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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

Fall Winter Trend 2012/13: Dark of the Night

Another big trend we noticed during the fall winter 2012/13 shows was that there was a whole lot of black. The color black, classic, and always in fashion has definitely made its mark in several designer’s collections for the season. Givenchy’s show had a skin-tight black leather turtleneck dress that would mesh quite well with the likes of Cat Woman. Gucci kept it sexy and sophisticated by bringing on blouses in black sheer fabric with velvet sewn on embellishments. The overall mood for this dark trend is very sleek, cat-like, mysterious, and with just enough mystery involved.

Lucky for us, this dark trend fits the Harlequin&Lionhead’s Whirls collection spot on. Accessories are half of the fun when it comes to dressing trendy, besides, with accessories you can really express your own fashion sense and style. Accessories are best used to add that little extra ‘something’ to your look, and most importantly, your own flare and voice. A great piece from Harlequin&Lionhead’s Whirls Collection is the Whirls #7 Pendant (shown below). This pendant is the 7^th design from the Whirls collection and features a beautifully set octagon metal centerpiece amidst a feather nest. This is definitely the ideal statement piece, and the high polished octagon stone looks wicked in oxidized metal, as well as the satin brass version.

 Another lovely piece that fits so well into this dark moody trend are the Whirls #3 Earrings. These stud earrings are inspired by chrysanthemum flowers, which give a very wicked feeling on their own. The earrings come in gold plated or white gold plated, your choice.

For more information on both of these lovely pieces, please visit Harlequin&Lionhead.

Femininity and The Collar

There is no denying that this winter season is all about bringing out your feminine side. The words that may come to mind are dainty, sweet, ladylike, soft, and delicate. Designers such as Jill Sander and Isabel Marant (both shown above), featured beautiful pieces that fit the feminine vibe to a T. Lovely dresses that were light and airy fluttered down the runway which were perfectly fitting for the other big trend on the horizon: the collar trend. With the huge collar trend on the radar we have seen many different adornments to the “typical” collar. From button down shirts featuring studs, to necklace collars made of chains, to hammered metal, and the like. However, to stay on trend with the femininity there is something else to set your eyes on, and that is the newest addition to Harlequin&Lionhead’s Rose Collection, the Rose Bib Necklace. The Rose Bib Necklace brings out a girl's feminine side and allows it to fit nicely into the "trendy"and delicate way of dressing this season.

The Rose Bib Necklace stays true to the rest of the Rose Collection and makes a lovely addition to the range. Celebrating beauty and a woman’s feminine nature, the abstract sculpting of each flower presents a beautiful impression of the fragile nature of the rose, as well as the core focus of femininity in this current trend. 

For more of the lovely pieces found in the Rose Collection visit Harlequin&Lionhead homepage here! http://harlequinlionhead.com

Little rose crosses make great gifts!

This is a custom order. I was tasked to create little crosses for 2 6-7 year old girls. I thought it would be adorable for their crosses to be adorned by a single little rose.

Each rose is about 3/4 inch, gold plated and hung on a 14 inch long gold filled chain. It is completed with my brand new jewelry tag with Harlequin&Lionhead logo! The best thing is that you cannot find them anywhere else. These are made for this order only.

They are packed with love! Those are accompanied by my Mr Harlequin (Left, Toffee) and Mr Lionhead (Right, Charcoal) silhouettes. I hope the little girls will find these crosses as precious as they are to their family and enjoy the necklaces for years to come.

To order your own customized jewelry, just email me or visit my Etsy shop for some ideas!

Start from the heart - The making of the Whirls #6 Large Pendant

Like all creation, it starts with a thing that pulls your heart's string. In this case, it was Alexander McQueen. Not surprisingly, the show at the Met was an inspiration for a lot of designers. 

I have always been fascinated by feathers and the idea of flying. In high school, for awhile, all I drew were wings. You could see it on the blackboard (now you know my age, it was black and then green and then white...), on my textbooks, drawing pads...The original idea for the Whirls #1 ring was a pair of wings spread in a distorted way on your finger. Then I saw the Horn of Plenty dress at the show. Not only was it made of feather, it has the most interesting shape one always omits when looking at a pair of wings, though it stares back unmistakably at you - a heart shape.

