A letter from Jin on pearls, friendship, and modern womanhood.
Dear Beautiful Pearl Lovers,
From Elle to Something More
My name is Jongjin — yes, I’m Thai (even if my name sometimes makes people guess otherwise).
I got married in 2024. It was a season full of love and reflection. Around that time, I was also writing publicly, sharing thoughts about womanhood, work, and the quiet process of becoming. Life felt poetic then — part bride, part businesswoman, part woman still discovering who she was becoming.
Now, as I write this in early 2026, I find myself in a different chapter. A slower one. A more reflective one. A chapter that asks for patience and trust.
There is something about waiting that pearls understand.
Time. Pressure. Transformation.
And maybe that is why I feel drawn to write again.
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I grew up in an all-girls school, surrounded by sisters, cousins, and women at every stage of life. I was the youngest at home. Those spaces shaped how I see the world.
I love freedom — but I also value security.
I enjoy taking risks — but the kind I can study, analyze, and understand.
It may sound contradictory.
But that balance is also how I approach business.
I love the art of selling — when it’s honest and fair.
I enjoy documenting ideas, writing them down, studying numbers and patterns.
I love fashion.
I love beautiful things that carry meaning.
And somehow, life brought me back to the girls I once shared school uniforms with. The same girls who would later become partners in building something real together.
Something called Matara.
More than a decade has passed since those early days. Along the way, there were countless flights, journeys to more than fifteen countries, moments of laughter and doubt, lessons learned, and the quiet understanding that only long friendships can hold.
From classroom desks to pearl showcases.
It still feels surreal sometimes.
Because behind every pearl we present, there is more than craftsmanship.
There are friendships.
There are late-night conversations in hotel rooms.
There are dreams whispered over airport coffee before the next journey begins.
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Perhaps that is what modern womanhood looks like.
We build companies.
We build families.
We rebuild our confidence when life shifts unexpectedly.
We learn courage quietly, without announcing it to the world.
Some days we lead meetings and make big decisions.
Some days we simply sit with our thoughts and hope for what the future might bring.
And somehow, we continue to move forward with grace.
⸻
As we celebrate International Women’s Month, I feel grateful for the women who shaped my journey — friends, partners, mentors, and the many pearl lovers who walk alongside us.
Every pearl carries a story.
And so do we.
With love,
Jin
