SCHEDULE

All new courses have ended for the year. Thank you.

Please email me if you have any questions – janice@shoudesigners.com

BASIC JEWELRY MAKING COURSE

Begins :                Feb 28 – 29 March 2012(ended)

Time:                     10am -12noon (every Tuesday & Thursday)

Dates:                    28 Feb -1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20,22, 27 & 29 March

Venue:                  798 Art District

Fee:                      5000 rmb – 10 workshops – all jewelry materials and tools set inclusive

PROFESSIONAL JEWELRY MAKING COURSE

Dates:                To be decided

Time:                 10am -12noon

Venue:               798 Art District

Fee:                   5000 rmb – 10 workshops

- all jewelry materials and beading board are inclusive

Students are expected to purchase some materials of their own to improve their own designs!

GRADUATE DESIGN COURSE

Begins :            28 Feb – 30th May (no class on 4th April & 2nd May)

Time:                 10am -12noon

By invitation only – not open to public

Trip Report

Beijing Jewelry Club Trip to Suzhou Pearl Farm with Mr Ding

So after much organising between Janice and Mr Ding, our trip to Suzhou finally commenced at the very early hour of 6.45am on Thursday morning when Janice and Jennie came with their drivers to pick us all up at Jamaica Blue and take us to the new and very modern Beijing South Railway Station.

There were 7 of us (Janice, Kerry, Chantal, Jennie, Vivien, Amy and of course Mr Ding) taking the new high-speed bullet train which takes less than 5 hours to travel from Beijing to Suzhou. The train was great; clean, spacious, civilised and on-time (although do take your own food) and travelled at it’s capped maximum speed of 311km/h. Apparently it can travel up to 450 km/h but isn’t allowed to!

We arrived in Suzhou around 1pm and we were kindly met at the train station by Mr Ding’s wife and daughter and a driver that Jennie had organised for us all. Our first stop was the Suzhou Pearl and Gem Trading Centre which was very quiet and civilised compared to Hongqiao. However this place caters mostly to wholesalers who orders in huge volumes and walk-in customers are few, mostly from Shanghai coming in on the weekends. Nevertheless we spent only a short time here and the selection of pearls and stones available did not appear to be better than what we can get here in Beijing so we didn’t buy too much. Just a few strands of gorgeous 5mm round natural coloured pearls that we got for a bargain price thanks to Mr Ding. Approximately RMB23 per strand (they wanted RMB60 to start with!).

Next to the Pearl & Gem Trading Center is the pearl sorting factory. The factory is filled with rooms of sacks and sacks and baskets and baskets of yet-to-be-drilled pearls needing to be sorted. These are sorted by hand by women working on lit work benches. First of all the workers sort by size, then quality and then colour.  A sack of pearls will sorted not one time but several times in order of criteria. One worker can sort up to 5kgs of small (4-5mm) pearls in a day which are thousands of pearls!

Unfortunately, we were unable to see where they drill and string the pearls as that level was closed for the day.

After the Suzhou Pearl and Gem Trading Center we headed to the Pearl Farms. It was a relatively small family-run one but still very interesting. Here, Mr Ding explained how they farm the pearls by hanging them just 50 cm below surface of the water (not too deep that they cannot get sunlight and not too shallow as you need to be able to optimise the number of pearls you are farming) several to a line for several years. Mr Ding explained that for this particular farm the optimal number of years is 3 years. Any longer and whilst the pearls can be larger and more valuable, there is a higher risk that the ‘oyster’ can die before you’ve extracted the pearls. Any less than 3 years and the pearls may be low grade (small and not poorly shaped) to make the farm profitable. He also explained that the natural colour of pearls vary depending on the water they are in. Creams, pinks, oranges, yellows and even greens, blacks and lavender are all natural pearl colours created by different freshwater environments. The most common color however is salmon pink!

The most exciting part of the farm visit (and definitely a trip highlight) was when Mr Ding fished out several ‘ripe’ oysters and showed us how they are opened and we finally saw the pearls sitting there within the (very alien-looking) flesh of the oyster. On average each oyster can provide 10-20 pearls. Some up to 50!

After the farm visit we headed over to Mr Ding’s new home where he demonstrated how the pearls are cultured. In summary, a piece of tissue is taken from another oyster and is cut up into tiny pieces before they are inserted into the interior flesh of another oyster. The new oyster being cultured can only be partially opened and thus it takes a lot of skill to ensure the new oyster survives and accepts these little ‘nuclei’ of flesh. Provided they are successfully accepted then this process causes the new oyster to secrete mineral layers of nacre which over several months or years become pearls.

Later on we headed out to the border of Taihu (Tai Lake) for a sumptuous Suzhou dinner with Mr Ding and his family. Suzhou food is yummy – it’s fresh, light with lots of seafood and vegetable dishes. Unlike Beijing fare, Suzhou people like their food steamed and lightly stir-fried to preserve the authenticity of their freshness. Therefore we never came across anything deep-fried!  After dinner we headed to our hotel.

