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!

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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.

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!