Here are some glimpses of the private orders that I've been working my butt off on:

Jimmy loves the sky

Love, Glorious Love!

Salsa Nights set

Peaches & Cream

Tranquil Breeze

xoxoxoxox

Pictures coming up!

Ok I'm starting to upload pictures of sold items onto my Flickr album so you can check them out there. Matt helped to take pictures of some of the earrings, see if you can tell which haha... Apart from the vintage and my familiar "collaged" necklaces and mismatched cloisonne earrings, I also did up a few polymer rose & briolette combi earrings to go with the necklaces. It was fun mixing and matching colours! There were also simpler charm necklaces for those who like whimsicality. Some of my fave pieces from this series are:

Helena

SecretsHummingbirdCitrus Secrets

Sentimental Reasons

Dream of the ButterfliesLilly FaerieStardustand Mary, Mary quite contrary!

Will be posting some items still available after Maad as well, oh man it's back to work already! I've got some new private orders too so that should keep me busy for a bit. Will definitely be taking it easy though, need to recharge for new inspiration. Right now I'm thinking: birdies!!

maad madness!

WoW. That's the only thing I can say post-Maad. WoW! It's been such an insane, adrenalin-packed weekend that we were left mong-ing at times from exhaustion, and we were so tired by the time we got home yesterday that we broke my sacred rule of not eating in the bedroom! We couldn't even bring ourselves to pack dinner home so we ordered sushi in, put CSI on and chilled the night away. Oh did i mention i didn't wake till 10 this morning? :p

I thought I was doing fine till the Friday before Maad when I completely lost it and went mental. Poor matt had to bear the brunt of my pms-ey nonsense!!! I regained sanity at approximately 10pm which meant we continued packing and working till 4am, before waking again at 730 to continue where we left off the night before. We had lots of caffeine the next day.

Thank God for my lovely helpers, Chel and Weilin! I'm glad I have wonderful friends to help during the busiest period. The 2 babes were at Maad bright and early, got us an excellent spot so you guys could see us easily and they were so good in taking care of the stall while I was away at the wedding (i'm glad we didn't nod off cos we were sitting pretty near the front), so bummed I missed a bunch of you! They called me at intervals to check out stuff, and each time they rang, they sounded so stressed and were like, ok can't talk now, pple waiting to pay, must go NOW!! I so owe them a treat. Lee En and David were such an excellent help too, what would I do without selfless friends?

Thank you guys for being so supportive and taking the time to come by the booth. I hope you had fun at Maad's 1st birthday celebration too! I was really nervous about response to the new necklaces, esp. cos the limited materials meant higher prices. I was nearly emotional when weilin called at 1230 to say they were sold out!! Wow. I mean, wow. I didn't expect this overwhelming support, thank you thank you thank you so much. This means a lot.

Even though I'm someone else's problem now, my parents are still ever so concerned about my choice of career, and every sunday when we're home for dinner, they keep advising me to have a proper stable office job and do Oriental Rose as a sideline. They'll go on and on about how good the market is now, and how much my peers are earning, blah blah .....i feel like i never left home at all. (P.S. You know i can write this because my parents don't read my blog! haha)

Still the truth is Oriental Rose has been a very rewarding experience for me. I get to meet lots of amazing people whom I'll otherwise never know, and they make the experience all the worthwhile. We'll never be filthy rich, but more importantly I get that satisfaction from doing something that I chose to do. It is a luxury I know, and I'm thankful for all the blessings I don't deserve. Your support really affirms me. Thank you to my friends who popped by to say hi too! Mummy brought the 2 lovely girls with their pretty pink frocks. They always make my day :) I esp. love that picture of nana doing her precious moments puppy-eyed look... aww...
The most amazing moment was meeting Belinda and Simone and Cindy!! Who doesn't know Belinda of Belleebeadz yea? I mentioned before how I used to get my jewellery fix years ago from her before I started dabbling in it myself. She finally got to meet Matt in person after hearing abt him from me. I remember asking her for advice about giving up my job for him before we decided to go official (work issues). And then there's Simone of Blingalicious with her yummy mummy bump! I first met her at the Hilton fair and she's always been such a chirpy, colourful friend! They introduced me to Cindy of Starry Designs who has a sort of cult celebrity status for her "bird nest" rings on etsy. What a blast meeting all 3 amazing women!! I'm so upset I didn't get a snapshot tgt with them.

