These two new additions to my 2008 Winter Collection is a continuation of my Song Line theme. It was inspired by a trip to the centre of Australia a few years back.
I like the organic feel of the hand cut lines and the dark chocolate Ebony wood give the pendant a nice modern look!
The SongLine Ebony wooden Pendant looks good on both man and woman.
The SongLine Cufflinks and the SongLine Ebony Pendant are now available on my online shop.
To be continue.......
I definitely not trying to confuse people, but it is winter here down under and i have my eyes on this beautiful wooden beads for a while now.
The temperature start dropping outside and apart from feeling like hugging a cup of hot chocolate, i remembered the delicious brown, chocolate kind of colour Ebony beads and rush in to get some supply. Inspired by this new wooden beads, i incorporated them with some of my designs from other pieces........
There you go, my first winter collection!
They are now available in Beehive Gallery (443 King street, New Town, Sydney), and Etsy.
Spiral Stud Earrings
Spiral Heart Ebony pendant
more to come!
My mother's day came early, we went to ikea and got this to put on my balcony studio, to show off some of my paintings, to store youngman's growing toy collections, to just enjoy the beautiful red.....
Mr. Silvermonk was very impressed with the high quality and the intelligent way that it all put together.......
A truly Intelligent Product Design!
You will enjoy watching this incredible sand art video by Ilana Yahav,
Its so simple, beautiful and creative.......
Thank you Anna for e-mail me this video.
“A time to be open, to act upon thoughts of hope and goodness”. 
It was almost a year ago since I made my first custom cufflinks for a friend. I was waiting for the right moment (or the right mood so to speak) to design my very first pair of cufflink.
And here it is....
The "Random Act of Kindness"
This pair of Cufflinks has been stamped with letters spelling the phrase “Random act of kindness” The letters are arranged randomly and has been oxidized to give it an antique look!
I am very happy with the design idea and how it turns out.
I am planning to explore the random text concept further down the track.....
I promise i will not let you wait for another year for the next new pair of cufflinks!
....into Trunkt. I am sure some of you already know what Trunkt is! For those that you don't know, well, it is the "Buyer's Guide to Independent Art and Design" and "a Collective of Amazing Artists"
There are only 3 images in my my Portfolio at the moment. In the coming week or so i will upgrade my account and start to adding more images to my Portfolio! I am really happy.....
Now, we are talking, for me there is nothing more happier than just simply sitting in front of my work bench and made something out of nothing! By "nothing", what i mean is i did not know before hand what i was going to made and it somehow just happened...... Like the Surf Ring in this case!
The Surf Ring really made me happy!
I like everything about it, the colour, the shape, and the movement......
It was Earth hour last night from 8:00pm to 9:00pm. We were watching TV as usual and Gabriel reminded us that it was time for "Earth hour". We turned off all the light except the digital light from the washing machine and it was all dark and scary for the young man.
We all went to bed early ( Gabriel was excited because he got to stay in our bed!) with Mr.Silvermonk playing guitar and the Young man declared: " Nothing is going to stop me from doing Nothing...." and then he made up a very fast tempo song. Well, it was rather philosophical, a wake up call for all of us. i don't know how he work out the conundrum.
And i hope we bloody will do something now! If we are not willing to sacrifice now, his generation will suffer the consequences.
on Bronte beach......
I've never seen such a big Octopus in real life in the wild.
It was just a stone throw from where we dug and built our sand castles, amazing!
At one point, my survival mode kicked in and the memory of my childhood catching crabs in the mangrove got hold of me and i really wanted to take the big thing home for dinner!!!!!
I came back to reality when Mr. Silvermonk gently reminded me that it is a protective area and that we can have fish and chips for dinner from our favourite shop across the road!
I remember once when my Mum came to Sydney and I took her to the local Park to feed the ducks ( with Gabriel). She was so excited that the first thing came out her mouth was " the duck was so big , let's take one home for soup". The next thing i saw her, she 's already caught one with her quick reflex...... I was in shock, embarrassed and had to say "let it go Mum, it's against the law, we can have a roast duck from China town for dinner!"
