Hi!

Sorry about the long hiatus here. I was in the midst of moving and got sidetracked by work and life. But I've since relaunched my website, which now integrates the blog as well. Be sure to visit at www.tellurus.com and tell me what you think.


See you around :)

Surprise... well, I decided to migrate all tellurus-related posts to this dedicated blog after all. News and announcements, sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes, product photography etc shall henceforth be blogged here. I will do a bit more fine-tuning in coming weeks, but this is what it is for now. Personal blog, more streamlined and less cluttered, is still here, should you be interested.

I have been studying my statistics and realised that most crafters who followed my personal blog probably don't give a hoot about what I do with the rest of my time anyway. I really should have moved when the hobby turned into a business, but oh well - better late than never!

Incidentally, there hasn't really been much to update about recently in the jewellery department. Grim business outlook, been occupied with web-related work, saddening personal issues. I haven't been in the mood for it but I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season.

P.S. I am still trying to list batches of beads (gems & vintage) and findings on my destash shop. Still have quite a bit to go through and photograph.

P.P.S. that blog search thingy on the right probably doesn't work right now because all the content has yet to be properly indexed. Boo.

First, the news: I'm participating in VivaWoman's July VivaBella Giveaway. Amongst a slew of other beauty products and accessories, one of two lucky winners could be wearing my Khloris Earrings, which I originally retired but remade especially for this event. Check out the post to find out how to qualify.


Now that that's out of the way... here are some humble personal opinions I really can't bottle up any longer.

I've never believed in selling off my work at a discount just for clearance's sake. That's why I've been running giveaways, and not sales. In fact, if something hasn't sold for a while, I'd be more inclined to keep it for myself, give it away or even take it apart to reuse the components, but not to try and hawk it off at half price or something. What sort of message would that convey about my work? That I myself don't even like it that much and am desperate to get rid of it? That I insist on pushing my work onto you? That I padded the pricing enough to still be able to live with myself after a discount? That the value of a piece of art (yeah I know it's subjective) can be so easily chopped and changed? Etc etc. Maybe I'm biased but I can't really think of any positives, please help me here.

I've been asked many times whether I'll have a sale, or even just very directly "can I have a discount?" - I suppose buyers just try their luck because they want to get more (perceived) value for money? What a lot of people do not appreciate is that indie crafters (and there are many who constantly underprice their gorgeous work, it's painfully saddening) typically don't have the same devoted sales & marketing department or wholesale clout or practice the crazy markups that big retailers do. That's why shops can afford to have several sales each year and still make money (or not, I don't know - some shops' merchandisers definitely need to be fired). We do, however, take great pride in our productions and they are made with the love, care and creative spirit you just can't buy from dingy little sweatshops. But the sad truth is also that we now live in a world where there is always a sale going on at any time (offline or on), so consumers are used to being able to buy cheaply-produced mass market goods at 10-20% off on a normal basis.

Trent posted this and updated it a couple of days ago to include his views on the giving-away-music-for-free vs the pay-what-you-want model in the music industry - it resonated deeply and I feel would be applicable to any form of art in general:

This is your art! This is your life! It has a value and you the artist are not putting that power in the hands of the audience - doing so creates a dangerous perception issue. If the FEE you are charging is zero, you are not empowering the fan to say this is only worth an insultingly low monetary value.

Most people will try to get away with what they can; only a very small minority is socially aware enough to be a conscious consumer. But an artist needs to maintain integrity, self-respect and self-worth in order to continue his chosen path. I mean, that's why you are stepping out and doing your own thing, instead of being cooped in an office doing what your boss demands or what society dictates or expects. Or at least, that's a scenario some of us aspire to.

Obviously, people are going to feel differently from me - I do believe it all depends on one's own personal objectives (more revenue? higher profit? brand awareness? artistic recognition? just a pastime?), so I'm not out to condemn anyone. As long as you do things on your own terms - not because it's what other people are doing - and you are happy doing it.

Oh my... it's already June. And you know what that means: I've just picked and contacted the winner of the Chiara necklace! Find out who it is here.

In other news, I've been trying very hard to stay alive and sane in this wretchedly blistering weather we've been having in Singapore for oh, about 3 months now. It's no fun stepping out of the shower to feel yourself get icky after a few minutes. The humidity is just brutal here in the tropics. And I am so not a tropics person. Combined with temperatures in the mid-30s.... I'd say one has 2 options here: either be prepared to spend a bomb and burn up more fossil fuel to stay cool in AC, or sweat it out and very possibly offend anyone with functional olfactory organs within a 2m radius.