Of cos the usual gang, Sabrina of Sabbiew Designs, Joanne of Baileysvodka and Wenya of Wenya Designs were there as well... our tables were near each other and I spent lots of my time chatting with them and disturbing them. Also caught up with Amy who does the gorgeous japanese zen-like pottery and Elaine of Pisces Passion who makes beautiful bags like these:
Bought yesterday at MAAD, I love the butterfly print on this huge bag perfect for dumping my books and A4 files in . It's so padded and cushy that I can use it as a pillow in class hee. She was so sweet to throw in a matching tissue holder for free too!This bag was so cool I thought I'll share it anway. Funky red with prints of vintage shanghai ladies. Elaine sells her bags at The Esplanade Shop (where I got mine from), Design in Singapore, Eggtree and The Chinatown Heritage Centre. I like that her bags come in funky oriental chic fabric like my shanghai ladies, and sushi prints, and little chinese children with pigtails among others. Cool stuff! I simply had to get this greenish orchid hair band cos it looks just like the flowers in my bridal bouquet!! Yup my bouquet was green and not the white I always thought I would have. These flowers bands were handmade by Elaine as well and are beautiful against our dark asian hair. I also have to share these hand-crocheted necklaces under the line La Maria. I forgot to get the designer's name but it was her first time at Maad. Her stuff's really interesting!

We ended the weekend with a cake-cutting session and sang Maad a birthday song.. haha.. that sounds funny eh? I had such great fun I'm almost sad it's over. Ok I have to dash now for a lunch appointment, will update again later with more photos of sold and unsold stuff yea? Thanks again for staying with me! xoxoxo

July Maad

Ok here are the details of the Maad bonanza this weekend again:

Date: 7-8 July Sat & Sun
Time: 11 am - 8pm
Venue: red dot design museum, red dot Traffic building on Maxwell Rd
Nearest mrt station: Tanjong Pagar

I will be located outside the entrance of the museum so watch out for the booth! Though credit facilities are available, I will strongly prefer cash payment or internet bank transfers due to commission charges involved. See you there!

Surprise!

Was in some sort of a pseudo panic mode last night which got the hubster off his butt to help me in preparing the stuff for the fair haha ~ we spent a very arty farty night dabbling with paints and ribbons and buttons and lotsa lotsa glue!! He was helping me to paint some tags and I must say he's definitely more experimental in colours than I am! You can check out his artwork when you drop by the booth :)

My job was to decorate some of the boxes that will be housing some of the more exclusive necklaces at the fair. I thought it will be a nice homely touch if I added some collage work on the boxes so that you'll not only be bringing home a trinket but a little piece of my heart as well! I've done only the small ones so far, still have the larger boxes to do up.

Here's a closer peek at the small boxes ~ just some simple old music scores and vintage stamps with paper flowers, organza ribbons, funky fibres, cool buttons (some vintage some not) and cool rhinestones!

Hope they'll bring a smile to your face!!

Citrus Zest - SGD 55 - Sold

Lovely citrus kamoe clay lentil beads with swirls of lemon zest and olive green, beige czech rounds, melon czech beads and wooden ovals on 14k gold-plated links ~ vintage coffee pod & opalite textured beads as well as brass filigree embellishments are also dotted thru'out this long sunny piece. What a breeze of sunshine!

Tune in to Tuesday updates

I've been spending the last few days working out prices for the wares for Maad and boy, is my head spinning!! Almost finished with the necklaces and bracelets, so that leaves the other 50 sets of earrings to be done *faints* I'm looking forward to the event though, esp. when it's all over and I can go home to sleep the week away. The week leading up to it is always the hardest, cos you have to remember what you need to do beforehand, like tagging and packaging and displays and lists and stuff for handover to helper elves.... the workroom's messier than ever! Once my parents came over while we were out and thought we'd been robbed!! No kidding! That was quite a nervewreckingly funny moment though heh.

