Vi Ling Designs — Local Undercover

Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do:

My name is Vivian Au Fang (Au, my maiden name also for gold on the periodic table) recently married so added “Fang”. I am the creator and business owner of Vi Ling Designs, established in 2010. Just a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Kansas City Kansas, growing up I’ve always had a passion for fashion, dance and music. Knowing that there was so much more outside of the midwest, at 19 years old, I moved to Los Angeles, California to attend FIDM, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Upon graduating with an International Product Development and Bachelors of Science degree, I began my journey in working in corporate apparel, leather handbag companies in various positions within the workforce and eventually led me to apprentice with a Los Angeles jewelry designer. That is when I discovered my true passion for jewelry design and crafting. Years later, I decided to branch out on my own to create my style of jewelry pieces. As a beautiful journey progressed, that is how Vi Ling Designs was created.

Vi Ling Design is an Every Day Wear, Fine Jewelry and Lil' Girls Jewelry Collection. I create ideas by hand sketching, sometimes in digital illustration or even in both. I then either create a wax carving or CAD (computer aided design) depending on the piece. Working closely with a master jeweler in Beverly Hills, a mold is created and pieces are casted.
Afterwards, I do the final assembling in my sunny Pasadena studio.

Let us know more about your business name - how did you come up with it?

When creating the business name, my husband Anthony (boyfriend at that time) gets full credit. I didn’t want to have just my full name as most jewelry designers typically use, but at same time it should still have my name to keep the traditions as a jeweler. So he came up with: “Vi” as my first part of my English name “Ling” is the first part of my Chinese name, together is “Vi Ling”. Originally the business name was “Vi Ling Contemporary Jewelry”, after a few years we realized the name was too long for marketing purposes and I knew in the future I wanted to add more to the collection than just jewelry. In 2015 the name was changed to “Vi Ling Designs”.

What is your signature style / item? How did it become so?

Vi Ling interprets trends in a timeless way. Feminine, classic, modern, dainty, styles that is versatile for any occasion and creating pieces that are perfect from a day to evening look is our signature style.
Vi Ling signature item is the Fortune Cookie Necklace. Before branching out on my own as an independent jeweler, I was always looking for the perfect fortune cookie pendant necklace. I could never find a fortune cookie that was chubby enough, had a good weight or even hung the right direction. For fun I was experimenting with wax carving, so the first piece I created was a fortune cookie. Being introduced to a castor in Beverly Hills, my first piece was casted. The fortune cookie charm is still in the line today, its been created in different material variations: silver, gold plated, 14k gold set with pave diamonds. I’ve made it not just in a necklace, but also earrings and a locket charm for custom orders. It’s a fun piece and throughout the years of selling this charm, each customer has told me their own story with the fortune cookie. It’s very heart warming to have a connection with a customer over a jewelry piece.

What makes your business unique to the industry?

The uniqueness of Vi Ling isn’t just creating pieces of what I personally would like to wear or a specific target customer. I try to think of others (the customer) in creating pieces of what can they wear that matches their lifestyle and their various activities or occasions. Pieces that are easy to match with all sorts of their wardrobe and along with the Vi Ling daintiness, that can also be layered with their own collection to tell a story. My slogan is “Forever Love Story”. Whether you are buying a gift for someone, customizing that fine jewelry piece or choosing a diamond for an engagement ring, I am here to help you create your “Forever Love Story”.

What's been your biggest roadblock when it comes to business and how have you been able to overcome?

My biggest roadblock when it comes to business is how to tell a story in social media, to be honest, I’m still figuring it out. I’m still constantly learning how to engage better within the virtual world. Especially now that we are unable to do pop-up markets, talking to customers in person and gaining that relationship has been much harder. I’ve been told that jewelry is a very saturated market and it’s hard to compete with others, yes that is true but so are many other products like t-shirts. That has always been in the back of my mind but I keep reminding myself, I do not see it as a competition, jewelry is jewelry but people will love your work for who you are and what your able to create for them. Jewelry isn’t just a product, but it is a creation that tells a story that can be passed on from generations to come.

How has your business had to adapt amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic? What are you doing to navigate the situation?

It’s been a big change for me to go from three pop-up events weekly to zero. But after going through all those feelings of confusion and frustration, I’ve learned to embrace this down time. I’ve been able to catch up on unfinished projects and start new ones that I’ve had jotted down in my to do list for forever. I am able to spend more time on my gemologist studies, which I couldn’t before being on the road so much. But mostly, I am keeping busy in preparation for when things are running back up again, so I won’t be needing to play catch up. In terms of future weekly pop-ups, I don’t think it’s going to happen this year, so until then, it’s been very nice to be able to spend more time in my studio and allowing customers to come shop in person. This pandemic has forced us to broaden the digital presence and deliver online and offline experiences for customers in unique ways. I am constantly reading, listening to podcasts and learning from other entrepreneurs of how to recover from the pandemic. We are all in this together!

What is your favorite part of what you do?

Favorite part of what I do is creating pieces for “Your Forever Story”.
Whether it is a jewelry piece from my own collection or a custom creation, it’s a very heart warming feeling when I can help a customer choose an item for themselves, a gift or a special occasion, and receiving emails or dm's afterwards that are filled with joy.

**What is your must do local activity?**

I’m a foodie, so my activities relate to food, desserts, boba outings.
Some of my favorite places to eat in the 626 area:
Cook’s Tortas
Tacos Ensenada (wahoo FISH TACO’s!!!!)
Savoy Kitchen (Hai Nan Chicken Rice is the best)
Yama Seafood (they have the yummiest, so fresh, to go sushi and sashimi)
Half & Half Boba
Ramen Yukinoya
Bone Kettle (you can get their signature bone broth to go!)
Mr & Mrs Creamery (they specialize in wedding, catering events, but since the pandemic they have Bake Sales for curbside pickup at their commercial kitchen in Arcadia) Their IG is @mmcreamery to view their menu.

I love all the ice cream places in Old Town Pasadena. I don’t have a favorite because they are all good! But if you want something more old school, try out Fosselman’s on main street located in Alhambra.

My favorite activity or me time is Pilates. I’ve been to a few studios but Wunda Bar in Pasadena is my favorite studio in the area. It’s a great all body work out in 45 minutes that will make you sweat.

Where to find Vi Ling Designs:

Showroom: 1 S Fair Oaks Ave Ste 203, Pasadena CA 91105 - By Appointment Only
Website: www.ViLingDesigns.com
Instagram: ViLingDesigns
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ViLingDesigns