Chantrese Janae, owner of Cr8tive Genes shares how she is honing her craft and mission to serve the African Diaspora in health and wellness, and use gifts given by her ancestors to stay connected to the community of Leimert Park.
By LaMar Anderson | December 24, 2020 | 6:00am
Please tell us your name, and your business name, and what you specialize in or offer.
My name is Chantrese Janae, and my business is called Cr8tive Genes. Because it’s in my genes to be creative and a line that’s been passed down to me from my ancestry and from my lineage. It’s about healing and promoting wellness for the community. I have different types of gemstones; they have different kinds of purposes. Like I use rose quartz, tourmaline, lava stones. I use beads from different places like the motherland. I use Ghanian trade beads, beads that are from Tibet. I love culture, and I love adding that into my work because I think culture is important; like a tree without its roots, it’s dead. So I think it’s important that we keep our culture, and that entails nature and certain components, fabrics, and colors. That is what my line is for.
How long have you been in business with Cr8tive Genes?
I’ve been in business for about ten years. I’ve been going to art shows and festivals probably since I was in my mom’s stomach, haha.
You mentioned that your line was passed down thru your lineage. Was this the inspiration for you to get into this line of work?
My mom is an artist. So I believe that it comes from her influence as well. But it goes deeper because it’s from the blood; that’s where the DNA is, and I am a product of my mom. I see myself more as one of her creations as a painting in a human art form. Because she is an artist, I feel like she has painted me into existence. I grew up going to art shows and festivals like the African American Marketplace based in Los Angeles. Growing up, I would see vendors, and I would say to myself, I want to be like them when I grow up. I want to have something of my own. As I started to get older, I found different things that I could make, and beads were one of them. As I grew older, I said, oh, let me use healing stones to actually heal people and not just [offer] beads. That’s how it came together, and ever since then, I have been evolving.
Are you originally from Los Angeles? Did you group up in the Leimert Park area?
I am from Pasadena, which people consider Los Angeles County. It’s been interesting growing up in Pasadena, but again my mother was bringing me to Los Angeles frequently, so I was a part of the culture in LA, which is very wide. It’s very beautiful, especially for African Americans, and even more beautiful when we have festivals and gatherings because we get to learn from our culture and the motherland and really reconnect with ourselves.
How long have you’ve been coming to Leimert Park?
Good question. I have been coming to Leimert for probably about ten years for the most part. Probably longer than that, but intentionally setting up [as a vendor] ten years with my mom. As I grew older, I was able to come on my own.
What does Leimert Park mean to you?
Leimert Park means to me Black Panther Wakanda, an African village, a place of African American artwork, for artists to come together that are African and come from the diaspora. It’s very important to gather. It’s a healing place to sell our crafts, show off our work, and connect spiritually with music, with the sound of the drums, and to really communicate. And just reconnect with ourselves. So [in] that way, I feel like it prepares us for the week ahead or the world. When I come here, I feel like I am where I belong. Pasadena is different. Leimert Park is a place that I haven’t seen. It might be the closest thing to Africa that you might get in America. And that’s why I love it so much because the motherland is so important to me, and I can feel that smell in the motherland here.
How have the challenges of this year affected you as an artist and business owner?
Well, the challenges of this year have actually inspired me to do more introspective work and inner-self work. I’ve been an artist and grew up around the culture, so I kinda see the world thru a different lens. I’m not of the world; I am in it. It’s really not a thing to me. It’s just what’s happening with the world and really led me to go deeper within and learn about myself and hone in on my craft and create pieces for my customers. I really love the world like this because people needed a break from that 9 to 5 rat race and all the shenanigans that America had going on, haha. I said, hey, bring it on, haha. I don’t know what other people are thinking, but no offense to those people that may be going thru tough times. I’ve had my fair share of tough times, but tough times make strong people, and that’s what this world needs. Like a tree, it stands strong and is not weak, limp, and falling off to the side. That’s the same way we should be.
What can we expect from Chantrese Janae and Cr8tive Genes in the new year?