I've been thinking about what to give as perks during Maad to thank you guys for being so supportive - we had small jars of rosebud tea as giveaways the last round which made everyone very pleased - this time I'll be giving complimentary vintage-inspired notecards from The Paper Princess with each purchase! They come with pretty matching envies so it would be perfect for mailing to your gal pals as well. Working on another idea at the mo but it's not finished yet so I will update nearer Sat.
Meanwhile check out Becky above for Maad ~ aren't the colours vibrant?! Have a lovely Tuesday!

Isadora - SGD 29 - Sold

A funky victorian blend of black and white cameos on brass filigress and textured gold hoops ~ Drops are 6cm and 9cm respectively on 14k gold-plated hooks.

The hubster is ill at home and i'm sorry to say i'm actually secretly pleased cos he's been working such long hours and it's a nice change to see him at home in the middle of the day for once. He complains I seem too happy to see him ill haha...ok have to take him to the doc now so tata and have a great weekend!

Hope is the sweet scent of flowers

Received the invitation in the mail yesterday for the wedding on the same day as Maad I mentioned earlier and oh boy, talk abt timing! The wedding's at 1130 which is when Maad starts and regulars usually come to get the choicest picks so oh yea, it's gonna be crazy busy. Not to mention I might miss meeting some nice folks whom I've been corresponding with!! Oh well a friend's wedding is still more important so chel and weilin will be my lovely elves at the booth for most of Saturday. Chel will be happy with the free erdinger but Weilin being the shrewd law practitioner that she is, is either going to charge me exorbitant hire rates, or pay herself with the best stuff haha...

I've been swarmed with emails abt Mystical Fantasy and the Trixilini owl necklace since I posted about them and I'm sorry to say I'm not able to remake the necklace since it's made of limited quantity vintage parts that I sourced from abroad. I do have other vintage parts which I'm making into more jewellery for the Maad fair so come prepared to shop! The recent creations made of vintage parts are nearly impossible to recreate so my recommendation is to come early, be prepared to sweat it out and grab whatever catches your fancy before the person beside you gets to them first :) This is the sneak of the day ~ I have maybe 85 pieces so far ready for Maad so if all is good, the target of 100 is not going to be a problem! *fingers crossed* Still have loads to do, I'm hoping to do up more altered boards for displays, maybe some stitching as well, yes i'm learning to sew, even bought a new sewing machine!! Psyched about using it but did i mention i'm clueless abt sewing??!! That's what happens when you don't do home econs in school. Let's just say Matt had to spend a lot of time on me when we first got together haha. Later!

Little Marigolds - SGD 25 per pair - both sold

Quaint ivory roses like marigolds on pretty faceted czech rectangles in milky pink and tangerine with little swarovski pearls and metallic czech bead clusters ~ Drop is a classic 3 cm on gold-filled hooks.

Pandora - SGD 30 - Sold

Pretty white flowers with blue butterflies perched on the petals of this mismatched pair ~ white swarovski pearls & rich blue drops complete this floral fantasy. Drops are abt 5.5 cm and 4 cm respectively on 14k gold-plated hooks.

Pardon the overexposure on the cloisonne in the left earring, the right side gives a clearer idea of how the charm looks like :)

bad bad girl

I'm such a bad girl! Remember the Mystical Fantasy sneak I posted recently? I can't take my eyes off it and just couldn't bring myself to put it away for Maad so.... sorry peeps! It's gonna be mine! :p Vivien came by yesterday and she was so in love with it as well ~ Both of us love the pinkish flower centerpiece which used to be a clip-on vintage Coro earring, most probably circa 1950s. The blue rhinestone flower to its left is also a vintage but unmarked clip on earring, ooh and that little button too! It has etched silver reliefs so it lends some shimmer to this fantasy-like piece. Nothing like a magical unicorn to add that magic touch ~ Thought I ought to share the lovely owl piece below which caught my eye at Trixilini, funky yea? I have a fetish for necklaces of this style, with the centrepiece slightly spread out across the decolletage on a simple chain. This darling gave me the mood to create something of this style I like so much so ta-dah! Mystical Fantasy above ~ I still have a whole bunch of vintage earrings and brooches in the pack that included the pretty Coro and blue rhinestone earrings so I'm gonna try and do more to make up for stealing Mystical Fantasy :p
I've got more necklaces of this style in my trinket collection and I'll share them as the days go by. It'll be fun to share my fave treasures! :)

