Let de Jong – How to sidestep labels and tap into your inner resources

Let de Jong, Let’s Salsa, and David Chislett focused on How to sidestep labels and tap into your inner resources during their 2020 Playful Creative Summit conversation (I’m linking to 2021; 2020 is now private.). This is my kind of woman!!!! A Dutch native, and (former) graphic designer fed up with design, she went adventuring in California, learning from master Mexican chefs, arrived back home and started a taco truck. Only she built the truck. And got such positive reactions to her salsas she started a salsa company next. Which encompasses her own mixes and blends commissioned by other companies.

de Jong makes a fascinating distinction between “creator” and “creative.” She sees herself as a builder – I would use the word “maker.” In her style as a maker, she needs boundaries: salsas, for example, must be spicy, and she refuses to use unnatural ingredients.