leaving on a jet plane

Finally mailed out the last batch of Christmas custom orders today, phew! I am so glad most things got done before the christmas lunch party at our place today cos I was going a little mental with all the orders and party prep and packing. Still I'm relieved to have fulfilled as many requests as I could so now I can finally take a break and enjoy the Christmas hol :)

Would have loved to post pictures of some of the custom pieces but since they are meant to be presents, let's just wait till they reach the hands of their intended recipients first eh. So utterly exhausted now but we've still got to make sure our luggage and all the pressies for the family don't exceed the weight limit. Which by the way, is quite a FEAT. We had to unpack stuff at heathrow before, throwing out boots and all so yea, not fun at all.

Alrightey, gotta go skype with the family now (hate to end up trapped at heathrow at peak hour) so have a blessed Christmas and happy holidays everyone!! I'll be seeing you soon :)

Robin Blue - SGD 99 - Sold

I found this pretty ribbon-shaped brooch in Tasmania that had pretty clear and light blue rhinestones on it and embellished it with vintage enamel flowers and holly leaves, a sparkly button, freshwater pearls, moonstone rondells and topped it off with a gorgeous faceted blue topaz gem briolette ~ Ready for gifting in a box.

One of my faves ever ever! :)

P.S. I've had to raise prices for these reconstructed couture creations because of the gem grade stones used and more often than not the vintage collectibles themselves are not cheap. Rest assured that each piece you hold in your hand is a culmination of much time, effort and of cos love!

Little Scene - SGD 49 - Sold

Like a little scene from a garden... vintage enamel and plastic flowers with rhinestone centres, freshwater pearls and a gem grade rutilated quartz heart briolette on a 16" 14k goldplated chain ~ Centrepiece is about 4.5 cm at both its widest and longest point. This is my only piece so please, I don't have any more!

Alana - SGD 56 - Sold

Back to the roses I've neglected lately.... Pretty delicate roses with vintage cameos, freshwater pearls, shimmering moonstone and gemmy rose quartz onion briolettes ~ goldfilled hooks and parts. Drop is just slightly over 5 cm.

These roses are part of my depleting stash so there won't be many to go around for long while the rose quartz onion briolettes are from my recent gemstone acquistion. It's a fairly new and really unique plummy shape! :)

*comes in a pretty box too ready for gifting

Pretty Flit - custom order

A belated birthday gift ~ Vintage petals and a rhinestone brooch with a swarovski "antiqued" flower charm, freshwater pearls and a pretty green garnet gem briolette.

Under A Cloud - SGD 98 - Sold

Been dying to start using my gem stash and this gorgeous golden rutilated quartz brio snuck its way into yet another vintage couture piece. Hmm i like the sound of that, vintage couture. Incorporating semiprecious gemstones into reconstructed vintage creations. Doesn't that sound brilliant?!

Under A Cloud is a irreplaceable darling boasting a whole motley of vintage preloved components reconstructed together with a beautiful golden rutilated quartz large briolette~ This brio is one of the prettiest in the lot with beautiful golden rutile needles passing through very clear crystal quartz. I was told that new "needles" may grow within the brio depending on the wearer. Not sure whether it's true but still a fun fact nonethless!

This necklace has a toggle closure on the side (just before the long beige barrel bead) which I included as part of the design of the centrepiece ~

The white beads and spacers were salvaged fr a pre-loved vintage necklace as is the chain on the other side of this asym baby. Wirework done with goldfilled. Length is abt 16", not including the centrepiece's drop.

*P.S. My new boxes came recently so yay! Now I can start having some fun doing them up to go with the pieces in them. Under A Cloud will come in a gift box to keep it safe from the prying fingers of jealous sisters and girlfriends.

Christmas Update

Thank you everyone for the overwhelming response this gift-giving Christmas season! Unfortunately since I have little time left before we fly, I'm afraid I will have to stop accepting custom orders. New items will be listed from time to time for the rest of us who still wish to see some new designs online but honestly, the order list is stacking up so scarily I think I will have to work till right before I leave for the airport.

