Monday, February 24, 2014

Hanh Nguyen

Name: Hanh Nguyen
Website: www.hanhny.com

What do you do?
Fashion Design

Where can we find your work?
On my website at www.hanhny.com or in person at DSF Shop in San Francisco, the SJMade Holiday pop up in Valley Fair Mall (open until the end of December), and The Upperside pop up shop in The Netherlands as well!

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Life inspires me to create. My childhood, my family’s history, family and friends motivate me when things get tough.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Musicians, other artists, my family and friends

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
 princess mononoke

When do you get your best ideas?
On a long road trip, at a concert and in my sleep.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Pencil and/or acrylic on paper, adobe illustrator and photoshop.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I graduated with a Bachelor degree in Apparel Design at San Francisco State University and a Master degree of graphic design in Italy. Getting professionally trained helps a lot because it got me started and the rest are all from experience.

What would your creative work taste like?
Eclectic and contradicting– a mix of contemporary and vintage, tomboy and girly, Eastern meets Western, muted and bold. I can’t sit in one spot for a lot time…that should explain why I am a bit all over the place ;)

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Travel!

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I never thought about how to gain confidence to put my work out there. I only share what I love and am happy with. So when you tell yourself, ‘Yes, I love it! There must be someone out there that shares the same taste and aesthetics!’ then you don’t question it.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I have only been in the fashion industry for a little over 5 years now and just landed my own clothing line, Hanhny last month…I’m still learning everyday. This, I know I’ll never stop doing. It’s hard to live a life of an artist and do what you love as a profession, but if you love it enough, your mind and body will automatically make you do what it takes to keep going at it. Even if you have to do some tedious work on the side before you get there. If anything comes easy, would you appreciate it as much? At least you’ll have a more interesting story to tell!

And of course, surround yourself with people who are supportive and share the same dream, so you can help each other out.