Aaaanyway, here is a new bracelet I made today - originally, I thought of calling it Winter Coast (how I am dying to be standing along one now) and releasing it as the final instalment of the Four Seasons of Bracelets challenge I set for myself. But no... a necklace and some earrings also demanded to be made, and the trio will simply be titled Seaswept, one-of-a-kind and listing sometime this week in my Etsy shop (along with the Fleurs de Mai pieces!).

I am sooo excited and pleased to announce my second giveaway on Facebook!

The necklace was created pretty much hands-on - I didn't really have a clear idea of what I wanted it to end up like, only that I would make it transparent and full of light, and just went with the flow. Gotta love the gorgeous step-cut rock crystal quartz - when tipped with the apatite they made the cluster pop neatly into a 3D starburst that actually holds its shape yet is flexible enough to bustle around :)


Just become a fan on Facebook to qualify. Come on, I know loads of you are already on FB... and you don't even have to friend me personally to be a fan LOL :P

Looking forward to picking the winner!

In case you might have missed it, I have finally stopped processing payments by bank transfers on purchase from my shop. Now you can only use credit cards to pay in US$. It's no different from shopping on Amazon or eBay. No big deal. Here's the original news post.

I had considered this in the past, simply because offering an offline payment method (on a site that doesn't require you to register, no less) makes it a no-brainer for pranksters and non-paying buyers to mess up my inventory and accounts. Plus with the currency fluctuations and lack of "official" support to display multiple currencies in my shop, it's quite a hassle for me and customers to keep enquiring for prices in SGD when my costs are calculated in USD in the first place.

And I have gotten my share of non-paying would-be buyers, but today I received a fake order that gave me the push. Whoever you are, you made life difficult for potential buyers (there is limited inventory in store - once you "purchase" it reduces the quantity accordingly) and for myself (I have the unwanted pleasure of getting the shop commissions reversed and fixing the inventory). Thanks but no thanks.

Then again as I recently plurked: life is inherently unfair and we can either sit here and moan about it, or do something to swing it in our favour. But I guess the most I can do now is to put it back into neutral. The only consolation is that I do still accept bank transfers for Etsy purchases for the time being.

Sorry for this rambling grouchiness... I am still tired, so water-retentive it's not even funny, and this happens to be a busy week filled with non-jewellery activities. Looks like I won't be creating much.

Here is something I won't be doing all that often - but when it happens, it's very special :)

I'm giving away a pair of earrings to one lucky fan on Facebook.

These Camomile Swizzlers are composed of sparkling drops of white topaz and tiny rondelles of lemon topaz and green quartz, wired to elongated, hand-forged stick bases in shiny sterling silver. They're about 2.75" from end to end.

So if you are currently a fan, you’re already in the running! Otherwise, if you are on Facebook just go to tellurus :: handcrafted jewellery and click "Become a Fan". That’s all there is to it. And if you have friends whom you think might be interested, just alert them to our page and get them to do the same. That’s all there is to it.

The winner will be drawn randomly on March 1st, 2009. I will then send the earrings to you OR your chosen recipient (yes, I do realise some of you are guys who are probably not into cross-dressing!), anywhere in the world.

Toodles~

This is a shop-related update which I posted under the shop news section earlier today.

A bit of housekeeping has been in order: I have now organised all our handmade jewellery into browseable collections, and will be releasing new pieces under each of these categories, with the possibility of special limited edition collections popping up on occasion:


everyday essentials

Your jewellery basics – classic hammered hoops, gemstone earrings and simple solitaire necklaces in sterling silver and 14K goldfill – designed for maximum mileage and never compromising on the style factor.


little luxuries

For special occasions or luxe gifts, you can’t go wrong with extra blingy jewellery. An array of quality gemstones is used to craft these lovely earrings, necklaces and bracelets.


organically grown

Most of the jewellery here has nature themes or simply an edgy feel, achieved through the use of abstract botanical silhouettes or darkened, weathered sterling silver. More personal, more alive.


rustic charm

Handcrafted from organic semi-precious gemstones and Vintaj antiqued brass components, this collection is warmly earthy, satisfyingly unpretentious and unapologetically bohemian.


This last one, rustic charm, is what I’ve mainly been working on lately and there are a couple of one-of-a-kind bracelets over in the Etsy shop. Do check them out. Looking forward to adding more designs to the rest of the collections in due course!

