June Lau on Founding Novel Fineries and Designing Jewellery

The art and process of conceiving and creating the objects we use, the clothes we dress in, and the buildings we live in and admire affect much of what we see and do. In this series, we rounded up seven local female designers – women whose work has enhanced our lives, and we think may do the same for you.

Below, we discover the artful designs from June Lau, a jewellery designer and founder of Novel Fineries.

In Conversation With June Lau

Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get into design?

I grew up in a traditional and conservative home where science and math were the most important subjects and my parents both worked very serious office jobs. As an only child, I had a lot of downtime to myself and I would always be painting, dreaming of inventions or taking things apart to see how they were made. I was a very curious child and loved beautiful creations. I knew I wanted to get into the creative field at a young age but at the same time, I wanted to fulfil my parent’s wishes. Eventually, I found a happy medium – I earned a university scholarship and studied engineering for product design. In university, I designed and patented my first two-part product which positively conditioned severe eczema patients to not scratch themselves during their sleep. This medical product help me gain significant momentum and led me to start my first company, ‘above blue design’, a product design consultancy firm that works with a broad range of clients to deliver timeless design in handheld electronics, interiors, and automobiles and furniture. I partnered with another designer and we slowly grew our database through word of mouth. Our creative process, “from concept to realisation” drove me to create things for myself too. From there, I further expanded my creative and business ambitions and I started my current company, Novel Fineries, which has since become my primary focus.

When did you transition into fashion and jewellery and why does this medium excite you?

Through above blue design, I visited many factories around the Mainland. I recall one time in Suzhou, I came across a lady on the street selling trinkets with this unique embroidery. On one side of the key chain, the face of a panda was embroidered and on the reverse, the back of the panda head. It fascinated me so much that I bought all of the trinkets from the lady (she was very happy) and dissected the embroidery at home to figure out how each stitch was made. In school, we were taught how to use large scale machineries such as CNCs, mills, and lathes so this type of delicate handwork really blew my mind.

One Christmas, I decided to make a butterfly using a similar style of embroidery as a pocket square. I loved the saying “you give me butterflies” and also the naturally beautiful colours and patterns of butterflies. I designed the butterfly with the concepts of romance, new beginnings and beauty in mind, to be worn on left-hand side of the suit pocket, over the heart, waiting to be revealed to the world. I re-created 50 real species of butterflies with Suzhou embroidery master craftsmen. We worked through various approaches in our creative collaboration and ultimately developed my vision of the perfect pocket art.

Shortly after, I joined a call-out award from Lane Crawford, won, and had the opportunity to work with the Lane Crawford team to learn the ropes in the fashion industry. I started Novel Fineries at the same time to grow my passion and explore heritage art forms from different countries. I began to travel and work with great masters from all over the world to create unique pieces which celebrated the traditional and the new. Our collection has grown over time and now includes our signature silk-embroidered pocket art in the trademark butterfly motif described above, unisex belts in locally sourced leather using a braiding style from Italy, Japanese Obi-inspired bowties made from untouched antique silks, glittering glass beading from India, screen printing from England and much more.

During Covid, I shifted my focus back to Hong Jong and its custom jewellery craft. I had collected loose assorted gems over the years such as aquamarine, sapphires and emeralds that my father brought from Brazil years ago for my mother as souvenirs. I decided to turn these precious stones into something my mother could wear as I thought it would be a symbolic combination of my father’s love blended with mine. I had learned wax making from a good friend and she also taught me the basics of drawing jewellery. My Serpentine jewellery collection was thus born.

Who are your greatest influences in design?

My muse is my beloved grandmother. I spend hours digging through her stacks of old photographs, trinkets and crystals whilst she knits. I often find something interesting in grandma’s collection and when I ask her about the item, she leans back in her chair and begins to tell me a story of her past life or where she brought the certain trinket from. These stories and her energy really inspire me and show me that my creations, like her trinkets, can be something that someone cherishes forever with fond memories that bring laughter and joy. Our moments together remind me that I should design to create meaningful and quality items that people will treasure and pass on for generations to come.

What is your design philosophy?

The foundation of my work is to promote individuality through revitalizing heritage art into modern-day heirlooms. All pieces are hand tailored and fine-tuned into the highest quality one-of-a-kind accessories and jewellery. Each piece and gem is rare and impossible to replicate, taking fine luxury to a bespoke level, highlighting the traditional methods of Asian artisans.

Can you name a moment in your career that you’re most proud of?

When I received an invitation to open my first atelier at The Peninsula Hong Kong I didn’t believe it at first. This store opening marks a huge milestone in the history of Novel Fineries as well as my own personal story. I am in all the roles: designer, sourcing manager, accountant, business development manager, sales representative and the list goes on. For me, it has been a process of self-discovery as I wanted to create a business on my own terms with an individual blueprint. I relied on my own instincts and can say the store opening is by far the biggest risk I have taken in my career with the most responsibilities attached to it. However, to me, this is a wonderful opportunity to rise to the next level and one that is essential for me and my brand. Working alone can be challenging but I am delighted that Novel Fineries is a part of the community of Asian brands coming together at our new home in The Peninsula Hong Kong. I am very grateful to the team at The Peninsula Hong Kong for their consistent support and guidance with my flagship store.

The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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