Meet Jenny Hsieh: Founder and creative director of X Nihilo
“If I love my work so much, why don't I do it for my own brand?”
This is the question that weighed on designer Jenny Hsieh’s mind as she neared her 30th birthday having worked for a number of years in the fashion industry.
Fast forward to the present day and Jenny, a trailblazing entrepreneur with a passion for minimalist design, is now the founder and creative director of the Australian leather brand X Nihilo.
Her journey to becoming an entrepreneur was no easy feat, but she knew what she wanted and worked incredibly hard to get there.
Image: supplied
“My first job when I graduated from uni was a design assistant at a Couture label,” shared Jenny.
“So we did a lot of customs and they specialise in things like evening gowns for school formals, weddings and all that kind of stuff.”
“Even though my parents couldn’t afford to pay for my tuition fees, I knew that I wanted to study further so I was also working as a part time marketing assistant at a physio clinic.”
“I worked for two years, non-stop, seven days. Every day my breakfast was pretty much just a V drink, which was so unhealthy!”
Upon completing her Master’s degree, Jenny worked to broaden her design career, doing everything from couture, sportswear and leisure to accessories, bags and footwear.
During this time, she discovered her niche – what it was she truly loved about working in the fashion industry.
“After all these jobs I realised that what I love about fashion is the process, not the product in particular,” she reveals.
“And what I love is the process of creating things from scratch through the research, sourcing and development – hence, X Nihilo, meaning creation out of nothing.”
Image: supplied
Jenny also discovered what she did not enjoy about her work, having worked predominantly in fast fashion.
“I love what I do but with the fast fashion model we spend so much time getting stuff ready to be in store and then a couple months or weeks later it gets to be on sale,” said Jenny.
“I feel like what's the point, and I feel like I'm making landfill as well. So I thought, I want to take a break because if I lose my passion, that is the biggest deal breaker for me.
Jenny planned to take a three month break from work, but instead she found herself creating her own brand, which turned into X Nihilo.
“The day after my last day at work, I still got up at the same time, got dressed, did my make-up, sat in front of my computer and started to do my research!”
Jenny has created a brand the antithesis of fast fashion, with instead a focus on minimalism and sustainability.
“When I first started mapping out X Nihilo, my vision is that we're not going to do seasons. I don't believe that's how we shop anymore,” said Jenny.
“In the past I will probably do 100 plus designs for every three months, but now for X Nihilo we do as we go and we won't launch anything unless we're happy with it.”
Jenny has been running X Nihilo for five years now but she does not define the success of her business by materialistic things.
“No matter where the business goes or how much money I make or don't make, my lifestyle is always going to be the same because I'm comfortable like this and I like it simple,” she shares.
“I think success is financial freedom and what financial freedom means for me is to have enough to look after my staff and my family.”
“It's having that security on the back end, you know you can support them when the time comes.”
Image: supplied
Jenny reveals that some of the best advice she received was from fellow Australian entrepreneur and founder of Boost Juice, Janine Allis.
“I hustled into her office to do an interview and I asked her for one last piece of advice, and she said to me, don't box yourself into anything,” shares Jenny.
“She said, you're not defined by male, female, Asian, Caucasian, age – you are just someone who wants to do good and wants to make a difference.”
“So that really helped me overcome my fear around age, gender and background barriers.”
Jenny’s own advice for any budding entrepreneurs is to push past your fears and just get started.
“If you have an idea just start because all thoughts and ideas needs execution, without execution, it's all just a dream.”
Through X Nihilo, Jenny turned her own dreams into a reality, and she hasn’t looked back.
