Daily Inspiration: Meet Jamaica Cole

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamaica Cole.

Hi Jamaica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got started in construction about ten yeas ago, when I was living out near Austin, TX. I had the opportunity to help a friend of mine redesign his home- a 1940s ranch house that had been completely gutted and moved from Austin out onto a large lot of undeveloped land. I learned so much during this process and I was particularly drawn to framing and drywall because it was so transformative. A few hours work and I could see a an empty space start to turn into a home. During 2020 we built three screened-in porches that I co-designed, and seeing my sketches realized as physical spaces was exhilarating. In 2022 I moved to Los Angeles and got started here with incorporating interior architecture details into existing spaces- I’ve arched doorways and added built-in shelving to several residential spaces, and have had a few larger scale builds for retail storefronts, including a collection of super textured display shelving, shoe stands, and dressing rooms for When Two Become One in Highland Park, where my work was featured for LA Design Weekend last September.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My building work is completely freelance and since moving to LA, I have historically worked alone, which has its many challenges. My strengths are in design and building, but the administrative aspects of working freelance have always been more of a struggle for me, and if I’m being honest, my design work tends to shine more when I have a collaborator.

In the spring of this year I connected with interior designer Rock Zehler, who invited me to collaborate on a closet space for Pasadena Showcase House. Our work dynamic proved to be mutually inspiring, and since then we have been scheming on a new series of collaborative projects we’re just getting started with called calling Secret Spaces LA (@secretspaces.la) . Both of us are drawn to unique, intuitive spaces that reflect real personality, and we want to bring that aesthetic focus to our collaborative work.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Most of my solo work has been about organic shapes. I love creating curves and natural textures, working relatively simply with lumber, drywall, plaster and fabric. My first big job in LA was a 20 foot long 9 foot high wall of Mediterranean style alcove shelving for RiRiKu (the brand is now part of the Highland Park storefront When Two Become One). The build for RiRiKu was a months-long endeavor, something I still can’t believe I did all alone. I did all the building on site and had access to the space 24/7, so often during the summer of 2023 you could find me working in the store past midnight, cutting 2x4s or mudding drywall, blasting music, subsisting on veggie burritos and energy drinks.

I’ve also had the pleasure of building multiple set pieces for music videos for directors Sarah Eiseman and Andy De Luca. Working with them has resulted in my creating some incredibly unique pieces, like a giant crystal heart throne and a full sized set of a bedroom with the side walls on casters so the walls are able to close in. Most recently I built a 9 foot tall freestanding pink bow for a video Sarah directed. I find the most satisfaction in engineering solutions for novel challenges, and these pieces have been the most satisfying of my career thus far.

Pasadena Showcase House, an annual event where different interior designers remodel different rooms in an historic home, was a different type of project for me. Rock Zehler orginally had asked me to build a simple partition wall to close off a closet, but I could sense that we both wanted more for the space and so I suggested a secret room within a room, hidden behind a pocket door disguised as a reach-in closet. Rock agreed, and when Showcase House opened in April, lines were out the door to view our secret closet daily during tours. Each visitor had their own take on how they’d put this secret space to use in their own home, and we knew we’d touched on something special. Everyone wants a place that feels like its made just for them.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I just need someone to “yes, and” me. I get excited about fun, playful design and all of my consistent collaborators share this quality. I love to be able to lock in on a someone’s stylistic goals and find a way to reach them, folding in my own sense of aesthetics. I am almost always trying to make the project just a little weirder, show just a little more personality. And luckily for me thus far, that drive of mine has been met with enthusiasm. A sense of whimsy is so important to me in design and construction. I find great satisfaction in building strong stable structures, but I also need to be able to sculpt the finished product into something interesting, unique, visually striking, and most importantly, fun.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jamaicarosecole.com
• Instagram: @five.times.a.lady

Image Credits
Jamaica Cole
Yasara Gunawardena