We will be in real big trouble if we only see the environment as a "resources" and not a source for wisdom and inspiration!
At least for now we know that the beach is healthy and that is one of the very good things to celebrate in Easter!
I am in love with my new hand-forged additions. The fan shape earrings are modern and organic. I especially like the slightly concave shape and the leave shape ear hooks. They really compliment each other! I have two versions~ one is small with mirror finished and the bigger one with matt finished. The small fan shape earrings is available now in my etsy shops.
I also made a matching necklace with turquoise on a snake chain. Its simple and looks fantastic.....
The Fan shape Turquoise necklace is also available from my shop now!
Another new addition to my etsy shop is this gorgeous pair of butterfly earrings. Its light weight and looks cool....
I had a fantastic market last weekend thanks to all the new and old customers ( your support has been much appreciated!).
Here is one of my customers visiting my stall and wearing one of my piece ( one of a kind!) she bought a while back. Does'nt it look gorgeous on her?!
I will be in the Kirribilli market again this month ( Saturday, 29 March) . My stall will be in the tunnel and if you missed out last Sunday, come and check me out.....
Gabriel and his Dad went to The Rose Seidler House,designed by Harry Seidler in 1948 for his parents.
He got very excited about doing some sketches of the house.......
what a beautiful sketch!
We made a big fuss whenever Gabriel draws a picture because he is always busy with his Lego toys, his piano and his sports. I myself prefer making things (jewellery) rather than drawing on paper and it's all up to his Dad to encourage him to draw.
I wish i was there. i love looking at open house, the interior and how the space works.
Well, i was having a fantastic day in the Kirribilli art and design market, and i think it is good for them to have a father and son adventure every now and then!
He's got music in his body and it comes out every now and then......
He grabbed his christmas present and off he went.....
( this was probably his second or third time pick up the instrument)
We both were amazed and enjoyed his free spirit with his music.
Hope you enjoy it too and have a nice weekend form all of us!
In the last week or so, the young man's school lunch box were untouched. He didn't eat a thing the whole time during school hrs. The sandwich, the drink, the fruit.......
I was a bit unhappy, but didn't say too much apart from the fact that there are a lot of boys in Africa go to school with empty stomach. Being a 6 years old, he replied why didn't we just sent them the food? Good question!
When i was a child about his age and lived in a tropical island in China ( during cultural revolution), i was constantly looking for food in the wild to fill my empty stomach. One of the thing that i did was to set lizard traps on the way to school and checked on them on the way back.......
I tried to pack something different but the lunch box still came back almost untouched.......
So i asked what's going on? Why didn't you eat your lunch?
"I am busy Mum, there is not enough time to play bull rush if i ate my lunch......"
I was fuming, but I told myself that a hungry boy will eat his lunch no matter what and if he didn't, he'S probably not hungry! By the way, he is the tallest boy in his class and looks healthy. I shouldn't worry too much!
Things got a bit out of hand when i picked him up at 3:00 pm the other day, he was so exhausted that he can hardly put a sentence together.
I rushed him home and made him banana smothie and pancakes and preaching him about the fact that his body is running out of energy and he needs to eat his lunch......
The next day, i put in a lunch order ( fish and fries ) for him so that he can at least survived the Karate class after school until 4:30 pm!
I don't know if lunch order is the way to go, but he loves his lunch order though.
To be honest, i don't like sandwich. i like hot food, give me noodles and i will be happy for the rest of my life!
A piece of jewellery inspired by nature, by the rock structures on the east coast of Australia.
During my Art School years, I used to take train trips down to Austinmer beach. It was a very small and quiet beach with some beautiful rock formations. I tried to find some of the photos that i took during all those trips to show you, but without any luck! Now you have to use your imagination........
Nature never cease to shower us with beauty and wisdom, in return we say thank you with kisses and hugs!
This pendant looks good on both man and woman. I really like the organic feel of it.
I think they are my new favourite until the next one.......
There is plenty of rain and i am hoping for sunshine.
i am all for colours at the moment.
( The dam is almost full and i can have my shower as long as i like.......)
