#awinewith Fairina Cheng
MEET Fairina, Founder of Fairina Cheng Jewellery.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:07):
Fairina, welcome to Spark tv. It's so good to have you here.
Fairina Cheng (00:11):
Thank you. It's lovely to be here. I think it's the second podcast I've ever been on.
Danielle Lewis (00:16):
Oh, I'm so excited. They're so much fun. They're always super nerve wracking at the start, but once you get into your flow, they're always fun. I love them. If I could just podcast all day for a job, that's what I would do.
Fairina Cheng (00:33):
That is not what I would do, but it is nice. It is lovely being here.
Danielle Lewis (00:39):
Oh, amazing. Amazing. So let's start out just by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Fairina Cheng (00:44):
Okay. My name is Farina, so I am a jeweler and I create jewelry for rule breakers and story makers. It's what I like to say. I love that. Usually these are people who they don't feel represented or heard by the traditional wedding industry, which is there's a definite kind of way to be a couple and way to have a wedding and way to even have a relationship that is quite prominent in the traditional wedding industry and depicted in magazines. And a lot of people don't align with that. So those are the kind of people I work with, and they are the most awesome kind of people in my opinion. I always have a great time with my customers. They're all so lovely.
Danielle Lewis (01:31):
Oh, I love that so much. It's hilarious because I'm watching maths at the moment, so when you talk about the traditional stereotypes and how it's supposed to be and all those things, it's literally just sitting there thinking That's so true. There's almost like a rule book from relationship through to wedding and everything in between. So exciting that you cater to people who are like, absolutely not. That's not for me.
Fairina Cheng (01:59):
So I like to work with people who do things a little bit differently. Usually they want engagement rings that are a little bit different as well, so they don't identify with what they see in movies and what they see on TV and in magazines and want a ring that's quite distinct, might have a bit of color, kind of reflects their personality and also just has a bit of a story to it as well. So I like to incorporate references to their relationship, tell their story in a unique way that's kind of just infused into the whole design of the ring.
Danielle Lewis (02:33):
That's so cool. So how did you get into jewelry making?
Fairina Cheng (02:38):
I didn't think I'd be a jeweler. I was working in marketing. I was working long hours and I decided to look into some short courses just to get myself out of the office on time. One day a week I started to look into clothes making and things like that, and it kind of was really interesting, but it was only when I found jewelry that I thought, oh, that's actually, I'm really curious to see how a piece of jewelry is made. I just can't get my head around how they make a piece of metal, which is so hard into these beautiful designs. So I took a short jewelry course at the local community center and maybe within a day I thought, oh, this is exactly what I want to do. Just jewelry designer had a really cool ring to it, I think. Sorry, that was not supposed to be a pun.
Danielle Lewis (03:35):
I love it though. I'm here for it.
Fairina Cheng (03:40):
And so I decided to look into courses and I was actually surprised there are qualifications where you can learn jewelry making. I just had no idea that this was something that people could do. And so I ended up applying to TAFE to do a design course in jewelry, and then that was a two year course, which I then followed up with a three year jewelry manufacturing course.
Danielle Lewis (04:05):
Wow.
Fairina Cheng (04:06):
So the design course was where you learned conceptual design and infusing messages into your jewelry, and there were no real rules about what a piece should look like. It should be an art piece, it should convey a concept, et cetera. And then the jewelry manufacturing course was very much traditional jewelry. You were given a piece on paper and you were told to make that exact piece. And of course I would always go, oh, I do it like that, but I'm going to put my spin on it. And the teachers just, they brought their eyes at me, but they kind of just let me do my thing.
(04:48):
And so it was really good to get those two different perspectives of that really traditional handmaking element where it was very prescriptive, has a diamond in or a stone in the middle, or you can have maybe one with two stones on the side if you're feeling particularly creative. Then there was the design course, which really went when the jewelry has to maybe have a relationship with the body somehow. But other than that, just go crazy. So I kind of taken both of those perspectives and started to design jewelry that is traditional in the sense that you wear it on a finger or you wear it around your neck or on your ears, but has something different to it.
Danielle Lewis (05:39):
I love it. I love it so much. And I guess having that marketing background as well would be super helpful. So obviously going from job to then studying and now business owner, jewelry designer, there's lots of things to learn along the way. Having that marketing. Have you found that that's helped you spread the word about your brand?
