I spent 4 days working on my freeform bead embroidery necklace. It was really fun working out the main shape, choosing the main gemstone cabachon and then finding Japanese glass seed beads to bring out the colours. Now I'll wait for a while for Lady inspiration to visit me! This necklace will be part of my private collection.
This week I spent quite a bit of time looking for inspiration for my next line of jewelry but as usual, I got distracted and ended up making this in Swarovski bicones! It'll go well with a simple strapless dress or blouse for evening wear. I'll try the same design using pearls.
For those who asked, I will repeat most designs but never in the exact same colours. So you can be assured no one else has the exact same necklace, bracelet or pair of ear-rings as you!
I went shopping yesterday with my friend, Melissa Chor, an image consultant who runs her own business called Image Harmony. Check out her website at http://www.image-harmony.com/ and blog at http://www.melissastyleguide.blogspot.com/. We had lots of fun trying on clothes and looking for treasures in all the unexpected places.
One treasure I found was this ethnic necklace from India. I love the shape, design and colours. However, it was not in very good condition with the some metal parts rusted, fallen off and gemstones chipping.
One of my favourite necklaces got sold this week! Cleopatra (her new owner named her!) is a free-form collar. This means I have an idea what shape I want to create but I let my fingers do the walking! I used thousands of bronze coloured Japanese glass seed beads and incorporated different colours and shapes of freshwater pearls. It's asymmetrical (which is also why it's appealing to those more artistic) and will look absolutely stunning with a simple dress.
This week I'm working very hard at completing the many custom orders for Christmas. Due to my present work commitment, I won't have time to rush a showcase for Christmas. My apologies to those who've been waiting to see my jewelry. I will upload photos on this blog from time to time so you can still have a look at new pieces and decide if you'd like to purchase any pieces.
Thank you to all of you who have been supporting me since I embarked on this journey. Please keep the support coming!
Thank you for your patience during the past three weeks while I was getting my two bathrooms renovated. I'm now in the process of cleaning up the layers of dust off my furniture and painting some rooms. I should be back in the full swing of things by next week when I move my studio to my boutique so customers can see my works in progress and choose their gemstones and beads for their jewelry pieces straight from my boxes.
I'm planning for my Christmas collection to be shown the first week of December. Remember, if you have any special orders now's the time to let me know! Order now and I'll complete them by middle of December.
Here's a pair of geometric ear-rings in a new colour!
This week I've been able to settle down to work a bit on experimenting with new designs. After sketching out my ideas and designs, I try to sit down for at least 6-8 hours at my studio table to try out new colour combinations and textures. Often, it takes 4-5 tries before I settle on something I like. Then it gets made into a whole piece! On occasions, I've been known to unpick the whole piece and start all over again because I'm not completely satisfied!
I've been really thankful that I can work from home, being close to my family and cats (I've two, Sniffles and Lion-O). Here's Sniffles who loves to sit in her box the whole day sleeping, cleaning herself or watching me work!
Last week I spent 4 days attending two courses that taught me how to save lives in medical emergencies. It was an eye opening experience for me. This week I'll be back at my studio table working on the numerous custom orders and new items for my Christmas show. Do keep the orders coming. I simply love making jewelry pieces for each of you to match your personality, face and body shape as well as wardrobe! Please do send in photos you want to share with me and others. I'll try to post photos of my new items later in the week when my resident photographer is available to work. Below are some ear-rings I made a while back.
On Tuesday, while hanging out the laundry I twisted my back and found it difficult to walk, sit or even lie down. In spite of the misery I was in, I managed to sit down for short periods of time to work on these new designs. I saw my physiotherapist on Thursday and with his skillful hands I was able to walk out of the clinic almost pain-free!
This week I managed to complete a few necklaces and bracelets which I will complete posting in the next few days. Do check out the necklace and bracelet pages of the blog to see them. I still have a few custom orders to complete and hope to do so this long weekend.
Many of my customers have asked me how they can select ear-rings to complement their face shapes. Here are some suggestions:
If you have a rounder face, you may want to try elongated, drop-style and narrow chandelier ear-rings which would add length and an overall slimming effect for your face.
Being an early riser, I woke up at 5am today to the sound of thunder rumbling in the far distance. I don't know about you, but I simply love a cloudy, overcast and rainy day. In fact rain inspires me to work! Before the light of the day shone through I'd cleaned up the kitchen and packed a fair bit. Now I'll settle down to a day of making a Mona Lisa necklace (hope to show it off soon!), sewing sequins on some dance costumes for church and working on my talk (The Velveteen Rabbit: A Guide to Becoming Real) for next Saturday. It'll be another busy week with physiotherapy appointments, exercise, dance rehearsals, dance classes, Alethea's RAD Intermediate examination and the talk.
Meanwhile, here's two necklaces for you to look at. I embellished 6 Swarovski rivolis individually then sewed them together into a cube, leaving 2 holes in the cube to string the 49-strand stainless steel necklace through. Very unique and you'll definitely get second looks! Stainless steel necklaces are available in light green, dark green, red and gray. Cubes available in purple, garnet, light green, blue, dark green, brown, lilac and white. Let me know if you'd love to have one.
It's hard to imagine that 14 years have passed since we welcomed our daughter Alethea-Faith into our family! She's been such a joy to know with her zest for life, her wonderful, sparkling personality and beautiful smile. When I told her we were going to bring her to a "secret" place for dinner on Sunday, she smiled her ever so patient smile and said sweetly, "Mum, you and Pa are SO predictable! Secret places can only mean Ellenborough Market Cafe, Jack's Place or Sizzlers!" I looked at her with wide eyes as if I didn't know what she was talking about. (This year alone: Mothers' Day... Ethan's birthday... my birthday... Fathers' Day... all spent at Ellenborough Market Cafe!) Guess where we went?!
