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Linh An Tran - Jewelry Design Student • Creatorin

@linhan.tran__

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A student’s journey into jewelry design 💍
Sharing entrepreneurial lessons, creative sparks & personal growth along the way✨🇩🇪

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I was 19 when I dropped out of school, and I’m not embarrassed to admit that..

1. It felt just as scary as it did freeing when I dropped out. I finally had the freedom to do what I wanted with my life and no idea what that was.

2. Choosing a creative path felt reckless. What if it doesn’t work out? Nobody shows you the way, and the „starving artist“ is always the first thing that comes to mind. Asking my parents to support that decision felt almost impossible.

3. It actually took me six years to find my passion (jewelry design) 😅 In that time I worked in bars, hostels, retail, an elementary school, in the film industry and graduated as a graphic designer. I tried it all, but nothing was as fun as working with my hands.

4. I often feel like an impostor. I’m mostly self-taught, and some professionals in the jewelry industry have made that very clear to me. I get where they’re coming from. I’ve made peace with it anyway.

5. Four years into the jewelry industry, and I still don’t have it all figured out. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know yet.

6. I don’t regret dropping out. But I still wonder, sometimes, which paths I closed off the day I did.

And even though it was super scary, uncertain and my goals seemed out of reach, somehow I still found my way. Now I’m 27 and looking back at it my only regret is that I didn’t listen to my heart sooner and just trusted the process.

If this resonates with you follow along 🤍

#storytellingcontentchallenge by @linhan.tran__

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a month ago

Always wanted to learn making your own jewelry but didn’t know where to start? @atelierrudee might be the right place for you! 💍🔨

On my last post so many people have asked me for a place to learn jewelery making and Atelier Rudee offers courses for complete beginners and intermediates alike. No experience needed. Start with the „Creative Wax Working“ course to get a feel for it, or dive into the „Basic Technical Jewellery Course“ an intensive program covering the fundamentals of goldsmithing tools and techniques.

If you want to go deeper, there’s also a 20-day programme you can spread out over as many weeks as you like.

What makes her approach different is you don’t just follow a fixed curriculum. You come in with your own idea, and she builds the class around it.

If you’re in Bangkok or planning a trip, you definitely have to check her out! ☺️
📍 @atelierrudee by @linhan.tran__

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2 months ago

I finally created Part II of this process in wax, and I’m very happy with the result, even though there is still more room to learn.

And after my last video, so many of you left incredibly kind comments, but I also got a lot of questions asking why I don’t just use 3D softwares instead.

To be honest, I have nothing against softwares. They’re amazing tools, and I‘m definitely considering to learn them in the future. I’m simply choosing to learn the traditional process first. Because projects like this train my hands, improve my precision and patience, and help me understand how the material behaves. I believe these fundamentals will make me a better jeweller and eventually a better CAD designer as well. It’s really about building a solid foundation before relying on software. Or what do you think? 💭

#waxcarving by @linhan.tran__

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2 months ago

Come spend a day with me at a goldsmithing school in Saigon 🇻🇳

Today's exercise was a challenge, but I really enjoyed figuring out how this halo-set ring is constructed. Even though it still isn't quite straight and symmetrical after my fourth attempt, looking back at all my attempts, I can see that I'm getting better each time.

It got me really thinking today about why I had such a hard time in the past when I was teaching myself wax carving: On the one hand, I think I always wanted immediate results; on the other hand, I didn't dare tackle jewelry pieces that were too difficult or complicated on my own. And when I did dare to try them, I rushed through them, and as soon as something got difficult... I just stopped.

What's becoming clear to me now is that the real key lies in doing the opposite: facing the difficult things and repeating them until you get them right. That's probably the key to success.

#waxcarving #jewelrymaking by @linhan.tran__

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5 months ago

This is hands down the most challenging piece I’ve ever made. Not because the carving itself was technically difficult, but because of the relentless repetition and the fact that every single element had to look the same.

I really spent 2 weeks on this and yes, I started other projects in between because at some point I just couldn’t see the finish line anymore. 😅

This piece taught me so much patience and it gave me a whole new level of respect for the craftsmen who covered entire castles, churches and houses with patterns like this, whether in wood, stone or metal. Like can you even imagine to carve out all the ornaments on the Notre Dame? The sheer amount of work and perseverance that must have taken is just incomprehensible to me now. 60 hours for a piece that fits in my palm.. I’ll never take ornamental craftsmanship for granted again.

Ps: for the ones interested in the origin of this pattern it is labeled as „Moorish Lattice“ at the Great Mosque Cordoba, Spain.

Also, I want to clarify, that I just saw this wood/stone window screen pattern at a mosque and thought it had a meaning to the religion, therefore I named it „Islamic art“. But I acknowledge that the term I’ve used might not be the best term to describe it and it was never my intend to disrespect any culture or religion.

