Hey it’s me, Jon Jon, you may be wondering how I got here. Well, it's a long story (ques in Baba O'Riley by The Who). Jokes aside, all my life people have questioned my intentions when it came to working in the field of osteology, why have an interest in human skeletons knowing the deep routed taboo behind this mysterious industry. Of course, my interest came from a natural curiosity and appreciation of the metaphorical puzzle pieces that build us together, but it first started with one of my fondest childhood memories I share with my “best friend” and late father. When I was 13 years old growing up in Bangkok Thailand, my father had pulled me aside to give me something truly sentimental to his own childhood that he acquired about my age in boy scouts during the 1960s. He gave me a mouse skeleton, to most this would be a strange gift that one father gives to his son, but to me, I was in awe of this piece. Never before did I truly understand the intricacies that made up a skeleton. This would be the foundation of what was yet to come in my journey into the appreciation of the study of osteology.
By age 15 my father and I moved from Bangkok all the way to the U.S. in South Bend, Indiana. I continued my interest in osteology by reading books on the subject and scouring the internet for any information I could find to further educate myself on the matter. During this time I also grew an interest and passion for fine arts and drawing, and soon I would have an opportunity presented to myself that would combine these two passions of mine together. At my new high school, I had stumbled into the science department where I found something that peaked my interest. Concealed behind a glass case forbidden for students to touch was a rat skeleton. I asked a teacher who was in the department at the time where they acquired the skeleton, so I could use it as a still life study and drawing reference in order to improve my art. They were kind enough to recommend to me the supplier’s website where they purchased this piece, to my disappointment unfortunately this pristine rat skeleton would cost me $2000. I turned this into a motivation to go out of my way to articulate skeletons and learn the craft for myself.
A couple of years go by, soon came along my high school graduation, where I packed up and moved my life all the way to New York City to pursue a degree in Product Design at Parsons School of Design. I would soon be making friends with people who truly understood me and my passion for osteology, building these connections would then introduce me to Mike Zohn who starred on the TV show “Oddities”. Mike owned an antique store in the city, and this is where I would discover not only could you collect human skeletons, but there was a community of people who had the same interest as me for human osteology. For once in my life, I felt understood for my obscure passions, and further would create the foundation and the building blocks to JonsBones, where I initially started the business selling articulations and slowly moving into human osteology. In the creation of JonBones, I wanted to use this platform to further educate and bring a second life to these pieces. Our long-term goal at Jonsbones is not only to continue educating the study of osteology to a wider audience but to eventually incorporate Biomimicry products of conversational pieces in order to further destigmatize this taboo industry.
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