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| The materials used to make accessories are diverse in color, size, and design |
After attending a jewellery-making workshop where she crafted decorative bead accessories, Phan Thi Anh Thu, a student at the University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, joyfully showed off her handmade bracelets and necklaces to everyone. These were the results of more than two hours of hands-on work, guided by the staff at the “Ket” workshop from the Nha Xe accessories shop.
“I’m usually quite clumsy, and I never thought I could make such beautiful jewellery from beads myself. Even now, I’m still very happy and proud of my achievement. For just 90,000 VND, which is about the price of two bracelets on the market, I got to experience making my own bracelet and even have a product to take home. I’ll wear this necklace daily, and I’ll give the bracelet to my younger sister,” Anh Thu excitedly shared.
Making items by oneself, also known as DIY (Do It Yourself), is no longer unfamiliar to many young people. The term refers to activities that involve designing and creating based on one’s own skills, resulting in unique, personalized products. Making handmade bracelets, or DIY bracelets, is one such creative activity. With easily accessible materials like beads, crystals, and decorative trinkets and combining them with fishing lines, threads, or waterproof cords, young people can freely create unique and eye-catching jewellery and accessories. The main appeal of this activity in the accessories community lies in the personal touch. In a market full of mass-produced bracelets, keychains, and necklaces, everyone desires to create something entirely their own.
However, only a few workshops in Hue City offer these activities, particularly those focused on bead accessory-making. This is why many students eagerly registered for the “Ket” workshop hosted by Tran Gia Cat Chau, the owner of Nha Xe shop, as soon as the registration link opened. Sharing on the preparation for the workshop, Cat Chau said, “This is my very first workshop. I was truly surprised when, within just a week of opening for registrations, over 100 people already signed up for the three-day event. This shows that many young people in Hue are interested in this activity. As a result, our team carefully prepared by selecting diverse materials and refining our teaching methods to allow participants to freely express their creativity and craft unique products”.
Although she had never explored bead accessory-making before, after attending the workshop, Nguyen Phuc Tam, a student at Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted, had successfully created a beautiful blue phone strap. “At first, I was quite confused because there were so many bead options. Each type had its own design, size, material, and color. After some helpful advice from the staff, I selected a color scheme and theme for my item. I chose blue and white, using round crystals, shell-shaped, starfish beads, and silver charms to create a phone strap with an ocean theme. Once the beads were selected, I started stringing them together and finally attached the clasp. It turned out to be quite simple, not as difficult as I imagined,” Phuc Tam shared.
These workshops not only allow young people to unleash their creativity in making unique accessories from beads but also provide an opportunity to explore their abilities, learn, and connect with others. Together, they spread their passion for handmade accessories and jewelry. “Coming here to ‘connect’ beads also leads to ‘connect’ with others, and eventually ‘make friends’ - this is the true meaning that the “Ket” (Connect) workshop aims for,” Cat Chau shared.