It is difficult to explain the competitiveness of JOY YOU, a company that has been manufacturing and trading fashion accessories in Seoul’s Namdaemun Market for about 26 years, simply by looking at the finished products displayed in its store. In a separate consultation room and sample room, the company has accumulated countless products and samples made over many years, including pearls, crystals, chains, earrings, necklaces, rings, and various components. These are not merely archived products from the past. They are reference materials used to discuss designs with domestic and international buyers and to develop new products. Also used at overseas exhibitions, these samples reflect JOY YOU’s 26 years of manufacturing experience in turning buyers’ ideas into real products.
 [Korean Today] Necklaces and fashion accessory samples using various materials such as pearls, crystals, and chains are displayed in the consultation and sample rooms of JOY YOU in Seoul’s Namdaemun Market. These products are used during meetings with domestic and international buyers and at overseas exhibitions to demonstrate design options and manufacturing capabilities. © Reporter Ji Seung-ju |
Guided by CEO Jung Cheo-young, we entered the consultation room and sample room from the JOY YOU store in Seoul’s Namdaemun Market.
If the store introduced in Part 1 was a space where finished products, consumers, and business partners met, this space had a very different character.
Pearls, crystals, chains, and various decorative components were neatly organized throughout the walls, shelves, and drawers, while countless samples in the form of necklaces, earrings, and rings filled the room. Each item in front of us was more than simple inventory.
They were records of the design and manufacturing experience JOY YOU has accumulated over about 26 years while developing products with domestic and international clients.
Jung explained that the products and samples stored here are used not only during consultations with domestic and overseas buyers, but also as important materials when participating in international exhibitions. Showing a real product is far faster and more accurate than simply saying, “We can make products like this.”
Another ‘showroom’ behind the store
JOY YOU’s consultation room and sample room are different from an ordinary storage space.
Rather than showing only products currently on sale, the rooms demonstrate what JOY YOU has made in the past and what it can make in the future. Even when the same type of pearl is used, its size, color, and arrangement can be changed.
The same chain can create a completely different design depending on its thickness, connection method, and the placement of decorative elements. Crystals also change the overall mood of a product depending on their color, cut, size, and combination. For buyers, comparing multiple samples in person makes it much easier to explain the direction they want than simply looking at a few finished products. In that sense, this space functions as both a design library and a buyer consultation room.
Thousands of samples record 26 years of manufacturing history
Fashion accessory trends change quickly. Designs that were popular years ago can return, while elements from older products can be combined with new materials and reborn as something entirely different. That is why old samples are not easily discarded.
A new product can be created simply by removing one decorative element from an existing design and changing its color, adjusting the length of a chain, or combining it with another material.
This is also why so many different types of products have been kept for years in JOY YOU’s consultation and sample rooms.
For Jung, these samples are not products from the past; they are materials for creating the next product.
A buyer’s first question: “Can you make something like this?”
One of the first things international buyers want to confirm when looking for a manufacturer is whether a product can actually be made.
Price matters, but in many cases it is even more important to know whether the manufacturer can turn the buyer’s desired design into a real product.
A buyer may show a photo or bring a simple sketch.
They may also present an existing product and ask for only the color or size to be changed.
These kinds of consultations have been repeated throughout JOY YOU’s long history of custom manufacturing.
At that point, the products in the sample room become a common language between the buyer and the manufacturer.
“Make it like this product.”
“Keep this decoration but change only the color.”
“Let’s combine the features of this product and that product.”
Ideas that are difficult to explain in words become much more concrete when actual samples are placed on the table.
 [Korean Today] Various ring samples stored in JOY YOU’s consultation and sample rooms. Products with different shapes, decorative details, colors, and structures are used as reference materials when domestic and international buyers choose a design, modify an existing one, or define the direction of a new custom-made product. © Reporter Ji Seung-ju |
Dozens of ring designs show what can be manufactured
Even the ring samples shown in the photo demonstrate how many different designs can be created within the same product category. They range from simple forms to heavily decorated pieces, multi-band designs, gold- and silver-tone finishes, and products using a variety of stones. A buyer may choose one sample as it is, but in actual custom production, that sample often becomes the starting point for creating a new design.
An existing design can be made smaller or larger, the decorations and colors can be changed, or the material can be replaced. Having many samples means more than simply having made many products in the past. It also means that the buyer has a broader design language to choose from.
One sample can start a new business relationship
It is difficult to move a new design directly into mass production. The buyer’s requirements must first be confirmed, and an initial sample needs to be made. Once the sample is completed, the design, size, materials, and colors are reviewed. If revisions are needed, adjustments are made again. Once the final product is approved, full production begins.
According to Jung, sample development fees may apply depending on the product and project conditions. For some products, orders of around 100 units may be discussed when a separate sample fee is paid, while general production may sometimes be negotiated from around 300 units. However, these quantities are not fixed standards that apply to every product.
Conditions vary depending on the materials, design, components, and manufacturing complexity. From a buyer’s perspective, this means a business relationship can begin through the process of consultation → sample development → revision and approval → full production, rather than deciding on a large order from the beginning.
