Sparx Entertainment Presents A VisualGrammar Co-Production: ‘The Overture’
When you step in a life that begins with being something you’re completely new at, it only takes time to find your comfort zone. Whether your lifestyle is outlandish or not that new in your life can only be tamed by exploring your subtle interests. Those interest gradually evolve into who you are as a human being that gives you a sense of individuality. Don James, a man that even at this present time still holds the keys to shaping his own story for his life. Being in his own words the “Black Sheep” of his family, Don James has secured a life of definite ups and downs. Despite all that he’s never let that troublesome life of his spoil his ambitions or means of enjoying his life.
Don James is an entrepreneur, traveler, designer, by certain extents a photographer, and a man who wants nothing more than to enjoy the fruits of life by his own means and limits. Although we couldn’t experience the adventures with Don James himself we were able to grab a few photos of his adventures.
We would ask a collective of questions for the man with many hobbies, that he was ecstatic to sit down w/ us to answer a few questions. So take a look at the life of Don James from beginning to now, but take a look at ‘The Overture’
The Beginning of Don James
Q: What is your name, where you’re from & your talents?
My Name is Don James and I was born and raised in Vancouver Canada, but lived out my early adulthood years in San Jose California before moving to Costa Mesa California where my other half lives. I am currently settled back in Vancouver.
I can’t say I have any specific talents like doing kart wheels or one handed backflips, but what I discovered growing up was I had a really good eye for detail and design. And by design I mean interior design and fashion merchandising,
As a kid I was very hands on, I hated school and everything about it. When I was in grade 10 I made the choice to drop out of school and live out my rebellious teenage life. My parents definitely weren’t happy about it, but I applied myself to getting a job a few years later and made use of my time through that. I was a cashier at Aldo here in Vancouver, it was alright for me at the time I suppose, but through working in retail I discovered something called Visual Merchandising. Wow, I didn’t know there was such a job where you would get paid to organize things. I got myself heavily involved in that, and often times got in trouble at work because I was too busy fixing things rather than helping customers at the cash. My managers took notice of how well I did, and brought me on board as a visual team member. At the age of 20 I couldn’t have been happier doing something that I already loved doing. I was a tad OCD growing up, my room was perfectly aligned and well put together so this new position was amazing! I had found my talent! Today I no longer work for Aldo, but I am still doing the same thing, only I’ve moved up in position. I am currently the Regional Manager for The Visual Department in Western Canada for an “undisclosed” company. I manage just under twenty stores and travel back and forth between two provinces. It’s great for now, but I’m working on other things that we’ll get to in just a sec…
Q: Where were you born? Any siblings?
“I was born in Vancouver Canada, I come from a small family here, not too many relatives (or at least ones that I keep in touch with) I have an older sister, and a younger adopted brother.
My adopted brother was a result of me helping a kid in need. I met my brother when I was 19, he was 13 at the time. He was a neighborhood kid with a bad attitude, much like me when I was his age. Yeah, surprisingly enough, you probably couldn’t tell I was a bad kid by everything I had just mentioned in the coming questions, but I was. Fights, drugs, car theft, you name it, I did it! Long story short someone found me and quickly mentored me into the person I am today. When I met my brother I already had a tarnished reputation, so when is single mother found out he was being associated with me through his school counsellors, she quickly put him in foster care just as quickly as I begged my parents to take him in. I felt I had a sense of responsibility to him. If it wasn’t for me, he would never have been put out in the streets. Anyways, my parents took him in, I became a big brother to him. Although we’ve slightly lost touch, he’s a great brother and dad to my beautiful niece, and is doing well. We all are.”
Q: Does your family accept your lifestyle? (Meaning the way you live your life on your own terms)
My parents are very accepting of my lifestyle. I am the black sheep of the family. The most adventurous, outspoken and outgoing. I guess you can say they are proud of me for how well I controlled my life growing up. For a high school dropout I’m doing pretty amazing.
Q: How was your educational life? Do you regret anything about your life? And has there been any hard times in your life?
“Has there been hard times in my life? Oh yes, definitely. I had an Attention deficit disorder, Anxiety, and OCD. It wasn’t always eat, pray, and love kind of life for me like it is now. I was a pretty rebellious kid for some reason. I guess it all stems down to being a gay kid in high school trying to weave in and out of the douche bags in life. I guess for most people who say they got bullied and picked on, it was different for me, because 95% of the time that I got bullied and picked on, I physically fought back and often won. That didn’t sit too well for most guys, and by that I mean having there asses kicked by some little gay Asian kid. But oh well, right? The chicks dug me in high school. I was the little 4 foot 9 skinny kid with nice clothes and perfect hair who put up quite the fights. After gaining some respect from these assholes I got heavily involved in gangs, drugs and parties. But that all turned around almost as quickly as it started. I removed myself from school almost immediately. And although I wound never tell someone that they don’t need school in their life, you can make it if you apply yourself in the right direction with the right people. For me personally, I hated the idea of text books. I was and always will be a hands on learner, a “do it yourself and figure it out kind of guy”. Even today, I google the shit out of everything I’m not familiar with or take something apart just to see how it works.
