Hasta La Ideas

You should know by now that we, at Bloesem love all things ceramic..so we were so thrilled to discover Juliana Hung,  the creator behind Los Angeles-based Jujumade, and her lovely line of hand sculpted ceramic and leather accessories. Simple yet unexpected is how we would like to describe Julie’s designs. We love the simplicity in them and how she never fails to add a playful touch to each of her designs. We are dreaming of wearing all of them! 

Juliana hard at work in her studio.

A short description of yourself and what you do.

My name is Juliana Hung, but everyone calls me something different! Nicknames range from Julie, Jules, juju, ju, jujubee, ju bear- the list goes on and on, but the prefix always stuck. I started the jujumade blog about 2 years ago and eventually this lead me to creating my own line. I wanted to document all the things that I found interesting, and things that I was making. Mainly it was a way for me to keep track of everything inspirational and creative. I was working full time as an industrial designer, and that required me to be very precise and technical. So after work when I was free from that, all I wanted to do was work with my hands and be completely outside of computers and machines! Working with ceramic and leather are the perfect fit – I can morph things into shape with clay, and sew flat sheets of leather into something wearable! What I create is inspired by the potential of the material I am working with.

The motivation behind jujumade is to create something unexpected, playful, yet completely wearable. The collection ranges from bags, bangles, necklaces, earrings, and newly added hand woven straw hats – a little something for everybody!

Pieces from the Jujumade Spring/Summer 2015 collection.

Could you share with us 3 of your favorite spots in your city?

1. South Pasadena Farmers market – it is small but full of great stuff
2. Huge Tree Pastry – this is where I get my taiwanese breakfast fix!
3. Fiore Market Cafe – Best roast chicken sandwich! 

Are there any design hangouts or places you can go to meet other creatives where you live?

I do some of my work at a communal ceramic studio, and it is always so fun and inspiring to see what people are working on! You also get motivated by what people set out to do. I also have great friends that also have their own design ventures and that is also a great resource to bounce ideas off of. 

What is one important lesson you have learnt on your creative journey?

I think it is so important to be constantly be exploring new ideas, I think this keeps me going and keeps things interesting. I don’t put everything I make into my collection, but everything I’ve worked on helps push me forward one way or another. 

If you can learn any tips on how to run your own business, absorb it, learn it, ask for it. I never really learned how to run a small business, I’m learning as I go but it is definitely the hardest part.

Is there a piece of advice you would share with budding designers who are still in school or thinking of quitting their day job?

Just go with it! I figured, if we don’t try while we can, then there will always be regret. 

Do you remember the moment you decided you wanted to do what you are doing now?

I always knew I wanted to start something of my own, but after graduating from Art Center College of Design, I just didn’t know how or where to start. While working after graduating, I started experimenting with different crafts and also took several different classes. Everything really came together when I starting picking up clay again, and somehow the idea of mixing clay and other materials really interested me. I found that what I created seemed special to me, different and I could call it my own.

Where do you find inspiration? Perhaps a favourite blog or website?

When I was working full time as a industrial designer, I remember always looking at blogs every morning before I started working (it was like a morning ritual) and admiring the makers. Some day! I said to myself. I don’t read blogs as much anymore but I love I’m Revolting, she is a good friend and has such a great eye.

Inspiration comes from everywhere! I was playing with my friend’s baby girl, and her puzzles inspired me to create some necklace pieces that you can shift around. I’ve always like the idea making things adjustable, customizable – so all the necklaces are adjustable in some way- you can play with the spacing of the beads, shorten or length to what ever you like!

Finish this sentence — “if we could, we would…”

if we could, we would surf and eat donuts all day! 

.. Jujumade