Jayme Sy - HellaJam

Jayme Sy is the Bay Area based Creative Director behind HellaJam. Through her YouTube page, Jayme creates a digital diary of her life as she thrifts and styles amazing vintage pieces, and shares her personal life of travel, at home and with family. “HellaJam is a creative outlet for myself, to be 100% myself,” Jayme describes. The content is about inspiring people to live their truth, connecting on a deeper level, and finding understanding and bridging the gap in being first generation American and old Filipino ways.

Jayme would thrift growing up, something that older Filipinos could find shame in, but she saw it as a treasure hunt and a way to be innovative and resourceful in her closet. Not fulfilled in a corporate setting, Jayme began her YouTube channel as an outlet for her creativity. On there she would share her thrift shop finds and how she styles them. She loves Savers in Dublin, CA, going there often in the beginning, and thrifting while on vacation. “If I look good, I’m more thoughtful and impactful,” Jayme says about how style is used to express creativity.

Having thrifted clothing and home goods, Jayme’s most prized thrift piece is a gold chair found at a local Goodwill. Jayme says she has “a rush when thrifting”, and when she found the chair she texted her husband in excitement and said that she would find a way to make room for it in their small San Francisco studio. The chair was a favorite piece and would accompany them in their moves, eventually finding it’s home in her son’s nursery as a breastfeeding chair.

There’s a confidence in styling thrifted clothes, owning the piece and making it yours. This summer Jayme hosted a wedding gown thrift day at Goodwill in San Francisco. Her wedding dress was thrifted, for about $100 or less, and a seamstress personalized the dress to Jayme’s style. So this Goodwill bridal pop up gave Jayme the chance to work with brides to be and share her thrifty bridal styling tips. “Creating for yourself can be isolating, so doing that event which helped women and helps save the environment was rewarding.”

What began with a focus on styling vintage finds then evolved to showcase her personal life as a newlywed and then a mother. Becoming a mother gave HellaJam a bigger purpose. Jayme sees her work as a way for her son, Sol, and her future baby to look at this and say, “Mama’s a bad ass.” Her recent photo shoot, which was visualized while driving, is an ethereal and light mood of white fabric and a cool vibe. Jayme loves urban scenery and urban aesthetic, finding beauty in what people overlook. She would shoot around San Francisco and Oakland but now, as a mother who is more mindful about her time, Jayme shoots anywhere— seeing beauty in what surrounds her.

Jayme is able to connect to so many though being herself, embracing herself, and sharing a look into her life. She has had people reach out and say how she reminds them of a Pinay they know. She said, “your quirks make you beautiful,” which is such a profound take on life. Her honesty and personal connection is beauty and love.

HellaJam can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. And all photos courtesy of Jayme Sy.