#waxcarving #learningwaxcarving by @linhan.tran__

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6 months ago

Eternity Ring ✨

I created about six of them before I finally got all the measurements right. Some broke in half (it’s a very delicate process since you remove so much material) and on others, the holes were simply off and not aligned properly. I’m not a very patient person and tend to rush things, but this ring really taught me to slow down and take my time to get everything right.

I feel like that’s exactly why it can be so hard: you have to slow down way more than you’d expect and double-check constantly. Whenever I made a mistake, I’d tell myself it didn’t matter or that I could fix it later, because I just wanted to finish as fast as possible and see the result. But the mistake only ever gets worse.

This is the first ring I’ve ever made where I had to think so carefully about measurements and precision, and it really taught me something: that’s probably what sets a truly good craftsman apart. They actually have the patience to spend literally HOURS to create a single complex, beautiful piece.

#eternityring #waxcarving #jewelrymaking by @linhan.tran__

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6 months ago

I’ve always wanted to try building a seat for a stone and engraving patterns on a ring, but I was way too scared. Since I’m mostly self-taught, whenever I thought about doing it, it always felt way too complicated. Setting stones takes a lot of patience and precision, so for a really long time I somehow avoided it.

But now I finally decided it was time to just get over it, start, and be okay with making mistakes and that I would need a lot of time to master it. As expected it was at times frustrating, and oh man, I can’t even tell you how many adjustments I needed to make to get the seat even on all sides 😅

Tbh, I made two rings before I was kinda semi-happy with the results and felt okay showing something lol. So stay tuned for part two on how it turned out ☺️ by @linhan.tran__

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6 months ago

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10 months ago

I spent 8 hours on these studies today and the whole time I debated whether I should even post this 😅

Not because it’s terrible, but because it’s not what Instagram usually shows. Everyone’s “process” online looks so clean and polished, while mine… looks like someone still figuring it out.

And honestly, that’s what scares me. Putting hours into something and ending up with a result that doesn’t look “good enough to show.” That fear has held me back for years.

But today I watched an artist on YouTube who said this: This takes thousands of hours to master. Not a weekend. Not a few sessions. Thousands.

And somehow that gave me relief.
I was scared that I’d waste my hours filming and drawing something that isn’t perfect.

But if I want to get good, I have to show the real process - not just the polished parts.

Maybe this is a reminder for you too: You get better by doing a lot. By showing up. Not by waiting until you’re perfect.

One day at a time. One study at a time.

Follow along my journey as I learn everything I need to design wedding rings one day 💍✨ taken in Lübeck by @linhan.tran__

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10 months ago

a little glimpse of my November travels ✨I grew up in Cambodia and Vietnam: warm and humid every day. Then at seven, my mom and I moved to Northern Germany to start over. And honestly, even after twenty years, I’m still not used to the cold 😅

Maybe that’s why I move around so much, especially in the darker months. Also, changing places keeps me inspired. New colors, textures and perspectives. I see life with new fresh eyes again. It all finds its way back into my work and keeps me creative when everything at home feels a bit grey.

This November that “escape” was Albania.
Spoiler alert: the first half of the time it was warm and beautiful like in the videos but the second half was thunderstorms, cold wind and nonstop rain. 🥲

#albania taken in Saranda, Albania by @linhan.tran__

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10 months ago

I know this can has nothing to do with jewelry at first glance but the funny thing I’ve learned while trying to design jewelry is this:

I actually need a lot of references from completely different fields.
And honestly, sometimes that freaks me out.
I see endless studies piling up, so many things I “should” learn to be able to design jewelry and suddenly there’s no finish line, just pressure. Then I freeze, don’t know where to start and end up not starting at all.
But that’s a topic for another day lol

But If I want to capture certain shapes, movements or surfaces in my designs,
I have to study them in their “original” form first.
So that’s why I drew this to understand how reflective surfaces behave and to push myself into a new medium and style.

I’ve avoided studying surfaces for way too long… but here we go. 😄 taken in Lübeck by @linhan.tran__

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10 months ago

In den letzten Tagen habe ich gemerkt, dass ich gerne Eheringe designen möchte.
Aber je öfter ich mich hingesetzt habe, desto klarer wurde: Ich kann keine eigenen Designs machen, wenn ich nicht einmal verstehe, wie ein Ring eigentlich aufgebaut ist.

Also mache ich es gerade anders.
Ich schaue mir echte Ringe an, zeichne sie nach und versuche zu verstehen, warum sie so funktionieren, wie sie funktionieren. Proportionen, Übergänge, Details – all die Dinge, die man übersieht, wenn man einfach „irgendwas Schönes“ designen will.

Und ehrlich gesagt, nimmt das gerade total den Druck raus und gibt mir Struktur. Ich verstehe, was ich da eigentlich tue und merke, wie viel klarer meine eigenen Ideen dadurch werden.. aber auch wie viel mehr Übung ich brauche bis ich das komplett durchblicke 🥲 taken in Lübeck by @linhan.tran__

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a year ago