Leaving job in finance, Vietnamese woman finds new passion in making still life displays

Graduating from a business school yet finding the environment a bad fit, 27-year-old Tran Thi Phuong Trinh from Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Nhuan District switched to making pressed flower displays. 

Trinh gave up on the old job which brought her good income but not happiness to start doing research on creating still life behind glass.  

It took Trinh six months to master the process including drying fresh flowers, developing colors, and designing her own displays.  

Trinh said at first she spent two to three days on a batch of dried flowers and leaves then decided to outsource them to foreign suppliers instead to reduce the workload. 

Basic steps to make a pressed flower display include cleaning the frame, arranging flowers and leaves, framing them up with two layers of glass, and then dusting. 

As these displays easily get dirty by fingerprints, Trinh said it was essential that all her works be cleaned thoroughly and showcased in dry places. 

“I think, at some point, I do not want to work for others but start my own business,” said Trinh. 

“It was hard initially creating artworks and selling them.

“The only thing I knew was these products would attract young customers and interior designers.”

She is completing procedures to export her products to foreign markets which have a big demand for handmade artworks.