With the young man back to school, i got my structure back and hence got more times on my hand, here are some of my new creations with colourful beads, just to lift the spirit!
These coral and turquoise fine silver earrings are kind of deep ocean creatures!
I didn't plan out to made one, they were just came alived during the process
This is another spiral of mine hand-formed from fine silver sheet. I really like to work with fine silver sheet, it is soft enough to manipulate and strong enough to hold its shape!
A big thanks to all my friends and customers in Kirribilli Market last weekend!
January went pass without a trace.The young man finally settled in in the new school term. I am glad that he got to stay with some of his friends in the new class. Now that he is in safe hands, jumping, running and learning (he announced that they are going to learn spelling in the whole yr 1 ), I sat down on my work bench happily working away.......
Love is all we need!
We need it for 365 days.
I pray that you receive the love that embeded in the cross!
These are my offerings for the February Valentine's day!
Hope you all enjoy it.
I will be in the Kirribilli Art and Design Market this weekend (sun, 10 Feb), rain or shine. My stall and most of the stalls are under cover in the tunnel As always, I will bring a lot of new designs with me to the market.
You can also join in the Chinese New Year Parade in the Darling harbour to Celebrate the Year of the Rat.
I was born in the Year of the OX. Young man was born in the year of snake! Mr. Silvermonk is the monkey in the house and he is in charge of fun!
What a cool OX, i will take all that.......
we all wish you a happy Chinese new year!
And a nice weekend!
The first week back to school turns out to be a bit too much for the young man. The school's air con broke down in the hottest day of the summer and there are 40 kids in a class.......
He still did not know which class he's in and they swapped the student around to get the best combination before they spit it into 2 classes. Before the end of last term, they asked each children who did they want to be in the same class in year 1. Gabriel put down 4 names and I hope they will honour that.
It all end up a bit teary before dinner, so i put my "mummy's hat" on and cooked his favourite dinner~dumplings, and finished with his favourite desert ~mango, chocolate and yoghurt........
And the world is a nice place again~afterall......
The summer holiday is truly over . it was all a big "blur" for me! We almost spend the whole time stay at home and it turns out to be the most relxaing holiday we have for a long time. 
We went to Bronte beach a few times and Gabriel absolutely love it! ( In his own words: " During the holidays, I went to the each and the beach was so fun. It was so fun that I wonted(wanted) to stay). He is still too scare to put his head in the water though. We are more of a bush people than the beach people, now that the young man having such a great time and let himself lose on the beach, may be we should do the same!
The new school term start today, young man will be in year 1 and i can't wait to have my 4 hrs un-interruped day between school and classes to concentrate on making some new designs!
I live mostly in my head so structure is good for me, keep me on the ground......
"Persistant" is the word for me this year!
I practice using the video feature on the new Camera while Gabriel practice his piano.......
The recording sounds( piano ) pretty good. Gabriel said it sounds a bit like computer, and Dad said it chops off the high and low frequency ( what would i know about music!), but I am a bit let down by the quality of the video, it looks much better on our iMac.
In the end, it is still amazing without going through You tube!
New year, new design and photos taken by the new camera!
The holiday is over and i am getting straight back to my bench to enjoy the simple act of making.....
Coral, having such a vibrant red, is always my favourite, i would say is my stone!
I simply just cannot have Coral without Turquoise. And of course Turquoise is one of my favourite as well.
What about Spiral?
Spiral is such a timeless symbol, i will never get tire of creating it.
You are right , here is another new spiral design of mine using fine silver.
hope you enjoy it
happy weekend!
After dinner we went for a walk and kicked the ball in the park... I took this with our new Canon Camera! It even got a video mode. The technology has gone leaps and bounces, for less money and you got more features. ( Finger cross this one last longer, we don't want to buy a new camera every year!)
2007 has been a big year. Gabriel transited from Child care to Kindy He's been mature a lot and enjoy his school! That is a very good start considering he's got a good 16 years of schooling ahead of him and we only have his Kindy teacher Ms. Castano to thank for! Her love and care is so unbelievable, we wish her every success in her new school, the kids will miss her!