Lotus Shimmer - SGD 30 - Sold

Lotus Shimmer features beautiful deep purple round tenshas with peony pink roses and speckles of glittery gold. A carved rose quartz rose, czech drops and brassy trails later, this breathes not only oriental chic but contemporary sophistication as well! Drop is 7 cm~

I have no idea how the colours can turn out so muted in this picture but limited photoshop skills can only so do much *sheepish*

Rise of Dawn - SGD 35 - Sold

A white version of the mellow yellow stork cloisonnes in What Brings the Yellow Stork ~ With almost-black charcoal carved roses & siam red swarovskis and indian glass beads. These cloisonnes measure abt 3cm by 2cm and are wonderful with classic sleek outlines!

What brings the yellow stork - SGD 35 - Sold

Ok so the storks aren't really yellow here but I like the fusion of peaches and reds and green blues and mellow yellow in these lovely cloisonnes ~ carved red jasper roses with little midnight blue swarovskis and glittery lapis lazuli mini nuggets. Drop is abt 5.5 cm from 14k goldplated hooks.

start of a new week!

Oh how i love these 2 darlings! Really look forward to seeing these 2 angels every sunday cos they're just so funny and adorable though they can really be distracting at times haha... This cutie here is the little one cuddling up to her mommy ...
And this is the tiara toting Phoebe being her talkative self as usual... She can really go on and on and on!! But that's just her charm :)
I've had a whole day of discussion with James abt my accounting system (if i have one at all) and gosh I have so much to do! He had to give me a crash course on all the ledger stuff, and time sheet and goodness knows what. Asked me tonnes of questions and we did all sorts of lists and mind maps. Tmr's gonna be another long day of business planning and setting of visions and goals and what-nots. Oh man! He was really amused by my lack of business sense (sigh) and warned me it's going to be a tough few months ahead putting a proper system in place. So you see, it's not always easy working for yourself when you don't even know if you're paying yourself at all :p Have a fabulous week ahead!

thoughts

It's been quite tough these few days cos of the orders I need to finish quickly and also the stock replenishing for maad. I've started a routine sometime back, waking up and reading the papers, doing my sudoku quota (yes I try to do one or two everyday to keep the left brain working), then doing whatever household stuff that needs to be done etc. etc. before finally settling down to start work. It's quite nice having some sort of system, cos the problem with me is once I start sth I find it hard to stop. Matt had to get me to remember to rest after every hour or so if not I get really bad backaches and headaches. The migraines can be a killer! Now I have to have paracetemol permanently by my bedside if not the pain just kills me when it hits. Anymore enough of my medical woes, it's really manageable, except the puking part. Makes me feel like i'm preggers or sth haha.

Serenity of Silence is another piece in my When Summer Comes series, which is really quite couture and absolutely exclusive and labour-intensive and quirky (used lotsa vintage parts) and quite possible my proudest collection to date. I can't wait for you guys to see them!! Brought them out to show viv yesterday and she was like, surprised at how much my style has evolved. She was the one who bought my very first few pieces, even before the name Oriental Rose was coined. And she's kinda like my business advisor cos she's really astute and has excellent business acumen so I turn to her for advice regarding pricing and marketing etc.
I'm looking now to adding a little final distinct mark to each piece in this series so that they can really stand out as an Oriental Rose creation, almost like a little trademark on them somewhere? Still not sure how but hopefully sth will work out soon! Packaging's another issue that's on my mind. How do i preserve the feel I want to capture in the packaging while taking cost & eco-friendliness into consideration? Ooh, brainstorm!!

toot toot goes the owl - SGD 28 - Sold

I've just developed a fetish for owl charms, and these cloisonne owls are so charming! Perfect with these adorable little brass owlets perched on their thrones of gold. I don't have many of these cuties so I'll be sad to see them go *sniff* Drop is abt 2.5 cm and 5 cm respectively. Hooks shown in the picture are 14k gold-plated but the ones you're getting will be gold-filled :)

Went shopping with my gal pal viv yesterday as well and came back a whole lot poorer with a vintage owl necklace purchase fr Trixilini. The stuff's there fantastic, but it comes with a price tag as well. Half the time we had to put down sth straight away cos we wouldn't be able to afford it even if it was 50% off haha... the woes of window shopping.