Please bear with me during this crazy season, I really appreciate your support and will try to cater to as many requests as these 2 hands will allow. Meanwhile I will be getting in touch with everyone who has emailed me their requests, and I will do my best in case of emergency gift situations :)

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Odette's Waltz - SGD 76 - Sold

A 16" silver-toned darling, Odette's Waltz features a vintage swan brooch from my travels with little clusters of vintage flowers, a tulip, teeny moonstone clusters and a gorgeous glimmering swarovski pendant ~ Colours are a lil overexposed here and it's hard to show the details of the beads and flowers. But this is a beauty and it's my only swan brooch so it's a rarity! You can check out this piece on a dark background here.

*comes gift wrapped in a box

Soul - SGD 54

This is the only of its kind as with all my italian charm necklaces ~ Soul has a steer, key and a little flower bouquet with a brilliant yellow opal briolette, swarovski rhinestone accents and subtly shimmering lapis lazuli nuggets on the 16" long textured 14k goldplated link chain. Such a character chick!

Christmas Reflections

Christmas has been my favourite time of the year for as long as I can remember, I'm not sure if it's the lights or the presents or the trees or just the general euphoria and uplifting of the mood during Christmas. It just holds a special place in my heart. I like to think of this season as the time to reflect on how the past year has been and all the blessings and joys that I may have forgotten in all my busyness. This year has been an AMAZING year for me and I want to give thanks for all the good and bad things that God has put my way this year - the good are the blessings I may not have deserved, the bad are the trials and difficult moments that have made me a stronger and hopefully better person -

Some especially good moments:

1) Saying our vows and pledging our commitment before God and the people that matter to us the most even though technically we've been married for a year

2) Focusing on Oriental Rose full time - I think this has got to be one of the most difficult decisions we've ever had to make; the unstable income, neverending wrecking of brains to come up with new ideas and designs, constant anxiety over the acceptance of my work and hence sales etc. the list goes on. Yet because of this, I have gotten to meet some of the most wonderful people ever, be they customers or fellow crafters or friends who simply entered my life somehow. They have encouraged me, inspired me and left their footprints on my heart whether they know it or not. I'm never the same again.

3) Moving into our house and preparing for the wedding and turning Oriental Rose into a bill-paying venture all at once - Was a total nightmare and not for the faint-hearted but thankfully we survived and it strengthened the relationship between us the odd couple

4) Simply being alive and healthy surrounded by family and friends whom we love and love us as well

I am sooo looking forward to Christmas with the rest of the Challengers next week! Yup we're flying off next Friday and will spend a jolly two weeks' odd hol in freezing England. This time round I'll attempt valiantly to take more pictures to share from where we'll be :) I'm hoping to take this time to reflect on Oriental Rose in the past year and have new dreams for the new year. Hopefully the change of environment for a bit will bring new inspiration, new hope, new muses.

Before I go though, I'm desperately finishing orders and coming up with new things. So no fret, all will not be quiet on this front. In case this verbose state of moi does not resurface before I go, I just want to say a BIG thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for your support.

Thank you for sticking around.

Myrtle - SGD 49 - Sold

Deep emerald-like green onyx briolettes topped with clusters of goldfilled stardust rounds and swarovski pearls from goldfilled hooks ~ Drop is a lightweight 4.5 cm. So versatile! Made a pair for myself in mind only but Sabrina advised me to list this design for sale too cos the stones are so pretty! And now this goes to a very classy lady friend :)

bridal necklace - custom order

The final design for the beautiful bride whose big day's this Sat ... petite sterling fleurs with delicate vines, vintage flowers, swarovskis and a misty moonstone briolette ~ I also did a pair of interchangeable earrings with her, meaning she can have different looks depending on which pair of dangling bits that she hangs on the earring hooks. Unfortunately i forgot to take pics of them as well as 2 more pairs of glam earrings for her cheongsam and evening gown. Oh well. Maybe I can snitch pics from her after the wedding heh. So yay! A big order finished. Time for the rest.

