I am a jewellery "assembler"

People often ask how I come up with designs for my jewellery and quite often people are surprised to find out I actually don't drawn any of my pieces. If I think of something, I'll lay out my beads and my charms and try put something together. But I have a scrapbook of pretty things that I can draw inspiration from.

However, when I lived in China and before I found my amazing Lao Shi, I didn't make any jewellery but I'd see people wearing pretty pieces I just had to jot down so remind myself when I get back to my tools and materials. Then I travelled to Italy to do a jewellery design course for a month. My Dad had always told me to go into designing pieces with diamonds and other precious stones if I was really into it because that's where the money is (typical business man way of thought), but I know it isn't for me because I love costume jewellery - you can read about it here - and also because I love touching my stones and my beads and it's all me from start to finish...it gives me a sense of satisfaction.

So when I got to IED (Instituto Europeo di Design), the teachers who had worked for some of the top brands like Rolex and Bulgari they told me to develop a collection from a chosen theme. I was lost. I don't have "collections" per se. More like this and that. But that's because every piece is unique. So to derive an ideas from one theme was painful. And I really had only ever been inspired by jewellery itself. My classmates were inspired by Spanish balconies, architecture, fruits and plants. So I thought I'd better pick something - I chose the rainforest having grown up in Brunei. My collection ended up being something like this...

~ On another note, I wrote about The Prince's Rainforest Project recently...and it's something close to my heart given where I'm from but it doesn't seem that there has been much publicity about it (or maybe that's just me)...so if you haven't heard / read about it, check it out here and follow the link to the official website :) ~

One component of a class was to use a computer program to draw jewellery (which honestly was not for me), so I spoke to the teacher and she said, "So you're not a designer, you're an assembler". But design I did that Summer and I was delighted to see over a year later one of my ideas realised by Dior!

No, I don't think they stole my design, by the concept was the same and it makes me feel that I should have developed the idea more *oh, the potential* But that's ok, it still makes me happy. I can dream to one day be working for Christian Dior (just like how they do in the CA ads except I won't be doing the mathy stuff :))

Faces

Following on from my last post of my new necklace "The Mirror Has Two Faces", I just had to post up this photo I took in Venice...

We had just gotten off the boat ride from Murano and Burano (one famous for glass blowing and the other famous for lace) and got lost trying to make our way back to the hotel. We came across a store with the hand and the face in the window. It reminds me of exactly how Big Bear holds my face when we're in the car and waiting at the lights. Funny thing is, my eyes pinch at the edges except my eyes point downwards like my Dad's :))

The Mirror Has Two Faces

Firstly, I must apologise about the quality of the photos. It's as if I've never taken a photography course ever! I can't get rid of the shine / reflection of the masks but it will have to do for now. 

The Mirror Has Two Faces

$60

I bought the masks as pairs of earrings from Venice. They have kiosks set up around St Marc's Square. I love Italy and Venice is definitely the city of romance. Couples travel along the water in gondolas with tourists snapping away as the go under a bridge (okay, maybe that part isn't too romantic). But music is everywhere and couples wander hand in hand exploring the water city. And St Marc's Square reminds me of one of my Disney favourites - Mary Poppins where the old lady feeds the birds :)

The necklace comprises of 3 different types of gold chain with adorned with the masks and green and pink glass beads. (Again I must apologise for the photos...the colours are a lot more vibrant in real life!)

Goldilocks

$25

Another piece I found in my box of semi-finished things. Finally got around to getting it done. It is two thin gold coloured bangles adorned with tan Swarovski crystals and golden charms of a dragonfly, a beautiful heart and a seahorse. 

Mama Mia

St. Marc's Square, Venice

I love Italy… the food, the shopping and the people watching. My favourite would have to be Florence because of its historical sights followed by Venice because it is such a romantic city. With graffiti-covered walls, second-rate sights and a dodgy public transport system after 9pm, Milan probably isn’t a city you’d typically associate with glamour and probably the least aesthetically pleasing of the Italian cities I have visited so far.

