Our Heritage: Between Two Worlds
Our Heritage: Between Two Worlds
I've always wavered between two identities and two worlds. One of many hundreds of thousands of Chinese Australians born to immigrant parents, in many ways, I was so so common but I tried to think deep down I was unique.
LEARNING TO CAMOUFLAGE
Growing up, I played the game to fit in and soften half of me to appease whoever was in the room because there wasn’t one that could wholeheartedly embrace all of me. I learnt to camouflage the hard way but I never truly believed what I did was right. I laughed at jokes at my own expense, diminished some hobbies to avoid labels, leaned into stereotypes without putting up fights. Life wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t easy and everything was a puzzle, a problem that needed to be resolved.
EMBRACING THE CLASH
Right now, I’ve embraced the clash.
MadebyMin started as a way to hold both worlds at once, embracing the two halves that make one, my identity that is not diluted. It is a brand that incorporates everything I love about my heritage, made in a way that feels modern, wearable and mine. I choose to remain positive about my culture and it’s done purposefully, but it’s not a blind love. I want to advocate for the parts of my culture that should be celebrated but I can also be critical of the components that detract from the experience of growing up Chinese Australian. MadebyMin is not a costume, or a rejection of standards, it’s just a representation of how I grew up and my truth of what it feels like to grow up between two societies.
A SAFE SPACE
This brand is my safe space. And I hope it becomes one for you too. Treat it as a refuge for anyone who's ever felt like a multitude of people and a solitude, all at once. A place to feel seen and heard or where you can find peace to be okay with not knowing who you are, where to go and the purpose of your life.
FOR THE IN-BETWEEN
If you've ever caught yourself explaining your own name, translating a tradition that seems convoluted and untranslatable, or missing a home that exists more in memory than on a map, this is for you. You're not alone in the in-between.
COMFORT. FAMILIAR. HERITAGE. HARMONY.
Every piece we make carries that same idea. Comfort first, because you shouldn't have to perform to feel at home in your own clothes. Familiar, because you are the summation of your memories. Heritage, because the best parts of your culture are the rituals that live in daily life, not on a pedestal. Harmony, because you can stand out, or blend in but as long as you are true to yourself, it’ll all work out.
DEDICATED FOR THOSE WHO FEEL ALONE
Lastly I want to leave you with two lines from a Chinese Poem (and my translation), dedicated for those who feel alone: “君问归期未有期， 巴山夜⾬涨秋池“ You ask when I can return (home), I only see downpour on this autumn night.
