Being in US, I look to the New York Fashion Week for inspiration and reality check. Jewelry usually plays a supporting role and my fear is the more exaggerated the clothing, the less interesting can the jewelry pieces be. Afterall, it accessories instead of fighting for attention.

BUT, I design for everyday women, not the runway. Similar to you, I look at the runway for the big trends, and internalize it so not only can I wear them off the runway (and during the day!), but also keep to my style and call it my own.

Spring 2012 from Elle.com

	Spring/Summer	Fall
Silhouette	40's inspired feminity, esp PEPLUM (also a big trend at the Oscars)
	20's inspired flapper/Daisy Buchanan of The Great Gatsby with drop waist and sequins. Thus long strand necklaces and art deco inspired floral shape jewelry are in	The Iron Lady. Layered, regal, tweeds, shawls, even brocades
	50's Don Draper's women. Floral, sherbet hues/pastels (also seen in the Oscars), even princess-like.	Modern military. This cannot be more different from spring - from softness to strength. But more refined than 2011 military. Almost a hint than literal
	Safari influence. African tribal including stacked large bracelets; bird prints	Global aristocrat/elevated nomad. Ethnic/eastern influenced, exotic and royal, with mbroideries, textile patterns. Blanket coats and even street-look inspired
	Sports couture. Hoodies and mesh etc used in a sophisticated way	Chic sportsman/outdoor preppy/hunting heritage, with fur and feather accents
	Bauhaus. Architectural; Geometry, e.g., asymmetrical shoulder or skirt length; Color blocks	Matrix! Minimalistic using black and leather
Color	White(Everywhere at the Oscars!) and bright orange
	Pastels	Black and burgundy
Other Specifics	Earrings! Especially dangles and statement pieces
	Yellow gold is back!
	Lots of lace, stripes, print on print, knit dresses, tailored short suit, center part hairdo, furturistic accessories and shoes, retro funky sunglasses	Mini-florals, strong collars, ultra cropped jackets and vests that are textural and cool, surprising makeover of suits by mixing prints and unusual fabrics, wrap dresses, gold glam with sequins, bigger belts, statement hats or hairpieces, and elegant long gloves

Fall 2012 from FrontRowMag.com

Show us your take of the trends with what you have in your wardrobe! Post pics on my FB here.

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.