Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grace Nguyen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

LOUPN is all about elevating confidence for the underserved communities. As I was looking for opportunities to launch a business, I learned that there was a need to fill in the men’s market – most jewelry available to men were either very grungy, super blingy, very cheap, or too expensive. It was not easy to find clean, elevated, quality pieces at reasonable price points. Knowing that men’s fashion is becoming more diverse and unique, I decided to create LOUPN to give men more options to accessorize and improve their confidence. I thought it was as important for men as it is for women to feel cool, stylish, and confident.

I especially wanted to serve and highlight the minority men since I felt they were the ones who needed the confidence the most. When I was a teenager, I looked to fashion as a creative outlet but I couldn’t relate to all the non-Asian faces in American magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, etc. so I looked to Korean fashion magazines. As I launched LOUPN, I made sure to use Asian and other minority models so that we can build up role models that the minority youth can look up to. Now, our audience is fairy diverse and both men and women wear our pieces, but we still highlight minorities to represent our brand.

Grace, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I always drawn to fashion and jewelry. In my twenties before creating my own family and having babies, I would go to Unique LA in DTLA (now Unique Markets) every season and shop for unique handcrafted jewelry pieces made by local artists. I loved seeing the subtle brightness jewelry added to my hands, face, and my confidence.

They say what you were exposed to at age 7 is what you’re predisposed to be attracted to in the future. Sure enough at age 7, my mom owned a clothing shop in Korea, and her brother owned a jewelry shop.

As a third generation jeweler, I’m most proud of being able to use our products to encourage people. It’s such a joy to watch people’s face light up when they try on our pieces and look in the mirror! Also, it’s been amazing building friendships through our in-person events such as pop-up markets or launch parties. Building a positive, safe space for our community has been very rewarding!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Our best source of new clients is through relationships! Having a marketing background, I’ve experienced that organic traffic – word of mouth, is the best way to grow genuine, loyal customers. Whether it’s influencers we gift to, or clients who had a positive interaction with us, or friends who refer us to their friends, the baseline of treating our clients and anyone you meet with kindness goes a long way! We’ve seen an exponential growth through friendships we’ve built along the way, starting way back even before I started LOUPN.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a typical Asian American, we are taught to put our heads down, and work, work, work. It’s common in the Asian culture to put work above all things, and I learned that this is actually detrimental to my mental health, and overall success. In the first year after launching LOUPN, I barely took a day off, and tried my best every single day to grow the business. However, not taking breaks allowed my anxieties and pressure to make the business successful consume me. Eventually, it lead to an unhealthy relationship with my business partner, and she decided to leave the business.

Through the traumatic loss of my partnership, I learned to make sure to take breaks and listen to my body. When I’m stretched too thin and feeling exhausted, I do not make good decisions, and not gentle in my words or approach!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://loupn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loupn_collection/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loupn.collection
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loupn/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@loupn

Image Credits
Personal photo photographed by Sohyun Lee. Campaign photos photographed by Raul Romo, Art directed/styled by Benjamin Holtrop.