BUILDING HERO OF THE MONTH: JEREMIAH JORDAN

Since the very beginning of the Building Hero Project, we’ve had the pleasure of working with many talented builders, creators and do-gooders of all ages. Each month we want to highlight some of these incredible creators and share with you all what they’re up to. This month we are highlighting Jeremiah Jordan, who was a part of the Spring 2019 cohort. Jeremiah was an integral Building Hero team member in leading the renovation of the community garden at Samuel Powel Elementary School with students, teachers, and parents. This included helping design the now semi-iconic ‘gates’ to the garden.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?

Jeremiah has a really unique collection of experiences and projects that make us smile every time we talk to him. Currently, he is a chef at Condessa, a new restaurant in Philadelphia, that he joined to learn a few new cooking processes. Unsurprisingly, not long after being brought on to help open the restaurant, staff realized how good he is at training people and now one of his key roles is training to new staff in the kitchen. He finds a lot of joy in the intensity, the order and the processes of creation in the kitchen and has spent over half of his life working in restaurants. Prior to working at Condessa he was a job coach at Community Integrated Services. Frankly this title is a gross understatement for the really cool work he was doing there, supporting individuals with disabilities who are working to earn some income from the art they produce. He would help them create products that were true to their aesthetic but also were marketable and then work to find the best possible venues for them to sell their work. “It’s hard to figure out which fairs and venues are good places to sell your own work, it’s even harder to do so for someone else but I really enjoyed it.”

Jeremiah has been steadily creating more and more art work as well as jewelry for exhibition and sale. His work combines traditional woodworking, contemporary painting, laser cutting and jewelry design. His work has been exhibited at Elixr, WN/WN, and Crime and Punishment Brewery. Recently, his beautiful jewelry has really been taking off and he has had to refill his pop-up store display at Elixir three times. Check out his website here and make sure you follow him on Instagram at @jfrancisdesigns and @confettipaint.

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

Jeremiah’s exhibit and pop-up store at Elixir Coffee Roasters (207 S Sydenham St) has been extended to the end of April!

One of the things that you will find when talking to Jeremiah is that he is incredibly modest and humble, and as such it can sometimes take a little bit to fully understand the breadth of what he is working on at any given time. One of his really cool side projects that he is working on with seven friends is the Philadelphia Packaging Company (PPC). They collectively got a grant to produce a phone book highlighting businesses that have been in Philly for awhile but are facing being pushed out due to gentrification. The goal is to capture the stories behind the business and shine a light on/market them. You can follow their progress on Instagram at @philadelphiapackagingcompany

WHAT WERE THE MOST VALUABLE ASPECTS OF THE BUILDING HERO TRAINING PROGRAM?

The Training Program definitely gave Jeremiah a chance to strengthen his wood working skills but, along with many others in his cohort, really valued learning how to collaborate and work together as well as with other groups of people to accomplish a goal.