Fairina Cheng (06:00):
Yeah, it's definitely helped. I was working in student accommodation, so it's a very different industry, but marketing was something that I was quite interested in. I definitely got a good start there, but there was a lot of learning along the way. I would spend a lot of time reading or listening to podcasts and picking up tips on all the different things you have to do as a business owner to market your own business. So definitely even beyond marketing, there's a lot of learning to do around how to run a business, how to not drive yourself into the ground while running a business, which I'm still kind of learning.
Danielle Lewis (06:43):
Yeah. I dunno when that lesson's going to be done For me,
Fairina Cheng (06:47):
Still learning it's a life long lesson. Right? Totally. But yes, marketing background, definitely very useful. I do enjoy a lot of the marketing. It was marketing and communication. So I enjoy doing a lot of the writing and doing the blog posts and telling stories about my customers as well because such a key part of what I do.
Danielle Lewis (07:11):
And I love it as well because that is the brand, right? The brand is telling stories and helping people infuse their story into the jewelry piece. I think it's awesome. What did you find big challenges along the way of starting the business?
Fairina Cheng (07:29):
Challenges, I mean, there've been a lot of challenges. I kind of started out very much. I did two days a week at the office and for quite a long time while running the business. I had a very hard time breaking free of that because I didn't believe that I could do it. And looking back now, I wish I'd kind of just made the decision many years earlier. And
Danielle Lewis (08:02):
What finally got you there? What was the thing where you went stuff it? I'm doing it.
Fairina Cheng (08:07):
There were a few things. I think I kind of just got to a point where I was ready. I didn't know I was ready. And there were a few things that happened in my life that kind of prompted me within the period of about three weeks to go, this is it. This is what I'm going to do. So one of them was that I was at a focus group with other business owners and we were going through, we were talking about what it is that we did, and I said to the group that I am a jewelry designer. I do it at the moment. I would love to go. And one lady said to me, oh, are you sure are you can do it. And
Danielle Lewis (08:45):
Okay, love her already bless her.
Fairina Cheng (08:49):
And I was like, oh, well, I mean, I haven't gone full time yet. I'm just a little business at the, and she was like, yeah, I just think maybe you should just keep your current job and not take the leap. And I was like, oh, what? That's a weird thing to say. Until then, everyone had been like, you should do it. You should do it. Go for it. And I just went, no, no. I'm a bit scared. Someone suddenly told me I couldn't do it and I went,
Danielle Lewis (09:17):
I will show you lady
Fairina Cheng (09:19):
Do it. I can't do it. And then I had chat with friends. They just said inspiring things to me at the time. And then I also read Tim Ferris's four Hour Work week, and there were a few. Really?
Danielle Lewis (09:33):
Oh my god, that's the book that got me into it too. Oh
Fairina Cheng (09:36):
Yeah. I know at all these businesses that have happened as a result. Oh my god. I think one of the quotes was the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. So if you're looking for a moment to quit your job, this is when you should do it. And I went, wow, that is true.
Danielle Lewis (09:56):
I really want to reread it actually, because I just remember at the time I was like, oh my God, my mind was blown. I was like, are you telling me you can just make up a business? You can just invent something that doesn't exist and just do it for a job. I was like, what is this sorcery?
Fairina Cheng (10:14):
And you can, but I'm not working a four hour work week, so I don't know what happened.
Danielle Lewis (10:18):
Yeah, yeah. I dunno what chapter that was, but we definitely missed the
Fairina Cheng (10:23):
Whole book, but I think I glossed over that message.
Danielle Lewis (10:27):
Same. Same. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Wouldn't have it any other way. I love that. Okay, so multiple things happened where you finally took the leap and how did you feel? Because already been I guess doing it essentially, but just kind of having that tether to the full-time job. When you finally did take the leap, what was that like?
Fairina Cheng (10:51):
All this time opened up? It was great and it was, yeah. Well, I never looked back. Sometimes I still have nightmares about being back at a corporate job. The job was great, it was fine, but I could never go back unemployable. So it would be like dingy offices and things falling off the ceiling and I was like, no,
Danielle Lewis (11:25):
Don't do it. Don't do it.
Fairina Cheng (11:27):
Yeah, so definitely not looking back. It was great to have all of this time to do all the things that I wanted to do. One of the things that I realized kind of looking back is that I wasn't using that time in a way that was most efficient. So I had a lot of time, but I would spend it putting price tags on jewelry, preparing for market stores, but doing test runs and there were just things that looking back now, I probably wouldn't be doing.
