Saturday, May 30, 2009

Little Luxe - uries

I've always gravitated towards designs that are a bit quirky, bohemian
or even archaic (be it in clothing, jewelry, architecture or furniture).
Anything with an old world feel I lurrrvve !

Of late however, I've been leaning towards finer and more classic
styles. It's been quite a strange experience for me actually. For
example, I've been wearing my wavy hair mid-length and somewhat
hippie-like but I've just gotten it cut much shorter than my husband
would have liked. And instead of usual colourful and asymmetric
clothing that I like, I've been seeking out classic and cleaner styles.
The kind that fashion magazines would term as `classics that will last
your lifetime'. Perhaps it's an attempt to look more `grown up'. Even
a close friend has noticed this change. We went shopping recently
and remarking on the clothes I picked out, she said that I had rather
`mature tastes'. That shocked me as no one has ever said that about
my clothing preference and I usually get the opposite reaction i.e. my
clothes are either young, quirky or just impractical.

In line with this phase of mine, I've also been yearning for jewellery
that's a little more luxe (but not boring). For working gals, invariably,
there will be times when you'd like to project a more `professional'
image such as in a jobinterview or an important meeting. Having birds
and flowers adorn your ears or neckline may not be most appropriate.
I've been hoarding some gorgeous gemstones (I was drawn to all these
sparklies and couldn't resist getting them) and thought the would be
the perfect for the complementing the current clothing designs on the
market. Beautiful drapey dresses would look marvellous with these
cleaner lines.

You know the Anglican hymn used by James Herriot (a personal favourite)

All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.


I've my own little ditty :

All jewels colourful and beautiful
All pearls great and small
All diamonds bright and sparkly
The Lord God made them all

Not to worry, I haven't done a 180 degree turn and gone all staidly.
You're not going to get designs where a single gemstone simply hangs
from an earwire. That would be a total change in my personality !
I've been using these gems and translated them into more
luxe styles i.e. by mixing these AA-AAA quality gemstones with
quality gold filled or 24K vermeil (gold plated over sterling silver)
chains and findings with an eclectic and slightly bohemian twist.
I may make these available on my website in future but I haven't quite
decided.
For now, you can order any of these by simply emailing me.
They are all one or two-of-a-kind since I only have 1 or 2 pieces
of these jewels. Hope these jewels uplift your spirit :-)


Pink amethyst with coral and tourmaline
US$99




Green amethyst (prasiolite) with orange and yellow sapphires
US$129




Yellow topaz with sapphires, aquamarine, periodot
US$179




Pink amethyst with tourmaline and purple amethyst
US$149


All jewels are AA-AAA quality. Findings are all gold filled or
24K gold over 925 silver
Need more pics or have any questions? Email me !

Monday, May 18, 2009

Too Much Deliberation

Last week, I was agonising over which new bag to get.
I'm looking for a bag that's functional, not too structured
(one that has a soft-ish slouchy feel) but still stylish
and a little bohemian at the same time. Tall order for
a bag. And because I'm petite, I can't carry a bag that's
too big even though large bags are all the rage.

I narrowed it down to the following :
Foley+Corinna mid city tote, Loeffler Randall Nora satchel,
Rebecca Minkoff's Nikki and Botkie's James Hobo.


So after badgering my husband for quite a bit, I finally
decided to get a Foley+Corinna one in Gunmetal (it's
a rare colour and being Spring now, the new models
are all bright!). I managed to find one after some searching
online only for it to be sold.
That just goes to show that sometimes you've just got to
make a quick decision, you can't have it all (ie. slouchy,classic,
bohemian, functional all in one) !

Monday, May 11, 2009

Yes, I am working on new items !

It has been a rather trying few months for me and
it doesn't look look like I'm getting any better at lugging
my jewellery supplies to and from Singapore :-)

As some of you may already know, I haven't been living at
home since my husband's new job posting overseas. This has
meant that I've had to do replenshing, ordering, forecasting
and making jewellery in 2 places so that when I do go home
to visit, I can actually work at it too (I'm addicted to this job!).

Of course, what has ensued is a mess! What I want to make
here, I've left at home and vice versa. Yes, yes, I do plan but
plans are only that...plans. There have been many moments when
I've felt inspired only to be let down by the fact that I've left
that particular component that I need in the other place.
There's also the detailed planning that needs to be done so that
my mum can help me send off items that have been ordered. I've got
to make sure there is enough stock, envelopes, boxes etc.
And then, complications also arise when I make some items and take
photos of them hoping to load them up onto the website only to realise
that I've forgotten to transfer them over to my laptop!

OK, so enough griping.
For all of you who have been so patient with me, thank you! I
will be putting up new items (with more to come in the following
weeks) for my Summer collection soon...in the next 2 days or so.

Here's a sneak peek at what's in store :


Sunday, May 3, 2009

New Items At Retail Therapy

I've just managed to drop off some more new items for
Retail Therapy. Quite a number of them include my
handmade charms.


Secret Garden Bracelet
This happens to be a personal favourite of mine. The more
charms the merrier! I was somewhat reluctant to part with
it.




Angels of Love Bracelet




Springtime Flight Necklace