Angel - custom order

Made this for a dear friend to go with her dress to another friend's wedding sometime back but never got round to posting pics so here it is! Lotsa gleam with a little vintage touch to go with her little black dress :)

gemstone giddiness

Sorry for the lack of updates, it was papa wong's birthday on Sat plus i had my advanced theory driving test yesterday which required some major mugging since this wouldn't be my first time taking it. At first I misread the date as Friday and resigned myself as a lost cause until I realised it was Monday not Friday which gave me the weekend to mug. And thank God I managed to pass this 2nd time! Cramming isn't the best way to study but thankfully it worked this time heh.

Had a little celebratory lunch later with Chris the baker and Chelsea my lovely Maad elf and it was just so cosy catching up with them at Ma Maison while it poured outside. Love that place, always makes me feel like it's snowing outside. Chris brought the cutest jars of the chocolate oatmeal raisin and cranberry shortbread cookies that I ordered, one of which i brought along later for Sabrina (Sabbiew Designs) who is the sweetest gal ever! We are both gemstone-crazy and can msn for ages just talking about rubies and all! Had a little swop in the evening and shared the purchase of these amazing pink and blue topaz. The colours are astounding! Will be heartbreaking to part with them.

The mother-in-law loves red so I got these excellent rubies to do up a set for her this Christmas so they won't be for sale, sorry! :p (kept one for myself as a reward for passing the test) Later the hubster took our friend Jenna and I out for some food and to the cinema, we got home only near midnight, what a day!

New pieces coming soon!

Hearts - SGD 54 - Sold

A cluster of vintage charms including a large midnight rose as well as medallions from my flea market trawls in Australia and the US on a beautifully aged vintage chain measuring 30" ~ truly one of a kind!

Plum Rosettes - SGD 29 - Sold

Vintage wine-burgundy roses with faux vintage print tenshas, bicoloured bell czech flowers, dark quartz brios... very rich colours bordering on feminine luxe ~ Drop is 7 cm fr sterling hooks.

Starburst (antiqued) - SGD 22 - Sold

Part of my meteor starburst earring series for Christmas, this is a soft neutral colour to go with those vintage frocks ~ Drop is a petite 3cm.

Stella - SGD 30 - Sold

I still have another Stella for sale so here it is ~ a vintage blue flower cab encased in a brass setting, with a brass faerie hugging her knees amidst cascading gold leaves and glittering swarovski star lights. Length is a chest-long 26" with a pretty blue crystal heart ~

Little Pin #10 - SGD 25 - Sold

Another antiqued pin with vintage parts and a little toot toot atop a ruby-coloured quartz drop ~
You can see the packaging for the one-of-a-kind Little Pins here - great for gift-giving!

Rowena - SGD 55 - Sold

Another glittering pair with the same swarovski rhinestone rings, rose quartz carved roses, beautiful faceted amethyst briolettes, high lusture freshwater pearls and other goldfilled accents. Simply decadent! Drop is 7.5 cm from goldfilled hooks ~

the tuesday after

Oops! I was meant to upload more photos yesterday, especially the brooch pins, but I was so utterly exhausted that I dozed off after lunch and did not wake up till the hubster came home early from work cos he was feeling peaky. One invalid and one very tired post-Maad moi could not drag themselves out of bed until it was dinnertime. But I've finally loaded the pics of the sold brooches! Got some orders on hand to finish but I'll be trying to make more so if there are any colours you seriously like, drop me a line and I'll try to come up with sth for you!

This was an experimental piece but I really liked the burst of colours! Not very wintry christmasy i know but still beautiful on the eyes :) The vibrant colours are not very obvious cos I should have chosen a lighter background but I was quite taken with it still and it took a lot of self-convincing to part with it .