Two wings closed and perched on the back forming a heart shape is what we see everyday looking at birds at parks. And McQueen amazingly took it to adorn the hip area of the dress. I adore the elongated curves of a heart. So I thought I'll combine the beautiful shape with dramatic texture of feathers and make a large size pendant. I started with polymer clay, as for the whole Whirls Collection. I created a heart shape as a foundation (1st image of this post), then developed the feather on top of the foundation to form the pendant, separated the pendant from the heart foundation and baked the clay to harden it.

Then the clay model was sent to my mold maker to make a silicon mold. From there, it generated a wax model, which I used to hollow out the back side further and reduce the weight of the wax model. Then it was cast into brass and soldered with a ring on top for a chain to go through.

The heart feather pendant was still very heavy. I think it was first over 2 troy ounces in weight. I had to hollow out a couple times to bring it to within 2 troy ounces. Imagine casting it in silver, it would be quite an expensive piece. So currently I'm keeping it in brass. 

After I polished the piece to a matt finish, I oxidize it to create an antique look. This pendant measures 1.5x2.25 inches in size and looks stunning on the front with the layers, and interestingly eerie on the back with the heart muscles and veins around the little heart shape in the hollow chamber. The oxidation is achieved here in the picture with liver of sulphur, which changes metal color into shades of yellow, blue, green, pink, purple and black based on heat. The purple here is quite a random result and it needs to be protected from air with a sealant to be preserved. The 30-inch long chain is also brass and tarnished the same way into a vintage looking dark color.

This is my current Whirls Collection. More to come, watch out for it!

Bear Silhouette Pendants - Animal Asia Special Edition

Animal Asia is a charity organization aimed to save moon bears from cruel hunting and harvesting in Asia.  My friend, Madeleine Truax, is a the NY volunteer worker for the organization and she is helping them host a dinner gala and silent auction in August to raise fund to save moon bears. She turned to me earlier to see if I can help source donation of jewelry for the silent auction. I figure what would be a better jewelry piece than a little moon bear for the bear lovers?

So I designed and created 2 pendants and necklaces for the event. One is the standing moon bear above in sterling silver with a swarovski crystal eye on a 17" sterling silver chain. The other is the sitting moon bear below in brass with 24K gold plating, also with a swarovski crystal eye, on a 17" gold-filled chain.

These are donated to the organization. These are not for sale in my shop right now so if you want them, either contact me at harlequinlionhead@gmail.com or join the Animal Asia silent auction on August 21, 2011.  Click HERE to find out more. 

If you are interested at custom ordering these from me, it is valued at $70 each. Rose gold plated version is also available and all profit minus cost of production goes to Animal Asia.

24K Gold Plated Roses

As posted earlier, the Rose Collection is now available in 24K gold plating. All the current listings in my shop under sterling silver can be purchased as 24K gold plated version.

And as an alternative to the higher end line, I'm offering brass/bronze versions. To ensure these will not cause reaction to some hyperallergic customers, I have also plated it with 24K gold. Some slight tarnishing around the deep crevices between the pedals may happen but that will only add to the beauty of the roses making it more dimensional.

I'm also introducing a little baby to the collection - the single rose studs.  They are just adorable. 

It is also 24K gold plated. The posts are of sterling silver plated in gold so, like the 2-Way Rose Earrings, it is a good option for sensitive ears.

The best thing is that these babies are very affordable so for those who are curious to see the roses in person first before taking a dive into the full collection, or if you are looking for an affordable lovely gift for a friend, this is perfect for you.

The blog/mailing list subscription offer is always on. So come take a look at my store:
http://harlequinlionhead.etsy.com

Debute of the Sterling Silver Rose Collection

A quick snapshot of the new collection inspired by roses. 

Carved in wax and made of sterling silver, the rose collection includes pendant, earrings, full rose ring and an adjustable rose ring. A full bloom black rose bracelet will be ready soon.

Come back again for more pictures. The collection will be available for purchase in November on my Etsy store.