Interview with Angie Chan, Founder of Soft and Sticky

Written by Stacy Sun on Monday, 12 July 2021. Posted in Interviews

 

Angie Chan is the founder and creative director of the jewelry brand Soft and Sticky. As someone who loved art and painting in her youth, Chan began to explore other mediums and took night classes in jewelry after her regular 9-5 job. The creativity, excitement, and empowerment she felt through such an experience eventually led her to start her own brand, Soft and Sticky. Influenced by the adventurous and carefree state of childhood, her jewelry embraces imperfection with tenderness and thought. Chan hopes that Soft and Sticky can “inspire what it means to follow a lost passion or an interest, and to learn more about yourself through that process”.

 

I was fortunate enough to ask Chan a few questions regarding her worklife, interest in business, and experience working in the business field as a woman. 

 

Q: What is a typical work day like at Soft and Sticky?

“It depends –  at the moment it's just me working for myself, so my days are not structured in any way,” Ms. Chan states. The flexibility in setting her own schedule allows her to work at her own pace, in comparison to working at a desk for a fixed period of time. To start the day, Chan first prioritizes her upcoming tasks and activities, the top of her priorities typically being production. Because of Soft and Sticky’s made to order model, she checks for online orders through her website and notes what needs to be made. Afterwards, she stops by local silversmiths to get jewelry orders casted and ships completed orders at the post office. With the time she has left in the day, Chan typically works on marketing. She states that this can mean “outreach for collaborations with other brands or artists and creating/scheduling content on social media and my website”.

 

Q: How were you first introduced to business? What motivated you to pursue a career in business?

Ms. Chan recalls fundraising for chocolate bars in elementary school as her first encounter with the business field. Being shy in her youth, she remembers “bringing home a box of chocolates and selling one bar to myself and one to my dad” and “not being able to get over my shyness to sell any more to my neighbours or to strangers.” Therefore, Chan feels it is quite unexpected for her to be in business. Nevertheless, she took a few business classes in high school and later art school for graphic design. Although many of her first jobs out of post secondary school were design related, several jobs and promotions she received eventually led her to a position as a marketing manager, which led her to create Soft and Sticky. 

 

Q: What were some of the struggles you had while starting your business?

“This can vary for a lot of people, but for me I have this personality of hating and also needing structure at the same time,” Ms. Chan explains. She also mentions that there seems to be “this constant rush to keep things going, running, moving”, an often pressuring and stressful lifestyle. On days where she doesn’t get to everything, she tries to give herself compassion and ultimately aims to “accept slow growth and [be] grateful and content with that”.

 

Q: As a female minority in the male-dominated business field, what are some of the biggest challenges that you’ve faced in the industry?

As a small business owner, Ms. Chan feels that she is “in [her] own bubble” and therefore “keeps to herself”. However, she states that participating in events that celebrate being a woman in the business field have been greatly inspiring and made her proud to own a small business. Chan stresses the importance of finding and connecting with women who work in business to lift each other up; she adds that “it's comforting to know that [...] you're not alone with the challenges you have, and [you are] able to openly discuss them.”

 

Q: What are your words of advice for girls who would like to start their own businesses?

“Even in industries that are especially saturated like in my case with jewelry, I believe there's room for you. You can start a business that's representative of your beliefs, your voice, and is unique to you.” Ms. Chan explains. Business can often be thought of as strictly professional, impersonal, and somewhat “cold”. However, Chan emphasizes that “it's not like that if you grow your business with community in mind” and have a people first mindset. 

 

To explore her jewelry collection or learn more about Ms. Chan and the philosophy behind Soft and Sticky, you can visit her website at www.softandsticky.com and follow her on Instagram at @softsticky.

About the Author

Stacy Sun

Stacy Sun

Stacy is a Business Education Writer at Girls For Business.

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