How we go from intangible thoughts, to physical jewellery
| for how we can work together
With the collection, I read the story, digested it, and drew imagery from text. From there, I expanded it into potential designs, sketching loads, before considering how to make them and the materials involved. I quite enjoyed that process, and would very happily look at how to do that on a different scale.
But like how stories are all unique, your experience is going to be different from everyone else’s. And with that, each person that works with me will get a tailored experience, customised to who you are, and what you want to do. Booking a consultation is 100% free of charge, and 100% obligation free.
Tell me your stories, your preferences, what you like and what you don’t. Let’s talk, be friends (or not), and work together to make something beautiful from words and feelings and experiences.
Post Christmas Sale Thoughts
Every year, the Silversmithing and Jewellery department hosts a Christmas sale. We’d have a week in November called Workshop Week, and that’s the week all tutorials, projects and help from our tutors and workshop technicians get suspended, and everyone buckles down to make their sale pieces. I dread the 2 weeks leading up to this week because I always have trouble thinking of what to make.
This year, each of us had to make £300 worth of jewellery. And to decide to make x number of the same design is slightly terrifying. What if it doesn’t sell well? What if no one buys any at all? What would I do with the remaining stock? How much is too much to charge? How would my design ever be able to compete with the 50 other designs on sale? So. Many. Questions.
Maybe it’s also a once bitten, twice shy kind of thing. I didn’t do very well the first year I did it, and I completely missed the sale the second year I was meant to do it (thank you, Bezalel for accepting me as an exchange student). So I went into this knowing full well it may completely backfire, and none would be sold. And I told a friend, ‘I just want to sell enough to cover the costs, and then I’m good. Not expecting anything more.’
But of course, deep down, I wanted to sell more than just that. I wanted to have majority of the pieces sold. If possible, I wanted to sell everything! But it was a secret desire, and for some reason, I was embarrassed for desiring that. So much so I probably only prayed it in the privacy of my shower.
Jesus is good, and He really did come through for me. Here are a couple of stories that happened for real.
C is my driving instructor, and we talk about random things in the car as I’m driving. He suddenly said during one of our lessons, ‘how much did you say your necklaces are again? I’d like to get one for my wife this christmas.’
‘Don’t you want to see the necklace before you even decide buy it?’
’Nah, it’s fine, I trust your taste.’
He did eventually buy the necklace, and even then, I had to ask him to open the box to check it before taking the money. Still don’t know what to think about the whole exchange, but he liked what he saw, and I hope his wife does too!
Ps. (updating 2 weeks after passing it to him) He told me he saw his wife wearing it a couple of times. The first time she did, she went up to him asking if he noticed she was wearing anything new! So so thankful it’s being worn! And relieved, because my taste has been validated in some ways.
Early on in the sale, a pal, messaged me asking if there were any necklaces left. He wanted to buy one for his gran. It was so sweet that he said ‘it might sound odd that it’s for my gran but I think she will, out of all the people in my family, appreciate it the most.’
I find that gifts are often given out of habit, that we give because, we’re meant to give. And while we sometimes think about whether or not the recipient will like it, we often forget to think about the longevity of a the things we buy. How much a person appreciates (not just in terms of thankfulness) something often dictates how regularly something is worn, and I’m glad and so thankful that this was considered.
Ps. I love that the necklaces are being worn by people of all ages! That is the ultimate epitome of timelessness, which is #goals.
The day christmas sale in uni ended, I got an email from a Masters student in GSA, saying she really wanted to buy the necklace but couldn't make it for the sale before it was closed. And I didn't know about the email until one day, we were sitting in the workshop and this girl comes in and asks if she can still buy jewellery. We asked her, 'do you know what you want? It's over now, but we can put you in contact with the person to ask him/her!'
And she said my name, and it took a while to process. I was like, did she just say my name? YES, SHE DID JUST SAY MY NAME.
She ended up buying 2, one for her sister, and one for herself.
I think the most heartwarming thing about the whole experience was knowing that someone genuinely likes and treasures something you made. (And was willing to email, and personally head up to the studio just to make sure she got it.) And aside from realising I need to check my email no matter how crazy life gets, I learnt that while it takes time and effort to find people (or people to find you) who value what you do, it's well worth it.
