About

Anica Lin is looking directly into the camera and smiling with her right hand resting on the side of her face as she tells her story.

 

ANICA LIN JEWELRY is an independent one-woman atelier founded by creator Anica Lin. After years of study and apprenticeship I have taken charge of my own business, and this is my story:

Born and raised in Eswatini, I spent my formative years surrounded by the natural beauty of the land. After high school I moved to Chicago to pursue a degree in Studio Art and Digital Media Design. During my studies I focused on textile design through screen printing. In an exploration of my identity as a Taiwanese woman born and raised in Eswatini, I worked with patterns that combined African and Asian influences. Growing up as a Taiwanese woman in Eswatini, the dialogue between these two cultures plays a heavy influence on my work as a designer and crafts person. 

During 2016, I spent six months in Australia healing from a medical procedure and trying to figure out my next move in life. This is where I stumbled upon a jewelry class.

Jewelry making was my lifeline, an unexpected raft in a storm at sea. I could sit at the bench and work away at my pieces in a warm, peaceful silence, watching them come to refined life from their rough raw materials. I could saw, file and solder tiny parts together and watch a piece reinvent itself, taking on a magnificent life of its own. Designing and crafting jewelry began to give me a sense of purpose and direction.  

With a renewed zest for life, I returned to Eswatini for an intensive apprenticeship with Zambian master goldsmith Mr. Mumba for nearly two years, after which I embarked on my own career.

When people ask me why I started my own jewelry brand, I often reply, “how could I not?” My work with jewelry has shown me how, even after cracking and breaking, we can recreate and redefine ourselves into something even greater than before. We can walk through our journeys with a more profound sense of purpose and reflection. Sometimes you need to linger in the murkiness until the pain of trauma subsides before transforming into a much stronger and more faceted you. They say the more facets a gemstone has the more light is reflected through, making it even more beautiful and vibrant, just like us. 

Education

  • 2009-2013 Bachelors of Art in Studio Art with a minor in Digital Media Design at Lake Forest College, IL, U.S.A.
  • 2017-2019 Jewelry apprenticeship with Master Goldsmith Mr. Mumba Kashiki in Eswatini.