More parting shots include these 2 customised pieces:

More pieces coming up real soon!

time for a breather!

So glad Dec's Maad is finally over! I brought more stock this time but the good stuff were swept up within the first half hour so I'm sorry to have disappointed those who made the time to come by but missed seeing the loot. Thank you so much for your wonderful support, really appreciate seeing you guys! :) I always feel so blessed after each Maad, cos friends always pop by to support me so it becomes like a mini gathering. Plus of cos, I get to befriend new vendors and catch up with old friends! Poor Matt ended up being stuck at the booth for ages while i went-a-gallivating haha... wouldn't know what i'll do without him - he packs my stuff for each event, carries everything, prepares the change, sets up the displays, buys me food and basically puts up with my high-strung state during the stressful days. (Note to self: Be nicer to hubby this week!!)

Here are some of the picks:

Starving now so i'm off to get some grub but I'll be back to list stuff still available after Maad ~ meanwhile pics of most sold items can be seen on my Flickr. I've not uploaded the brooches yet but will do so in the afternoon. They went really quick! Have to do more cos they're fun to work with and easy to give! Which reminds me I have to start sorting out those christmas pressies soon :p Have you started your shopping yet?!! There's gonna be a Fancy Faire at Orchard Hotel this tuesday and wednesday so i'll be doing some shopping there for the family while supporting some Maad friends (Elaine fr Pisces Passion, Vivienne fr Fuchsia Lane, Sabrina fr Sabbiew etc.)~ do check them out if you're free!

On genes and a sneak-of-the-day

Do you wonder sometimes how much stuff runs in the family? I never thought i'd end up doing jewellery someday, heck i never really passed art in my school!! Wasn't particularly well-known for any creativity to be honest. But what if genes did have a part to play in it...

If you'd caught Home Decor 3 on Channel 8 last night, you would have seen many of my cousins and even my gran on TV! They were on Mark Lee's team and since I'm not a frequent viewer of the show, I heard from the grapevine that his team hadn't won for a while so naturally they were kinda worried. Nevertheless they put in lotsa thought and effort, most of my cousins and aunts and even my lil bro went down to help with the renovation and they deservedly won, at least to me! Loved the way they revamped my gran's old furniture and came up with a east-meets-west-contemporary style :)

My gran even got to show off her crafting prowess in making butterflies fr used cans (so green right), which by the way, is not the only thing she does. She also makes little beaded animals like doggies, kitties, sheep, snakes... you name it, she jolly well can make it! I'm so proud of my gran!! Maybe my mom managed to sneak some creative gene from gran to me after all! Ok enough of showing off my gran.... ain't Athena a pretty lady! I'm very pleased with the way she turned out and can't wait to show her at Maad this weekend. Very vintage, very green... just the way i like them :) I have to get back to preparing logistics for the fair... you really gotta check out Dec's Maad cos there'll be so many cool stalls way perfect for some handmade indie shopping!! (maybe i should display some of my gran's butterflies too)

Dec Maad sneaks!

Some pieces for Maad next weekend...

there's lots more where these came from, and even more in the works!

Maad next weekend

Sorry things have been quiet here lately cos I've been hibernating and working on stuff for Maad next weekend. Usually stock runs out after the 1st day so I'm trying my darnest to have more and if possible 2 pieces of each design so I can stagger the display for the 2-day affair. I'd hate to disappoint the folks who can only pop by on Sunday!

This time round, apart from the usual repurposed vintage goodies, there will be petite lovelies and glam danglies, as well as special ooak italian charm necklaces (from the stash I acquired in the Philippines) and unique little quaint brooches perfect as stocking stuffers! I'm more pysched than stressed which is quite strange for moi, but hey i'm not gonna complain about that heh

I've got to go run errands now, but I'll get back to answering those emails and posting more sneaks. Thanks for sticking around! :)

December Maad
Time: 11 am - 7 pm
Address: Red Dot Design Museum on Maxwell Road

Roberta sneak

Another piece for Dec's Maad ~ more jewelled tones for the festive season! :)

Sophie - SGD 29 - Sold

Thought I'll list sth new just to keep things going instead of hoarding everything for Maad :) Sophie is a classy pair of good old-fashioned earrings featuring pretty shell roses. These roses are abt 1.8cm wide and the drop is a petite 3.5cm fr antiqued brass hooks ~

Another Maad sneak!