The purpose of the sale is to raise funds for 3rd years to go to Munich in March. Every year, the 3rd years travel to Germany for Munich Jewellery Week. It’s a really good eye-opening experience. Think Art Stage, but for jewellery.
So this is how it works:
Proceeds from all the sales come in, the department takes off the costs, then splits the profits 50-50. But I didn’t realise (and 100% do not agree with) they did not consider the cost of packaging as a cost. So all packaging falls under the responsibility of the maker, and not split with the department.
At the end of the official sale, 13 of the 17 pieces made had been sold. The remaining 4 were bought by other people, including the girl in the previous story. But because I didn’t sell everything with the department, I got to keep 100% of the proceeds from the last 4 sales! It not just covered the cost of the packaging, but also bumped up the amount we get to give! If you’re new here, it might be nice for you to know that we always use 10% of our proceeds (not just profits!) to support individuals, foundations, organisations, charities and groups that we believe in. They typically center around education, heritage, and social & environmental research and conservation.
And because of that, I’m thoroughly pleased to say that the amount we’re giving this christmas has never been higher!
this is me?
Sometime in August, I was catching up with a pal and she told me that my stories and how I felt about things were so much more interesting than what I’m currently writing about, and encouraged me to share those. It’s taken a while to feel less vulnerable sharing, but hey, I’m getting there. Here’s a little something from my actual physical journal earlier this month.
7 October 2018, Sunday
On Friday, I met my advisor, to discuss the topic for my paper and mode of submission. She likes it. She said it's really interesting, and that no one has done anything like that before. Also that the critical journal is a good choice for this topic. It's a relief that no one has done this topic before, but it also makes it more difficult because there's a lot of groundwork to cover. I really do have my work cut out for me.
Following that meeting, I set up the survey with Typeform because I told myself that if I ever need to do a survey again, I'd use that, just because it's pretty. It's the design conscience speaking. And also because people are doing me a favour by responding, so it's only nice to return the favour and let them have something pretty to look at. And hey if you're reading this, hello, thanks for responding!!
It's going good and I'm getting responses. And everything was perfect until I started reading the results. Turns out, not everyone cherishes heirlooms like I do. There was an incident (prior to, but still about the survey) in particular that really got to me. Okay, let's be real here, it made me spiral a bit.
The whole thing made me question why and how I'm so unlike the average 20-something Singaporean girl. Why do I think so differently from so many people? Why do like minded people seem so far and few in between? Why does it feel like I'm fighting this long (and sometimes) losing battle alone?
And this isn't just with regards to Try Wonder and ethics and sustainability and education and traditional craft, but also with approach to heritage, heirlooms, jewellery and even life and relationships.
But regardless, I'm also constantly reminded that I'm me for a reason and that I think the way I do for a purpose. There's a bigger picture and a bigger plan out there. And Lord, I pray You'll help me fulfil that plan and purpose You’ve put upon my life.
Of course, it helps that I generally enjoy being me. Eternally thankful and loving the fact that with each year of growing up and growing old, I'm kinder to myself.
Ps. I’m sure there is something to uncover with these results, even though it was not what I expected at all. Just gotta dig a little deeper! Also, I thought this might be nice to share, but reading it again, it seems so pointless because there’s no main point to this. I’m practically rambling throughout. So much so, it took me longer to think of a post title than to actually type this out.
Inspo: Istanbul in 10 Images
in Inspo
Inspo: Temple Mount in 10 Images
in Inspo
Inspo: Akko in 10 Images
in Inspo
Akko is the northernmost part of Israel that I've ever been to. At the point of this trip, the only other mediterranean beach I had been to was Tel Aviv. That took my breath away, but this, this was something else altogether. Seeing these photos make me what to go back again, but life's good where I am right now. And I'm right where I need to be, and who knows, I might go back some day. For now, I'll be content with 2D images.
How to draw removable guides on fabric
in Learn
When stitching my embroidery sample, I used a pen to draw grids so I knew where to put my stitches. And when helping my friends out with their embroideries, they used the same pen to draw out their designs. This won't work if you already have a design that you need to trace exactly, but if you're drawing it freehand, or you're confident with what you're doing, this would totally work.
I think it'd be great for pattern drafting for clothes too, because it's a lot thinner and thus more precise than using fabric chalk or pencil. Plus, it wouldn't rub off like the chalk or pencil would with friction.