Danielle Lewis (12:06):
I feel like that's a rite of passage though, a little bit, isn't it? I think sometimes you think these are the things that you have to do to be in business to be a business owner, and it's not until you get a little bit more mature in business that you're like, wow, that was a royal waste of time and
Fairina Cheng (12:23):
Geez, how did that happen?
Danielle Lewis (12:25):
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But I think too, you almost want to fill the time as well. You kind of like, I really struggled to move past the nine to five. I was like, if that is the hours, then I should be at my laptop and I should be accomplishing something. It took me a long time to get out of that kind of corporate mentality.
Fairina Cheng (12:46):
I was doing nine to nine or longer. So I was looking back, I could have made much better use of that time. But it's interesting because in a year I'll probably look back on this time and go, what was I doing? I could have just made so much better use of my time and I hope that's what I am thinking in a year's time. I think you just learn so much along the way and sometimes you have to go through it to learn the actual lesson when someone tells you it doesn't quite seep in as much as it does if you've gone through it.
Danielle Lewis (13:26):
It's so true. It's so hard to just take the advice and not just say, oh, I'm different. I can power through, I can do this, I can do that. And then it's not until you're like, oh no, they were right.
Fairina Cheng (13:39):
They were right. I am tired and I do need more than five hours of sleep at night. That's what I'm learning right now. That's what
Danielle Lewis (13:46):
You're learning right now.
Fairina Cheng (13:47):
Totally. I'm still
Danielle Lewis (13:49):
Learning that lesson.
Fairina Cheng (13:50):
Still a lot to learn.
Danielle Lewis (13:51):
Yeah. Well, and that's an interesting thought though. So as a business owner, how do you look after yourself?
Fairina Cheng (14:00):
Because I love my business so much. It is difficult for me to differentiate between when I'm having a great time in my business and when I should be having a great time relaxing. But when I do kind of step away, I like to hang out with friends and maybe we might organize a day where we go out and do a little spa thing or just have a nice lunch or just sit in the middle of someone's living room and chat all day. That's amazing too. So that's what I enjoy doing when I have some spare time.
Danielle Lewis (14:39):
I love that. I know, and it's funny, I think sometimes it's just the getting away. So it's not specifically I go for a run every day, I do this, I do that. It's just time away from the business is healthy.
Fairina Cheng (14:52):
Yes, it is. It definitely is. And I want to, sometimes it's just getting some sleep in having a nap, which I allowed myself to do yesterday, so that's great.
Danielle Lewis (15:04):
I love that. You have to. It's so good. Amazing. And so what's coming up for you? What are you looking forward to in 2024?
Fairina Cheng (15:13):
In 2024, I'm working on a brand refresh and a new website, so I'm excited about that. I think. So I did my brand myself about 12 years ago, did my own logo. Everything has been very DIY and it's served me this whole time. It's been fine, but it could definitely be better. So what I want to do this year is kind of elevate, just have a little upgrade. That's so good.
Danielle Lewis (15:48):
I think it's so important though. I think sometimes people hold themselves back because they're like, I've got to spend $10,000 on a brand and a website and this and this, this before I can actually launch or get started. So I love the DIY, I'm a D Iyer too. I think it's just like, yeah, get it out there and be in business and learn all of the lessons and experience all of the challenges first. And then, because I think as well, you dunno where the brand will lead. So if you kind of get it done in the beginning, you'll end up in 10 years redoing it anyway, so why not just get something out there?
Fairina Cheng (16:27):
Yeah, definitely. I kind of struggled with that at the beginning when I was trying to think of a business name. Couldn't think of anything. 12 years later, I still haven't thought of anything. It's just going to be Farina Chang forever. I think.
Danielle Lewis (16:39):
I love it though. Well, you are the designer. You are the brand. It's so good.
Fairina Cheng (16:44):
That's right. The name's never going to change, so
Danielle Lewis (16:49):
You can rely on it.
Fairina Cheng (16:51):
That's right.
Danielle Lewis (16:52):
No, it's awesome. And it's like, I guess you never know where things will lead, but there, I'm sure there are jewelry designers who even have other designers come in, but it's under them as the brand and what have you. So I love it. Keep it.
Fairina Cheng (17:06):
Okay, that's good. Yeah, sometimes I think it's such a hard name to spell and jewelry's also a hard word for people to spell, and so we put them all together. It's just opportunities for typos everywhere. But at the same time, I think it's My name is me. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (17:23):
No,
Fairina Cheng (17:23):
It's the moment I am the brand I guess.
