Every design in our collections has a story—so do we. Learn more about the inspiration behind HanJi Jewelry and how our dreams were made into a reality by reading our story below.

The Minds Behind HanJi Jewelry

Long before HanJi Jewelry was even a glimmer in their minds, our co-founders were already expressing their passion for design thanks to the influence of their unique backgrounds.

Kaining Wang

Like most creatives, Kaining and Shao-Hsuan’s interest in design began to blossom during childhood.

Kaining had a childhood most children could only dream about. Born in Germany and raised in Shanghai, China, Kaining had a great deal of artistic cultural diversity to explore. Like most children, she enjoyed drawing and crafts, but her interest in these creative outlets went far beyond just a simple hobby. As she grew, so did her passion for art.

Over the years, Kaining gained ongoing experience in a diverse range of artforms and refined her style, but she soon became dissatisfied with the limitations of pen and paper. She didn’t want people to just look at her art—she wanted them to engage with it and feel a personal connection to it. Designing jewelry fulfilled that desire for her.

For Kaining, jewelry is not only beautiful to look at and wear. It allows people to express themselves, something that became a great source of inspiration for her. So, armed with the drive and determination to make her dream a reality, Kaining moved back to Germany to study and network for three years before attending the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States. While there, she began dreaming of owning her own jewelry design business—a dream that was eventually realized in HanJi Jewelry.

Shao-Hsuan Hou

Shao-Hsuan, also known as “Sean,” also has a great passion for working with his hands to create unexpected and beautiful things.

Through his optoelectronic engineering background, Shao-Hsuan found himself fascinated with the world of gemstones, and later to jewelry design where he co-developed HanJi Jewelry.

Much of his passion for art is inspired by physical phenomena in the natural world and his designs reflect that. His unique perspective of the world is an invaluable tool at HanJi Jewelry where he explores his love of design in the form of intricate, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry—the likes of which he has won Bronze for in the 2016 International Design Awards competition.

His eye for symmetry, perfectionist personality, and creative design all contribute greatly to the upholding of HanJi Jewelry’s standard of excellence.

Our Goals

From Hanji Jewelry’s very conception, Kaining and Shao-Hsuan have passionately committed to maintaining their company’s integrity and spirit. They actively invest in this both by using Fair Trade gems and designing works of wearable art that truly inspire, thereby changing the market for the better in favor of eco-friendly smaller businesses.

Fair Trade Gems

We take a great deal of pride in sourcing our gems ethically and responsibly. Part of that effort includes only using Fair Trade gems in our designs.

By crafting with Fair Trade gems, we are consciously choosing to help nurture improvements both in peoples’ lives and in nature itself. People are able to earn better wages and work more safely when we purchase ethically sourced gems. The environment benefits similarly; our gems are sustainably sourced in a way that will not cause lasting, irreparable harm to the planet.

Designs to Inspire

By choosing to view jewelry as more than just a fashion statement, HanJi Jewelry are changing the way people think about and wear jewelry. Each design we craft is meant to evoke a special meaning to the individual wearer while simultaneously showcasing the piece’s exceptional craftsmanship.

We view jewelry not as an accessory, but instead as a wearable sculpture that has an intimate relationship with its wearer. We also love exploring how our sculptures interact and coexist with the human body in such a way that evokes emotion in people from all walks of life.

Changing The Market

At HanJi Jewelry, we are always looking for ways to encourage people to engage with more environmentally conscious behavior, like purchasing Fair Trade items and taking time to really invest in what they choose to purchase. We are very passionate about encouraging the livelihood of smaller jewelry brands and building a brand that will help change the world for the better.

By demonstrating our beliefs in this through our business, we are steadily changing the market in favor of the smaller, eco-friendly businesses we hope to see.

Want to Learn More?

Interested in learning more about us or our collection pieces? Send us an email and we’ll tell you what you want to know! If you also enjoyed this article, be sure to take a look at some of the other articles on our site for more useful information.