My first collection
During the Covid-19 lockdown, I developed a passion for beading. Motivated by the desire to uplift people's spirits, I set out to design a fun and colorful collection of jewelry to boost people’s moods.
I then sold this collection along with other beaded jewelry on Etsy.
Mixed media
After focusing on only beaded jewelry, I wanted to explore how I could combine beads with other materials.
Shou Sugi Ban
I fell in love with texture of charred wood when researching shou sugi ban, a Japanese technique where they char the top layer of wood to make it more weather resistant.
Testing
In order to take this technique into wearables, I explored and tested various types of finishes and methods of applications to achieve the most durable finish possible without compromising the look and feel of the charred surface.
Charred Earrings
After dozens of failures, I finally figured out a process of charring the wood to get micro texture. The technique not only avoids significant warping but also ensures that the char does not penetrate too deeply into the wood's surface, allowing me to cut grooves to the earrings to add visual interest.