Love is in the air ~ There were these cute exhibitions of the word "Love" in different languages scattered around the Duomo in Milan. A much better sight compared to graffiti I say!

If you think that over-priced gelatos plus a seat facing the street with a sea of tourists walking by is your thing, then the streets surrounding the famous Piazza Duomo might be the perfect destination for you. And if you’d like to be sipping drinks twice the intensity of those in Australia and Alicia Keys just a glance away, the Just Cavalli Café would have to be your next stop. Milan is filled with good looking people, with the men pulling off ankle length pants in any colour (which my aunty calls “old man kopitiam pants”) and women in outfits straight off the runway strutting their stuff in the highest heels on cobbled streets.

Alicia Keys
A cheeky snap on my camera by Mr. KVC as the songstress was leaving the VIP area of the Just Cavalli Cafe. Might I add, from where we were standing, she appeared to be quite the average young lady; dancing, chatting and even taking photos for her friends.

But the most exciting celebrity sighting was of Rihanna walking along Via Montenapoleone. I was so consumed with her outfit that I didn’t even realize who I was walking past until a small Italian man with female antics in front of me turned around and whispered her name. Dressed in a yellow cotton dress, a ton of bangles and wedges…

Rihanna shopping in Milan

I probably would have kept on walking thinking "oh, what a stylish young girl". Unfortunately when I realized it was the beautiful voice behind “Umbrella”, I also noticed she had quite a massive bodyguard a step behind and I was too polite to forcefully take a snap *sigh*…

SOS: Save Our Soles!

My favourite pair of flats are these ones from Prada…

Shimmer shimmer :)

If I were only allowed to pack one pair of shoes in my luggage, it would be these. They can carry me from day to night and the sparkles dress up anything nicely.

I bought these lovelies in Florence and they have carried me through the markets of Hong Kong, my kampung in Malaysia and even a storm in Beijing. As you can imagine, the wear and tear they have suffered resulted in some damage...a big big hole in the sole. I was distressed because firstly, they were my favourite, and secondly, I’d spent weeks in pain wearing them in to make them my most comfortable flats. Even with a hole in them, the pretty flats continued with me on my travels even if it was just for aesthetic pleasure.

Milan was my next stop after Beijing and I thought that being a fashion capital, the Italian cobblers could save the day. But as I waved my shoe in the air pointing at the massive perforation, the man standing behind the counter looked at me and shook his head saying “no, no, no”. I thought if an Italian can’t save me then no one can.

A week later having queued outside Prada at Seraville (a shopping outlet about an hour out of Milan), I found the same pair of sparklies gleaming from the shelves… and my size! As happy as I was to see them, was I willing to fork out that much money to buy the same pair of shoes? Even if I did, I didn't have the heart to chuck out my old flats. My dilemma was soon resolved when a friend chose to buy them and it meant I had more Euros to spend on something else. But I was still sad thinking that I'd never see Prada's bling adorning my feet.

A month later, Mummy Dearest came to the rescue by offering to take my flats home to a trusted cobbler. Not only did he do a fantastic job adding a sole he mended the hole so well, there is no trace of it even on the inside.

From now on, I’ll add an extra sole to all my shoes. And I’ve learnt its important to do so before the damage is done. After all, prevention is better than cure. But I must say, this cobbler did more than just cure and restore, he made my flats better than before! The additional sole provides more comfort and for a few dollars, you can add many more years to them. I have yet to find a good cobbler here in Australia…if you know of one whose work is top notch, do let me know. In the meantime, I’ll be transporting my shoes back and forth for a cheap but good fix!

My Brunei backyard...ahh, I miss home!

When I say the tropics, I really do mean the tropics where the trees are tall and the grass is green. This is a photo I took of my garden back in Brunei and just to clear common misconceptions of the country... Bruneians (as we are called) do not live in trees and the Sultan does not travel around on elephants.