In the shadows of the sun

Last year I went to Storm King Museum, my all time favorite. That was my second time there. I went there first on 2010 during fall. I have decided to return to the installation part every year. I will be visiting it probably in October again when the leaves are yellow and red once more. These are 2 pics from last year. They are on my mind when I work.

I love my mom! She is totally Harlequin&Lionhead!

Meet me this Sat at Dekalb Market

Dekalb Market I am back!

I will be at this great gem of Brooklyn on Sat. Come say hi!

Date: August 25, 2012
Time: 11am - 6pm

Where:

138 Willoughby Street (@Flatbush Ave)

Brooklyn, NY 11201

How to get there:
B, Q, R to Dekalb Ave
A, C, F & R to Jay St. Metrotech

Meet me on August 18 in Long Island!

You may have read from my homepage that I will be at a very meaning event on August 18. It is a fundraiser event for animals in need of adoption and the kind people who take care of them in the interim. 

Event: Fundraiser for Forgotten Friends of Long Island

Date: August 18, 2012 (rain date: Aug 19)
Time: 10am - 5pm
Location: Organic Farm - Garden of Eve
4558 Sound Ave, Riverhead, New York 11901
(At the intersection of Sound Ave and Rt 83/Northville Tpk)

Forgotten Friends of Long Island was established in the spring of 2008 as a rescue organization that would help the neediest animals in our municipal shelters. Their mission statement was to reflect the belief that all lives should never be forgotten. The folks at the organization decided to rescue the animal that was continuously overlooked by others or the one in need of medical care. They constantly host adoption events. Check out their website here.

Garden of Eve kindly offers their space for this coming fundraiser. For more info regarding the organic produce, click here.

For this special event, proceeds of all vendors' sales will help support the organization and their efforts. Harlequin&Lionhead and Bunnies Can Dream will be donating 20% of all sales. Bunnies Can Dream will bring some really cute animal silhouette pendant necklaces. See more here.

It will be a great day for the fans of Harlequin&Lionhead because I will be bringing rose gold plated samples, available at the event for great discounted prices.  There will be live music and great organic food. So come on and enjoy a lovely day with us!

We Met At Crafts In Chelsea

Last Sat, I was at the Crafts In Chelsea market on 21st St between 8th and 9th Ave. It is a bi-annual event that comes around every May and Oct. The lovely block was filled up with booths or tables of great handmade products. This event is organized by PS11 to support the school and local artists. This year it is managed by New York Etsy Team (a.k.a. theNewNew Etsy Team). If you are interested at participating as a seller, you can reach out to the school or the New York Etsy Team. I hope to be back again at this block in Oct.

You can see more pics of the event on my facebook page here.

Meet me at Hester Street Market, a little gem at LES Manhattan

Date: May 12, 2012
Time: 10am - 6pm
Where: Hester Street Market, corner of Essex and Hester
http://www.hesterstreetfair.com/

You have to fall in love with this little corner at the outskirt of the heart of fashion in Manhattan. Great accessories, interesting fashion finds, and some yummiest cookies you can find in the city are all here.

Hester Street Fair was taken into Henri Bendel last year and took over the 2/F for its vendors, while UNIQLO camped their mobile cube there for the fall. This past Sat when I was vending there (for the first time, though I've frequented this spot last year all the time as a shopper), Macy has a pop-up shop there - Bar III took Hester Street Fair as its first stop of their nationwide tour of America's best flea markets.

I will be featuring my Whirls and Rose collections there, at an exclusive Hester Street Fair discount.

Selected products from my other shop, Bunnies Can Dream will be available too. Come check my table out. I will be sharing with the very talented Jessica Boehman of Hans-My-Hedgehog again this Sat. And she is debuting her new plush line with some new illustration prints. So don't miss it.

Meet me at Columbus Avenue Holiday Pop-Up Market on Dec 10!

Finally I have all the info for my next market. The Columbus Avenue Holiday Pop-Up Market organized by the Astoria Market. It will be at the beautiful Church of St. Paul the Apostle, where the Radio City Rockettes practices during the week ;) And it is just steps away from Lincoln Center, Columbus Circle and Central Park.

Date    : Dec 10, 2011
Time   : 11am - 5:30pm
Where : Columbus Avenue (9th Ave) btw W59th St & W60th

45 plus vendors that will be featuring their unique handcrafted and vintage wares out of the spacious 9000 square foot auditorium. You’re sure to find amazing holiday gifts such as art, jewelry, toys, body care, handbags, clothing, stationary, scarves and hats, pottery, and more!

