How Jessie Koh Reimagines Peranakan Heritage Through Silversmithing

Jessie Koh did not drift into silversmithing. She chose it, deliberately, after more than 20 years in corporate leadership roles across retail, sales, and operations.

This was not a romantic escape from burnout, nor a hobby disguised as a second act. It was a clear-eyed decision to take everything she had learned about structure, discipline, and responsibility and apply it to a practice that demands patience, precision, and humility.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Jessie is a silversmith, creative entrepreneur, and heritage storyteller whose work sits comfortably between memory and modern life. Her jewellery does not attempt to recreate the past, nor does it treat heritage as a static artefact. Instead, it asks a quieter, more interesting question: what does cultural continuity actually look like when it is worn, handled, and lived with?

Jessie grew up in a hands-on Peranakan household where making things was simply part of daily life.

Her father built furniture and handled DIY projects with confidence. Her mother sewed and crocheted with a level of care that made craftsmanship feel ordinary, not performative. Evenings were often spent watching Malaysian craft documentaries on national television, absorbing images of traditional skills, symbolism, and labour without being told they were important. They simply were.

That upbringing explains why Jessie’s work feels grounded rather than styled. She does not treat heritage as something to be carefully framed and preserved behind glass. To her, culture survives through use, adaptation, and relevance.

Her formal jewellery journey began in 2018 with Jessie’s Trinket Trove, a playful and approachable brand built around experimentation.

Colour, form, and versatility were central. Convertible necklaces that doubled as hair accessories became a defining feature, designed for people who wanted jewellery that fit into real lives rather than formal occasions alone. It was intentionally un-intimidating, and refreshingly unserious without being careless.

Over time, her practice shifted. Jessie found herself drawn towards traditional metalsmithing, where material resistance forces clarity of intent. Silver, particularly 925 silver, became her focus.

Today, every piece is made by hand in small batches from her Sri Hartamas studio.

Nothing is outsourced. Nothing is factory-produced. She works at the bench herself, allowing the process to guide the outcome.

That approach reaches its most refined expression in JK Gems, her flagship brand and the emotional centre of her work. Where Jessie’s Trinket Trove is light and expressive, JK Gems is restrained, deliberate, and deeply rooted in Peranakan culture. The designs draw from flora, fauna, and cultural symbolism, but without excess ornamentation. These are not statement pieces designed to chase trends. They are objects meant to last, both physically and emotionally.

JK Gems positions jewellery as something closer to a collectible than a fashion item.

Each piece is handcrafted slowly and intentionally, produced in limited numbers because time and labour make mass production impossible, not because scarcity is fashionable.

Her upcoming Warisan Peranakan Cuffs and Eternal Flora Pendants collections consist of 22 one-of-a-kind pieces, each made entirely by hand. Supported by MyCreative Ventures Sdn. Bhd. under the MALAYSIA MADANI initiative, these collections reinforce her belief that heritage can move forward without losing integrity.

Jessie’s three-brand ecosystem extends beyond product alone. My Artisan Hub, her studio and workshop space in Kuala Lumpur, functions as a working studio, an educational platform, and a community space. It hosts jewellery-making workshops, heritage-inspired classes, immersive bootcamps, and a rent-a-bench programme for aspiring artisans. Visitors are encouraged to see the process as it happens, not as a polished performance, but as labour, problem-solving, and repetition.

Education is not secondary to her practice. Jessie is vocal about demystifying what handmade craftsmanship actually means, particularly in an industry crowded with mass-produced work marketed as artisanal. Through demonstrations and workshops, she makes the process visible and the standards clear. Skill, she believes, should be shared, but not diluted.

At the bench, Jessie works intuitively.

She often begins with a motif and allows the design to unfold through material and technique rather than forcing a predetermined result. This ensures that no two pieces are identical, not as a branding tactic, but as a natural consequence of working honestly with metal.

Her work speaks to a growing shift away from logo-driven jewellery and towards pieces that reflect personal values, heritage, and identity. By combining traditional silversmithing techniques with contemporary design sensibilities, Jessie has carved out a space that feels both culturally specific and globally legible.

Uninterested in preserving heritage as a frozen image of the past, she’s more concerned with keeping it alive, wearable, and relevant, even if that means letting it change. In doing so, she reminds us that tradition does not disappear when it evolves. It disappears when it stops being used.

Check out her Facebook profile for more!

More on JUICE.