Enjoy 30% off this Valentine's Day!

Being the last Valentine's Day that I will be able to spend with my husband without the wailing of a baby in the house, there will be a special 30% off promotion for all jewelry on my website and my Etsy store!

Simply check out with the promo code XOFeb14 before February 14, 2014.*

Most styles are currently in stock and I will not be creating new inventory after February so hurry up before they are all gone!

For those of you who are thinking of a special tailor-made piece for yourself or your loved ones, I am still open to custom design until March 1, 2014. After that, I will only take custom orders that are modifications based on current designs, up till March 31, 2014. So let me know asap if you have any ideas in mind!

*Cannot be combined with other offers. If your existing discount codes do not work anymore, don't worry, they will be available again after the store-wide promotion is over.

A custom designed ring for an illustration artist

This is another ring I custom made for a good friend of mine, who is a very talented illustration artist. Her name is Jessica Boehman and she specializes in pencil and color pencil drawings for children books, animals and fantastic characters from myths.

The rutilated quartz was chosen as it ressembles the lines in a pencil drawing. Jess does a lot of drawings of nature so I have chosen a tree design around the stone. I made the ring model from droplets of wax. After the model was done and cast in sterling silver, I soldered the bezel on, hand-polished and oxidized the silver to create an antique look that matched the darkness of the stone. And set the quartz in myself.

This is a fun project! If you want to collaborate on a design, drop me a line!

The Making Of the Custom Made Wedding Ring Project

This is a project that I started with a customer since mid-2013. Between discussions, travel plans, pregnancy...etc it took much longer than we both thought it would be. But the process is collaborative and exciting, the result is amazing and I love (even the most painful moments) every second I spent working on them.

The original brief is to create a set of rings designed around the concept of being "together." We started with a yin-yang concept. Then I designed 2 very rough 2-D sketches to show what I have in mind and this one was picked.

(Excuse the ugly rendering...did it all on photoshop :P)

My concept is an elongated heart shape, with each ring carrying half a heart. Together, the two rings form one pattern. Yet when separated, each would still retain its own individuality.

After I got the approval to proceed, I started carving the original wax model for the male ring because it provided the most surface to work on, so we could really see the effect of the curves. It was a tedious process. Click on the snapshot below to read a little more about each step on my flickr album.

There were 3 different models created before we finally arrived at something both of us liked. And in between, I found out I was pregnant, and went through a couple months of inactivity from the all-day sickness. We joked about how the wedding rings were actually made by 2 of us - me and my baby. Talking about good omen!

The final set was cast in tarnish-resistant sterling silver and hand-polished to a mirror finish.

I love working on custom designed projects because each one is designed with a person in mind. They are "born" to be a part of someone's life. When I started creating jewelry, I always believe that jewelry is more than accessories to an outfit, but it should call upon the wearer's reminiscence of an unforgettable moment.

I hope I can continue to work more on these meaningful projects. If any of you are interested at creating your own set of jewelry with me, simply drop me a line and let's collaborate!

This Holiday, celebrate with Harlequin&Lionhead!

*Free US standard shipping offer is valid until December 31, 2013 and cannot combined with any other offers.
**This newsletter subscription offer valid until December 31, 2013. Cannot be combined with any other offers and cannot be transferred. No cash values. Cannot be applied to previous orders.

What has Harlequin&Lionhead been up to?

Friends of Harlequin&Lionhead, thank you for being supportive this year despite that at times I have been a bit too quiet online...

2013 has been a strange year. It was a difficult start for me at the beginning due to my health as some of you may have known. Then in the past September, my little Lionhead, Charcoal, passed away at 12 years of age. He had a good long life and the last 2 years of his life was filled with rosy moments with his young new companion, Roxy. Despite that I have been preparing myself for the day to come, it was just heart breaking and mind numbing to have to face it. Somehow it feels like the golden era of "Harlequin&Lionhead" has come to an end with the passing of both Toffee and Charcoal. It took awhile for me to become positive again, for the sake of Roxy and this new life growing inside of me. 

Yes, that is another update I have to give you, and possibly a very legitimate excuse for being so quiet on my blog and social media recently! I had a horrible first trimester constantly feeling sick and tired so a few shows were cancelled in the late summer and early fall. My mother decided to move to US to help me through my pregnancy, so I have been spoiled like a little girl again. It is a great feeling to be able to take some time off and focus at my family again. 

As my energy picked up again, I started working on a few jewelry projects for my friends and myself that I have been putting off, which you will see soon!

