SEATTLE — Anne Chikahisa makes one-of-a-kind dumplings, handcrafted from sterling silver and brass.
Inside Chikahisa Studio in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, she carefully shapes, details, and smooths metal into food-inspired necklaces.
"Food is very big in the Asian culture,” she said. “Sharing your experiences and what you're feeling, what's going on in your life, is often shared at a meal."
Chikahisa hopes her necklaces also open conversations — even, the uncomfortable kind.
"I've had people call me oriental — which is very offensive — to people just saying, 'Wow, you speak English so well,’” she said. “You can hear the gamut of things. And I think it's that people just aren't aware that how they say or do certain things can hurt someone's feelings."
Opening that kind of dialogue is at the heart of DOMO Collective — an online marketplace featuring Chikahisa’s dumpling necklaces, along with other foodie jewelry designed by AAPI makers.
Founder Angela Shen got the idea after hearing a racist voicemail about her friend and former KING 5 anchor, Michelle Li.
While anchoring at her new station in St. Louis, she mentioned eating dumplings as a new year tradition. A viewer called and complained Li was being “very Asian” and should “keep her Korean to herself.”
Li shared the message on social media, but flipped the script and turned the phrase “very Asian” into something positive. The hashtag went viral, retweeted tens of thousands of times as a source of pride.
"The beauty that has come out of an ugly moment in time is what really inspired me,” Shen said.
She launched DOMO Collective to not only showcase Asian artists, but to support Li’s newly-created Very Asian Foundation. 100% of DOMO’s first 200 sales and 10% thereafter are being donated to the non-profit.
"My brother and I made up the entire minority population of our school, so I knew being Asian meant being different,” Shen said. “Now being a parent of two young Asian children, I felt like it's time to really do something to take a stand in bridging this divide between cultures that clearly still exists."
Bellevue artist Sammy Ng, whose enamel pins are also featured on DOMO Collective, said the Very Asian movement empowers her work. Her small business Small Rini Lady specializes in cute food designs like rice cookers and soup dumplings.
"As a child, I was actually made fun of for some of the ‘weird foods’ I ate from classmates. But now it's kind of like, no — be proud of it! And show it off, and share it with the world,” she said. “I just want my art to make people smile.”
Chikahisa believes subtle works of art can make a big statement and hopes people of all backgrounds will proudly wear what she creates.
"My jewelry is really all about wabi-sabi, which is a Japanese philosophy about imperfection being beautiful,” she said.
Shen thinks the Very Asian movement is also transforming a dark moment into a spotlight.
"We want everyone to be part of this conversation. And we need people to come together, honestly,” she said. “It's time. It's time for us to do something."
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