designer draws on chinese and brazilian heritage to create iconic jewelry -凯发国际娱乐试玩

brazilian jewelry designer fernanda sung says her heart soars whenever she enters her studio in a small apartment she shares with a fashion designer from india in a century-old building in a shanghai lane.

during her 12 years living in the city, sung has developed the fernanda sung jewelry brand. it's not a big name, but it is gaining attention, especially among expats living in shanghai.

"i studied jewelry accessory design in my hometown of sao paulo and then earned a master's degree in packaging design in milan," sung said. "so i have a background in fashion related both to design and marketing."

in 2012, sung decided to visit shanghai because of her chinese heritage. her father was brazilian by birth; her mother a taiwan native who emigrated to brazil at a very young age. sung's maternal grandfather was from a small town in china's henan province. sung uses the maternal family name, and although she didn't grow up learning chinese, she wanted to know more about china.

after a year's study in shanghai, sung said she fell in love with the city, so she prolonged her studies here and then worked for a year in the fashion department of a trading company.

"it was a learning experience – visiting factories, talking with suppliers and managing production and quality control," she said. "i applied all that i learned to my own business later."

elements of her daily life have become the inspiration for her designs.

"shanghai in bloom," for instance, is a collection based on the shape of the magnolia, the city's official flower. sung said the vibe of spring is a symbol of renewed hope.

her "windows" series is inspired by architecture in shanghai, both art-deco from early last century and chinese styles, like traditional lattice windows.

the "tropical" collection expresses her brazilian roots with foliage-shaped earrings, and necklaces and rings evoking images of rainforests and sunny beaches.

"i focus on silver jewelry to create pieces that are easy to wear yet quite unique," she said. "instead of jewelry worn only on special occasions, i want to create jewelry that people will wear as much as possible for as long as possible."

doing business as an expat in shanghai has its challenging moments, especially at the onset.

"i think that the transition from being a student to starting a business was quite difficult," she said. "i was nervous, even scared, at the beginning."

she registered her company in baoshan district, which was offering incentives policies to foreign companies. and she received help with procedures and paperwork from other foreigners who had started their own businesses in shanghai.

"being able to discuss and share that kind of information really helped," she said.

sung has established stable relationships with chinese local manufacturers and suppliers.

"i hand-make prototypes here in my studio and then send them to a manufacturer," she said. "i have different suppliers, some of them based in shanghai and others in guangdong province. the suppliers offer me silver and other needed materials, and the manufacturer delivers the finished products."

fernanda sung jewelry is now sold on a wechat store. on fridays and saturday afternoons, her studio opens as a showroom where customers can view the jewelry in person. through various channels, she has established a stable customer base in shanghai – and in sao paulo.

sung said it is rewarding to live in shanghai, where one can bike everywhere and walk safely at night.

"many people from brazil have told me that they're not afraid of walking at night in shanghai," she said. "it's a big thing, especially for women."

the past 50 years of sino-brazilian diplomatic relations have allowed both countries to explore one another's culture, she noted.

"shanghai doesn't have many brazil-style restaurants other than barbeque eateries, but actually our cuisine is multicultural," she says. "brazil has immigrants from around the world, including italy and lebanon. that has made our food culture is rather mixed and rich, especially in desserts. i love brazilian desserts, but they're still hard to find in shanghai."