Meet Sue Pak | Jewelry maker & Art Restoration Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sue Pak and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sue, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The business started because I was looking for a Mt. Hood pendant and couldn’t find one that was simple and affordable. So I decided to create one for myself. From there, I starting thinking of all of the different landscapes that I wanted to recreate in metal. I was working full time for a restoration company and being a physically demanding job, I found the only time to create was in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. I used the process to work through my insomnia for the first few years.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After receiving my MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, I wanted to take a break from art making. I just wanted to work and learn new skills. I ended up working at a picture framing shop in San Francisco and learned the fundamentals of picture framing. This was a huge step for me in terms of learning new skills to add to my own knowledge and have continued to use and share with the my current role as a consultant to a disaster restoration company with an emphasis on salvaging artwork. I share with everyone I have trained that the practice of learning something new will have daily challenges. Failure is common and learning from failure is what you need to embrace. During my learning process of etching my jewelry, I failed at the result I was looking for at least a hundred times before it worked.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It’s the Pacific Northwest, so I would take my friend on the following itinerary; Day 1-Morning hike in the Columbia River Gorge to Multnomah Falls and to a short hike to Angel’s Rest followed by a big lunch at one of the many pods of food trucks in the eastside of Portland. Day 2-Morning walk through Forest Park to a brunch in Northeast Portland and a walk along Alberta street to the many shops and galleries, and then dinner in Southeast Portland in my neighborhood of Hawthorne. Day 3-Breakfast at Fried Egg I’m in Love (amazing breakfast sandwiches) and a drive to Mt. Hood, specifically to Timberline Lodge to tour or go skiing/riding, and then dinner at Koya Kitchen in their beautiful and outdoor garden. Day 4-drive to the coast for a day of crabbing at Kelly’s Brighten Marina in Rockaway, Oregon for crabbing on their dock followed by lunch (they cook everything there!) at their picnic tables and gigantic cauldron fire pit. Day 5-a walking tour of Northwest Portland to the Southwest side and across the the Burnside bridge into the Eastside for more local eats! This place has no shortage of places, food, and experiences and the adventures can be accomodating for every type of person and group.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to recognize my fellow artists and makers that I have met, setup in various weather scenarios, and discussed our process/work in a constructive and supportive way. We put ourselves out into festivals, markets, and different events that having familiar faces to share the experiences is so comforting and wonderful. During the beginning of Covid, we also made efforts to learn more about social media and making online connections for our businesses together with a lot of zoom meetings. These artists and makers are so important to us, we truly have found our strength and encouragement with them to further succeed with our business.

Website: www.pakhyegoods.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pakhyegoodsjewelry/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PakHyeGoods/