Xinyi Chen
(b.1992. June, China)
United Kingdom
Xinyi Chen is a designer maker working with E-waste and silver to create wearable art jewellery. She decided to return to the studio as a maker as her lifelong career after working as a fashion buyer, senior jewellery consultant, and photographer. She gained a BA in Art Design in China, specializing in jewellery and silversmithing, and began pursuing contemporary jewellery with her extravagant collection ‘New Era of Crown’. After completing an MA at Central Saint Martins, she launched her brand EÈ CHAN. Her work has been exhibited internationally including at Goldsmiths' Fair, London Museum Dockland, Lisbon's Royal Treasure Museum, TALENTE International Handwerk Messe in Munich and Friedrich Becker Prize Exhibition.
Electronic components have a special place in my heart, which I call 'Artificial Intelligems’. I'm fascinated by their shapes, textures, colors, precise structures, digital spirituality, hidden beauty and draws from my childhood memory by my computer practitioner mother.
Through a combination of traditional hand skills and contemporary jewellery-making techniques including CAD, laser cutting and electroplating, Xinyi alters the fate of discarded electronic components, transporting them from landfill to jewellery boxes.
In addition to commenting on our climate of waste and excess, Xinyi’s jewellery also references the boundary between the virtual and physical worlds, seeking to comment on our relationship with smartphones, social media and apps in particular. “I hope that people can return to this earth’s reality from the virtual, rethinking what it means to live in this rapidly changing world, and reflect upon the essentials of who they are,” she explains.
Award (selection)
2024 Emerging Business Bursary, The Goldsmiths' Company, London, United Kingdom
2024 Winner, Preziosa Young Design Competition, Florence, Italy
2024 Finalist, Emerging Jewellery Brand of the Year, Professional Jeweller Awards, London, United Kingdom
2023 Rising Stars 30 Under 30, Retail Jeweller's, London, United Kingdom
2023 Second Award and Special Prize, Venice Design Week Jewellery Selection, Venice, Italy
2023 Honorable Mention of the Cheongju International Craft Competition, Cheongju, Korean
2023 Finalist, Friedrich Becker Prize, Germany
2023 Finalist, Emerging Jewellery Designer, UK Jewellery Award, London, United Kingdom
2023 Finalist, Designer of the Year, The National Association of Jewellers, United Kingdom
2023 Finalist, Talente Masters of the Future, Munich, Germany
2022 Winner, Bright Young Gems, Eco-Heroes , London, United Kingdom