I feel truly blessed for the luxury of time I am given, the support of my family, the love and patience you have shown me all these years. Now I am not going to give up my jewelry line at all so don't worry! It is business as usual here except there will not be another trunk show for awhile...I am still designing jewelry, if not more than ever in order to distract myself from the anxiety of motherhood! You will see another post from me soon about my recent custom designed wedding rings for my NYC client. 

In terms of the existing line for wholesale and consignment, I am working with my usual production team in New York city so there will not be any delay. For custom orders, I will be working at my workbench until early spring. Should my schedule change, I will be posting updates on my blog and on my website with ample notice (fingers crossed everything will go as planned!) 

For retail customers, I have a good amount of stock available for the existing line so if you are planning on getting some gifts for this holiday, check out the selected items on sale in my store, and take advantage of the 10% off newsletter subscription promotion (sign up for my mailing list to enjoy it) or the free US domestic shipping offer available until end of this month. Also, I have added Fedex 2-day shipping option for US customers who are buying last minute gifts. Lots of things going on right now so come check on my blog often, or like my facebook page to keep in touch. 

As always, love and hugs from Harlequin&Lionhead. Thank you for being here. 

Trunk Shows at Hester Street this Sat and next

Come say hi at my trunk show at Hester Street this Sat and next.

Hester Street August hour is actually from noon-10pm with live DJ and special events. But I'll be there up to 9pm only.

The Rose bouquet ring shown here is only available as samples at the trunk show with limited sizes only. So come grab it before it is gone! Some items will be on sale too at sample prices. Don't miss it ;)

Get cozy at my revamped eBoutique ;)

Harlequin&Lionhead eShop is revamped! Head over to play and browse at my new website :) Let me know what you think about it.

Oh, remember, if you sign up for my mailing list, you get 10% off your first purchase! And there is a secret gift for whoever opened an account on my Harlequin&Lionhead fashion jewelry homepage ;) Sh...

Spot Harlequin&Lionhead!

Thanks to Arts Business Institute a year ago, I was inspired to turn Harlequin&Lionhead into my full time job. And a year later, I am a LLC business owner, hosted trunk shows at Henri Bendel, had my first photoshoot and my first lookbook, runs my first studio space, has a full functioning Shop Harlequin&Lionhead Online.

Recently ABI reached out to me and did an Harlequin&Lionhead interview with Arts Business Institute with me about my line and my trunk show experience. ABI is a great source of information and community for independent designers and artists. I hope my story can help someone out there.

Click on the image to read it.

Meet me at Hester Street Fair

NYC Fans of Harlequin&Lionhead, I'm going to have my first 2013 Hester Street Fair trunk show this coming Saturday. Come visit me after your brunch! 

June 22, 2013 10am-6pm
Corner of Hester and Essex F J M Z to Delancey F to East Broadway

There are so many cool things at this little gem downtown. Here is a sneak view of the cool people you may meet there. 

 Refinery29.com snapshots of NYC trendies at Hester Street Fair

And some super yummy food...

And more...

So I'll see you there!

It was lovely at Crafts In Chelsea

Last Sat I was at Crafts In Chelsea as one of the artisans on display. Crafts In Chelsea happens twice a year in Chelsea, Manhattan (one in Spring around May/June, and another in Fall around Oct). Although it is a street event, only artisan goods handmade in US are featured. Most of us are based in NYC. I love being at the market. The neighborhood is lovely and people appreciate the unique qualities of handmade goods, from jewelry, clothing, illustration arts, home decor, toys to skincare products. This is one of my NYC trunk show locations every year where I get to meet my customers in a casual setting and play dress up in the glorious spring or comfortable fall weather. If you miss it this past Sat, remember to come by in Fall!

Meet Rianka, the stylish and the proud owner of
Harlequin&Lionhead Whirls #1 Ring in White Gold plating.

This year, it was lovely as usual but a few highlights deserve to be mentioned. First of all, my first customer of the day was a generous Swedish girl who bought my little rose chain bracelet (soon be available online at my Etsy store) and paid me extra for it because "it is beautiful." I have never had a customer did that before - the fact that she appreciates my work so much already made my day. And then a few of my customers came by to say hi. It is always nice to see a few familiar faces and know you are out there looking for Harlequin&Lionhead. It motivates me to continue to create. Thank you dearies!

And the greatest thing is this wall facing me the whole day. Thank you PS 11 for hosting such a great event for handmade artists and designers like myself. Your support of creativity and arts is what makes the world a better place!

