09/12/2026
To close out our ONE FOR THE FUTURE Future Heirloom blog series, we're sharing our conversation with Ho Oi Ying Valerie — and it’s one of the most quietly powerful of the year. 🖊️
Working between Hong Kong and the United States, Valerie approaches jewelry as a living archive — translating personal and collective histories into cloisonné badge forms through a process that begins not at the bench, but with listening. Her projects Everyday Triumphs and Achievement Unlocked document narratives of migration, identity, and everyday resilience, reframing what counts as achievement through intimate, often overlooked experiences.
In this interview, she speaks candidly about the weight of representing others’ voices through her own lens — and the moment during the development of Achievement Unlocked when creative doubt became something more like ethical responsibility. She also reflects on the question she wishes audiences would ask more often: “Whose story is this, and how was it translated into form?” — a question that opens up the full complexity of what her work holds.
Since the interview, Valerie has continued building momentum. In June, she presented her work at the SNAGxDetroit Conference and participated in the Adorned Spaces exhibition. Most recently, she created Everyday Mill Race for the ReJewelry project — a piece made from reclaimed silver and thrifted duck figurines, inspired by the daily walk across the Mill Race on her way to the studio at the University of Oregon. The work will be exhibited at Heidi Lowe Gallery (Sept 26 – Nov 9, 2026) and Baltimore Jewelry Center (Nov 20, 2026 – Jan 15, 2027).
🔗 Read the full interview here: https://nycjewelryweek.com/wearable-archives/
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