It has everything I need for polishing and a little more. Although it may be a little more technical than my other posts, I feel so proud I want to indulge myself with just one post on what my babies are.

First off is the work bench you see here. It is what they call a "butcher top" bench with a heavy hard wood top that can withstand most everyday torture we put to the table, including sawing and hammering. And with proper insulation, we can even solder on the table. In the front is a bench pin that sticks out, where we do most of the work without the obstacle of the table top so we can move freely in 360. The 2 rectangular shapes in the front can be pulled out to support my arm when needed.





This is the amount of polishing wheels I have to go through on a regular basis to prep my pieces before they go to a lathe and get final buff with finishing compound. These little wheels will be used with a device called the flex shaft, which is an extention from a motor.

This is a little cute desktop lathe for finishing. The industrial versions are huge and expensive. But mine is a Foredom as well though much slower and less powerful, the speed can be adjusted and it does basic job well.

I have to get a seperate filter which so far I am very pleased with. It is a little inconvenient because I have only one so I have to move it around. My husband used to complain about me smelling like metal after a few hours of polishing work but not now. And it comes with a super bright LED light and a PVC shield. So I really cannot complain about this compact little baby.


Now this is a little embarrassing. My small firing station. I use a little creme brulee torch but it is really way too low to do a soldering properly. So it is more for emergency fixing rather than a set up I can rely on.


OK, before final finishing, we would usually "tumble" the pieces in a tumbler, which kinda looks like a blender but with steel shots in it. In the foreground, the one that looks like a rice cooker, is a ultrasonic cleaner, which makes diamonds sparkles! The little crock pot on the side is also for cleaning, but with pickling solution to clean the oxidation from firing a piece of metal.


This weird device is a ring stretcher/reducer and it works literally. Not good for stone set rings but works like magic otherwise. I have been dreaming to have one myself and finally made up my mind and bought it!

Phew! OK, I am done showing off. Back to work ;)

I am very excited to announce that my shop has its own homepage! It has been long overdued. I got around it for so long using my blog and my personal portfolio page. But it can be delayed no more. And I got my domain name - http://HarlequinLionhead.com

I went with Moonfruit.com for my website. Their partner for the domain and hosting service is very affordable. It is Gandi.net and it is only less than $30 for 2 years, with private registration. One thing I learned is that if you do not get private registration service, all your personal information like name and address will be published on a public domain name search website called Whois.com. In this digital age where everything is published and available for scammers, this is really important.


The page I like the most right now, but still need to continue to work on is the section on my story behind Harlequin&Lionhead. I will continue to update the page's images. But I like the fact the juxtaposition of the things that inspired me, and the final products. The story section came from a conference I entered this past weekend managed by the Rosen Group, which founded the Buyers Market of American Craft and the Arts Business Institute. My blog posts collectively give you all an idea of what I do and why I do, but I finally have a place to tell my perspectives on one page. I hope to add some pictures of my work in progress at the bench in the future, now that I finally have a nice workspace at home!

Talking about that, the next post I will be updating you all on my new gadgets at home at my work bench! It is really sweet to have my own mini-studio!

#1 Ring, shown here in black gold plating

#2 Ring, shown here in silver

#2 Ring, shown here in 14K gold plating

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.

Rabbit Artwork by Jeral Tidwell

Being a Chinese, it is only appropriate that I post something for Harlequin&Lionhead to celebrate the new year of Dragon. If you have not read about my personal goals in 2012, you can find it here. 2012 will be a very dear year for Harlequin&Lionhead.

Back in 2010 when I first started the shop with my first collection of sculptural roses, I was hoping to bring a few new collections in 2011 immediately, and possibly expanding the Rose collection to include stone set pieces. But 2011 turned out to be a year less about design but more about marketing and production. It took me a long time to establish a support network and accumulate retail experiences, learned some important but hard lessons on production timeline, and started identifying my suppliers. And inevitably, my focus turned a bit more to the more established shop of mine, Bunnies Can Dream. The only comfort is that I at least managed to launch a new collection, Whirls.




But then I digress. 2012 will be a year for Harlequin&Lionhead. Yes, it will take up hopefully majority of my creative energy. My goals this year for this shop is to give it a more constant retail exposure through wholesale and consignment with retail establishment. I hope it will not only get the name out there, but it will give me the necessary capital to get a sales rep and PR/marketing help for the brand.


And for those who love the Rose line, the long await rose bracelet is finally coming. Click here if you have not read about it yet.

And I have decided to include the big rose as my first haute couture made-to-order jewelry piece. It will most likely be either a corsage bracelet, or a brooch. Or if you are really keen on a heavy (literally) statement necklace, this could be the pendant for you.



The Whirls Collection will continue to grow. The new Whirls #4 (pendant and necklace) was actually available but previously only at my table at the handmade markets. Now it will be available for purchase at my Etsy store. And it will be available in 3 plating options, white gold, rose gold and 14K gold. So you have something to wear with my #2 earrings. I am still working on the Whirls #5 which will be a bangle.



In terms of new collections, I am hopeful that I can introduce a couple pieces of my new Sea Life collection by summer. Right now the designs are mostly for rings. But it is still at an early stage so we will see ;)

And lastly, the new flower collection featuring lilac and other wild flowers is still in my sketch book and needs more trial and error before I can get it to where I want it to be. But it will get here and most likely become my first line that is set with stones. That's a big target for me this year but I am hopeful I can somehow make that happen.

The year of the dragon is a year of vitality. I will need every ounce of my energy and optimism to make things happen this year. This has been a magical journey for me. Thank you for all your support and I look forward to sharing with you more of my creation and I hope you will get a lot of enjoyment out of them.

Taken from here. Wish I know the creator...