The next day we were up early again with breakfast at 8am, checked-out and then meeting Mr Ding who took us to the famous Yang Cheng Hu – which is one of the five famous freshwater lakes in China and the world’s biggest supplier of hairy crabs . We took a little boat-ride and then headed to lunch where we had more Suzhou style food and also took an attempt to savor Suzhou’s famous Yang Cheng Lake’s Hairy Crabs without hurting our fingers too much!

After lunch we went for a little drive all around Yang Cheng lake visiting some fisherman and crab-sellers before we finally headed back to the train station. We spent a little too much time around the lake not realising how far away the train station was. After a little running from the car to the station we made it up to the platform just as the train was pulling in. Given it only waits on the platform for 2 minutes we were pretty lucky to have made it with all our bags, boxes of hairy crabs, Suzhou delicacies and all (souvenirs from dear ol’ Mr Ding)! After all the rushing we had another 5 hours to relax on board the train before arriving back in Beijing at 9.30pm. What a great little trip!

By Chantal Travers – 24 September 2011 -

If you are moving on to Malaysia for your next expat posting, or are planning on taking an extended holiday there and have an interest in silversmith courses, then you may want to consider the courses offered by Derek Tan of  Jewelz  Jewellery Studio (also known as Derek T Creative Studio & Gallery).

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Plaza Damas in the leafy suburb of Sri Hartamas, 27 year old Derek offers beading, Italian lamp working and beaded lamp making classes as well as silver smithing. Some how he manages to fit work spaces for all the different disciplines in the small but bright and cheerful shop lot which also serves as a retail space for strings of beads and a variety of beading materials.

Ironically I found Derek when googling for “beading materials” when he spends most days now teaching a mixture of expats and locals the art of silver smithing and lampworking.

I took Level 1 of his silver smithing course recently when I was back home in Malaysia. He offers 3 levels, each level introducing more intricate techniques and encouraging increased individual creativity. At the end of the levels, you are fully equipped to create your own pieces and you can do that by renting studio space (RM80 per hour supervised, RM50 unsupervised) and buying silver from him (chargeable by weight).

Course fees for Level 1 (including all silver and stones used as well as usage of all tools and equipment) is RM960 (approximately RMB1,986.00).

For Level 1, I finished 6 projects in 6 sessions of 2.5 hours each. You could conceivably finish some projects in less than the time allotted, but sometimes Derek supervises up to 4 students (of varying levels) at a time so there is some waiting time involved.

During the first lesson, he introduced all the various equipment and tools I would be using (and there were a lot of them!) Files, calipers, snips, hammers, tongs, blades… and the flexible shaft and sander which we used a lot for polishing the final product . First time round there is information overload and you are unlikely to take it all in but as you complete each session you will become more familiar with the more common tools and by the end of Level 1 should even be able to guess what the next step of the process should be and which tool should be used.

Each project introduces new techniques which you have to master. The six projects were a solid band ring, a leaf pendant, a wrapped gemstone pendant, a wrapped gemstone ring, a circular scored pendant, and a roller impressed patterned pendant.

I found the soldering bit the hardest as there are so many things you have to do to ensure success : ensuring the fit is tight and gap free; using the right amount of flux, ensuring the solder piece is placed in the right position, determining the size and time of your flame (which depends on what you are soldering), removing all flux and oxidation… good thing Derek has a sharp eye and is always at hand when you are soldering – to advise or take over if necessary.

He is also a perfectionist – many times I thought I had polished my piece sufficiently but he always felt that I could do a bit more. At the same time, the guy has the patience of a saint and is always happy to accommodate your artistic urges (for eg. If you prefer a more tarnished unfinished look, he is happy for you to do less polishing).

I came away with a deeper appreciation for the art of silver jewellery. There are no short cuts to creating all those silver rings you own, though quality may not be uniformly high. (Believe me, I asked him if there was an easier way!)

When I get the chance, I am going to check out Level 2 & 3. There is more filigree work involved, and delicate soldering of embellishments.

Derek Tan of Derek T Creative Studio

Mobile No. (00 6) 012 694 2428

Shop No. (00 6) 03 6201 3220

Address: C-0-8 Plaza Damas, 60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1

50480 Kuala Lumpur. (If you are familiar with Plaza Damas, his shop is diagonally across from Kim Gary Restaurant in Hartamas Shopping Complex)

Website: www.jewelz.com.my

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/derektjewelry

Email: info@derektgallery.com

Submitted by Ming Suan Ong – 15th September 2011

PAN JIA YUAN

The popular weekend market, Pan Jia Yuan, (also known as the Dirt Market or the Antique Market) may not immediately come to mind when sourcing for jewellery making parts, but I have found some of my most inspiring pendants and accessories when trawling through the stalls there. It is not the place for fittings but for beads, pendants and silver accents.

