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| Yilin Choo |
Fascinated by human behaviour, Yilin
decided to study psychology in her native Singapore. Upon getting her university degree, she
started working as a political analyst with the Singaporean Ministry of
Defense. In 2007, her husband got posted to Bangkok for work so she left her
career in Singapore to join him. For the first time in her life, she was at
complete loose ends. Not one to sit still for long, she became immersed in
developmental aid work. This work exposed her to communities in Thailand that
she would never have otherwise discovered. It was during this journey of doing
a lot of non-profit work that she came across a related concept of social entrepreneurship
– a concept that because of its potential for the world “blew her mind”.
Inspired by “social entrepreneurship”
and driven by the need to do something “meaningful”, Yilin combined her
jewellery design skills, developed in Singapore as a hobby, with the access to the
traditionally marginalised communities in Thailand to create a luxury jewellery
brand with social impact. Choo Yilin – a sustainable luxury label was born.
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Vine Trellis Cuff. Studded with london blue topazes and
amethysts.
Leaves gilded in 18KT yellow gold
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“There really wasn’t any strategy.
I
was just doing what felt meaningful”
Without former business experience or
any formal training on the subject, she “just made it up” as she went along –
intuitively correcting her mistakes whenever she made them. It has been a very
iterative process so far, but a process in which she says she has learned a lot
and one which she’s learnt is characteristic of being an entrepreneur.
Her desire to scale both her bottom lines
– profit and social impact nudged her to pursue an MBA at London Business
School. She really wanted to attain strong business fundamentals important for
growing her business. “We were very lucky
to get the market traction that we did. To grow the way we did in three years, completely
through our revenues. It was quite unexpected. However, I knew that if we wanted
to scale, the current skillset that I had was not enough.”
She has loved the MBA experience, “every second of it”. She adds, “It is such a cliché because everyone who
talks about the MBA says something similar but this has truly been one of the
top three watershed moments of my life. The lens through which I view the world
has dramatically changed and as a result the thinking process I now go through
to come to my business decisions has also altered”
From finance, operations management,
to even design and brand management, every aspect of her business will see an
overhaul when she graduates. But what
will always remain is the social aspect of her business. She will continue
working with heritage and marginalised communities, bringing the social impact
and luxury worlds together. It is exciting to see where Yilin’s drive and
creativity is going to take her company. And it is equally inspiring to see how
she will attempt to weave social impact into every aspect of the business,
whilst growing it.
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Fancy Cabochon Branch Ring.
Fancy-cut lemon quartz
checkerboard cabochon with rhodolite garnet
18KT antique yellow gold gilding.
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Of all her collections, the Tree collection is my absolute
favourite! It is why I choose to picture two of the collection’s jewellery
items in this article.
The Tree collection was launched in 2011 during the UN
International Year of Forests. The jewellery label continued its commitment to
social outreach and sponsored a baby tree through World Wildlife Fund's (WWF)
Plant-A-Baby-Tree campaign for every client who made a purchase through them.
Reforestation is important for preserving eco-systems and the communities that
live in them, and “Jewellery, being such a personal item, is a powerful and
visual reminder of the natural world's beauty and the importance of preserving
our heritage of biodiversity," according to Kevin Ong, assistant designer
at Yilin Choo. I couldn’t agree more!
You can see the full collection on the luxury label's website
And you can also follow the launch of new designs on the luxury label's blog
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