‘There’s sweatshops in America … there’s ethical production in China. It’s not black and white.’ US accessories designer on making her goods in China
- Any customer who discovers Chunks through Instagram will clearly know designer Tiffany Ju’s hair barrettes, clips and eyewear are products of China
- Ju made a conscious effort to ensure consumers understand this, as innovative Chinese manufacturers continue to grow in prestige and status
It all started with a futile quest for a hair claw.
“I just wanted a cute claw,” says Seattle-based accessories designer and artist Tiffany Ju, “which is impossible to find. You just can’t find one. It's nowhere.”
Ju is a master of many trades, including moulding and weaving textiles into curvy shapes that protrude and dangle from their form in mesmerising patterns, using weft yarn from leftover hand-dyed nylon fabric.
A graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York, the Korean-American entrepreneur went viral with her B.Z.R. Shop, founded in 2012, which featured hand-dyed ombre tights in yummy shades. Chunks is a delightfully on-trend accessories shop Ju founded last year that looks like it was made for Instagram, its products a playful explosion of squiggles and colours.
For years, she toured craft shows and art fairs in the Seattle area, selling creative goods that blended her passion for making art and upcycling materials. But crafting a claw called for a different set of skills. This time, she sketched out her ideas – literally painted shapes on a piece of paper – and sent them to a factory to be produced in China.
