After more than 15 years caught up in office work, Minh Thu, Ngoc My, and Thanh Huyen (all born in the 1980s) decided to take a turn. They committed themselves to a small workshop, where they poured their love into every stitch and bead to create handcrafted brooches.

The three close friends once held impressive jobs. My was a broadcast director, Huyen worked in education and training, and Thu (My’s older sister) was a telecommunications technician. All three live and work in Hanoi.

For many years, they did their jobs well but found no joy in them. They had to race against deadlines every day, always leaving the office tired and weary. They believed that they could not do the work for life.

One day, all three decided to “pamper” themselves, leave the safe zone, and seek the work they truly loved.

“We tried baking, arranging flower arranging, making paper flowers and clay flowers. But each job only lasted a while.One day, watching a video of a foreign artisan making handmade brooches, I suddenly found a spark of inspiration,” My recalled.

She noticed that in Vietnam brooches were not yet popular and mostly mass-produced. Handmade products with unique designs were very limited.

She began obsessing over beautiful and unique handmade brooches through which she could tell her journey of finding passion.

“I researched how to make them, bought materials and started. The first stitches were very clumsy, threads tangled, beads attached crooked. But I felt extremely happy,” My said.

That joy became motivation to explore and improve daily. She set goals for herself: “more creative mind, more skillful hands and sharper eyes”.

In 2022, My's small brooch workshop officially opened in a small alley on Nguyen Cong Hoan street (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) with contributions from Thu and Huyen. For all three, the small room with sparkling beads, colorful designs and unfinished brooches became a place filled with daily joy.

The “uniqueness” lies in every stitch

The brooches of the women are completely handmade. From sketching designs, choosing materials, coordinating colors, to attaching beads, every step is done with their own hands.

That’s why each brooch carries the imprint of love, passion, and meticulous care from its creator.

“Every brooch is a limited edition. For some designs, we make only one piece, there’s no second one. Some product sets sell very well but we don't remake. Because we don't want to become mass-production machines. Thinking and creating help us find joy every day,” Thu shared.

Each piece is the result of hours, or even days, of focused, patient labor. Some brooches take weeks to complete, from the first concept to the final product.

“We’re very careful when choosing materials, using Miyuki beads from Japan, Swarovski crystals from Austria, pearls, and designer feathers. Behind every bead and crystal lies our own journey of searching and crafting,” Huyen said.

She added that in that small room, they’ve gone through tense discussions, production issues, and product distribution challenges.

There were days when no orders came in, or when imported materials were lost in transit. But after all, they always kept their minds active.

“And in those nights, the lights in the workshop always stayed on. We stayed up late with the shimmering beads and crystals,” My recalled.

Their love for the craft and solidarity kept them from giving up. They constantly encouraged each other and helped one another stand back up when they faltered.

Love for the craft and unity help them not give up. All three always encourage each other, and help each other recover when discouraged.

Now, instead of typing and attending meetings, the women start each day arranging small bead trays, threading needles and choosing fabric colors.

The workshop is not large but enough for three people. For them, this is “another office”, more interesting with the fresh scent of fabric, the clicking sound of beads and the belief that with enough passion, one can write their own story from small things.

Ha Nguyen