Danielle Lewis (17:26):
Absolutely. Do you find that challenging being kind of the face of the brand or do you like it?
Fairina Cheng (17:34):
I don't. Well, I find it challenging in the sense that I like being behind the scenes and I don't necessarily getting my face out there, so it's very difficult for me to get the motivation up to film a reel or do some kind of anything to camera. That part's difficult, but what's easy is that the brand is very much, it's a bit like me, but a cooler version of me, I think. So it's because it feels so natural to me, and all the philosophies are very much what I believe. It's very real, and so it's easy to kind of embody it. So it's two different No,
Danielle Lewis (18:22):
That is interesting. I heard once we were talking, I was talking about this, I can't even remember who it was, but they'd been an actress in a previous life and they're like, so what I do now is I hate being the brand and hate showing up on real. She's like, I pretend like I'm playing a role. I'm playing a character of the CEO or the whatever, and that helps me just be this better version of myself. That's
Fairina Cheng (18:46):
Genius. Love that. I have not ever been an actor and I wish that would be amazing. Then you'd be able to step up and it wouldn't take me five hours to film a video. It would be a lot easier if that side of it was a lot easier. I feel like social media would be a lot. I would be a lot more visible on social, which is important these days. I think I'm definitely be dancing on TikTok or anything like that, but I think I can muster looking at the camera and making a bit of jewelry from time to time.
Danielle Lewis (19:35):
So has social media been important for business growth for you? What have you found as been the way that you've gotten the brand out there and has it been social or has it been other channels?
Fairina Cheng (19:45):
Yeah, it's definitely been social. So it's been Instagram and Facebook predominantly, and it was kind of like a slow burn. So I've been on it for both of them for quite a long time, and it's kind of people who have been following for a long time that get in touch when the time's right for them. So in that sense, most people come through social media. Some people come through Google, but those would be my three main channels. And then other ones would come from word of mouth and referrals. So I guess four main channels.
Danielle Lewis (20:22):
Yeah. Awesome. And that is actually really interesting, isn't it? It's not an impulse purchase. I mean, maybe it is you do some one-off, there are things that you could just actually go and buy or are they all custom pieces?
Fairina Cheng (20:36):
At the moment, I do maybe 99.5% custom. So the pieces in the shop at the moment, I haven't put a lot of focus into the shop, but that's going to change this year when I get the new website up. So this is a little bit of a shift in, not a shift in focus, but a new focus that's being added on to my current, which is custom, predominantly custom. And I really love it. I get to work one-on-one with people in their stories, and that's kind of what I love. But I'd also love a channel where I can just design and put things out there that isn't necessarily influenced by what other people, well, in a way it has to be influenced by what other people want, but designs that are me.
Danielle Lewis (21:26):
Yeah,
Fairina Cheng (21:27):
I would love that. So two different channels.
Danielle Lewis (21:30):
That's super cool. And I guess then that will change potentially. Obviously you said it's someone who's been following you then the right time in their life, they get something custom made. I guess now it's like people who perhaps want something from you, but they don't have that special moment yet. Then that gives them a way to actually buy a piece of the brand or own a piece of art.
Fairina Cheng (21:55):
Yeah, exactly. So different pieces, different types of purchases for different people, I think.
Danielle Lewis (22:02):
Yeah, I love that. So good. Amazing. Well, I always love to wrap up our podcast with one piece of advice that you would give another woman in business. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be something that's either served you well or a piece of advice that you would offer up to another woman in business on her journey?
Fairina Cheng (22:25):
I think always keep learning. So you're never, ever done. So there's things that I kind of look back on as we were talking about before, and I feel, I think what was I doing? But that was a process of me learning that it could be done better. A lot of the things that I've implemented and done in my business have been ideas that are a result of listening to podcasts, reading articles, and basically just absorbing knowledge. So this is information from people in my industry, and this is information from people who run businesses, who specialize in marketing, et cetera, and don't feel like this information that you learn has to just come from things like podcasts. They can come from coaches to pay people to give you the information at the right time and push you forward in a way that you wouldn't have been able to if you had been relying on yourself.
Danielle Lewis (23:39):
I love that. And it's so true, isn't it? There's always something new to learn. There's always a new strategy. There's always something that you just haven't learned yet, even though you've been in business forever. I love that. That's amazing. Farina, you are absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for sharing your time and wisdom on Spark tv. I know a lot of people listening in would've gotten a lot of value out of that. So thank you for your time. Thank
Speaker 3 (24:07):
You.
✨ Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business ✨
