Here's Why You Should Start Your Own Jewellery Line...

Extracted from CLEO magazine May 2006 Issue


Psst! Bauble designing's a gem of an idea. You can make some extra dough and have tons of fun while at it - even if you don't have much time to spare or a shop to sell at. Ready to kick-start your own line? See how these designers did it! By Daphne Chen

HelloWeekend - Eleanor Yang, Samantha Scully, Guan Min and Kim Zheng, all 18
"It's a lucrative hobby"
Commitment level: 12 Hours A Week "Three weekdays after school per week."

Buy their creations at "LiveJournal - it works out perfectly because there are auctioneers and buyers in that community. The address is http://helloweekend.livejournal.com"

What you should know "Our pieces are sold either on a first-come-first-served basis or via bidding. The tricky part of selling online is, bidders sometimes don't answer their emails, delay payments or just disappear. That said, we've had really nice and enthusiastic customers!"

How it start "We've always loved crafting and creating something by hand. Before HelloWeekend, Eleanor drew on canvas shoes, Min sewed bags and Kim made earrings. HelloWeekend started when a mutual friend was working on a project that involved wires. Min was fooling around and started making wire earrings for everyone else in room. She went to get proper wires the next day and sold them on the newly-created HelloWeekend."

Inspiration "We hit Arab Street together to scout for jewellery parts and dissect our mums' old jewellery."

Why it rocks "It's fantastic to have extra pocket money for clothes and clubbing! Finishing every new item also gives us an adrenaline rush."

Biggest acheivement "When we see a girl on the street wearing something from HelloWeekend, it's freaking cool!"

Summer Fly - Ng Yi Lian, 23
"I'm feeding my own accessories obsession"
Commitment level: 25 Hours A Week "Five hours from Mondays to Fridays."

Buy her creations at "I set up my own website at www.summer-fly.com to reach out to a wider spectrum of people."

Loving investment "I used to spend so much money on jewellery - I'd easily fork out $100 for a necklace! Even before I knew how to make my own jewellery, I would buy trinkets just because I thought they were so beautiful. Ever since I was taught how to make them, I knew it was going to be a long-term love affair. I've invested about $10,000 of my savings on this business."

On her work area "Because I work from my bedroom, space is a huge problem. It's quite important to keep work separate from everything else so when I wake up and see work, itinvades into my personal space. Having a studio would be ideal so I can lay all my pieces onto a huge table rather than just spreading them on the floor."

Biggest acheivement "I gave MTV VJ Denise Keller a pair of Summer Fly earriengs and she adored it. In fact, she offered to do a photo shoot for free but it was a little complicated to work that out as her agency would be sticky about it."

Vice & Vanity - Vivi Mastura Lim, 32 and Aaron Kao, 27
"I can wake up late and start work whenever!"
Commitment level: 40 Hours A Week "Five days a week. It's much like a full-time job, with occasional overtime! We have to meet deadlines for our consignments. On the side, Vivi does styling projects while Aaron's a freelance illustrator."

Buy their creations at"Currently, it's being sold at Baylene, Lipstick Bandit, Tang & Co, and lartichaut.com. We've been very fortunate so far because we never really had to approach anyone [to carry our jewellery]. We're huge fans of these four places - they like our designs so much, they wanted to carry them."

How it start "We were taking a six-month break in New York and both of us were so inspired by the accessories sold at the flea markets that we started making some jewellery for friends as gifts. Then other friends and friends of friends wanted to buy them off us. So we thought, why not start a line?"

On couples not working together "It's an urban myth! We have the same aesthetic taste - not just in jewellery but in music, clothes, shoes and so on. And that works out well for us because as designers, we see eye to eye on most subjects."

Ade.G - Adeline Goh, 25
"I needed to channel my creative juices somewhere"
Commitment level: 16 Hours A Week "My weekends are spent putting the pieces together. I'm a trainee teacher so I moonlight as a jewellery designer."

Buy her creations at "I consign to Fling at The Heeren and Closet Affairs at Far East Plaza.Every piece I make is different, whether vastly in design or with slightly different trinkets, so you;ll never find the same item at the two stores"

How it start "Once, when I wore a ring (that I made using glass beads) to a boutique called Closet Affair, the owner asked me if I wanted to make a bunch for her store."

Designing instinct "My first collection was not well-received. Firstly, it was a new brand and didn't look very different from everything that was sold out there. After that, I realised that it probably wasn't well received because even if I didn't really like using glass beads for earrings, I stillwend ahead and thought it might work out somehow. But it didn't. Since then, I've learnt to always believe in my pieces, to make only something that I like. It's important to follow your instincts"

Why it rocks "I get a sense of satisfaction with every piece made. They're like little pieces of artwork you put together."

Inspiration "I like charms from the US because of the details. For example, I found a gold envelope with a hinge that opens up and there's a gold letter inside with the words "I love you" inscribed in cursive. I usually buy the charms first and figure out the desin later. I import all my charms from the US. I found this amazing store called Beads on Fifth avenue when I was in New York and I've been buying significant amount of my charms from them."

Business first "I've handmade over a hundred pieces but I"ve only kept two of them. One of them is the first bracelet I made."


Ready to start your biz?
Be warned, the jewellery industry isn't all rosy, but here are real tips from girls who've done it and made it. Learn from them!

• Get used to criticism. People will tell you they hate some pieces just because.
• But be open-minded too. Don't get defensive - after all, aesthetics are very subjective. Instead, listen to what customers say with a pinch of salt and use it constructively to improve your stuff.
• When your piece breaks, get ready to fix it because people will expect you to.
• Be materials-savvy. Don't waste your money on cheap parts - it might tarnish your rep! Check for quality - how it feels and how long it will last.
• Don't be rigid when designing. Let your ideas morph and evolve as you create your pieces.
• Regular customers bring in the dough so do market research and find out more abou them and what they like. Make them come back for more!