This is what I use: a 0.7 Frixion ball pen from Pilot
Pilot has a range of Frixion pens, but this is the only one that I've found that can easily leave marks on fabric. I literally went into the stationery store and tried to draw on my tote bag, and my pants because those were the general materials I wanted to work with.
Something to note with this pen is that it doesn't work on dark fabrics. But for lighter coloured fabrics, they're amazing. Remember to bring a swatch to the stationery store to try it before buying!
How this works: Frixion pens are marketed as erasable with friction, but it's not the friction that removes the ink, it's the heat. If you write on paper, you'd get a cleaner ink removal by placing the paper on a heated surface (like a recently boiled kettle) than using the rubber top it provides to rub with. So, basically, just draw on the fabric and to remove it, iron the piece! The finished embroidered piece always looks better after it has been ironed anyway.
Sustainable Web Hosting
Here's a short history about my journey in web hosting:
I started with Blogger / Blogspot (never really knew which it was called)
- I loved it. It was simple and customisable, and I learnt a little bit about html doing that.
Tried Xanga and Wordpress in between. I outgrew Xanga after a while, and hated Wordpress from the start. For some reason, I could never wrap my head around it, or use it well."
So I stuck with Blogger for a while. Until Squarespace came into the picture. IT CHANGED MY LIFE YALL.
And it was all good, but I learnt more about the environment and how everything we do on the internet has an impact on the earth. This article's really helpful if you're looking to find out more.
I was making lifestyle changes and before long, it filtered into my studio practices. It eventually came to a point where I couldn't ignore the environmental impact I was personally creating by using the internet. So I searched for eco friendly hosting.
Kualo and Eco Hosting were the top contenders. I went with Eco Hosting because of various reasons. Either way, I made the switch, and guess what, my site stayed unfinished for 3 whole months. I tried, but it was just not sitting well with me, even though I was comforted that I wasn't the earth by having a website.
Then one day I realised, what's the bloody point of transferring everything to an eco friendly host when it's just not working for me? I'm comforted, but that's all I am. If anything, I was spending unnecessary time and money trying to force a Wordpress site into being. And we already know that Abby and Wordpress don't exactly get along. So why was I striving and forcing it??
So I moved back to Squarespace. Still slightly uneasy about the energy part of things. But as with many of the conversations I've had since coming home, we work on saving the planet by doing what we can, one thing at a time.
Will I try moving to an eco friendly host again? Absolutely, when I find a platform that works for me. But for now, I'll do what I can here. And also, continue emailing Squarespace about their energy sources. If you're on Squarespace and would like to know where the energy they use is from, here's something you can use! (Modelled it after Fashion Revolution's email template to brands. Thank you FR team!)
Dear Squarespace Team,
I've been your customer for ___ years, and I love what you guys are doing. / I've been wanting to become your customer as I've only heard great reviews about you.
However, I feel not enough positive change has happened with sustainable energy powering the internet. It is very important to me that as we are not polluting the earth as we make and share magic on the internet.
Please tell me what kind(s) of energy you're using to power your data centres and offices, and whether this is sustainable. It would be great if there is somewhere I can find out more information about your energy suppliers.
Sincerely,
____________
Natural Dyeing Recipe: Red Onion Skins
in Learn
For this, I went to Tesco, and just picked the looks skins that had fallen off the loose onions in the cart. I didn’t need the onions so I wasn’t going to buy it, and I was sure they wouldn’t mind me tidying it up a bit! So it’s all good.
You probably don’t have to do this, but I tore the skins up into smaller pieces so they’d be more manageable. And the idea is also that the more surface area there is in touch with boiling water, the faster the dye is extracted.
You need:
Red onion skins
Water
Pot
Strainer / cheesecloth
- Place skins in pot, and fill it a generous amount of water, enough to cover the skins and stir them
- Bring to a boil
- Reduce to a simmer, and simmer for 30-45 minutes
- Leave to cool before straining
- Adjust pH as desired
Like tea, onion skins are really rich in tannins, so you don’t have to use a mordant when dyeing with them. That said, I wanted to keep things consistent and manageable for my project, so as with the other dyeing recipes, I used alum-mordanted wool.
Share what you’ve made on Instagram with #trywonder, I’d love to see what you’re up to!
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