Picasso's Women

When I was working on a wedding headpiece recently, I randomly made some petals, and later decided to sew the petals together to form a flower. Then I added silver glass tube beads with a gold glass seed bead on top of each of the tube.

Suddenly, I had a thought. I thought, could my flower happen to look like a real orange blossom?

I began to do an image search online and found that an orange blossom does have five petals! What's more exciting was that the stamens looked surprisingly alike to what I have done with my glass beads! Only that my petals were a little chubbier than the slim and svelte natural ones. Regardless, I proceeded with the flower making and happily adorned them on top of the headband.

Later that night, my husband came home. To earn some praises (like a little girl) and confirmation, I showed him pictures of real orange blossoms and asked him to compare my work.

"Do they look alike?" I needed to know because I was about to write in my product description that the 100% silk flowers were orange blossoms.

He glanced back and forth, (with me excitedly anticipating) and said in a firm voice: "NO."

"What no? Not really alike, but still alike, or absolutely NOT alike?" I asked.

"I cannot see their similarity, at all," my husband declared.

He broke my heart definitely in that three seconds. So I began to explain about the five petals, the gold and silver stamens....I told him, artists always have their own visions of things, their own interpretations of nature...you know, their own versions of...of whatever they work on.

"Well. you asked me to give you an opinion, and I gave you mine. I said no, they are absolutely not alike, because they really aren't!" he just had to reiterate it.

Some people are born with imagination...some are well, just more...realistic.

Argh. Wait till he sees Picasso's "women"!

《Seated Woman》was modeled by his Picasso's mistree Marie-Thérèse Walter in 1937

       

《Dora Maar au Chat》Picasso painted his other mistress Dora Maar in 1941

A real orange blossom (picture source from the Internet, photographer unknown)

My version of an orange blossom

There are no rules in styling, you've just got to try

We had a wonderful event at Chinoiserie this past Sunday. It was my first public event as an exhibitor and I was lucky enough to have met over 20 brides-to-be.

How funny it was that during the event, I was presented as an expert in styling headpieces. If you have been following me for quite a while, you know clearly that I am just an amateur who is fortunate enough to have finally turned a life long hobby into a career.

I got asked a lot: what kinds of headpieces go with what kinds of head shapes?

To be honest, I will tell you: I do not know.

True that we are born differently in head shapes and sizes wise. However, how you look, how you want to look, what you love, and most importantly, whether you have the courage and confident to try new styles, or styles that you would never have dreamt of attempting, all matter.

I had a very beautiful fresh-faced bride-to-be, who kept saying she lacked femininity in her look. She was born with a very gorgeous head shape, (and a great body!) just like a perfect egg! You would just envy her flawless fresh skin! I didn't find a single spot! She showed me her dresses, every piece was a dream gown! So feminine and truly romantic. I knew I had to tell her: "with just a little bit of makeup, you are going to stun everyone around you. You've got to have confidence in yourself too!"

I literally forced her to try on every style available at my little corner. She hesitated but she did start trying. When the first headpiece landed on her head, the one she kept telling me "I won't look good in it", her worried face broke into a smile. That's when you know your customers are feeling very good about what you have made.

She tried as many as she liked, and every single piece looked as if it was made especially for her. She's been those lucky few who can wear all my headpieces and look stunning in each and every one.

I was taught long ago by my boss at one of my previous jobs: try, and you may have what you want. Fail to try, you definitely have nothing.

There are no rules in styling, please remember that you've just got to try.

;-)

my little one helping with the set up and trying on a veil she adored

A dress table full of hair accessories: every woman's dream?

When Clients are Happy

When we make things for other people, we are often happy to see the end products looking exactly as we first created and captured on pictures. (We don't want clients asking why their accessories are looking nothing like the listings.) However, the ultimate happiness always comes from the satisfaction of clients' surprised little notes, telling me how they adore my creations.

These notes often come in when I least expect them, and I never take these notes for granted.  

Thank you those who have loved HoSD designs and have been so sweet enough to tell me how much you love what you receive.

These encouraging notes help me survive the sometimes rough and depressive creative journey. 

I am forever grateful to your kindness.

♥

"the headband arrived yesterday and is stunning, absolutely beautiful even more than expected!

"thank you vey much"

~ from a bride in Italy 

May 20, 2012

"Absolutely lovely headband, the craftsmanship is really phenomenal. This seller was prompt, professional, and a lovely person. Such a pleasant transaction and a wonderful piece."

~ from a bride in Maryland, USA

May 11, 2011

Joy of Creating!

May has been a rather creative and productive month, to my joy and to my surprise. I have enough online and offline orders that keep me busy, but at the same time I could not resist the temptation to create something new.

And thanks to Emily, the talented florist, owner of M.dimension, who has recently commissioned me to work on an exquisite piece for her June bride. She has given me enough details so that I could almost visualise what she saw.

Once again I am in love with my new creation. I have thus made another wearable piece and listed in my shop, and named this beautiful necklace after Emily.

It is always a joy to work with Emily. 

And it is also my joy to be her friend.

Created especially for Emily's June bride

A necklace version for my Etsy shop

Spring Sherbet Garden

Spring is finally here! Though I am not too convinced that it means we are rid of all the casual cold breezes. Nonetheless, how delightful it is to see that all windows in shops are already freshened up with sherbet colour clothings.

