I’m 20, studying accounting, and trying to pay for school without selling my soul.
Neyu is the little ring business I started to help with that. I work from my backyard, using a micro lathe, a wobbly table and a lawn chair, the rest of my tools live in the corner of my bedroom.
I make every ring by hand. One at a time. It’s not a big setup, but I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to do things right. The rings come out clean, feel solid, and hold up. I think they look better than a lot of what you see out there, especially for the price, although I will admit I am slightly biased.
The name Neyu comes from my girlfriend’s Vietnamese background. She’s the reason I had the courage to even try this. The rat in the logo is a nod to her too, a nickname I initially gave her as a joke.
I first got into rings back in high school. I saw an ad for a wood-inlay one and thought it looked great, but I couldn’t afford anything close to the +$300 price they were asking. Later, I took a woodworking class, and after I ran out of required projects, the teacher gave me the freedom to experiment a bit so I decided to learn how to make my own.
Those first rings were rough, a lot of them cracked or broke, some even got scorched inside. I eventually switched to the bentwood method, which helped, but it wasn’t until I found tungsten that things really started to come together. It’s strong, resists scratches, and it just feels better on your hand.
My teacher once joked that I should start a business. I kind of brushed it off at the time. But then I started thinking more seriously about what it would take to afford moving to UBC with my girlfriend. It felt like I had to try something different.
Right now I’m balancing school, freelance web design, and a kitchen job in a restaurant. I saved what I could, bought some tools, and gave it a shot.
I’m not a big company. I don’t have a fancy workshop or staff. Just a lawn chair, a tiny lathe, and a perhaps naive belief that this might actually work.
Thanks for supporting small, handcrafted work.