High up on the ivory tower - SGD 35 - Sold

This is one regal owl perched high up the ivory tower with its owlets (or minions) by its side ~ lotsa frosted, matt and glassy beads in this mismatched owl earrings. Drops are 5cm and 8cm respectively on gold-filled hooks. (P.S. pardon the slight overexposure)

hello monday!

What a nice cool morning! I had the most wonderfully rested weekend ever, didn't check my email or work at the desk. It was terrific!!! Although I did gravitate a little towards the room but the hubster managed to keep me out of it by taking me out hah. That's just the problem with doing your own biz, sometimes you feel so compelled to work just cos you're at home and you can. If you're sitting down and watching tv or reading a book, sometimes it makes you feel like you're not being productive and you really should be doing sth. It's taken me a while to overcome this mindset, to set aside a Sabbath day each week and really not work! We spent the whole afternoon till bedtime in bed watching movies and reading and chatting over wine. Really therapeutic ~ Now I feel super refreshed and ready to get down to work, which there's so much of today!!
Okies I'll be back with hopefully new stuff later (still have maybe 47 stuff to make for Maad and
another 25 private orders to fulfil, no kidding) but here's the sneak of a different kind of style I'm doing for Maad ~ Mary, mary quite contrary. Have a fab week ahead!

Sentimental Reasons sneak!

It's the end of the week and boy, am I looking forward to the weekend! I've been cooped up all day this week in the messy workroom - I eat there, sleep there, read there, I barely leave the room except to use the loo. Once I get into the swing of things, the ideas can come fast and furious and I can't stop myself. Sometimes I forget to eat and by the time matt comes home from work, my vision is blurred and my speech incoherent from not talking all day. Haha. That's how it is, really. Inspiration can come and go in an instant, so even if I'm exhausted, I make myself work. Drawing the ideas out is one way, but I can't draw for nuts so there wouldn't be any point.

Just completed another necklace for Maad so here's a peek ~ btw we're on for Maad! Received confirmation today.. jiggly dance.. It's always fun hanging out with other fellow crafters and doing major indie shopping, come join us on the weekend of 7th-8th july! I'm looking forward to meeting lotsa new friends who've said they would be coming down, will make sure to take lotsa pictures with them this time! It was crazy busy the last time so we were a bit flustered but we've learnt our lesson heh.

Ok back to work and answering those emails, enjoy your weekend!

Princess Phoebe

Meant to upload these photos taken at Phoebe's surprise birthday party at our place before we left for Malacca but never got round to it till now. Hee hee. She's the daughter of one of my small group mates fr church and we all lurrvvvee her! She'll ring us to make sure we'll see each other on sunday and tell her mom she misses "auntie yiwen" (and of cos "uncle matt" and uncle chris" and "uncle rakesh" etc. etc. ) on tuesday, just 2 days after sunday! *beam* Such a darling!

For her 6th birthday party, we blew lotsa princessy and piglet balloons round the house and got her a piglet cake, cos she loves piglet and pink, well piglet is pink, so double lurve. Here's a shot of her and her mommy , they're wearing the same dress! You can't tell fr the pic but she's a mommy of 2!! She's the kinda mommy i wanna be when it's my turn haha. You should see Phoebe's trademark cheeky grin and happy dance photos on my flickr where there's more :p Whilst below is the sneak of the day for Maad! Yeah yeah ~

Lotsa colours and blooms!