Read more about the market here:
NY1: http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_community_calendar/events/#18957
Queens Mamas: http://www.queensmamas.com/queens_mamas/2011/12/shopping-made-easy-holiday-shops-and-markets-in-queens.html
City Limits: http://www.citylimits.org/calendar/15337/columbus-avenue-holiday-pop-up-market-on-12-10
Pretty City: http://nyc.prettycity.com/events.cfm
Markets of New York: http://www.marketsofnewyork.com/2011-new-york-holiday-markets-guide/
NY Free Guide: http://www.nyfreeguide.com/content/columbus-avenue-holiday-pop-market

Remember, you get special discounts when you buy from my table at the holiday markets. And you can order online and pick up at my table so you don't need to pay for shipping :) I hope to see you soon!

The new Harlequin&Lionhead corner on my table at Dekalb Market the past Sunday, Dec 4 - all of the Whirls Collection will be available and some of them are available at the market with a special 20% off. So come check it out.

The Bunnies Can Dream section on my table at the Dekalb Market last Sunday, Dec 4.

Hans-My-Hedgehog will be sharing my table at the market. Get some pretty holiday cards and ornaments for your loved ones this Christmas!

Are you ready to stuff some stockings?

If yes, then come on to my table at these holiday markets and enjoy some nice special discounts!

Dec 4 - Dekalb Market, Brooklyn

10am - 5:30pm

138 Willoughby St

This lovely market is getting better and better. Come check out the weekend market vendors and the 24x7 retailers in recycled containers! A larger and better food court and lots of live music and art installation. I was vending there last weekend and I love the fried donuts, BBQ chicken panini, delicious ginger carrot soup and yumyum chocolate from Jacques Torres.

The shops opens around 11am though the weekend market and food vendors will be ready for you at 10am. The place does not close until 9pm I believe but as the sun goes down, lazy bunny me will be packing up around 5pm so come visit me before then.

Getting there is easy! The BDMQ line is right outside the market. Or take 2,3,4,5,G line you will be right around the area. 

If you crave from some cheesecake afterwards, Junior's is just right there.

ATM machine at the food court too but I take credit card now ;) yippee~~

Dec 10 - PopUp Holiday Market in Manhattan!

More details to come on this one but this is managed by the Astoria Market organizer and it will be at The Church of St. Paul the Apostle on Columbus Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets in Manhattan! 

I'll be selling with my pal, Jessica Boehman of Hans-My-Hedgehog with lots of holiday greeting cards.

Upper West Side, here we come! 

Dec 17 - Brooklyn Craft Central Holiday Market

Noon - 6pm

633 Degraw St. in Park Slope/Gowanus

This event is an annual highlight of X'mas shopping! This year it will be on Dec 17 and Dec 18 though I only appear on the 17th. It is an indoor event at Littlefield, a warehouse-turned-club and each day will feature different vendors. So you get lots of choices of quality gifts you last minute shoppers!

It is accessible by R train, 2 blocks from the Union Street stop. 

Will post more later about the events as it gets closer. Hope to see you all there!

Introducing the new Whirls Collection!

Some of you may have read about it on my facebook page. Yes the long awaited Whirls Collection, a crossover between my 2 jewelry online shops, is now available at Harlequin&Lionhead.

First off the bat are my 2 rings, now available in 4 different plating options - 14K yellow gold, white gold, black gold and rose gold. It is also available in silver and can be custom ordered to be made in other precious metal. You can email me for a quotation on that.

#1 Ring, shown here in black gold plating

#2 Ring, shown here in silver

#2 Ring, shown here in 14K gold plating

The "Whirls" Collection features clusters of organic shapes that inspires imagination. Someone may see it as feathers, flowers, leaves or even coral. It is edgy but still with a subtle sensibility. There are more styles coming but the beautiful organic shapes are always accompanied by my signature twisted bands. The larger rings and bracelets are supported by double bands.

The line featured here is made of clay models except for the bands. Architecturally, the bands are quite difficult to make because the back side of the ring is not flat. It has contours that follow the shape of the "feathers" in the front. And the half bands are not soldered together because I want it to look more fluid and sleek. To top that, the band is sculpted out of round metal rods and it is diagonally twisted from one side to the other (flat at the bottom so it feels comfortable wearing it). That way the band carries the same "whirly" DNA from the shapes on the front, without being too literally. And it can still be supportive without being overly dominating and clunky. It was so hard to create, and even harder to re-create it in different sizing. I am very proud of it and I think the end result looks fantastic. It is unique in the marketplace.

The line featured at my Bunnies Can Dream store is made of the original clay and are all necklaces. They are all statement pieces that will go very well with the metal collection here. It will be available offline soon in New Jersey. More details to come. For now, you can find them here.

So how are these pieces created? It is a complicated and long process...

I created these in clay models first. The polymer clay is hardened through a baking process, which makes it stable and can be used for moulds.

The polymer clay pieces are then made into silicon moulds. From there, I can get a wax model and continue to work on the piece.