Anyways, still today, if I find myself in a negative situation, I’ll take myself right out of it. High school was over twenty years ago for me, I’m 34 now, but even at this age I find myself with struggles, we all will. I had separated from the love of my life of 5 years, 2 years ago and it took a big toll on me. I fell into a Great Depression, back into drugs and suicidal. Yeah, I didn’t take it as well as I thought I would. I thought to myself, the best way to get over it is to start dating again. I had completely lost myself. I found myself tied up in a bad relationship that thankfully didn’t last too long. To cut to the chase, I dated this guy that was physically abusive, and for the first time since the high school fights I had finally found my match. He physically defeated me, bad. Luckily I got out of that alive and picked up my pieces. It was a few months after that was when I decided to get my shit together and that’s when I came up with, The VisualGrammar Collective.
As I mentioned earlier, the design firm I spoke of didn’t happen because my partner and I had separated, I realistically couldn’t see myself making it work without him. The Collective Shop was a way of still fulfilling my dreams of running my own company and using that as a way to help others.
I am extremely satisfied with life right now, of course there will always be everyday struggles, but I’m trying my best to take things in strides and make conscious choices, but like I said, everything happens for a reason, there are no right or wrong choices.”
Young Don James
The Collective
Q: What is your company’s name?
The VisualGrammar Company & the VisualGrammar Collective
Q: What is the basis of your company how does it tie into your life, & are you the sole owner of the company?
I currently have two business plans in the works. The first and original business plan was with my partner and me. The VisualGrammar Company, was and is (in the works) a design firm that caters to all aspects of design. My partner, Jeffrey, is heavily involved in Computer graphic design, marketing, branding and advertising as well as photography. I am heavily involved in Fashion merchandising, interior design, staging, styling, window displays, photography as well, and basically all aspects of visual communications. Combined we are putting our talents together to develop and create a design studio that caters these needs to our potential clients.
As of current, while we work out our kinks with in our personal lives, I’m am heavily focused on, The VisualGrammar Collective. It’s going to be an online shop (with a brick and mortar store in the future) that sells small design goods. The idea of my shop is to not only find and curate cool limited goods to sell, but also to find goods that give back to the world’s community. The “One for One” idea. I want partial proceeds of all the things I curate for the shop to be given back to a foundation or community. Much like the idea of TOMS shoes, I am in search of products with the same philosophy, so those who buy things at my shop are not only buying amazing things for themselves, but indirectly helping a community somewhere in the world. My goal in life is to have VisualGrammar become a brand ambassador known as a philanthropists shop. This is how my brand and business ties into my personal life.
I am currently the sole thought creator and owner behind The VisualGrammar Collective.
The VisualGrammar Company (design firm studio) is whole heartedly divided between Jeffrey and I.
[Insert logo]
Q: What made you want to start a company?
We wanted to start the design firm based on how much we both loved doing what we do. We knew our talents and appreciated each other’s work, so upon discussion of our future together, we decided, and why not do it together.
The VisualGrammar shop was an idea I came up with upon my travels in different places around the Pacific Northwest, Asia, and South America. As I mentioned, I was always a sucker for products that gave back to the community, but I hated how oftentimes it was hard to find such things. So I wanted to collectively gather all these amazing products and put them in one place for everyone’s pleasure. Giving back and helping others is my life’s philosophy. It’s how I live, so why not make a living doing it.
It’s all still very much in the works but it will be happening very soon in 2015 😉
Q: Where did the name VisualGrammar come from?
I always loved to express myself visually. By means of how I dress and how I live. Hence the name, VisualGrammar. “How one speaks and expresses themselves visually”
There was a period in Don’s life that like anyone had to cross. His personal life has affected him to become the subtle focus man he is today. We asked Don:
“Describe your ideal relationship”
Hmmmm… I can’t, and I actually hate that question, lol.
The only relationship I had ever known was with Jeffrey. We just vibe well together. We still do. We didn’t separate because of anything we ever did to each other, we were just busy and at different times in our lives. But even through separation, we never stopped loving each other, and we knew that not because we still kept in touch, but because we both felt it. We both literally felt it. You can never put a description on an “ideal relationship” because it’s just that personal. People often say, “I want this, I want that” in a relationship but they never say what they need. You know what I mean? Saying you want something from someone is a description of greed and often times the relationship will fail because of that. Saying you need something is a description of your necessities in life. A need is something you work towards, a want is you being a lazy fucktard by expecting it to happen to you and for you. You want something in a relationship? Okay, but what do you NEED to do to fulfill that? And how you go about that is a reflection on your character, so remember, not everyone will always be receptive of that, and oftentimes that’s why relationships fail. There has to be that mutual and natural connection that both of you feel. You have to find a way to adapt to each other every second of the day to keep that vibe going as you both grow old and into different habits.
