FAQs
Where did you find all this inventory?
If you haven't heard about us yet, JOOHWA Archives was started in February 2021 by Sierra Jeong, aka me (I'm a one-woman show for the most part). My father, Joe Joo-Hwa Jeong, who this brand is named after, has been in jewelry for 33 years. Alongside his wife and my mother Michelle Mi-Sun Jeong, he has a business called Kobe Jewelry based in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
When my dad began his business in 1988, he had a lot of inventory that didn't sell and didn't carry over to the trends and demands of customers over time. Left with this inventory, he never got rid of it and accumulated many pieces over the years that never sold. That's when I came across these pieces in a couple drawers in my parents' shop (still in Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center) and thought "I love these pieces - why don't I try to sell them?" My very first pop-up with this inventory was on February 13, 2021 at local market Art+Flea.
Why JOOHWA?
An homage to my father. And I'm literally my father 2.0 in female form. So it just felt appropriate.
How do you pronounce your brand name?
Before explaining the pronunciation... I know, I know. I debated this too. But I thought that why am I trying to cater in creating a brand name that is "easier" for Americans or English-speaking individuals to say? My mother country, where my parents immigrated from, where my ancestors are from, is South Korea. And I am proud of that.
JOO like how you would start of saying jewelry (seems appropro) and HWA is kind of like when you're in wonderment and you're like "wwoooww" but put emphasis on the first "w" and there's that sort of airy sound. I'll post it in a video on Instagram or something later if that still doesn't make sense.
For these pieces specifically, what do you mean by "vintage"?
Most of these pieces are from the 90s and early 2000s - some are from the first few years of my parents' kiosk in the late 80s.