fuse + rose
Personal Project Diary
fuse + rose is a 2 months long personal project, in which I seek to revise and combine the knowledge and interests I gathered outside of the classroom. This project follows through the entire life cycle of a product line, ending with test launches for a simple social media based store, test running for a short 2 weeks period in Vietnam.
The idea of putting together an experimental start up came about during my 2020 – 2021 gap year from
RISD. Prompted by my long term interest towards entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary approach to
work, I took the chance to experience bringing a brand to the market from scratch, and examining what
is necessary
to
grow and operate a startup.
This project allowed me to work in all fields surrounding a product and brand, such as process
planning, digital marketing, e-commerce,
and
product development... whilst also providing an opportunity to dive deeper into understanding the
Vietnamese fashion retail
market and work on a childhood endeavour: jewelry making.
Amidst the strange period of rapid change, Vietnam's unique position facing the pandemic at the time gave leeway for fuse+rose to manifest within two months before an abrupt shut down due to strict social distancing protocols.
Fuse+rose can be understood as a scale model of a small business rather than a real brand given of the constraints this project was subjected to: a set-time frame, a limited budget, an one-person operation, solely dependent one channel of distribution (a social media platform)… all the while being a startup selling inferior goods in a pandemic.
Persephone collection: earrings
Persephone, inspired by the Greek mythology, is designed for Spring 2021, celebrating “traditionally female” motifs and colors. The collection suggests young contemporary women to enjoy their femininity manifested in forms and colors while redefining its traditional associations, overwriting negative definitions of femininity with their personal touch and identity.
Designs are chosen after experimenting with many color palettes and form iterations. Pieces are designed with ability to duplicate and match with fixed choices of metal parts in mind.
The main materials for this jewelry line are polymer clay and metal parts. With the awareness that it is not a biodegradable material, I worked hard to make sure the designs are as well-made as possible. Since the project only calls for a small quantity of small products, polymer clay was chosen for its convenience and manipulability. If fuse+rose was not an experimental project, a more complex, sustainable production system and materials would be established.
Products are test-launched on Instagram Business as the host platform. A selected amount of customers are exposed to the brand using targeted paid ads. If interested, potential customers make inquiries about products through direct messages. This is a popular model for startup fashion retailers in Vietnam, especially for the younger, trendy female user segment.
Instagram page
Through the test run, Instagram’s advertising function ran into multiple complications, cutting out the only channel for extended periods. Even though this Instagram retail model is cheap and widely used regionally, it can not work alone.
Digital assets for launch
A lockdown at the most serious level occurred in the second week of operation, cutting off all mobility, including delivery services. The prompt decision to discontinue all operations was made, and rightfully so, as the lockdown ended up dragging on for the four following months, even as my gap year drew to an end.
Even though the project did not conclude at the most positive outcome, much was learned from the long
process of figuring out the entire system of production and strategizing.
To hightlight the most impactful thing lesson this project taught me beside having a dependable
platform for a business: the value of having a team (and the right one at that). I now value that much
more the ability to discuss ideas and developing a pathway from exchanging viewpoints.
