The jujube is a small, date-like fruit often used in East Asian teas/medicines/recipes (like samgye-tang, the world’s greatest chicken soup). Among other things, jujubes represent prosperity, vitality, and fertility.

To me, jujube means cherishing. Haraboji’s (my grandpa’s) nickname for me as a kid was, loosely translated, “club made of jujube tree” because my head was so hard. He’d watch with bemused tenderness and wonder how I’d end up moving through life.

Being hard-headed makes me resolute, which has pros and cons. Whatever project I commit to in this practice, I do it until it’s done right.

I also learned this watching my dad obsess over details in his printing shop. He’d quietly lean back from the cutting board and discard yet another chunk of vinyl because a corner was misaligned, testing my mom’s sense of urgency as she rolled out the next slice. Each order delivered to customers meant a graveyard didn’t make the cut. Premier Banner’s cost structure suffered, but pride in his work carried into reputation for care.

Like my dad, I craft with threads of Haraboji’s strength. Every opportunity we have in this world only exists because someone used theirs for someone else.

Work should enable people to cherish what they cherish. I’d like to do that here.

-JJB