OEM at the core, with design collaboration as well
A significant part of JOY YOU’s long-running business has been OEM custom manufacturing. In this model, a client provides the desired design and specifications, and JOY YOU manufactures the product accordingly. In practice, however, the process often goes beyond simply producing exactly what has been provided. The company must also review how materials should be combined, where decorative elements should be positioned, and how a design should be adjusted to make it suitable for actual production.
As a result, even when a buyer has only an idea, the direction of the product can be developed more concretely by referring to existing samples.
In this sense, JOY YOU’s consultation and sample rooms are more than product storage spaces.
They are the starting point of product development.
Behind every finished product are countless components
When looking at a finished necklace in the store, the manufacturing process is difficult to see.
But the story changes when you enter the sample room. Pearls, crystals, chains, and various connecting components are separated and stored by type and size. Even a single necklace requires decisions about length, pearl size, decorative placement, chain thickness, clasps, and many other details.
The same is true for earrings and rings.
Countless decisions are required before one finished product is completed. To reproduce exactly what a buyer wants, a manufacturer needs not only design experience but also an understanding of materials and components. This is why JOY YOU places so much emphasis on its years of manufacturing experience.
Samples also travel to international exhibitions
Jung explained that the products kept in the consultation and sample rooms are also used when the company participates in international exhibitions.
Since the early years of the business, JOY YOU has participated in overseas trade shows through organizations such as KOTRA and has conducted business with foreign buyers.
At an exhibition, a company must show what it can make within a short period of time.
There is no clearer sales material than a real product.
Buyers looking for pearl products can be shown a variety of pearl pieces, while those searching for crystal products or specific types of accessories can be presented with relevant samples directly. Once a buyer shows interest in a product, discussions can begin on design, color, materials, quantity, and production conditions.
For that reason, samples are not merely display items. They are sales tools that can generate new orders.
Twenty-six years ago, buyers came to Namdaemun
During the period when JOY YOU was most actively engaged in overseas business, international transactions accounted for as much as about 90% of its total business.
The company worked with buyers from the United States, Japan, Europe, Brazil, and other regions, and many international buyers visited Namdaemun Market in person. Buyers examined products directly, selected samples, and discussed the designs and quantities they wanted.
But the market environment has changed.
With the growth of Chinese manufacturing, the expansion of online distribution, and the impact of COVID-19, the number of overseas buyers visiting Namdaemun in person declined sharply. This is also why JOY YOU now hopes to expand its international business again.
Rather than waiting for buyers to come first as they did in the past, it is now an era in which JOY YOU must first show its products and manufacturing capabilities online.
Samples from the past await the buyers of the future
One of the most striking things at the site was that the countless samples did not simply look like old products.
Each one preserves the design, materials, client requirements, and manufacturing experience of its time. That experience can be used again when a new buyer appears. Samples that were shown to buyers at overseas exhibitions 26 years ago can now be shown to buyers anywhere in the world through online articles and photographs.
The way business is conducted has changed, but the fundamentals required to make a product have not changed very much.
Understand the design, make the sample, meet the promised quality and delivery schedule, and complete the product.
This is the experience JOY YOU wants to show international buyers again.
Store → Consultation & Sample Rooms → Manufacturing Site
This JOY YOU field-reporting series follows three spaces.
Part 1 looked at JOY YOU’s 26-year history, products, and international business through its Namdaemun Market store.
Part 2 examines what happens before a product is made by looking inside the consultation room and sample room behind the store.
Part 3 will move into the actual manufacturing site.
There, a buyer’s idea becomes more concrete through consultation, a sample is created, and the final approved design is completed as a product through the hands of people at the manufacturing site.
One sample can become the beginning of a new business relationship.
And the countless samples accumulated in JOY YOU’s consultation room are not simply 26 years of history that have passed. They are another asset for meeting new buyers in the future.
If you have an idea, it can become a real product
It is difficult to determine manufacturing feasibility from a photo or sketch alone.
First, take a look at JOY YOU’s actual OEM/ODM manufacturing portfolio and manufacturing-site video.
For international buyers: View our OEM/ODM portfolio and manufacturing video before contacting us.
▶ View actual manufacturing examples
https://pscoinc.co.kr/portfolio
▶ Watch the manufacturing process video
Custom manufacturing consultations are available for jewelry, fashion accessories, merchandise, and other products. Providing your desired design, estimated quantity, and preferred delivery schedule will allow for a more detailed discussion.
■ JOY YOU — Information for International Buyers & Korean Consumers
International Buyers / OEM & ODM / Sample Development / Custom Manufacturing Inquiries
Online Shop for Consumers in Korea
APhrose Jewelry
※ OEM/ODM order quantities, sample development, materials, pricing, and delivery schedules may vary depending on the product, so individual consultation is required.
■ JOY YOU Field Reporting Series
① Store
“From Namdaemun Back to the World”…26-Year Accessory Company ‘JOY YOU’ Seeks New Global Buyers
② Consultation & Sample Rooms
“One Sample Can Start a New Business Relationship”…JOY YOU Preserves 26 Years of Manufacturing Experience in Thousands of Samples
③ Manufacturing Site
“Even COVID Couldn’t Stop the Hands”…JOY YOU’s 26-Year Manufacturing Site Looks to the World Again.
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