Well, Cr8tive Genes is expanding, and what you can expect from me is so much more life, color, and vibrations. Really honing in on the craft and pivoting myself, honing in on the mission so I can serve the community and use the gifts that have been given to me by my ancestors because that is what this experience is about, for me. Not so much about taking life serious but about using that which emanates from the soul and to bring it from within to out. I am also a singer and a dancer, so the world will be seeing more of that because these gifts are from God, and they shall be cherished and shared.
How long have you been in business with Cr8tive Genes?
I’ve been in business for about ten years. I’ve been going to art shows and festivals probably since I was in my mom’s stomach, haha.
You mentioned that Cr8tive Genes was passed down thru your lineage. Was this the inspiration for you to get into this line of work?
My mom is an artist. So I believe that it comes from her influence as well. But it goes deeper because it’s from the blood; that’s where the DNA is, and I am a product of my mom. I see myself more as one of her creations as a painting in a human art form. Because she is an artist, I feel like she has painted me into existence. I grew up going to art shows and festivals like the African American Marketplace based in Los Angeles. Growing up, I would see vendors, and I would say to myself, I want to be like them when I grow up. I want to have something of my own. As I started to get older, I found different things that I could make, and beads were one of them. As I grew older, I said, oh, let me use healing stones to actually heal people and not just [offer] beads. That’s how it came together, and ever since then, I have been evolving.
Are you originally from Los Angeles? Did you group up in the Leimert Park area?
I am from Pasadena, which people consider Los Angeles County. It’s been interesting growing up in Pasadena, but again my mother was bringing me to Los Angeles frequently, so I was a part of the culture in LA, which is very wide. It’s very beautiful, especially for African Americans, and even more beautiful when we have festivals and gatherings because we get to learn from our culture and the motherland and really reconnect with ourselves.
How long have you’ve been coming to Leimert Park?
Good question. I have been coming to Leimert for probably about ten years for the most part. Probably longer than that, but intentionally setting up [as a vendor] ten years with my mom. As I grew older, I was able to come on my own.
What does Leimert Park mean to you?
Leimert Park means to me Black Panther Wakanda, an African village, a place of African American artwork, for artists to come together that are African and come from the diaspora. It’s very important to gather. It’s a healing place to sell our crafts, show off our work, and connect spiritually with music, with the sound of the drums, and to really communicate. And just reconnect with ourselves. So [in] that way, I feel like it prepares us for the week ahead or the world. When I come here, I feel like I am where I belong. Pasadena is different. Leimert Park is a place that I haven’t seen. It might be the closest thing to Africa that you might get in America. And that’s why I love it so much because the motherland is so important to me, and I can feel that smell in the motherland here.
How have the challenges of this year affected you as an artist and business owner?
Well, the challenges of this year have actually inspired me to do more introspective work and inner-self work. I’ve been an artist and grew up around the culture, so I kinda see the world thru a different lens. I’m not of the world; I am in it. It’s really not a thing to me. It’s just what’s happening with the world and really led me to go deeper within and learn about myself and hone in on my craft and create pieces for my customers. I really love the world like this because people needed a break from that 9 to 5 rat race and all the shenanigans that America had going on, haha. I said, hey, bring it on, haha. I don’t know what other people are thinking, but no offense to those people that may be going thru tough times. I’ve had my fair share of tough times, but tough times make strong people, and that’s what this world needs. Like a tree, it stands strong and is not weak, limp, and falling off to the side. That’s the same way we should be.
What can we expect from Chantrese Janae and Cr8tive Genes in the new year?
Well, Cr8tive Genes is expanding, and what you can expect from me is so much more life, color, and vibrations. Really honing in on the craft and pivoting myself, honing in on the mission so I can serve the community and use the gifts that have been given to me by my ancestors because that is what this experience is about, for me. Not so much about taking life serious but about using that which emanates from the soul and to bring it from within to out. I am also a singer and a dancer, so the world will be seeing more of that because these gifts are from God, and they shall be cherished and shared.
How can we connect with Chantrese Janae and support Cr8tive Genes?
You can find me on Instagram under @Cr8tiveGenes, and my other page is my public page for everyone else to follow, which is @ChantreseJanae
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