Meet Lorinda John | Cultural Bearing Artist & Chef

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

Hi Lorinda, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
There has always been a drive since having children to start my own business so that I could be with them due to the “freedom’ of owning your own business, I learned fast that your freedom is not so much freedom. Fast I learned that all of your time goes back into running a business especially when starting out. There is a lot of networking, and personal drive required. The first year it was like a crawl and I was searching for ways to introduce my business to the world. Not only was I sharing a business I was sharing my Indigenous culture. Sharing my culture and talking about it to people that have no idea is my purpose and everything else is extra. I never expected to have my art and culture create income for me then call it a business. Needless to say the freedom I thought that came with running a business was a bit skewed but has been beyond rewarding. The actual process of having my own business has came along way in the past four years and I can not wait to see where it is in four years from now. As stated when starting my business the main goal was to be there for my daughters, and I am. The best end process is to be there for the laughs, be there for the downs, and all of the in-betweens.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Life has not been easy at all and the first day that I bent the cedar I knew all that bad was for a reason. I had a purpose. Up to this moment I always created outside of the box crafts and utilized recycled materials. This moment was different and I knew there was a lot to learn.

How I came across my art was while washing dishes and wanting to get outside. While washing dishes I had noticed the tree next to my father’s shed was over grown. I went outside right away and noticed the branches were not that thick and knew my dad had a handsaw. There are chainsaws but I didn’t think that was safe so I proceeded to the look for a handsaw. I found it and immediately went back to the tree. It took some work but the branch popped off the tree. I started carrying it to the burn pile and stopped because something send bend it. It blew my mind, the branch with some strength bent and I created my first cedar hoop. I called for my daughters to watch and they were equally impressed and took pictures.

Since then the harvest process has changed drastically as my harvest are more intentional. Making sure to have little waste and utilize all harvested materials before harvesting more.

Creating the cedar dreamcatchers has given me the confidence and drive to share my culture and art with the world. Along with dreamcatchers , I have started to share my culinary art skills as well. One door opened and my mind is free to create while having an amazing support system.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Not located in Houston but in Buffalo so hopefully they are visiting in the summer months. During the summer months you can enjoy a variety of water activities near Lake Erie and on Canalside. Or if you want to take a short drive north you would visit Niagara Falls, A great feature of Buffalo is if you go an hour south it will take you to the Allegany Mountains to hike. Food wise I would recommend Bar Bill in East Aurora for wings and Carbone’s on South Park in Buffalo for pizza but if any friend of mine is coming to town I would be preparing something for them.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First my parents need to be recognized in my success. Without their love and support I would not feel safe to create. My dad has given up his shed to give me space for my hoops to dry and for all my dry storage for my catering business. My mother has given up the space in her kitchen but has also been there to assist in the kitchen when needed most, With being a single mother my parents have been my “baby daddy”, my mom has let me yell and cry all while encouraging me to get my Bachelors Degree. Second would be Dr Joe Stalham he seen something in my art and me before I did. The saying surround yourself with like minded individuals stands true here. The largest impact was when he told me to get on social media that it would be the best to impact my business. Prior to this interaction I was not on social media and three years later I would say without a social media presences I would not have been able to grow my business.
Saving the best for last and naming them in birth order my daughters Evelyn and Eleanor. They are the best marketing, and are not afraid to tell anyone that will listen about my businesses. Not only that they understand that I can be at home sitting on the computer like now and still be working my butt off for the bigger picture.

Website: auroratreasures3.com

Instagram: aurora_treasures3

Linkedin: Lorinda John

Facebook: Lorinda John