Carolyn Kan
Carolyn Kan left advertising to start her own artisan jewelry label, Carrie K. She is also the force behind Keepers, a Singapore designer collective. What drives a person to leave everything behind to pursue her passion?
Q: What really pushed you to want to do this?
A: Well I think that the whole thing that has helped a lot is I don’t believe that there is such a thing as failure. Because I love learning and everything that I don’t do successfully once, I learn from it and I apply it to the next time. So although at times I was doing something completely new, which is you know going down this journey, it was slightly frightening not knowing what it’s going to lead to, but I’ve always thought of this as a wonderful adventure, because I end up creating things or ending up in a place that I don’t expect. And I think that when you are open to opportunities, life has a way of presenting things that work out.
Q: Why is reaching out to other designers and saying, come and let’s do this together, so important to you?
A: Cause I think doing it as a collective, helps build the community from the designers’ point of view being able to have a — a network of people that will support each other. But at the same time, for the customers and the larger community, that are looking for things that are unique and well made, then this becomes an easy destination for them.
Q: What do you hope to impart to young jewelry designers?
Well I think it’s very important to do something that you’re very passionate about, because when you’re passionate about something, you’ll never feel like you’re working. My approach to design is the most important thing has to be about the idea or the concept or the story that you want to tell. Because if you have a strong idea, you can execute it in so many different forms and media. Then after that, it’s about the craft but I think the important thing is that if anybody is going to start something new, always be unafraid to ask. Ask questions and approach the people that you respect to get advice from them.
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