Jeanine Hsu: Paving the Way in Sustainable Jewelry Design
While sustainability is often discussed in the fashion industry, jewelry frequently gets overlooked. Not for Hong Kong-born designer Jeanine Hsu, though. She is leading the charge for eco-conscious practices in the jewelry sector with her brand, niin.
niin is fast gaining international acclaim thanks to its winning combination of contemporary and bohemian styles. niin designs were recently featured in the hit TV show The Bachelorette Japan and the brand’s pieces can be found at prestigious outlets in Hong Kong and overseas, including the Four Seasons, Lane Crawford, and Selfridges.
Jeanine’s designs are meticulously crafted using artisanal techniques from Southeast Asia, embodying her commitment to ‘tread lightly on the earth’ through ethical preservation and conservation practices. Each piece is handcrafted from natural materials like gemstones, driftwood, shells, and metal.
Having recently relocated to Bali, Jeanine is excited to introduce her latest collection, Bumi — meaning ‘earth’ in Bahasa — which is part of her innovative jewelry line Gentle Diamonds. In this exclusive interview with The Beat Asia, Jeanine gives us a sneak preview of her new collection and explains how sustainability is central to her work.
Can you tell us about your latest niin collection?
My most recent collection is a jade collection all made in Bali. Our goal is about recycled materials, and the Jade collection is all made with recycled silver.
I was struggling to find Jade in Hong Kong but now I'm based in Bali I am able to partner with artisans here. I met a stone carver at his home who showed me a whole bucket of stones — all jade! He now sources our jade from Indonesia and helps me carve it.
Why did you choose Jade for this collection?
As in most collections, the stones find me. My strong connection to Asia and my Chinese heritage was also a big part of it because my father was Chinese. He actually passed away last year, but in a way, I feel like using jade brought me closer [to him]. Jade is a very honorable stone with a lot of meaning; it’s all about purity and protection.
Is there a favourite piece you have in your latest collection?
In my latest collection, I like the drop pendant earrings a lot. Also, the Mother of Pearl piece is another favorite; it’s quite classic, using both shiny and matte materials, but it also has a twist.
Why is sustainability in this industry important to you?
We want to be mindful of every choice that we make. And jewelry is just my medium for my mission of being sustainable. The idea is to be circular. At the end of the day, I'm providing a product that requires selling. But there are also many more ways now to find recycled or natural materials, and the idea behind my brand is that it makes people think a bit more about how things are made. We’re offering an opportunity and an option to go with something that doesn’t harm the earth.
The name niin itself is a nickname, but in Finnish, it’s a positive affirmative word, so if you put niin in any sentence, it becomes positive in that language. niin aims to spread positive energy through the materials and how we use them. We upcycle from trash and make it into treasure and respect the healing energies that the crystals or just nature, in general, give us humans. That's my goal through my jewelry.
Do your customers relate to your gemstones on a spiritual level?
Absolutely. I was curious to see how the reaction would be because I've always pictured jade being worn by a different generation. My grandmother used to wear a lot of jade. I never gravitated towards it before, but I think that this year has been quite a tough year for many people, and I think gemstones mirror those emotions. Jade was a big hit in both Japan and Indonesia, in fact, our product launch in Tokyo was our biggest one for a while. It definitely seems jade is making a comeback.
Your jewelry line was recently featured in The Bachelorette Japan. How did that go?
The Bachelorette Japan was filming in Bali, and the producers were looking for an engagement ring. We had just launched this engagement collection called Bumi in London, which is our first collaboration with Gentle Diamonds.
These are non-mined diamonds, so they haven’t caused environmental, physical, or social damage. I had some of our diamond rings with me so was able to provide a ring for the show.
We were styling the Bachelorette, Aki [Aki Takei] throughout most of the program with our current collections. Aki is really warm and lovely, and she loves the brand as well, so she gladly did a video for us. She's a great ambassador for us in the new Japanese market.
How did you become interested and subsequently develop your passion for designing jewelry?
I studied fashion design and was always interested in sculpture at school. It was design or nothing, as far as I was concerned. I thought, 'If I get into Central Saint Martins, I'll do fashion,' and I did, and loved every minute of it.
I love the whole idea of how you adorn the body. When I was working in costume design in Vienna — I’m half Austrian — they made everything from scratch, from the gloves to the shoes, so I became interested in building items that could be worn. Jewelry was a natural choice, as it was fashion and sculpture combined.
The brand niin started with wooden bangles. A friend of mine was sourcing wood and bone items from India, and I began by selling her products and designing through that workshop. I realized how much wood just goes to waste and gets burnt. So then I developed my own partnership in conjunction with a luxury jewelry maker in the Philippines. It's been a journey of establishing good relationships with these artisans. Today, we make all our jewelry in Southeast Asia at a mixture of workshops, depending on the materials.
Why did you choose Hong Kong as the place to jumpstart your career?
My family was living in Hong Kong, and I grew up here, so it had always been in the back of my mind to come back. It’s a great place to start a business.
We opened our first showroom, which used recycled floorboards. I collected all the furniture [for the showroom] from various uncles and aunties. I made it my mission not to go to Ikea. I'm glad that it's now become a trend and people are more conscious about choosing things which have less impact on the environment.
It does take time though, and time is money. A real businessman would look at it and say, 'You wasted that whole month sourcing when you could have been up and running faster.' But we all know that fast doesn't mean ethical or sustainable. It’s about slowing down a little bit sometimes.
It’s not easy to make it as an independent designer – are you satisfied with your career journey so far, and what significance does this career hold for you?
I could probably have focused a bit more on making money. Now it's about turning it from building the brand and the ethos to becoming more commercially minded.
It’s taken me a while to embrace this concept, I've been learning a lot along the way. I think the process has been a challenge every day.
At the same time, it's inspiring, and I really hope to make some changes to give back to society.
Are you more hopeful about the future of sustainability from what you’ve seen with your consumers?
Definitely, it's increasing daily. There are a huge amount of entrepreneurs living in Bali trying to make a change. If you look at the waste situation in Indonesia, it's quite dire, but a lot of inspiring people are trying to help and make changes. Even in Hong Kong, I would say people are more interested in sustainability now than they ever were. If we all continue this trajectory, I hope we have a chance.
What does the future hold for you and niin?
We look forward to niin being distributed in more places and spreading more impact through artisans, the community, and also further afield. I hope we can bring some positive energy and make everyone a bit more mindful.
You can shop niin here, and stay connected by following niin on Instagram and Facebook for more information.
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