Can you tell our readers a little bit about how you got started and your journey to becoming a furniture designer? Your pieces are so unique—were you always so creative growing
I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil—my parents are Korean immigrants. My mom and I immigrated to the United States when I was 13. Growing up, I didn't really have creative thoughts. I think that my mom just noticed that I was really bad at studying and that I enjoyed drawing. She was always super supportive and put me into art classes while I was in school. Her thing was she wanted to encourage me to do something that I wouldn't mind doing for long periods of time. For kids, that's really hard to find because they don't have a long attention span. So I think that helped develop me to become more creative in that way. My mom's really awesome and let me do what I wanted to do. Later, I learned that my oldest aunt is a traditional embroidery artist with silk in Korea, which is kind of like a dying art, so I think there is something there in terms of creativity within the family.
Do you still have ties to Korea?
When I immigrated to the United States, my mom spoke mostly Portuguese and Korean, so I had to learn Korean to communicate with her. In the past year during quarantine, my mom went to Korea to take care of my grandparents, and that made me get in touch with my heritage again. I was literally watching so many Korean movies. My Korean has also gotten so much better. I love Korean food. I love Korean people.
Did you go to school for design? What was your artistic path like?
I did my undergrad at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I worked a little bit in interiors, but I didn't love it. So I ended up going back to school for my master's degree in furniture design. While I was in school, I was paying out of pocket and had to find a couple of weekend jobs. I think when you choose to go back to school you tend to work extra hard because you suddenly realize how much money it is. At that point, I literally applied to any competition or scholarship that popped up online.
At school, I was originally supposed to do illustration, painting, and fine art, but when I was working on my portfolio to apply for scholarships and to enter schools, my professor at the time told me that I wouldn't make any money—he was brutally honest about it! But he noticed that I really enjoyed painting perspectives and rooms, so he suggested that I start designing my own spaces.