A trip to New York City and a slice of blue agate stone helped propel Emmy Trinh from her corporate track to launching Emmy Trinh Jewelry. Designed out of her workshops in Vancouver and Seattle, Emmy’s jewelry is gaining a loyal following as wearers fall in love with her minimal aesthetic and versatile designs.
How did you get your start in creating jewelry?
I was in NYC on a trip with one of my girlfriends and stumbled upon a bead shop. I found a beautiful agate stone and decided to make a necklace out of it. I bought the stone and some chain, asked the man at the bead shop how I would assemble it, what tools I would need, and made my own necklace.
It was a slice of a blue agate and the outside of the stone had gold plating around it, and the inside had little rock crystals. It was a beautiful, pretty big statement stone. I ended up wrapping some gold wire around it, put it on a long chain, added some spikes, and ended up creating a statement piece.
I started wearing the necklace and got a lot of attention from friends and people passing by on the street who wanted to buy the necklace.
What was the motivation in turning your hobby into a business?
I was taking time off from my corporate job to take care of my mom. As the time passed I started thinking about getting back to work. I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur and start my own business. Having all of those comments about my first necklace, and having people wanting to buy something I made gave me the confidence and the spark to turn it into a business. [I launched] Emmy Trinh Jewelry after about a year of research and development and haven’t looked back since.
Once I had the ability to focus on me and my mom, it gave me the chance to figure out what I actually wanted to do in life. I wanted to do something I was passionate about, I wanted to do something that I couldn’t wait to get started in the morning, and I’m so grateful that I took that time off to reflect.
What acts as your inspiration?
I’m inspired by beautiful things and places: stone, nature, Vancouver, my travels, Scandinavia – Sweden in particular.
How would you describe your style aesthetic & what type of jewelry are you creating?
Our aesthetic is modern and minimal. It’s versatile and something that any woman can wear to work, to a date, to go shopping. It’s very easy to layer with existing pieces that you have in your jewellery wardrobe and the collection is made so that everything can be worn together. The collection includes necklaces, bracelets – including magnetic clasp bracelets – and earrings. I’m currently working on a ring collection that will be introduced this spring.
What do you love about what you do?
I love my job because I get the chance to be creative every day. It’s always changing, it’s not just designing or making jewelry – it’s learning how to market. I started picking up photography because I have to shoot pictures of my jewelry. Social media, and other kinds of marketing, it’s always a challenge and every day is something new. I’m never bored, I’m always passionate, and I work a ton but it doesn’t feel like work because I love it.
What’s your favorite social media platform?
Instagram because it’s highly visual. For my product I have to be able to communicate to the audience and potential customers. I also think it’s a lot of because it’s a way to engage with people from all over the world – people you couldn’t even imagine are commenting on your feed may comment on or like a photo we have. It’s very rewarding and it’s also art – it’s another way for me to express my creativeness.
To see more of Emmy’s stunning designs, visit emmytrinh.com and follow her @emmytrinhjewelry.
Featured frames: Joseph Marc 4132 Sand with KODAK BlueReflect lenses for digital protection.
Shop Joseph Marc
Visit Coastal