Creative Playtime: An Interview With EMILIE OF SOFT GOOD STUDIO

I stumbled upon Soft Good Studio one day deep in an Instagram rabbit hole, and I’m pretty sure I audibly gasped the first time I saw one of her custom signets. The shape is based on family name seals (印章), which she beautifully impresses onto her handmade rings. Her work resonated with me so much for the way she celebrates Asian-American culture through her unique artistic vision. Fast forward a few months when we moved up to Oakland, I knew we had to meet! Excited to share these images from her studio, and some words from Emilie.

Shot on a mix of 35mm & medium format film – #portra800

(image from @softgoodstudio)

Hi Emilie! How are you today? Thanks for having me in your beautiful Soft Good Studio space! Tell us about yourself.

Emilie: 

Hey Meiwen! I’m doing well, thank you for making time and coming out here. I’m a 28 year old Taiwanese-American, born in San Jose, and currently living in Berkeley with my partner and two year old studio dog.

“I’m quickly learning that I can’t please everyone or give everyone what they want all the time. It’s important to protect your energy first and foremost.”

Can you talk a bit about your background, and then how you got started on Soft Goods Studio and your journey here?

Emilie: 

I graduated from RISD with a BFA in Textiles with an emphasis in knit. Up until two years ago all of my work outside of school was textiles work. When I started designing textiles/materials for a living I had a hard time maintaining a personal practice in the same medium. So I turned to jewelry, something I had taken a few courses of in school, as a way to continue making and designing for myself. 

About a year or so into covid I found myself working remotely full-time for a large corporation and dreading every second of it. I started to dive deeper into making jewelry and I began posting things I made as Soft Good Studio. My original intent was to have an online catalog record of the things I had made.

Tell me about the idea behind your family seal signets!

Emilie: 

Traditionally, English signets were worn by men, chunky, and engraved with the family crest. I always admired them, but it also always felt like an item of jewelry that was not made for me - my family doesn't have a family crest or a lineage we could trace super far back. I wanted something that felt specific to my culture. I combined the concept of a chop, or stamp, with the form of a signet ring.

I loved how, in combining a Western form with Eastern design elements, it feels like a reclamation of power and pride. In many ways, the process of feeling sad about not having a family crest and then coming back to my own culture and creating something new feels like the Asian-American experience.

“I think I’m still unpacking my upbringing as Taiwanese-American and Soft Good has been the best form of therapy for that.”

What area of this work is most inspiring, fulfilling, or interesting to you?

Emilie: 

What I find most fulfilling is the initial process of working with a customer. Specifically, I love talking to people about their ideas and working with them on a design that feels most authentic to their vision.

What I find most interesting is learning more within the jewelry space. Things within this world are pretty niche. You have the person that sources the gem, the person that cuts it, the person that sells it, the person that designs the jewelry, the person that casts it, the person that sets the stone, and a whole bunch of other people in between. All of these people have stories and expertise that far exceed my own, and it's been fascinating to learn from them.

What do you love most about the design process and creating each piece?

EMILIE:

For me, I love thinking about a design and having that part locked in, and then having to figure out how it's going to be made. Sometimes the second part drives me nuts, but it feels like solving a good puzzle and I think that keeps it interesting.

Your business has grown so much in just a short amount of time. What have you learned as a small business owner? Challenges? Encouragements?

EMILIE:

I’ve never gotten to work this closely with the consumer, so it's been 1000x more gratifying than designing for a larger brand for an audience that you may never meet. The effect of making one ring for one person that really loves it and tells you so is so much more satisfying. 

On the other hand, it’s definitely taught me the importance of detaching what someone thinks of my work from what they think of me. There’s so much ambiguity and trust that occurs in custom projects, and sometimes what someone sees in their head isn’t what I see in mine. I’ve only had this happen a handful of times, but it's something that still really affects me. I’m still learning how to balance caring a lot about what I do and not getting my feelings hurt when someone doesn’t like it.

How do you envision Soft Goods Studio as it evolves over the next few years? What new areas of your craft would you like to expand to?

EMILIE:

I hope it continues to be a platform for me to share things I’m excited to make and that it grows as I continue to learn about new things within jewelry-making. I’ve started learning 3D cad and I’m excited about it! I think it’ll add a new design language to the things I do currently.

Tell me about the pieces of jewelry you are wearing today.

Emilie:

This is the first ever custom family signet I made! I made it in back in Portland. This necklace was given to me by my partner Den. They call it a “weaving” necklace, which I love, but I also love that it looks like an abacus.

What do you think the role of creativity and beauty is in the world today? What do you hope to achieve through your work and through Soft Goods Studio?

EMILIE:

Soft Good for me is still first and foremost a way for me to share things I’m making and learning. I hope to continue sharing new things in my personal practice and I hope to continue fostering the small community of people that are interested in what I’m doing!

“I hope to continue sharing new things in my personal practice and I hope to continue fostering the small community of people that are interested in what I’m doing.”

Emilie is wearing –– (1) mohair argyle sweater vest from marni / (2) wide legged pants from muji / (3) black doc martens derbys

I love how you weave aspects of your heritage into your work. How has your cultural upbringing influenced who you are as a creative person?

EMILIE:

I think I'm still unpacking my upbringing as Taiwanese-American and Soft Good has been the best form of therapy for that.

So much of my childhood and upbringing under my parent's roof was beautiful and good. I felt supported, cared-for, and I felt like they gave me the freedom to explore whatever I was excited about.

However, growing up Asian American, you start to notice things at a young age that feel off. You internalize the fact that certain parts of the culture your parents taught you is "weird". Everyone has a stinky lunch story. You see your parents infantilized at times just because they speak with an accent. Any AAPI person can tell you a story of discrimination off the top of their head. For the longest time I thought that those shared experiences of "where are you really from" or "konnichiwa" or the model minority myth was what bonded me and created connection to other Asian Americans. Not so.

Soft Good has allowed me to connect so much more deeply and in a way that's not just about our experiences of discrimination. For that I'm super grateful.

Is there a person, or experience, that has influenced you the most, in you becoming who you are today?

EMILIE:

My parents have always served as a north star of ambition, empathy, and leading with your gut. If I can become just a fraction more like them everyday, I’d be content.

What is something you’ve been learning recently?

EMILIE:

I think I understood this, but I never really tried hard to put it into action. But I’m quickly learning that I can’t please everyone or give everyone what they want all the time. It’s important to protect your energy first and foremost.

Music you listen to when working?

I’ve been really bad about listening to new music. Sometimes I just need something that I’ve heard so many times I can just tune out. So for that reason, I’ve just been listening to different playlists my dear friend Katie Han and I made back in school. Each playlist is curated to a different time in our lives and I love them so much.

Favorite things to eat?

My dad’s beef noodle soup.

Favorite fashion shops or designers?

I love going to vintage/consignment shops and searching for fun one-off pieces, but I also love Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake, and Simone Rocha. I think they play with materials and textiles in such interesting and exciting ways.

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Check out more of her work at: @softgoodstudio