The candy colour fashion of Spring has definitely excited and awaken my creative spirit and thus these soft and beautiful colour accessories were born.

I hope you enjoy wearing them!

Pink Lemonade Headband (on Icing Headband)

Spring Blossoms Headband

Marie in Pink Lemonade

My colour inspirations: 

Pastel colour macarons

Mulberry S/S12 campaign 

Louis Vuitoon S/S12 campaign 

Valentine's Day 2012

Valentine's Day this year is going to be special, for me, or for Sugar Darlings. This is the first time ever I am doing a crossover with another shop. She is a florist who is known for her poetic arrangement of her flowers and her unparalleled aesthetic taste.


She creates unforgettable masterpieces with her bare hands. These are flowers you see almost and probably every day in your life. And every time when her work is completed and presented, you just wonder: how did she do that? 


Well. She just did. 


Some people are really born with some special talents. And aren't we all fortunate to be able to enjoy her works?


And the specialness doubled, or even tripled, when Emily contacted me and asked if I was interested in doing a special collaboration with her. Of course! 


Absolutely honoured. 


I already know this year's Valentine's Day is going to be usual, but in a terrific way. 


I hope yours will be too.


♥

Hearts of Flowers arrangements by 文殊花度 M.dimension
To visit her blog: http://mdimensionhk.blogspot.com/
To visit her Facebook fan page:  https://www.facebook.com/M.dimension   

Some Childhood Memories

Beautiful soaps by TokyoFactory
My favourites include: first row from left, Victorian Rose Bath Fizz Cake  (I often find it tempting...as if I could eat it), a beautifully wrapped soap bar; second row, Sea Breeze Soap with Goat Milk Yogurt & Organic Coconut Water; third row, my soaps in their gorgeous packaging. 

Do you use soap bars, or do you use liquid soap? 


If you are like me, born in the 70's, you must have grown up using soap bars.


Not only did we use them to wash hands, body, face, hair, clothes (yeah), I was told that the fragrance could put off bugs who would feast on your clothes! It was somewhat a luxury to place a bar or two LUX inside our wardrobes to ward off insects and to leave some long lasting sweet smell on our clothes.


And during the 90's, when everything moved fast, or too fast, we needed something more convenient and gradually no more sighting of soap bars on the supermarket shelves. Instead, bottles after bottles of liquid soap, in their vibrant liquidly and jelly-like colours, lining up for people to buy.


Recently during one grocery shopping, a lady in front of me at the till was transferring her shopping from the basket to the counter table when I spotted the few bars of soap she was cradling like newborn in her arms.


Do people still use soap bars??


I don't even see them on the shelves!!!


What era is she in??


Are we shopping in the same supermarket??


Yes, I admit. I did make a big fuss about it, as if I had never seen soap bars in my life.


Back home, I remember I was researching for my new treasury list when I came across soaptician (nice name, huh) Ayu's wonderfully created soap bars. Not only do they all look like some art masterpieces, sometimes I just have to remind myself they are not food...albeit how delicious her soaps all appear to be.


After creating the list, I clicked the picture again and just went shopping. I so wanted to bag all the items but the shipping was hefty because of the weight of the soap. I still managed to pick a few. 


When they arrived a week later, I even went out to buy a soap container! 


I must tell you how gorgeously refreshing Sea Breeze smells! Every single piece is a work of art. I admire Ayu's creativity and her patience. All her products are photographed very beautifully too, and have I already mentioned the packaging? I did save all those intact stickers and put them in my diary! They are so nice as a display! I hardly wanted to use them!


And I found that I had washed my hands more frequently... ha ha ha. I felt like a child again, going back and forth and repeatedly doing something for its pleasure, not really for its function, or necessity.


Then I remembered. When I was a young child, my beloved grandma would come visit us frequently. My mother had four children in the span of five years and grandma probably thought she couldn't really handle it. She loved giving us baths and she loved washing my hair in the basin (since I was young and having flexible muscle, I did and was able to tilt my head backward for grandma to wash it). She was always using a bar of soap, singing in her Shaoxing dialect, "ta bee song, ta bee song", smiling, happily bathing her grandchildren one by one, and occasionally giving me a kiss on my cheeks.


:~)


As I write, I am trying to hold back tears.


Grandma is still here, at her very double golden age, approaching her 100th birthday in three more years.


Many times you think you cannot find something, whether you are shopping for a particular item, or shaking your handbag like mad searching for that damn car key which often goes missing. 


Perhaps because you are not looking?

I mean, really looking.


Just a week ago, I shopped again for some convenient liquid handwash in the same supermarket, when I noticed many bars of LUX soap were quietly sitting there on the shelves, just patiently waiting to be picked up. 


Many of our happy childhood memories are not lost, they are still there, shelved in that corner, possibly blocked by some recent happenings.


But if you look with your heart, you will always find them.


And when you find them, they will always bring a smile on your face.


Because, you are evidence that you were once very much loved, and you were once a simple and happy child.


:-)

My Etsy finds for "A bit of blue" led me to Ayu's Sea Breeze Soap