Nature's Call - SGD 29 - Sold

Someone suggested I should do a gold/copper/turquoise combi and I went, yeah why not? However I don't have much copper-toned parts so it came out more brass than copper. Brass leaves & little acorns, with turquoise rounds and opalite-pale-yellow briolette drops, crystal belt bling and little swarovskis. Drop is 7.5 cm fr 14k goldplated hooks ~

Little Miss Sunshine - SGD 29 - Sold

A blast of sunshine to kick start your day, pale yellow clay flowers with retro-looking flower beads in white and gummy yellow and trails of bling. Ooh a little heart charm too! Wear a piece of the sun and brighten your mood today ~ Drop is 7 cm (fr gold-filled hooks)

When Summer Comes

I thought about the line (oriental rose) a lot while on the bus to and fro Malacca, well there wasn't much I can do cos I get motion sickness easily, even flickering lights or repetitive motion can give me a headache, I can't read or listen to music on the road, so it's either sleep or mong. Is it a sign of growing old?!! As I was saying, I thought about what to call the latest series for July's Maad. I've verbally informed of my participation so hopefully nothing goes wrong and it's still on! You can't believe how many appointments I have on the Sat of the fair (7 & 8 July) so you will probably see many of my helper elves if you come in the afternoon.

Somehow the "collaged" pieces I started doing for the last Maad was really well-received and I actually enjoyed the intricate creative process though I will probably need glasses by the end of this year. I'm continuing with the layered and textured collaged look this time, with flowers and butterflies and colours as the main focus. I'm calling this new series "When Summer Comes". Whaddaya think of the name? It's mind boggling how many names I've had to come up with since OR started but it's quite fun really, thinking up names and making up stories about them. Hee hee. So yeah, the names will continue.

What else to expect at the fair apart from "When Summer Comes"? Simpler vintage charm necklaces as well as more cloisonne mismatched madness and a couple of Kamoe-Rose pieces hopefully! I've accumulated a warehouse worth of kamoe beads that are dying to see the light of day. And so they shall :) Well that's about what I've thought up for the fair, let me know if you have ideas about stuff that you wanna see!

Meanwhile here's the sneak of the day ~ hmmm it doesn't seem as chirpy as When Summer Comes should be but oh well there're butterflies and roses so what the heck. Be back with stuff for online soon!

More private orders ~

Though I'd share a bit more of the stuff I've been working on (and finished!) :Hello Mary Jane! is an anniversary gift from one of my 2 closest cum childhood guy friends for his girl and I'm glad he trusted me to do what I thought would look nice within the style he wanted, he has great asthetic sense for a bloke if i might say. Rose quartz flowers on copper filigrees, with brass amour charms, opalite briolettes, clear crystal belt and rhodium trails ~

Garden of Purity is a gleaming white version of the original "Red Tent" ~ enuff said.

Apart from the butterfly cloisonne in this piece called White as Snow, I've also attached a little frosty vintage button with shimmers, bluish chalcedony briolettes and white howlite rounds with other baby blue and opalite toned beads ~

Back from Malacca! (post muscle strain)

Hey hey I'm back! Was using the computer for the first time in 4 days yesterday only to end up with a pulled muscle on my left forearm. I stupidly thought I'd sprained my wrist or sth cos it was terribly painful and limp. Thought my hand had died on me! Anyway it got better later in the day so phew! Really should consider insuring the hands haha ~

It was a restful yet fun weekend in Malacca at our church camp, we swam, shopped around the peranankan jonker street looking at intricate kebayas and other bric bracs and swam in the hotel pool which overlooked the main town which was really cool! Last night of the camp was celebration night with the theme being the roaring 60s and 7os. Everyone came in their retro best so it was a blast! Our group was drawn to do a performance that night (we were 1 of the 5 groups drawn out of the 18 groups so what a "divine appointment" it was) and thanks to this sporting line-dancing couple who had planned to do a choreographed dance item beforehand, we were able to put up some simple dance routine which I completely forgot on stage. What a big boo boo! I'm so glad this vintage 60s mod dress fr the oppt shop came in handy for the occasion! Had some pple coming up to me to say they really wore sth like this in their younger days! Matt just wore this slightly gleaming white shirt with his collars up a la Elvis ~
Some sights and snippets of the people we went thru the camp with ~ that's my group in the bottom left. Kelvin had fake sideburns and an elvis curl on his forehead, courtesy of eyebrow pencils!! I thought 3 yr old Gabriel and the little girl in the middle picture were soooo adorable! Yeap, i got quite broody during the camp with so many cute kids running around. But nope not the right time yet. Maybe once Oriental Rose is more settled!! I'm looking forward to a rowdy home of kids! :p

ouch

i seem to have just sprained my left forearm using the computer. In great pain now. Talk later as I go sort this nasty one out.