Meet Harlequin&Lionhead this Sat in Chelsea, NYC!

Chic weekend with our Whirls Collection

Chic Weekend with Harlequin&Lionhead by harlequinlionhead featuring a matte pink lipstick

Hudson Jeans / Rag & Bone real leather boots / Clare Vivier real leather handbag Harlequin&Lionhead Whirls Collection No.1 Ring / Kate Spade Wallet / Burberry matte pink lipstick / NARS Cosmetics mini nail polish / Shu Uemura Precise Volume Waterproof Mascara / Harlequin&Lionhead Whirls Collection No 7 Necklace

My first Polyvore board - Spring wedding with our Rose Collection

Going to a spring wedding with Harlequin&Lionhead

Maxi dress / Lanvin, bow sandals / Ted Baker, Bracelet & Long Stem Rose Earrings Oxidized Sterling by harlequinlionhead / Harlequin&Lionhead

If you are in New York, look for me and beautiful art here!

If you have been reading my post, you probably have heard about my retail anchor in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It was called Urban Alchemist and here was the post about it.

The lovely boutique has been there since 2008 but unfortunately due to the economy, it could not survive on its own. So now the place is transformed by 2 talented ladies into an art gallery called Ground Floor Gallery, and Urban Alchemist takes up a corner of the gallery as its gift store. A selection of my Harlequin&Lionhead jewelry is available for purchase there!

I have been to the gallery opening last week and took some pics. You can also see a post about the gallery on the Daily News here.

Temporary signage outside of the gallery. The window installation (the computers) is created by one of the artist,  Lori Nelson. Her art, as you will see below, has a strong theme evolving the digital world.

The window installation to promote Lori Nelson's exhibition of "Next Generation"

My crappy photo of Lori's exhibition. Click to visit her website.

I love June Glasson's interaction driven pieces. She has a few paintings on display.

Evan Venegas's Emodata is on display as well.

Elizabeth Riley's Moving/Still collection.

At the Urban Alchemist corner, you can see a beautiful collection of picture plates by Angela Rossi or Beat Up Creations.

Under the picture plates is the jewelry case showcasing some of the previous jewelry selections at the Urban Alchemist full scale store. Here you can find the best of the Eswera designs by Imaan Selim. 

And some other designers including your truly, Harlequin&Lionhead! 

Selected pieces from my Harlequin&Lionhead collections. Including all-time-best-seller, Rose Adjustable Rings and Rose Wreath Rings, Whirls #1 and #2 rings, Whirls #6 and #7 pendant necklaces. And new addition the Long Stem Rose Dangle earrings. And my personal fav Rose bangles. The pieces that makes lovely gifts, the Rose Wreath pendants and the Whirls #5 rings. 

Unfortunately due to space limitation, all the rings I have there are all size 7. If you happens to hop by and see anything you like and want it in a different size, just leave a message at the store or email me and I'll send other sizes over for you!

The Gloor Floor Gallery opens Fri-Sun, from noon-7pm. At any day you can find one of two brilliant ladies, Jill or Krista there.

Buy local and support individual artists!

Some interesting ways to wear your jewelry

Since my last photoshoot and trunk show, I have shown 2 pairings of my rings that turned out to be quite unexpected for my customers. So here they are...I Hope it will inspire you to create more unique ways to wear your jewelry. Remember, share with me at the comments section!

2 of my Rose Adjustable Rings

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Robert Lee Morris Collection Galactic Petal Ring

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Or

2 of my Whirls #1 Statement Rings

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A look back at my spring trunk show

4 days flew by quite quickly at Henri Bendel and again, I admire the strength of the staffs working at Bendel! Standing straight for 12 hours and chatting up customers are really quite physical, but I enjoy interacting with customers and share the joy of creating. Thank you all for the great folks at Bendel. Here is again a shameful display I did the first day, and how nicely it is put up on the second day by the professional :P How can I do this without you all ;)

Day 1 - Debbie's own doing...the bracelets are hidden. And I can't put out all the earrings :(

Day 2 - With the help of the visual team at Bendel, all my necklaces are displayed properly and I managed to get my earrings out. And my bracelets are placed more prominently!

Now spring is kicked off with a new lookbook and a trunk show on 5th Avenue. More to come this year and I look forward to it all!

P.S., Here is my new friend. Last time it was the little mayan god made with jade, this time it is the lovely silver dolls! Starred at them for 4 days...I wish I can adopt them :P

2013 Spring Trunk Show at Henri Bendel

After more than 2 months of hiatus, I'm back to meet you all in person at my spring trunk show at Henri Bendel NY Flagship store. Come to the 2nd floor of their 712 5th Avenue location and say hi on March 28-31! Can't wait to see you all.