These collections represent four main styles of jewellery I'm interested in right now and I never thought I would actually try to even pigeonhole my work in any way, but I'm sticking with these (broad) groups. I hope it makes sense but I know that most people tend to browse by function, e.g. look under "earrings" or "necklaces" - I just feel I would be more efficient and focused this way in terms of creative direction. So I hope to be filling these categories up in the coming months!

I've still got a number of behind-the-scenes web updates to do for my jewellery shop but I'm not relishing that at the moment. Anything is preferable to customising templates or writing new meta tags :\

BUT! I do have one more new jewellery preview for this week, so I'll leave you with the Fjordland Bracelet, made of icy blue aquamarine nuggets and flashy rainbow moonstone rondelles on deeply oxidised sterling silver. If you wanted to know what walking on a glacier is like.....

I've just added four new items to the shop!


Chiaroscuro - I can think of several people whom this might be a perfect gift for. You know, the ones who don't accessorise much, and shy away from colour and general flashiness... and dare I say, the tomboyish ones. This adjustable bracelet combines brilliant crystal quartz and oxidised sterling in a monochromatic "light-dark" study.

Del Mare - Oh, I really love this one... puffy, polished prasiolite and tri-colour (blue-green-yellow) sapphire briolettes sparkle and shine with beautiful clarity and complementary oceanic tones. This soft and soothing song of the sea is absolutely one of a kind.

Helios - Very lovely faceted citrine pear briolettes, wrapped in 14K goldfill on my own hand-forged long-stemmed earwires. A classic to go with everything. Only one pair.

Antipodean - More contrasting elements in the form of microfaceted prasiolite rondelles and white Swarovski pearls vs heavily oxidised sterling wrap and hammered marquises.

I hope you like :)

I'm taking a break but the shop will remain open. So from now till Oct 19th, everything in store ships on the house! The only catch is that they'll be dispatched from Oct 20th onwards.

Early holiday shopping, anyone??

So summer is officially over, depending on where you are. Autumn is my favourite time of the year - if only we had seasons in Singapore. Fortunately it's been slightly cooler and wetter in the past week or so.

Here are a couple of updates for now:

Free registered shipping on anything from my Etsy shop from 1st to 20th September. Anywhere in the world. Any combination of items. (This is as close to a sale as you'll get, because I don't do sales :P) Shipping rates have all been adjusted and there are still some one-of-a-kind items there that I haven't moved to my online boutique, so do go check it out.

I have done a couple of pairs of these Delicately Sage earrings, but this is the very last set. These are petite sage-green prehnite briolettes - which are wonderfully clear and glowy - wrapped in Argentium sterling silver and are only available from my Etsy shop.

In other news...

I've been meaning to post this for a while but never got round to it: if you like simple briolette gemstone earrings, there's a new series of these wire-wrapped in Argentium sterling silver or 14K goldfill (or if you see something in gold and would prefer it in silver, just let me know). All with my own handmade earwires of course, and you will get lotsa wardrobe mileage out of these sweeties, I promise. And just look at the yummy faceting!

Trunkt. "The Premier Directory of Creative Entrepreneurs"... basically an online portfolio site where it seems jewellery is the hardest category to get accepted into. There's always so much talk on Etsy forums about rejection, it just makes me curious to know what the big deal is.

Since launching my new shop, I've been determined to be more thick-skinned about self-promotion. I want exposure! No publicity is bad publicity! Who cares if I get rejected, I'll just give it a try and see what happens... so I did that yesterday and received an email this morning saying I got in. It's quite surprising because there are already so many great jewellery artists there with kinda similar styles, as well as rejected applicants whose work is just as gorgeous. I feel a large part of it has to do with photography and presentation... but of course I won't nom teh hand that feez me :P

Right now, I'm not very sure what it all means and am still figuring my way around in there so I have only 3 items up. The premium portfolio fees are steep as a one-time cost but compared to a few months of banner ads, are still pretty reasonable.

Stay tuned.

Guess what? About a year after I originally launched my website under the name tellurus, here I am with a revamp!

We (myself and Mr T) have been busy for the past month working on a clean, new design that incorporates some new features as well as my own online boutique.

What, am I closing my Etsy shop? Noooo, both sites will remain committed to bringing you handcrafted jewellery, but my new shop will be housing the exclusives and one-of-a-kind items as well as promos that are currently not possible with Etsy's system. So... do check it out and tell me what you think :)

And of course, I will also be updating my blog shortly, so stay tuned. Why, oh why did I ever choose purple?? Mmmpphhm.