CUSTOM ORDER

Photo by Ethan-Zuriel Yam
Last week, a friend asked me to put together 6 pink freshwater pearls into a pair of ear-rings. I thought about making something fancy but ended up with a simple, yet elegant looking pair using gold-filled ear hooks, rings, head pins and chain. I hope she likes it!

Done, at last!

I finally managed to complete the long lariat while working on several other projects at the same time. This week has been busy with a few custom orders and working on new designs. Do check out the Necklace section of my blog to see it.


Now I'm off to complete the custom work orders. Take care!

Lariat for the week

Yesterday I put together some raw materials for a necklace and asked you to guess the finished product. Well, it's done! Check it out in the Necklace section of this blog!

Today I'll be working on another lariat, this time possibly 60 inches long! Lariats are really versatile in that you can wear them knotted in front, made into multiple strands, looped like a scarf, doubled up as a fancy belt.... Here's what I put together for my next lariat: Japanese glass seed beads, agate beads, Swarovski bicones, pyrite flower beads, tiger eye beads and picture jasper chips.

Photo by Rebecca Yam

Guess what this is going to be...

Photo by Ethan-Zuriel Yam

I've been kept quite busy this week working on custom orders and getting inspiration for new pieces of jewelry. Some of you have been asking about my lariats so I'm working hard making some for you! To keep things practical, the lariats I'm working on can be worn in a few ways.

I'll be posting some new necklaces tomorrow but in the meantime, check out the raw materials in the photo above. Can you guess what I'll be making today? Lots of freshwater pearls!

Bridal photos!

I spent this week clearing out my work space and studio to make room for new gemstones and materials. Do check out the necklace, ear-rings and bracelets sections to see some new items this coming week.

In the meantime, enjoy the bridal photos of M and J as promised! If you recall, we had 4 days to come up with 4 sets of jewelry but everything worked out just fine. M and J were really a joy to work with. Thank you M and J for allowing me to post your beautiful photos on my blog! May your new life together bring you lots of blessings, joy and happiness!

This necklace was made from crystal and crystal AB Swarovski rounds, pearls and large teardrops. I used a diamonte ring for the centre. Delicate, elegant and lots of bling!

For this necklace, besides the 925 silver chain, I used lots of Swarovski rounds in different sizes and colours, from Crystal to Siam to Paparadscha to Garnet! Same with the ear-rings!

This necklace and matching pair of ear-rings are made from off white freshwater pearls and lilac AB Swarovski bicones using wirework. Very delicate and looks absolutely lovely!

Inspiration!

Ethan and I happened to look out of the window and lo, and behold a lovely bird flew in and rested on the tree outside! Isn't he a beauty? Look at the size of his beak! Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? I absolutely love the vibrant blue and I'm going to rummage around my blue beads to see what I can make! What an inspirational morning!

Finally, Friday!

I did promise a post on Friday, didn't I? I spent the past few days trying to get my inventory together, recording and taking photos of the jewelry pieces. In between, I was also getting ideas for new designs.

Some of you have asked why my jewelry looks different from the ones sold outside. Well, it's because I think my customers like to be different and not look like everyone else who bought pieces mass produced from some factory. I also like to take simple, regular materials and embellish them into something special. I should also add I dislike making multiple pieces in the same colour using the same materials! I don't mind making a few more say, crystal ball ear-rings, in every colour that Swarovski offers! That would be inspiring!

How do I get inspiration? First, I spend a lot of time looking through books, magazines, surfing the internet, window shopping and watching people to get ideas on current trends and styles. I also subscribe to magazines and attend classes once in a while to keep up my technique. Second, I would go to places of nature to get inspiration. My friends know I get inspired in all sorts of unusual places! I sketch out the ideas that come to me and look through my stash of materials to see what I can do.

Photo by Ethan-Zuriel Yam

What happens after I decide on a design? Well, after selecting the materials needed for the piece, I proceed to make it. When it comes to new design often I will undo what I've made if I'm not perfectly happy with the design, the way the necklace or bracelet sits, etc. When the piece finally makes it to completion (anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks!), I wear it for a few hours to make sure there aren't any designer snags like the piece not hanging or falling nicely, having to keep adjusting the piece to keep it comfortable, the colour combination doesn't bring out the main theme, etc.

So by the time you get to see the jewelry piece, it's been on a long journey! Enough said for today because I know you'd like to get on with checking out what I've posted. Enjoy!

Here's a watch necklace and matching ear-rings!

Last year I made a watch necklace for YN and this week she asked me to make matching ear-rings. I thought you'd like to see it!

For the necklace, I made a peyote base and sewed beadwork flowers and leaves to make it look like a garden! The watchface is hung upside down so she can see the time handsfree when she's with her three lovely little daughters.

For the matching ear-rings, since she wanted the white and pink Swarovski pearls from the necklace, I kept it simple to one flower only. Then YN had to decide which colour flower she wanted! Hard choice, but

she chose pink.

I hope she likes them!

Photos by Ethan-Zuriel Yam

Thank you, thank you!

Thank you to all of you who have expressed delight in my new blog look. I'm afraid I can't take any credit because it was Michelle Baird of Shabby Creations, all the way in the USA, who helped me to design the blog. As you may know, I'm not very computer savvy and Michelle was an extremely great help. Thanks again, Michelle!

Well, you may want to know how M and J did at their wedding photo shoot today. They said it went very well and they were the only ones who had a different set of jewelry for each outfit. J really liked the pieces, especially the red crystal necklace. They will be going through the customary Chinese ceremony at the end of April and I hope to be able to post photos of them after that!

Some of you are asking for more jewelry to be up. I'm trying my best! I will upload pieces at least once a week, on Friday nights so you can browse during the weekend when you've more time. I'm also working on more gemstone pieces but please be patient!