Haven't done a giveaway for some time, so when I was asked to join the December giveaway on Or so she says..., I agreed immediately.

My contribution is the pearl solitaire Macrocosm necklace, one of my favourites for its nature-inspired simplicity:


To participate, simply leave a comment on the blog. For additional chances to win, you can post updates on your own blog, Facebook, or Tweet about this giveaway AND/OR become a follower of Or so she says... on Google or Twitter.

Giveaway closes Saturday, Dec 12th at midnight (US time) and winners will be announced the following day. Good luck :)

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!

As the month of February draws to a close, I ought to thank my repeat customers for their support, even in these tough economic times. I know you have lots of choices out there. I know many of those choices may be trendier, more affordable, or more "branded". I could do verbal diarrhoea on the advantages of buying handmade, but if you have ever purchased anything directly from an artist who takes pride and joy in transforming their creative vision into an object of sensory delight (OK maybe I exaggerate. Some might just be dabbling in it out of boredom, while others churn out their merchandise in order to put dinner on the table.) then you might understand. Come to think of it, it's like buying homemade pineapple tarts from a friend's friend's aunt because they just taste better than the ones you get in commercial bakeries. Generous fillings, quality ingredients, fresher stock, made with love etc etc. Alright, it's just a rough analogy... but I'm sure you can imagine walking into a boutique (I think they call them concept stores these days, whatever the heck that means), being sussed up by a calculative shop person who just wants to make a commission or sales target (yes, you are just a statistic to them), and picking out something that is overpriced, overexposed, mass-produced and that makes you look hip for perhaps a few months. Seriously, I don't see what's so special about that.

Oops... I don't know where that mini rant came from! Back to regularly scheduled programming...

What I wanted to say was this little reminder that I will be picking the winner of the Camomile Swizzlers this Sunday (haven't decided the time yet, probably at night, Singapore time). If you are on Facebook and haven't yet become a fan, I encourage you to do so because I hope to run future promos just for FB fans :)

Good luck and good night!

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~