Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Pei.
Jinza is a native designer who spent her career at the forefront of fashion, Jinza Jin began a sweeping takeover of the bridal industry at just nineteen years old. In the 1980s, she was one of the few talented students sent to Japan to study fabric design from a famous Japanese designer. Fifteen years ago, she immigrated to the United States to start designing evening gowns, prom dresses, bridal dresses, and bridesmaid dresses.
One day, a student asked her whether she could design her sister’s wedding dress. Everything begins from there. When they had the final fitting, the mother and the bride cried of happiness. In that moment, Jinza realized how special and touching the bridal dress experience is, as it is the most important dress in someone’s life. After that, Jinza started designing her own line in 2002.
In 2002, Jinza Jin’s enthusiasm for couture bridalwear resulted in the launch of her highly-acclaimed salon and adjacent production atelier located in a charming Victorian building in San Francisco.
Wedding dresses are personal, so she started custom designing and talking to each bride and tailoring each dress for them. People always said that she was gifted, but the inspiration came anywhere- a piece of fabric, a piece of lace, and a piece of art.
Since then, she has served so many brides like you and me. Jinza describes her job as the happiness job in the world – she loves to see brides wearing her dress and finding themselves in her designs. Today, her salon is famous for showcasing collections known for feminine detailing and a classic approach to bridal design. With a focus on bridal gowns, Jinza’s design philosophy is that “comfortable” and “fancy” can exist at the same time. Famous for her detailed approach to style and luxury, Jinza Jin’s collections resonate with her signature fabrics, intricate pattern drafting and exquisite attention to detail.
Grace Pei, our LA Boutique owner, was one of JINZA’s brides in 2012. She was able to get a perfectly fitted mermaid gown from Jinza. After her own wedding, Grace started her apprenticeship with Jinza in 2013 and opened JINZA’s second store, the first LA boutique on the famous La Cienaga street in West Hollywood in 2015.
Jinza and Grace actually represent our brand image of “Classic, Unique and Timeless”. They are two generations of fashion lovers that share the same value and beliefs.
JINZA Couture Bridal has earned The Knot’s The Best of Weddings Award in 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2017.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have been lucky from the beginning. It took me a while to understand how to run a business, which is totally separated from my previous corporate jobs.
There were difficult times but I always get people who are willing to help me. Running your own business is a tough job that you will need support from everyone, your family, your friends and most important your business partner.
Jinza was born with her talent in design, she always say if she did not become a fashion designer, she will end up being in architecture. I have always been a fan of fashion, like every girl in town. Fortunately, I was gifted with the talent of learning fast and being able to put each bride into her perfect dress. I have the eye to make a dress better looking on a bride too.
I feel that I am learning new things every day either from my brides, or from the people that I met. It has been a fun journey for me.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Jinza Couture Bridal is known for our excellent work on customized wedding dress and custom design, we proud of making brides’ dream come true. We are not like wedding dress retailer stores, but are more like a “one-stop” shopping for a bride.
When bride makes an appointment, with or without an idea on what fits her body the best. We will hold her hand from the beginning to the end. We work with her schedule and her weight plan, we do our own custom fittings with the bride to ensure the dress fits her perfectly, and also as what she imagined in her mind. The bride will see her dress from scratch to the finish.
Each dress of our collection can be customized to add some personal touch based on bride’s request. Each dress is made from scratch to fit the bride in our San Francisco Atelier.
If a bride has an image, but she is not able to find an existing dress that matches. We can do custom design for her from choosing the fabric, the color and make modifications to fit her body better. We focus on the experience and memories that bride will have with her families and friends. It always tears me up when brides send me their videos and photos after their wedding. Every thank you email or card from my clients give me a great joy.
Wedding dress to us is our destiny to bring happiness to everyone around us. We have tons of love stories and family memories to share with you. We have recreated a 64 year (grandma’s wedding dress), we have made a baby blue and red wedding dress; we have added lace from mom’s veil to daughter’s dress, we have been helping brides on rush orders because of a bad decision she made earlier. To us, everything seems possible because we work hard and we want every JINZA bride to be happy on her big day.
What were you like growing up?
I was born in a happy family with parents both work in Finance. I spent my childhood enjoying my life and did nothing. I went to England when I was 16 and studied Finance as the whole family agreed. I had my global CPA license, got 1st Class degree in Finance. I was a girl who had a routine life and an excellent degree in a reputable university.
I spent my colleague life in Northern England, which was simple but beautiful. I would wake up at 5pm, grab my black tea with milk of course and walk up to the hills to watch sunrise. Then I will go home and study, go to my classes and eat my fish and chips next to the river. There was a beautiful river and an old bridge near my colleague, I have spent a lot of afternoon sitting there and reading books. In 2017, I have designed my first bridal collection named #elvetcollection because that is the name of the bridge.
Then I moved to London to work in a famous consulting firm. My life got ever better with all the fashion icons in London. I would spend a whole Saturday sitting in Selfridges, Liberty or Harrods, checking fabrics, colors and taking sewing classes. I am a huge fan of Liberty of London fabrics. If you like to sew, you might want to check them out.
Pricing:
- $2,500 – $8,000
Contact Info:
- Address: SF: 1933 Union St, 2nd FL, San Francisco, CA, 94123
LA: 933 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90069 - Website: http://www.jinzabridal.com/
- Phone: SF: 415-351-1588 LA: 310-307-9213
- Email: SF: [email protected] LA: [email protected]
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jinzabridal
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jinzabridal
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jinzabridal
- Yelp: LA: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jinza-couture-bridal-los-angeles-9 SF:https://www.yelp.com/biz/jinza-couture-bridal-san-francisco
Image Credit:
Jeremy Chou, Steve Torres, Shutters On the Beach, Charis Event Design, Dana Lee Designer, Grace Lin Hair and Makeup, Aquafuzion Event and Design
