Earrings in November

Recently I got new supplies of stainless wire. Stainless wire is not as sparkly white as silver coated craft wire, but they endure. So, I make the french earwire from it, combine it with alloy ornament marbled beads. The picture is as below.

Tree carving brass ornament, sparkling grey faceted drops, just perfect for autumn.

Another autumn theme, tangerine colored agate post earrings

Purple fluorites in floral theme, with metal roses, and gold & rose tone wire

Dime deep amber crystals with peach and orangey beads

Suede string series: bracelets

 With tridacna shells and brass charms

With clear and green tinted faux crystals

Turqoise colored stones with antiqued charm 

Ice blue suede with marine blue glass beads



Fucshia suede string with shell beads



pink colored string, shell beads, turqoise colored stones

Natural stones necklaces

 Two strands necklace made from fluorite stones, czech beads with silver tone metal elements

Made from persian agate and czech crystals

Antiqued gold tone necklace

Made from turqoise stones, czech crystals, fresh water pearls

Materials I work with

Basically, my favorite material is natural gemstone. Gemstones are beautiful and come in a huge color selections. Many of it also are believed to have metaphysical properties as well, this fact charms me.
Other components such as metal-like alloy, or stainless steel, or non-tarnish wire, are also materials that I work most with. With non-tarnish wire, it doesn't mean that the coating won't come off, it just takes longer for it to come off. Also, craft wire comes in multi colors. Stainless steel offers non-tarnish quality too, but it is, you know, steel, and they look like steel, so I use this with reserve that it doesn't affect the feel and design of a certain piece.
Czech beads and crystals are also my favorite, I use them a lot. They are rich in color and shapes, the ideal counterpart for natural stones.
Strings and suede also come in the list. I seldom use fabric or feather as I don't like to work with glue gun or glue in general (I do use glue to secure fishing line finishing, as it only requires a small amount). But I keep this preferences open.
There are so many exciting materials out there waiting to be explored, I'll post related news once I've tried them.

Style and Design

As a jewelry maker, I don't confine myself to a certain fixed style. It's true though that I created pieces that tends to be feminine, or have a certain era feel (vintage).
Sometimes I like to describe them to have a rustic style. If you take time to look at the pictures that I post in this blog, or visit my online shop, you might get an idea of my style tendencies.
I have been influenced by Japanese designs that use a lot of natural semiprecious stone. That said, I also take inspiration from many artists from other parts of the globe. In essence, I love to create jewelry that goes with everyday wardrobe, a piece that has understated and subtle charm.
My constant struggle with design work is the use of sketchbook. Curiously, it always fail. Most of the time I make things impromptu.
There is no age preference for my designs, they're intended to be wearable by daughters, moms and grandmas.

How it all started

First of all, I want to share with my readers a narration on how I decided to set up this blog (and to sell online, subsequently).
Back in 2007, after I just left the wonderful world of employment, I started to take my handcrafting hobby more seriously. Why jewelry making? Why not scrapbooking, or sewing, or knitting? you might ask. Personally, I love jewelries. They are nice to look at, they enhance someone's appearance, and therapeutic at the same time. By therapeutic, I mean that both literally and figuratively. At that time, I had no intention whatsoever to sell my works or even keep a record of it. I just wanted to develop my skills, and dominantly, to have an outlet of my artistic expression.

Things began to brew when I went back to my hometown Jakarta later on that year. I brought back with me some of my works to be given as gifts for my mum and sister. My dear sister, freshly motivated after her then recent venture of establishing a new business, saw this as an opportunity too. We're not that kind of family with business blood running in our veins, no, we're just a bunch of siblings that love to draw up plans, and then ponder over it, often for too long that we just completely abandon the plans.
Luckily, this time me and my sister didn't abandon this particular plan. While I love to create things, I lack the knowledge to make my works go public. For instance, I know how to open an account and set up a blog, but I don't know what to write in it! (Okay, maybe this is related to writing skills?)
I told her that what if I just focused on creating, and she handled the marketing? Which she agreed, although we both didn't have the slightest idea on how my sister would handle that marketing aspect.
Long story short, we decided to sell online as it would be far more cheaper than opened up a physical shop, and it would affect my selling price, which I intented to be affordable for many.

The purpose of this blog

I decided to maintain this blog for keeping a record of my works, an effort to discipline myself to be more organized. And to share with my readers (hopefully) the process of my jewelry making, also as a gallery of my works.

The blog choice of language

I originally come from Indonesia, speaking bahasa Indonesia all the way until I left the country before I reached my twenty years. Then I moved to Taiwan and began to learn speaking and writing and reading Mandarin. And English too, all painfully learned. English is chosen for the convenient purpose, so that my friends in Indonesia and Taiwan can access this blog.