact my surroundings with love and joy through my life and my work, I’d say I lived a pretty complete life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Cincinnati has been my second home for a little while now. I absolutely enjoy hanging out on the riverfront swinging on the swings in Smale Park. Findlay Market is another restful place to be just to people watch and soak in the day. Sitting at the top of Mount Adams to overlook the city and see the traffic move along is another great place to take it all in and pause in life. The food scene is amazing too, from hanging out with my friends at the Gatherall in Norwood to enjoying the quiet mornings at Cafe Elliot in Dayton, Kentucky. Outside of food and sightseeing, I enjoy thrifting at Pixel 19 and have so many cool memories browsing through the Flamingo Haven Vintage Shop. Overall, I’d say that’s my ideal itinerary.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have a deep relationship with Christ and I recognize I can do all these things by the ideas He blesses me with. I’m just happy to be a vessel. Giving people joy from the process I went through in life to get me to this point. Even if I wasn’t making anything from it, I’d enjoy it regardless because it reminds me of all that God got me through. It takes faith to put your creativity out there for people to critique and wear to work or school or wherever. It takes faith to know that a piece of yourself and your mind is being put on display and being bought. So I easily recognize that without faith and relationship with God, I’m just an empty vessel putting fabric together with no substance.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromthe_fields?igsh=MWF3MGY3bTJ6aGR2MA==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathon-flores?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

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