Relationships involves feelings, and when you feel it in your soul from each other even when you’re far away, you know that that person is the one for you. It’s like how they describe twins, how they can feel each other’s pain. That’s how Jeffrey and I were; we were and still are that much connected. And if for some reason we don’t work out again, I’d expect to feel that same mutual connection from whoever that person may be. I don’t regret how things happened in my life because I’ve learned from it all and applied those tough learning lessons to how I adapt and connect with life today.
The Adventures w/ Don
Q: What is your taste in music that you can just get up and dance to?
I love southern rap and 80’s and early 90’s Hip Hop. My guilty pleasures would sometimes be current and catchy pop hits in the radio. Hahaha
But really, give me a few Jameson and Cokes and I’ll get up and dance to anything!
Q: How are you an adventurer, describe your first adventure and are you considered a free spirit or a challenge seeker? Also, describe your best and worst adventure:
How am I an adventurer…hmmmm… Lol well let’s just say I can’t sit still for too long, lol. I’m always constantly on the go exploring and wandering. On nice sunny days in Vancouver (which isn’t too often) I would walk to work, but instead of taking the sidewalk like everyone else does, I would walk the alley ways and random side streets. I loved it! it cleared my mind and opened my eyes to the cities real culture. The amount of graffiti and art you find walking the back streets was pretty amazing, not to mention the totally random people you meet along the way. Some people get remembered and greeted by their Starbucks baristas in the morning, I on the other hand was greeted by a homeless guy named Will, a guy who rummages alleys ways for old furniture to restore and flip to make some bucks, or Alex, the cute hippy chick who rides her bike to work every morning singing at the top of her lungs. These are real people, and we all share the same adventure every morning. An adventure for me is off the beaten path.
My first adventure is probably my trip to Guatemala. My sister’s husband is from there, and I flew over there for her wedding. I was probably 22 at the time. Not really exposed to a third world country before and really ignorant of it all, I was shocked the minute I landed and walked out of that airport. I was immediately immersed in a culture shock. There was rich and then there was poorer than poor. I was in Guatemala for two weeks, the first week was preparations for my sister’s wedding etc… The second week they had planned all this touristy crap for me. I didn’t want any part of that, so I took off on my own. See, for me, a real adventure would be to stay away from all the touristy things. I wanted to see the country for what it really was. I wanted to see and live the country how locals do. I involved myself in the community, I went to small villages, I played with the kids, I bought them coloring books they couldn’t afford, random people in small villages gave me tours of how they lived, and although there was a major language barrier, through small gestures and smiles we really understood each other. It was the best feeling ever and I vowed to myself that when I came home I would always stay humble and apply myself to always take care of people. It was an adventure in my eyes, but most importantly in was an adventure for my soul, and it was the beginning of new things.
With all that said, I guess you can tell I’m a very free spirited person, and always will be. No appointments or dates will ever keep me locked down. Life is too free to be tied down for shit like that.
I can’t say I’ve ever had a really bad adventure, I learn from everything I do, and try not to see the negative in things. Every adventure whether planned or not happens for a reason. If something terrible happens, I always tell myself that it happened to set myself up for something great that’s about to happen. I always try to find a balance, because if I don’t, I’ll be knocked down.
Singapore, roof top infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands Hotel.
Q: How much do you travel? Where do you travel to?
I travel at least every weekend, I have to in order to keep my sanity. Living in Vancouver I’m open to a vast variety of options.
A couple hours north will take me up to Whistler Mountain. A 2 hour ferry ride west into the Pacific Ocean takes me to the Vancouver islands. If I drive east long enough I’m in the Canadian Rockies. 30 minutes south from home and I’m in Washington State or 5 more hours and I’m in Oregon. These are all places that are easily and quickly accessible to me every weekend. Living in the Pacific Northwest is pretty breathtaking. I’ve got the mountains, the oceans and America at my door step. At least every two months, I’ll get on a plane and fly back to California to visit friends for a weekend, and once or twice a year I’ll take a big trip somewhere else. I haven’t been to too many places, I just frequent the same places often. Washington, Oregon, California I’m always in. I’ve been to Guatemala, Japan, Indonesia & Singapore. And I work between British Columbia and Alberta Canada. If my plane connects in a city for a few hours, I’ll try my best to leave the airport and hop in a cab to the hub of it all, grab a coffee, snap some pics then quickly head back to the airport to catch my connection to my final destination. I’m always on the go go go!
Well, this has been great! And I am most graciously thankful that Sparx Entertainment has chosen to feature me. The Collective will be up and running in 2015! Curating great things take time, so please be patient with me for great things will soon come! 😉
Peace & Love, Don James
IG @visualgrammar | info: hello@visualgrammarco.com
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