Today we’d like to introduce you to Hae Jean Lee
Hi Hae Jean, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Hae Jean Lee and I am a Korean-American Entrepreneur and Corporate Professional working in both the Cancer Biotechnology Sector as well the Fashion Industry specializing in Bridal & Content Creation Couture Gowns. My love for creating unique, affordable and sustainable fashion emerged when I was traveling the world as a Female Solo Traveller. I have traveled to 112 Countries around the World and have lived abroad in Europe pursuing a dream to become the Guinness World Record holder as the First Korean-American Female to have travelled to every Country & Continent in the World. I pursued this dream after I left a very stressful genetics Silicon Valley start-up company where I developed many health issues. Leaving made me realize my physical and mental health are the most important things I value in my life. After working over +100 hours a week, I burnt myself to the ground with exhaustion and unexplained chronic fatigue that almost left me paralyzed. I made the best decision of my life to step away from a corporate job, bought a one way ticket to London, and started focusing on my path to naturopathic recovery not knowing if I would ever return back home to the United States. After this year of travel, my health returned to 100% and I focused on exercising and hiking Machu Picchu, eating good and nutritious food, cooking everyday in the beautiful hills of Tuscany, enjoying the most beautiful sunsets in Greece and exploring the most beautiful places like Antarctica, Patagonia (Argentina & Chile), Iceland, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and so many more places around the entire globe. Many People ask me, “what was your favorite country in the world?” I would stay my favorite region of the world that captured my heart was definitely the Middle East! During my travels, I had to figure out a way to make a living since I was a female solo traveller who just quit her job, so naturally with my creative upbringing, I decided to step into the world of content creation and travel blogging. I had the honor of staying at luxury hotels and eating at the most luxurious restaurants in exchange for my creative content. This was my dream job at the time because it was a “hobby” that turned lucrative for me and it was just something I was doing anyways on my spare time!
Just to give you a background of my upbringing and why I started my own couture line, “Jeanie Couture Gowns”: After my family and I immigrated here from South Korea, we settled in the Inland Empire and Orange County where I graduated from the University of California, Irvine. Post college, I decided to purchase my very first home in the beautiful West LA community of Playa Vista near the beautiful beaches of Marina Del Rey. Growing up in humble rural areas, moving to West LA was all very new to me and took a lot of adjusting to. Being surrounded by glamorous celebrities is something I was not used to and quite intimated by. However, it turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of my life. I knew that I wanted to bring my world travel experiences to my dress creations as a creator and provide affordable and sustainable fashion to those less fortunate creators I met during my travels. Specifically after visiting Cuba on a “people to people visa,” I was inspired to create couture fashion for all women of different colors, shapes and sizes. In this country, couture does not exist as textiles and fabrics in general are extremely expensive and just not attainable. The year I visited Cuba was the first year their government “allowed” internet access to certain regions or hotels allowing creators to pursue their dreams on social media platforms. I wanted to be a pivotal part of this dream for many of these Cuban women who want to pursue content creation…so this became my mission to bring couture fashion to the people who could not afford to buy, so I started my couture dress rental company “Jeanie Couture Gowns.” This company is specifically for creators who want to rent my handmade couture gowns starting as low as $60. We are also so proud to announce that we now have a special low income program to gift couture gowns to creators in third world countries. Jeanie Couture Gowns started out as a “hobby” when I myself was doing content creation during my world travels. I could not afford to buy so many different outfits to change into, so I decided to make my own dresses and also help my creator friends make some of their own dresses swapping and sharing with each other. In sharing our dresses during content creation trips, Jeanie Couture Gowns was born. The rental idea to make it more affordable and fun was a mission I had accomplished. I am so proud of my very small business that still has a long way to grow, but it makes me happy to see other women and girls so happy when they look so beautiful and feel their best. This is what brings a smile to me everyday. In my current corporate job, I work for a Cancer Screening Biotech company that detects some of the most deadliest cancers at earlier stages. When I see an early cancer diagnosis, I know I have made all the difference in the world in detecting cancers earlier so they can be cured. Whether in my corporate career or creative hobbies, I have always had a clear mission to bring happiness and joy back into someone’s life!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road..managing my time between my current 9-5 job, (well its more of a 7am-10pm type of job) which has caused me a lot of stress due to the demands of my career in cancer biotech. Because of my busy schedule with my career, it has sometimes slowed down my progression in growing my small business Jeanie Couture Gowns. My husband has been my saving grace as he is managing a lot of the shipping and finances, which I do all the designing and production along with my new production team. My husband is a retired professional boxer, so he has more time than I have these days but he has been the foundation of keeping this small business going.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My full time job: I am a consultant for a Silicon Valley Cancer Biotechnology company based in Menlo Park, CA that screens for over 50 types of Cancers, many cancers of which do not have a current screening available like pancreatic, ovarian, esophageal, and liver which are some of the deadliest types of cancers. Our mission here is to detect cancer at earlier stages so it can be cured. I currently work in the Stanford Palo Alto area.
My entrepreneurial and creative hobby has led to a small lucrative business for the online Instagram & social media community: My Couture Dress Rental Company, Jeanie Couture Gowns. This was a labor of love that was rooted from my world travels of over 112 countries around the world, serving many aspiring female content creators to create access to handmade couture gowns at affordable prices.
I am most proud of my family and the support they have shown me throughout my life journey and mission to make a difference in the lives of those who are in the most need whether it is with cancer screening education or designing and creating beautiful couture gowns so all women can feel beautiful and special!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something surprising would be that I am married to a 5x World Champion & Professional Boxer who is the most creative, talented and supportive husband. People get shocked when I tell them that he helps me design and make all of my couture gowns. I call him my creative director because he has such an impeccable eye for fashion and impeccable heart for patients volunteering at hospitals around the world. My husband is my inspiration for everything I have accomplished in life and will accomplish in life. The best is yet to come!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jeaniecouturegowns.com (coming soon)
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanie_couturegowns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088351946916
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/jeanie_1/
Image Credits
*All Photos were taken by me or my husband.* Instagram: Jeanie_1 & JeanieCoutureGowns
