![]() ![]() What’s your favorite place to go in Chinatown? "Resilience" means differently to our parents than to our generation, to see young Asian kids embracing their heritage in different cultural environments in their own fashion brings pride, it's a different form of resilience we are experiencing now. Perhaps it's the traditional teaching of being humble that made us more or less "invisible", but I see them, and I see what impacts they have brought to the world. If you look into every industry and impactful businesses, you'll find so many key decision makers of Asian heritage. I am proud of our Asian (American) community because we play significant roles in economic and cultural developments everywhere we go. Why are you proud of the Asian (American) community? It took me some time to realize the power of representation and visibility on an international stage, how that could be an inspiration for many second/third/fourth generation Asians to feel seen and be proud. Originally I only focused on design and culture in the Chinese language environment, now it seems very clear to me how Chinese culture runs through the veins of the entire Asian-diaspora, and its ability to adapt and morph regionally across the globe is what ties all the Asians together. There are many nuances in Chinese culture that would be difficult for anyone outside of this culture to decipher. To be honest, coming from Asia you don't think about what's so special about being an Asian entrepreneur because everyone is Asian there! I think for what we are doing, coming from a Chinese background really helps to establish an authenticity, and I was able to offer my perspective on an inter-cultural level. What is the significance of being an Asian founder in your industry? Over the past 6 years we have been in business, both the store and Chinese design in general have grown so much, it's a quite exhilarating experience. Now we have evolved into an Asian lifestyle boutique with strong community support. I worked in various sectors of fashion, design, art and filmmaking before but never in retail, so I had a more raw and experimental approach to it. I thought perhaps I could start a store to showcase a few that I found interesting, it would be interesting to see the US market's reaction to this idea, and also serve as an archive to witness the growth of Chinese design. Even in China, contemporary Chinese design was just starting so there wasn't that much visibility overall. ![]() ![]() I started Chop Suey Club because I was looking to buy clothing and home design goods from Chinese designers, but couldn't really find any in New York or in the US at that time. I've been living in New York for 12 years now. I was born and raised in Beijing, China, I moved to New York for college when I was 19 and stayed here ever since. What is your background, and the inspiration behind your business? ![]()
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