Creative career stories: Glassware designer, Jim Rokos
Jim Rokos is a multi-award-winning industrial designer and founder of Rokos, a London-based studio which focuses on exploring the properties of different materials - including glass and metal - to create intriguing homeware. This is Jim’s story…
“Go and draw something!”
Whenever I was bored as a child, my mum would always say, “Go and draw something!”. I still have a book somewhere that I diligently filled with drawings of everything I could think of.
My mum was a teacher, which meant that my brother and I arrived home before her during term time. You’re not really supposed to leave children at home alone, so my mum asked a local ceramicist if we could go and make things with him a few days a week after school. This wasn’t a service he offered, but he agreed to give it a go and we made all sorts of clay things together: hedgehogs, owls and dragons.
A for art
I picked quite a few creative subjects for my GCSEs, but - because these subjects were so stigmatised by other kids - I reigned it in for my A Levels and chose some more “serious” subjects instead. Looking back, this was a mistake. I was asked not to sit the Physics exam, and I received an Ungraded for Maths. However, I did get an A for Art and Design. My parents didn't have much of a choice when it came to supporting me in pursuing a creative career because it seemed as though I had nowhere else to go.
I went on to study a Foundation year at art school, where we got to try a bit of everything, which I loved. Coming out of a very stiff public school, I enjoyed being in a place where you just created stuff all the time, and where there was no school uniform. Everyone dressed very creatively, which intimidated me at first until I realised that my new peers were all the nicest kind of people.
Dyslexia & self-confidence
There are massive positives to being dyslexic. Although dyslexics tend not to be as good at spelling, learning languages and remembering things, they tend to be stronger at visual thinking, creative thinking, lateral thinking and problem-solving. As an adult, there are a lot of opportunities to take advantage of your dyslexic strengths.
The problem is that education often values the things which dyslexics aren’t good at. The school I went to wasn’t suitable for someone who is dyslexic like me and has a mind that works differently. As a result, I found school oppressive and confidence-damaging. I was incredibly shy by the time I went to college and barely spoke when it came to group situations.
“As an adult, there is a lot of opportunity to take advantage of your dyslexic strengths.”
- Jim Rokos
For dyslexics - and other people who don’t fit with the “norm” - there can be a lot of damage done in education which isn’t possible to undo later in life. People say to you, “Just be confident,” but it isn’t that simple. When you are a kid, that is when you are developing self-confidence. By the time you are an adult, your brain is hardwired, and it is difficult to change the way you think.
When I am speaking to parents of dyslexic children, I say: find something they are great at and encourage them to do it. It doesn’t have to lead to a career; it just has to be something that makes them feel happy and confident. Creating self-confidence in childhood carries through to adulthood.
Starting my brand
I have tried a lot of different things throughout my career, but I’ll skip to the part where I landed on what I do today…
When I was around 30, I decided I needed a degree and ended up studying Industrial Design. My plan was actually to go into teaching (people had always said I was good at explaining things), but I ended up getting on well with Industrial Design, so I stuck with it. After graduating, I spent a few years taking part in exhibitions, entering competitions and doing odd jobs before I set up my own brand. It hasn’t been easy, but I am still running Rokos today.
Lots of right answers
You’ll know you have found the right path when you are enjoying what you do. You might not enjoy every aspect of the job, but that’s okay as long as you like the main part of it. I’m less keen on checking receipts or counting stock, but I do love using design to solve problems, doing trade shows and seeing people enjoy my work.
It is also important to know that, for most of us, it is not that there is just one right path and all the others are wrong. Lots of people don’t know what they are ‘supposed’ to do, and it can be a very worrying position to be in. The key is to just keep moving, don’t stand still, and remember there are lots of right answers out there.