The wax model then needs to be "hollow out" so the final metal piece will not be too heavy. That is why the back of the rings are contoured. Here, they are not a "ring" yet.

The wax model will then be casted into metal and from there, I add on the bands. And that will be polished up and become my prototype for a second mould. I like working with the rods in metal because they can be made "sharper" with the angular twist. The issue is that after the bands are criss-crossed they cannot be resized or reshaped. So the piece has to be made perfect and wax models are NEVER perfect. Coming out from casting they always have to be worked upon more. So the key is to get the wax models as perfect as possible coming out from mould. So the original mould needs to be 200% and that is why I finish the bands at metal stage for all my prototypes.

Here the prototype will then be used to make a final mould. From that mould, I will generate wax models for casting for production moving forward. And this is only for one ring, one size. Imagine each ring will come in size 6-10, this process will need to be repeated 5 times per ring model. Now I have 2 rings, so 10 times. And the process is pretty much the same for bangles...Keep counting :P So seriously, this is my sweat and blood.

Now if you subscribe to my mailing list,
you get a special discount off the Whirls rings. 

Click here to subscribe ;) 

Meet me in Chelsea, Manhattan!

My first public show in Manhattan (also my 6th show!) will be at the Crafts In Chelsea Festival. Come visit my booth and check out the new collections from Harlequin&Lionhead and Bunnies Can Dream ;)

Date: Oct 15, 2011 (Sat)

Time: 10am-5pm

Location:
West 21st Street btw 8th and 9th
Chelsea, NYC

Getting there:
A/C/E trains at 23rd St 1/2 trains at 23rd St.

If you have been reading my blogs, you will know that I have a new collection called "Whirls" coming up. The polymer clay necklaces will be available at my Bunnies Can Dream shop, and the metal version including rings and earrings will be available at Harlequin&Lionhead shop. These new items will be available at my booth so come take a look. I will post a sneak peak here later this week.

Also, I will have a few pieces of the "Elusive" collection available at the booth, together with a few more pieces of rose gold plated items from the "Rose" collection.

Next to me at my booth will be Hans-My-Hedgehog by Jessica Boehman. She was there with me at the Astoria Market in summer. She does the most adorable illustrations in pencil and her art prints in various sizes, and creation of greeting cards will be available at the booth. It is a must have for the holiday season.

For more about the festival, check out their official Facebook event page HERE.

It's meant to be - Whirls

Being a single child in the family, with a pretty straight mom who works long hours to support our family, I was always alone. To keep myself companied I listened to the radio all the time, and chatted with my gfs on the phone. My hands would be idle and I always played with Blue Tac as a kid. I never really developed my skills later as a sculptor and I never thought one day my little Blue Tac project would become a real piece of jewelry.

Fast forward 20 years later, that is last week, I started playing with my polymer clay, thinking I'll make a mold for my next collection and use it as a base to shape my wax pieces when I work on them at home. But voila, a new baby is born completely unplanned. 

I think the shapes I created looks quite like a whirl of feathers. But because the way I make these shapes they come out completely random and organic, it is very hard to make them identical. I thought the ones above would work for me as earrings, I personally prefers the differences but not sure if my customers will. So I worked on a ring prototype instead.

I think it will make a good model for casting. Imagine this in silver oxidized. I think it will be quite attractive. I tried also making a few other smaller pieces for pendants. The first pic of this post is meant to be a hanging pendant over a chain. And the one below will be a pendant hung from a wired necklace. It is the same technique but used to create a chrysanthemum instead.

For mold making, I would have to make brand new ones. These are going into my private collection as white polymer clay. I like them like that. A little fragile, and looks like porcelain. I will be introducing them in my other store "Bunnies Can Dream" but only as pendants. Polymer Clay after heated in oven becomes hard so it's good material for necklace and earrings but I am not confident it will be good ring material, no matter how many Etsy sellers think otherwise. 

So, a line that exists in both Bunnies Can Dream and Harlequin&Lionhead. I think both of my worlds are merging finally. 

Meet me in Dekalb Market, downtown Brooklyn

This will be my last show in August. I will be at the Dekalb Market this coming Saturday, August 20 from 10am - 7pm, showing side by side with Bunnies Can Dream (my other shop) and MyCinta, a talented jewelry maker who makes customizable lucite bracelets and rings.

Come visit us and enjoy the lovely Dekalb Market. 

Meet me - Updates

Earlier I posted that I will be at Northside Market this Sunday. Well, there are some changes so please note.

Northside is closing unexpectedly early this summer so this coming Sunday, instead of in Brooklyn, I'll be at Astoria Market showing with my friend, the amazing illustration artist and art history professor, Jessica of Hans My Hedgehog. And, instead of leading with Harlequin&Lionhead jewelry, I'll be showing a little more of the pieces from my other shop, Bunnies Can Dream.