A sneak peak at my lookbook 2013

My lookbook is finally available! I will be posting it onto my website next week and a lot of work to be done around the site. I am blessed with the generosity and talent of a lot of people who made this happen. I will work hard to bring more beautiful jewelry! 

Thank you so much, Angela Cox Photography. Angela has been amazing working patiently with me going through my mood boards to get a sense what I am looking for, work with me on the styling notes and pretty much executed the whole shoot unsupervised! I cannot have done this without you. BIG HUG!

And of course, the muse and soul of this shoot, the beautiful Molly McCoy. As a part time model and student, she possesses the qualities in the girl that I imagine in my head when I work. A bit rebellious, definitely confident, but a little melancholic as well...

Hair and makeup is done by Heather Cox. Thanks for working with such tight schedule and outdoors in the cold! And of course, a big round of applause for Sally Tseng, who kindly lend me one of the tops for the shoot. This lovely pastel yellow camisole is just perfect with its wood-like pattern. So pretty :)

Now 2013 carries a much more solid feeling. It is on my cover :D Next, a powered up website!

NYC Fashion Week: F/W 2013 Trend Summary

February is always the most glamorous month with the Fashion Week and the Oscars. Though I am dying to pull out all the spring outfits and I'd vote for the warmth of summer over the chic coats of winter anytime, Feb is either about the red carpet or the fall outfits.

To avoid a depressing fall mood, I'm going to do a quick laundry list of key trends and here is a list of great posts for more reading. And hopefully, it will be spring tomorrow!

Key trends:
Textures - Fur and leather
Sparkles - Metallic colors and lots of beads and blinks
Colors - 2 opposites: Richness (Navy, red, purple and various degrees of greens) vs White and soft nudes/champagnes
Patterns - American classics (think tweeds), lux (embroidery), geo (color block)
Silhouettes - A bit military, a bit romantic, a bit boxy (on the outerwear)

If you want to see a detailed laundry list, check out this link.
Click here for the Pantone color trends.
Folks who like eye-candy, check out some cool runway looks here.

What jewelry is appropriate to give at which stage of a relationship?

Hm...sounds more like a trick question. It is true that normally guys only give girls jewelry if they really like a girl. Yes, you can quote me on that. For the newbies in the gifting scene, what type of jewelry should you get for your beloved?

First gift

Usually for first gift, I would recommend bracelets.

It is the type of jewelry that does not require an intimate knowledge of a girl - like ring sizes, if they have ear piercing or not. Also, subconsciously where the jewelry sits on a girl's body is symbolic to a boyfriend's caress. So necklace in a way is more intimate than a bracelet. A bracelet is a nice first jewelry gift that does not carry too much of...say an "expectation."

Early stage

Earrings are usually a pretty good choice. Earrings are usually easier for both the gifter and the receiver. A small pair of studs usually is a staple in a girl's jewelry box. Even if the girl does not usually wear simple studs, she can still wear it without affecting her style too much. And she can always find an occasion that calls for it. If you don't know what your girl likes to wear yet, stay with something metal or a simple gemstone set one (in a color that she likes) and don't go for anything too specific like pearls.

Steady stage

So the guy loves his girl but doesn't want to commit to the big M word yet. What should he give? Now is the time to get a necklace. A meaningful one is called for. Get one that would complement the girlfriend's style. It is the understanding of what she loves that makes the necklace a good gift, not how much you spend. But if you are hopelessly clueless about fashion, go for a nice one - if not a diamond, a precious gemstone necklace, or one that carries the meaning of love.

She is yours

It's time for the ring! Take a ring from her jewelry box and get it to a jeweler to find out what her size is. Or if that's not possible, try using a thin stripe of paper to measure the inside of her ring, input the length using this convertor to see what her size is. Do note that different fingers are different in size. To be safe, pick the middle finger. In winter if her fingers shrink in size in the cold temperature, she can move it to her ring finger and still be able to wear it easily. And it is easier to size up a ring then sizing down.

If this is your first ring for her, and that you don't plan on proposing anytime soon, stay away from a ring with diamond or white crystal/gemstone. See what necklaces and earrings she wears and pick a complimentary ring. Don't look for another ring she has and buy something too similar. But do use her rings as a style gauge. E.g., if she likes statement rings or simple everyday rings, with gemstone or not...etc.


Happy Valentine's Day!