Ooh look at what came out yesterday! A quaint purply eye-catcher that's bound to be a keeper! I'm hoarding this for Dec's Maad, which by the way, is on for sure! So keep the 1st & 2nd of Dec free if you can and come do some major christmas shopping! (hopefully at my booth so i can do some christmas shopping too haaa)

Miss Holly - SGD 55 - Sold

Sorry everyone for being tardy in replying mails but I've been stuck in bed with a bad cold since Deepavali and today's my first good day although I still sound like darth vader. The last few days have been an absolute nightmare! Not being able to do anything at all except finish season 2 of Grey's Anatomy and plough thru half of OC season 4. Thanks to the hubster (who is a much better nurse than I am and was fabulous in looking after me despite catching the bug as well), I felt well enough today to try working for a bit. This is one of the perks of working from home, I get to fall back to bed if I don't feel well enough to carry on without having to commute heh.

Miss Holly is made from vintage holly-like bracelet links with clear quartz roses, green garnet briolette, lotsa mystic grey swarovskis as well as freshwater pearls, swarovskis and gold-filled extras. Drop is a lovely 8cm from goldfilled hooks ~

I wore a pair to meet my gal pal Val last week and we stumbled upon this lovely shop called L'Escalier in Takashimaya. It really is a treasure trove that carries local brands like the dear Makisquarepatch, Fuchsia Lane and Saltplay. Miss Holly caught the eye of the pleasantly polite (a rarity for local customer service) shop staff who suggested I bring in my portfolio and some sample creations for the manager to explore the possibility of stocking my pieces there! I think it'll be a great stockist so hopefully I can do up something to show them soon (if i don't tear my hair out amidst preparations for Maad and all). Exciting times ahead!!

Rose Assassin sneak

This vintage rose dagger pin was quickly taken by a regular who gave me the freedom to do it up into whatever I fancied so this is a little sneak surprise for her ~ More similar pieces of this style will be available at Dec's Maad if nothing goes wrong. Sorry I've been quiet lately, it's just too exciting checking out the possibilities with these vintage acquisitions! Usually it only takes one good piece to start a new series so yay! This Rose Assassin just saved me :)

Spring Fling II - Sold

A more petite remake of Spring Fling at a private request ~

my little bunny mug

Woke up yesterday morning feeling a lil anxious cos the thought of all those orders I've yet to finish is weighing heavily on my mind. Esp. since I popped by Maad yesterday and moi friends were like, hey where have you been? Come back to Maad soon! So yea, I'm thinking of how I can juggle finishing existing orders with coming up with new pieces for Dec's Maad. I'm praying very hard that my fingers and mind don't fail me! Having a stall at Maad is more about the community experience rather than the sales, though it's usually harder cos I have to spend lots and work like mad to stock up for the 2-day market. Still the friendship, the bustling atmosphere and ahem the shopping more than makes up for it.

Managed to control the spending yesterday but I couldn't resist this little bunny mug made by Amy, from whom I got most of my japanese-style ceramic bowls from. Matt and I love her work to bits! So rustic and homely. I find it so adorable that the little rabbit's peeking out fr the top of the mug :)

This guppy bowls are so pretty too! It'll be pretty cool to see the little fishies "swimming" when there's soup or sake in the bowls. I thought they were teeny whales at first but Amy corrected my faux pas!

