A C2C (Club2Club) Interview: Chazu X Rambutan

Leean selling her jewelry.

There’s a number of things that I learned from Leean Pan that Club Chazu and Club Rambutan have in common (other than the fact we both have the word “club” in our title, lol). But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she and I were somewhat similar on an individual level, too.

I saw Leean for the first time at the Neo Lunar New Year market in Downtown Oakland earlier this month, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to her - she was busy with customers who were crowding around at her booth, eager to look at all her merchandise. With four years of expertise under her belt, Leean is a full-time jewelry designer born and raised in the Bay Area, and (in her words) is a “first and a half” generation Chinese-Japanese-American. In this interview, we explored her methods of honoring her heritage through her craft.

MARIA: What is the Club Chazu logo? How did you (or the designer) come up with it?

LEEAN: The logo was designed by one of my friends. Since I do a lot of beading and wire work in my designs, it is literally supposed to look like one of the first designs I ever made, which is the flower motif with the two lines in the middle being like strings or wire threaded through. 

The official Club Chazu Logo.

Conceptually, it's also supposed to look like a bowl of rice with chopsticks on top. I definitely have a soft spot for the logo - it symbolizes the beginning of my journey in doing this, so it's very heartwarming for me to just see it in different places.

MARIA: Long story short, what's the story behind how you got into jewelry making?

LEEAN: I started at the end of 2020, so pretty early in the pandemic. I had a very reflective period in a time of such sadness and chaos, [and] I not only wanted to do something for myself, but I was also thinking a lot about how I could create something that was also community-oriented. My love for fashion, my love for community, and also wanting to be a voice in the Asian community manifested Club Chazu. A lot of my whole purpose in doing this is to share stories and to connect different generations and cultures across the diaspora together through commonalities.

MARIA: On the website, there’s a quote from you that states,”For me, fashion has always been about what makes me feel the most comfortable in my body and what I feel represents my inner being”. How would you describe your “inner being”, and how do you try to communicate that through your craft?

LEEAN: Fashion is all about expression, right? I mean…for what else, I suppose? [It’s] not even just fashion - art is a form of whatever is existing within somebody - emotionally, their experiences in life, their perspective. It echoes your character. 

We were talking about doing what we do to serve the AAPI diaspora***, and I think that if I were to zoom out, it really is just my way of encouraging others to not be afraid to show who they are in this very moment. We’re ever-changing and evolving and are going to go through things that will change us. When I’m making choices everyday, like when I’m dressing myself or deciding what to eat, it’s about who I want to be that day, today. [These decisions] are moldable and that’s okay, so I find beauty in that.

So with my jewelry, I want people to feel a sense of flexibility when they’re wearing a piece of mine, to express something, whatever that means to them. 

***I used to be involved with Asian American/Pacific Islander advocacy and event planning at Arizona State University through student leadership, and had initially planned for Club Rambutan to serve primarily AAPI artists before expanding to a more intersectional scope.

MARIA: I completely agree. I love how you touched on the topic of “change” and that change, regardless if it’s anticipated or not in our lives, usually ends up somewhat influencing a piece of our own identity and how we navigate the world. The concept of identity happens to be the focal theme for Issue 3 of Club Rambutan’s magazine, and I talk about this in my letter from the editor.

What would you say is the greatest milestone/accomplishment you’ve achieved so far in establishing your business?

LEEAN: There's so many different things I feel I could talk about, which is great to say, you know? A goal of mine for the last five years has always been to connect with people. Like I mentioned, community is very important to me and I'm really proud that I found a way to create things that people resonate with that they also get to take home.

The product and business part is still really important, but doing all that behind the scenes and being able to present it in a package or on a table and have someone read the story behind it has really been a heartwarming experience for me.

I try to tell a lot of stories through my jewelry. Some that are my own experiences growing up through my heritage, but also to use my jewelry as a vessel for others’ stories as well, like those who I meet along the way. So by building this open line of communication with my customers, in the way that I post on social media and especially in the way that I try to show up in person, it’s really important to me to hold space for people coming in. 

Whether they’re seeing my things for the first time or have been long-time customers, I always try to create a safe space for them to feel comfortable talking to me. 

Fashion can be a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be that way, you know?

I chose “Club” Chazu because it’s not so much as being an exclusive experience, but actually an inclusive one.

(Admittedly, Club Rambutan used to be just “Rambutan”, and I made it a placeholder name because I was craving it while coming up with the idea for the collective. I tacked on “Club” a month later because I thought it just sounded cooler ;P)

MARIA: I also read that your jewelry intends to represent Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) cultures by “paying homage to past generations”. Scrolling through the shop page, I’m picking up on a very common theme in your merchandise: jade and pearl material, which are mostly assembled into a flower design that is made up of either five or six beads. 

Why these materials, and why the flower design? And knowing this, how do you feel that these details accurately contribute to Club Chazu’s mission to honor such communities “across the diaspora”?

LEEAN: I have to start by acknowledging that quote about “paying homage” because I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my grandparents or parents. I [especially] have a lot of appreciation for my grandparents who raised me and all the struggles they went through to give me a good life.

I started Club Chazu to encourage the younger generation to wear their culture with pride.

My materials also call to that because I use jade due to its integral values and properties across Asian cultures and families. The six-petal flower is actually just my modern take on the traditional jade donut. I wanted to do something more on the cutesy side, and a lot of my other designs are a little bit childish which is done on purpose. 

Overall, Club Chazu pays homage to our ancestors who may have felt like they had to hide when assimilating into this country. We all have different stories about that. So I see it as me wearing jade proudly, or wearing different motifs, textures, color combinations that are viewed as “more Asian” as a way of standing up for them, doing it for them. Like, now we [the current AAPI generation] can do this and be proud of who we are. It’s really important to me to do that, and have my business be part of that legacy. 

You can follow along Club Chazu’s jewelry journey on their Instagram and website.