Copy of About Us
Joy Luck is a Chinese-American interpretation of the superstitions of our ancestors. We want to celebrate hyphenated identities, and all the contradictions that arise in seemingly mundane decisions: what to eat, what to wear, what to say, how to feel. We want to challenge basics (t shirts, blue jeans, chains, etc.) as purely a European and American ideal.
To honor all of these ideas, we create jewelry that is simple, versatile, and symbolic.
After looking for a simple, wearable, yet symbolic necklace for my partner’s zodiac year and turning up dry, I decided to make my own version for his birthday. Hence the Delta Necklace was born, and I began to imagine the pieces I wish I could find, ones that bridged Eastern and Western experiences earnestly and without caricature.
I grew up rejecting many Chinese traditions in order to blend in. I heard from Chinese and Chinese-American friends alike that though their grandparents and parents wanted them to wear something auspicious, they never liked to wear red, gold, and jade. Chinese traditional jewelry was too kitschy; red was difficult to pair with clothing; chains are neutral, but red string was too much. Their reasons said to me: traditional Chinese aesthetics had no currency.
So I asked my childhood friend Rona (who I met in Chinese school 16+ years ago), to help me start Joy Luck. Jewelry became the way to reclaim a multi-generational and multi-cultural story.
What we wear is both reflective and projective. What we want to make is something that you can wear everywhere, that can grow with you, and maybe attract some joy and luck.
- April (co-founder)