If you are looking forward to the Harlequin&Lionhead collection, no worries, I'll be at the Dekalb Market downtown Brooklyn on August 20 instead! And there may be a little more items to see from Harlequin&Lionhead. I'll have not only the rose collection in brand new rose gold, the gold plated rings will be super thick and beautiful. And, I may even have a few items from the mysterious and elusive recycled silver collection available then. I'll post the details to that show later.

Now, a sneak peak at the new Harlequin&Lionhead poster! This is a walnut wood veneer on foam board, with silver color embossing on top. All handmade :D

Meet me on August 7 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Finally, Harlequin&Lionhead will lead my next show and it is going to be in Brooklyn! The market is called "Northside Market", the newest and hottest market in Williamsburg, one block away from the beautiful East River waterfront decorated by the skyline of Manhattan.

Check out this indoor air-conditioned market with great food, music, and great quality handmade products.

Date: August 7, 2011 (Sunday)

Time: 10am - 6pm

Location:
135 Kent Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Corner of North 6th and Kent Ave)

The location is accessible by Subway:
Take the L train to Bedford Avenue. Walk NW along 7th Ave and turn left at Kent Ave towards 6th Ave.

This is a little map to help you along.

Interesting things to watch out for:

Check out my partner of the day, Hans My Hedgehog. It was created by Jessica, an art history professor and an amazing illustration artist. The theme of the line is "menagerie." Each pencil illustration takes between ten and twenty hours to complete. The line includes archival quality giclée prints and deluxe notecards with illustrated liners in the envelopes. They are great gifts for any occasion! Come say hi to both of us on Sunday!

Last time I was at the market, I discovered DUB Pies from New Zealand which is probably the best food I've had from various markets in NYC. And possibly the best pie on the go. Also try Eton's hawaiian shaved ice right outside the market. 

A sneak view - Lilac collection #1

I know, it's been too long. The second collection of flowers are coming out soon. This time it is lilac.

First one will be an adjustable ring. Same as my previous Adjustable Rose Ring, this will be flexible in size without looking like one. A bouquet of lilac blossoms wraps around your fingers with a little bloom at the end.

I will be casting it early next week. I hope it will come out as adorable as it is right now. The goal is that these will be partially plated - Flowers will be in rose gold, and the ring itself and the bloom will either be gold plated or kept as silver.

More to come about this series.

Another showing in Queens. Come visit!

Like in April, this will be a tag-along with Bunnies Can Dream for Harlequin&Lionhead.

If you are reading both of my blogs, you will see that I have been a little busy with my personal life recently so unfortunately, my new collection is not ready for debute yet. But if you have missed me last time, come visit me at the Astoria old beer garden, grab a beer and come take a look at my rose collection upstairs!

Date: June 12, 2011 (Sunday)
Time: Noon - 5pm

Location:
Indoors at the Main Hall of the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden
29-19 24th Avenue
Astoria, New York 11102

(walk up 6 steps and go through the brown doors, walk straight and you'll see us)

The location is accessible by:
1) Subway
Take the N or Q train to Astoria Boulevard. Get off at the Northwest Exit and it's a block away.
2) Car
Road-side parking or 2 municipal parking lots on 33rd Street between Ditmars and 23rd Avenue.

This is a little map to help you along.

What's great at the Astoria Beer Garden:
Bohemian Hall is a full service restaurant and bar/beer garden. Come shop upstairs and hangout downstairs afterwards for a beer ;)

It is the last few great beer gardens in New York. You can order grilled food at the garden or order from the restaurant menu at the restaurant section of Bohemian Hall. There are live music performances or sports on large projector screens. It's great fun for the summer.


Again, I will NOT be able to accept credit cards on premise so please make sure to bring some cash. Or there is an ATM  downstairs inside the hall by the front of the bar. If you prefer to order online now, and come pick up at the show, let me know!

I will have some items that are not available at the shop at the market from Bunnies Can Dream. And a small quantity of items from Harlequin&Lionhead available. The prices at the market will include NY sales tax. I also accept custom orders at the market which will be made and shipped to you 1-2 wks after the show.

Click below to visit my shops.
Harlequin&Lionhead
Bunnies Can Dream

See you there on Sunday!

My handpicked items

These are a few treasuries I created in May on Etsy.

Features in May

This is created by DivineOrders, featuring my Full Rose Ring in 24K gold-plating.

This is created by LeebWeeb, featuring my 2-way Rose Earrings in 24K gold-plating.

This is created by MarBar13, featuring my Adjustable Rose Ring in sterling silver.

This is created by MadameKoiteh, featuring also my 2-Way Rose earrings in 24K gold-plating.