Vivien Lam has had a passion for creative activities since childhood, with fond memories of making origami as a young girl. Becoming a goldsmith allowed her to blend her love for academic study with her creative aspirations.
TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AS A GOLDSMITH? HOW DID YOU COME TO THIS UNIQUE JOB AND WHAT WAS YOUR STORY LIKE BEFORE LAINGS?
VL: As a child, I was creative and enjoyed a lot of creative activities such as origami. As I grew up, I became a lot more analytic and eventually went and studied an academic subject that made me realise how much I missed expressing my creative side. It was during this time that I started venturing into creative activities again and found jewellery making to be a fun one that utilised both halves of my brain and to me, it felt complete. Plus, who doesn't love having something nice to wear as a result.
WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR SPECIALITY IN THE WORLD OF GOLDSMITHING? IS THERE A DISCIPLINE YOU ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN OR KNOWN FOR IN LAINGS?
VL: I enjoy the simple things. I love the satisfaction of seeing a piece after it has been polished. It's by far the dirtiest process in the workshop but what comes out on the other side is the complete opposite. The process of polishing is simple but to polish well requires a lot of effort and attention.
WHICH AREA OF GOLDSMITHING DID YOU WORK ON IN REFERENCE TO THE HERO OF BESPOKE COLLECTION SPECIFICALLY?
VL: Alongside Filipe, I helped with the overall manufacturing process. Ensuring everything was polished to a high-quality standard and assembling the parts through soldering and adding claws. This could then be passed over to Emma for setting.
WHAT TRAINING AND SUPPORT HAVE THE TEAM AT LAINGS BEEN ABLE TO OFFER IN YOUR TIME WITH THE COMPANY? HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR SKILLSET HAS ADVANCED IN THE TIME THAT YOU HAVE WORKED HERE?
VL: Since graduating, I have worked in the trade on the bench and gained other jewellery related qualifications. I have learned a lot from the team around me and been able to further develop my skills.
IS THERE ANY UNIQUE FACTS OR ANTIDOTES ABOUT GOLDSMITHING OR THE CREATION OF THIS COLLECTION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?
VL: I liked dissecting pieces to see how they could be made. This is one of the reasons why I love working with our goldsmiths and designers. Discussing whether an item should be handmade or CAD made, bouncing ideas about production methods and how items can be broken down in CAD is one of my favourite parts of the job, especially since this allows us to embrace modern techniques that can open doors to designs that may not have been possible otherwise.