Amy will be at Dec's Maad on the 1st and 2nd so remember to check out her cool ceramics!

i am free

I've been running out of accessories to wear which is such an irony considering what I do so I decided to do up a new necklace with some of the kyanite brios I'd been storing away hee hee. Didn't want anything fussy so some swirly goldfilled tubes and a brass swallow later, here's i am free. Somehow the glistening blue of the kyanite and the soaring swallow reminds me of the vastness of the sky and how puny I am in relation to this huge universe. I'm just glad I got Someone out there looking out for me!

The hubster thinks I shouldn't hoard stuff so I'm still contemplating keeping this for myself or for sale. Need time to think it over first haaa ~

Serene - SGD 55 - Sold

Think I love Serene as much as I did Esmeralda, just look at the colour! Soft blue carved roses (not sure what stone it is tho, shimmering moonstone gems and kyanite drops with the same pretty freshwater pearls and swarovski rhinestone-studded rings.

Drop's 8cm from goldfilled hooks (same for the wirework and chains) ~ swoons...

Yvaine - SGD 54 - Sold

Esmeralda was a fave so it was sad that I only got 1 pair of those soft minty green roses! I've done up 2 more versions of it, each slightly different from the other. Here's Yvaine, a silver-pinkie-purply combi of rose quartz roses, swarovski rhinestone-studded rings, the same beautiful freshwater pearls (even jenna thought they were gorgeous!), muted lilac & pale rose-pink czech drops and faceted gem-quality amethyst brios.

Drop is 7 cm fr sterling hooks (so are the wirework and chains) ~ Wonderful glitzy earrings... I'm getting into the christmas mood already!

Esmeralda - SGD 55 - Sold

I loved these minty green roses and kept them for the longest time until I decided to do sth with them as a christmas prelude. Beautiful gleaming swarovski crystal-studded rings, freshwater pearls with an extraordinary sheen, swarovskis and fabulous gem-quality phrenite brios for that awesome vision of green!

Drop is 7.5 cm on goldfilled hooks ~ (wirework and chains are also goldfilled)

Put the pic up on Flickr a while ago but forgot to describe it and yet it still got sold before the listing came up. Thanks babe! You know who you are, and I'm glad you got my fave piece of the lot!

Crimson Plush - SGD 46 - Sold

Crimson Plush is a slightly different version of Plush with red peony cloisonnes as well as phrenite and green onyx brios... but just as luxurious! Drop is 6.5 cm from goldfilled hooks ~ picture of Crimson Plush on light background here.

Plush - SGD 46 - Sold

I enjoyed working with the colours in Opulence but unfortunately I'm out of those gorgeous mudan/rose cloisonnes so I came up with other versions. Plush features pretty blue peony cloisonnes which I've used before, with tangerine clay roses, vermeil flower, swarovski blings, hoops, little red garnet rounds and rich orange carnelian brios.

Drop is 7 cm from goldfilled hooks (tarnish-resistant wirework and 14k goldplated chains) ~ Picture of Plush on a light background here.

cool vintage finds

After much frustration and exasperation with the embassies in Singapore, our friend Jenna finally set off for KL to get her visa into India yesterday and suddenly the house seems awfully big and quiet again. Which means it's time to become a recluse and work harder than ever! Recently I've been falling in love with gemstones and collecting different pretties one strand at a time cos the good stuff never comes cheap! I've been starting to include them in my pieces as well and it makes me so happy to just work with these pretty gemmies :p

I've finally opened up my trove of treasures from trawling the antique shops/flea market stalls of Salamanca Market in Hobart and Port Adelaide. This ain't the whole loot too! That's how much stuff I came back with.

The last picture are some beautifully aged cameos that my girlfriends and I found and I especially love the vintage black carved cameo set in a what i think is cannetile* filigree frame.

*Cannetile is a french term to denote a decorative jewellery technique in which a metal, usually gold, wire is twisted into delicate and intricate designs featuring rosettes and scrolls. Meant to be very popular in 19th century England.

So there! My stock of possible Christmas goodies. They're in excellent condition and beautiful in their own right so I don't have to do much to repurpose them. Just hope I can do them justice!