Jean Kee

It seems to be a growing trend now for me... a long weekend means another impulsive and last-minuted planned trip to another part of Southeast Asia that I hadn't explored yet. This time around, we were off to Hanoi for 4 days!

If there was one place where Paris meets Chinatown in the chaotically organised way possible, this was it. The colonial European architecture of the buildings with its terraced patios and trellis-walled foliage set the scene, only to be filled with bowls of pho, crazy traffic that only Asians are able to achieve, and humidity out the wazoo. 

We bounced back and forth between the two extremes; from brunch at the chic Sofitel-Legend Hotel Metropole Hanoi (where we were greeted with a demure "bonjour!") to Vietnamese coffee and condensed milk at a road-and-lakeside stall, from browsing a made-to-order French perfumery, to walking the grounds of the Temple of Literature. 

But my goodness... the food? I'll let the photos do the talking!

The design team was given the amazing opportunity to organise a weekend trip to explore the east and west coast of Bali, areas that have not been overpopulated with tourists and that still maintain a large part of its heritage and culture relatively intact. 

We jam-packed as many places to go, things to see (and most importantly, food to eat!) as we could in the span of 3 days. Needless to say, we were completely exhausted by the end of the trip, but it was an experience that we would not trade for anything... except maybe to go back again!

Having one whole week off from work mid-April was the perfect time for me to embark on a crazy jetsetting adventure of meeting up with friends scattered all across Europe. It was simple, really - buy a return flight from Bangkok to London, and then use the high-speed train to get to the different cities on my list. My insane itinerary went something along the lines of:

Bangkok >> London >> Geneva >> Milan >> Paris >> Avignon >> London >> Bangkok

Words and pictures alone cannot describe how amazing this trip was... and how utterly knackered I was once I touched back down in Bangkok on Monday morning at 6am, only to have to trudge my zombie butt to work directly after!

I couldn't help but smile as I put together this little roadmovie... I am really fortunate to have such beautiful, glorious friends - my Jayarezee, Bino, Oli & Keun Woo - thank you so much for hosting me, whether it was just for a 2-hour lunch in Paris, or a night at the house of the Elliot's, ochre boots and all !

Not to sound like a pyromaniac, but a festival about sending lanterns on fire into the sky was something I did not intend to miss while living in Thailand. Known as Yi Peng in Thai, it is a Lanna (northern Thai) festival, which meant travelling up north to Chiang Mai, once the ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom.

Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, we went on the hunt for the famous Khao Soi, a specialty of the region. It is a Burmese-influenced dish, but instead of using rice noodles, our bowl was filled with crispy egg noodles... not that I'm complaining! Appetite sated, a visit to the Doi Suthep temple was in order, before heading back downtown for an afternoon siesta - or in our case, a massage. 

When the sun set, we ventured back out into the city in time for the lantern lighting. Hordes and hordes of people (mostly tourists) filled the streets, lighting, carrying and lifting the lanterns high into the sky (or dodging them if it got astray, which was not uncommon). It was the reality version of the scene from Tangled - simply replace the romantic duet with all-rounded chaos and hullaballoo... you get the idea.

We ducked into a temple to escape from the noise and risk of getting hit by a paper lantern already ablaze, and it was as if we had stepped into another world. There were lights floating on the water, lights hanging from the trees and lights floating in the sky... it was absolutely breathtaking.

While Bali gave us a collection embodying very detailed, intricate scrollwork, the ancient kingdom of Thailand, Sukhothai, inspired us to create a concept that was classically timeless in its appeal, sculpted in silver with accents of 18K gold.

Sukhothai literally translates to the "dawn of happiness" and was considered to be the golden age of Thai culture. Rather fitting for a collection with a bolder look for the modern professional women, no?

I was wandering around the streets of Bangkok the other day when I almost walked into a lamp-post... and crazily enough, the base of the post had the same twisted rope look that is iconic of our new collection! Incredulous, I still can't believe how coincidental my clumsiness became a moment of clarity - seems like we are moving in the right direction with this new collection!

Prior to me starting work in Bangkok, I went on a 4-day trip to Bali to visit the compound of John Hardy to better understand the company's dream, their values, and their mission as handcrafted luxury. 

Founded by John Hardy, a Canadian designer & artist, in 1975, the company applies new design concepts to Balinese artisanal techniques inspired by nature and ancient East Asian art styles and themes, creating luxurious pieces that are not only intricately made, but detailed in the story that goes behind each item.

The compound in Bali is not only the design centre, it also serves as a living and gathering space with an organic farm and low impact buildings. One of the company's biggest focus is to be environmentally and socially conscious of its carbon footprint - the ultimate goal being to become carbon neutral.

As I explored Bali, I did not realise how much it had to offer in terms of culture, heritage and tradition, and returned back to Bangkok truly inspired, ready to begin applying all that I saw into jewellery!

Post-graduation was a time of both relaxation and frustration as my job-hunt began, and I went through the application process of interviews and mini-projects.

But persistence paid off, and I received a job offer from Taphandles, a Seattle-based company that develops and designs brands, merchandise and yes, taphandles, for breweries worldwide. Without hesitation, I jumped on the first flight out from the east coast, to the west, and started work the very next day.

Moving out to Seattle has been a wonderful transition. The people from work are fun, easy-going and we get along well. The projects are fast-paced and keep me on my toes, which guarantees I'm never bored. The weather has been beautiful of late, although I've constantly been told it won't last long. 

And so begins a new chapter in my life! An added bonus being that I've started climbing again... blistered hands have never felt so good :)

As my jewellery pieces were being displayed at the Formed & Forged exhibition in Savannah, halfway around the world, at the same time, I was Tokyo for the weekend to attend my brother's wedding to Fumi Kato.

I left Savannah Thursday afternoon, flew to Tokyo with a layover in both Atlanta and LA, arrived in Japan on Saturday morning at 6am just in time for the wedding at 11am, only to leave back stateside Sunday at midnight. Needless to say, I spent more time in air than on actual Japanese soil.

Despite my jetlag, the experience of attending a traditional Japanese wedding was one I will never forget... as well as the utter exhaustion I felt afterwards arriving Monday morning back in Savannah and heading directly to my Senior Industrial Design studio class!