The best day of his Kindy yr according to him was the day when a stand by teacher took the whole class out to running around and around in circle in the playground........boys are boys, their growing body needs to move. At 6 and a bit , he is ready to go out and explore the world. He is no longer a mummy's boy and want to do boy's stuff with dad. I am really proud of him.
2007 has been a good year for me as well. I real thankful for my customers in the Kirribilli art and design market. I enjoy have a chat with them once a month and show off my new design. Market is a place where i see it as a good venue for community building!
Talking about community, who would think that you could make friends with people that you have never meet in person.... But i did make some friends through the blog, Flickr and the Etsy community. Friends, your comments , words of encouragement is much appreciated.
Of course Mr.Silvermonk is a big part of this, not only that he put foods on the table and put a roof over our head, he really put his trust in my art and support me ( while i am writing now, he is cleaning up the kitchen sink the minute he came in the door after seeing a client! )
I am really lucky!
Well, 2008 is ahead and already looking bright. I got my first wholesale today, up in the beautiful blue mountains.....
May 2008 be a year of peace in all fronts
God bless!
Happy new year friends!
This is my first Treasury. I was browsing the treasury and there was the treasury title box waiting for me to fill.........very surprise, no effort! . With so many talented artists on Etsy, It took me no time to put a list together....
I encourage you to check out all the wonderful works!
"Imagine a tiny flower in spring, opening up its petals and the pollen is dancing up freely into the cold thin air, in order to catch the mystic arctic light.
A belief in the spiritual apprehension of truth that are beyond the intellect."
I truely believe that Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the hope that he brings to humanity.
Merry Christmas to all my friends!
If you are still dashing for the last minute presents and you are in Sydney, I have some of my jewellerys in Beehive Gallery ( 443 king St.Newtown) and Yuga Cafe Gallery ( Johnson St. Glebe).
See you all next year!
cheers
chimin
Just want to share this with you. A email from our friend Alice.
"People come into your life for a REASON, a SEASON or a LIFETIME. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant."
Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.
The holiday is around the corner and i am busy with a few customer orders. I am also making some new earring designs with some new beads that i got from Etsy lately. I will post some photos here when i can get some decent photos!
Yes! i will be feature in the first issue of Handbook to Handmade organized by the talented Timothy Adam. Hopefully i will get a copy before Christmas. How excited!
As you know i've been working on my new series. Drawing has always been my first love, so back to the basic and out came my Song Line series. It was created by handsaw simple lines onto a piece of sterling silver sheet. It's like a drawing on a piece of metal, very playful and organic and at the same time have a modern feel about it....
Like a vision from high above, the song lines are inscribed on the landscape, singing the wonders of the Earth.
I am really happy with my new adventure!
The African beads that i got from Beads4you arrived and i team them up with the other beads that i got from Kenya. I love this necklace, so Africa...
If you want to have a good look at what i've made, come to the Kirribilli art and design market tomorrow, I can't wait to be there.....
have a nice weekend!
cheers
chimin
Spring is here and the Jacarandas are blossoming. This is my favorite time of the year in Sydney. I drive pass Sydney Uni 4 times a day to take Gabriel to school and i can't stop thinking how lucky i am to be in this country! A far cry from the remote village in the tropical island of Hainan, China, where i spent a few years of my childhood hunting for lizards on the way to school....
Anything is possible....
Dream the impossible dream!
Spring time is also the time for renewal, i have put my whole stock at the Beehive Gallery ( 443 King St. New Town) on discount for a pre-X'mas sale. If you read this post and make a purchase of my jewelery on either Mintd or Etsy, remember to write the promotional code "Jacaranda" on the note to seller to get the 20% off! ( wait for my revised invoice to pay the correct amount). Valid untill next weekend!
have a nice weekend
cheers
chimin
It's about time to have one of my items made the front page, among other talented crafters! Now i would said justice has been served..( just kidding!)
Can you see it? The desert mitif pendant is right on the top right hand corner..
Its all fun!
Have a nice weekend, my friend!
cheers
chimin