Round the perimeter of the market are several brick and mortar shops selling strings of stone, glass and shell beads. The prices which were quoted to me were much higher than what most of Janice’s students would pay at Hongqiao (with our preferential rates!) and they didn’t seem keen on giving much of a discount but they had some interesting stones which I hadn’t seen in Hongqiao. There were also whole shops specializing in just coral and turquoise.

At the edges of the weekend market (the one with the open stalls sheltered under the aluminium awning) you can find strings of pretty coloured Murano-esque glass – or maybe plastic- beads in various shapes (perfect for kids’ jewellery) for RMB3-4 per string. You can also find pretty pendants made of fossilized stone for RMB10-15 per piece (depending on your bargaining skills). The last time I was there they had huge egg shaped moss quartz pendants and beautiful flat agate pieces in blue and red purple hues – somewhat similar to what Mrs Gu sells in her Hongqiao shop – but these came without drilled holes or attached bails.

I have also bought interesting jade pendants at Pan Jia Yuan for RMB10 each. Look for the mountains of square, paper wrapped pendants and scores of people squatting in front of them picking through the offerings and you are probably at the right place. You have to trawl through the stuff but I have picked up beautiful white jade lions and cabbage green dragons there. Might not be the highest quality jade you can find but eminently suitable for the kind of jewellery most of us make.

If you are into embellishing your pieces with some “antique” coins – the ones with the square holes in the middle of them – this is also the place to come.

During my last trip I looked at some of the open air stalls selling “antiques”. Some of them had intricately carved jade pieces, which would make excellent focal pieces, but I lacked the energy that day to start inquiries. The prices quoted can range from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan so you really need to know (and be firm in) what you are prepared to pay before you open your mouth.

You can also buy round jade beads in many sizes and hues – sold by the weight – but again I have always desisted as I figure I can get jade or jade looking beads at Hong Qiao easily enough and for less stress. One thing about Pan Jia Yuan compared to the other markets – most of the vendors have a real “take it or leave it” attitude. Walking away only works with a fraction of them.

My favorite things to buy at Pan Jia Yuan are the minority Miao silver pieces at the weekend stalls. There’s about 5-6 stalls in the market, some having better pieces than others. The pendants (even the bigger ones) should not cost more than RMB20 per piece and make excellent focal pieces for necklaces, especially those of the ethnic variant. I had my doubts about how much silver they really contained but when I brought them home and took my silver polishing cloth to them, the tarnish did come off after treatment.  However that is not to say that it was high grade silver…

Some shops to try for minority silver:
Guizhou Miaozhu handicrafts Silver Decoration

No. 16 Row 9 Area 3

Impression of Guizhou
No. 2 Row 9 Area 3

Panjiayuan潘家园

Add:18 Huaweili, Chaoyang District, Beijing
地址:北京市朝阳区华威里18号
Tel:01051204699
 Opening hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30-18:30; Sat-Sun 4:30-18:30

Contributed by Ming Suan Ong- 12th April 2011

BJJC 2011 May Meeting

GREEN T.HOUSE-MAKEUP-FASHION-JEWELRY!

I don’t know about everyone else but “Laoshi” had a ‘smoking’ swell time at this meeting! Keri Mac’s lesson on smokey eyes is an eye-opener and really taught us a thing or two about makeup. That it can be so versatile. Who would have thought we could do smokey eyes for day too?!

Pairing the attendees to do each others’ make-up is a wonderful idea and made it all the more fun. Chantal modeled for Keri beautifully. Even though not everyone achieved smokey eyes on the first try but the tips will help us along a long way. Besides, creating smokey eyes goes hand-in-hand with making jewelry, you do need lots of practice and knowing the right tools and techniques to use.

Once the crowd got into a frenzy of brushing and blushing, Cindy Ma – international stylist and owner of LMC boutiques- came in to give us some fashion tips on how to match jewelry to our wardrobes. Some great advice included not wearing too many chunky jewelry in one dressing. For example, if you wish to go with chunky earrings, do not pair it with chunky necklaces. It takes away the focus of both the items.  If you are wearing bold prints for a top, try to pair it with slimline or short jewelry or a chunky bracelet that would not overcome your top. A big colorful necklace on top of a bold print top will confuse your audience. Basically we should always remember ‘less-is-more’. A big fashion ‘boo-boo’ will be wearing a set of matching big necklace, earrings and bracelet all at one time! C’mon no one wants to look like a Christmas tree Always mix and match!

As if the meeting could not get any more interesting, AAA gemstone supplier came from Tian Ya to sell some lovely stones to the ladies. Shopping is always a highlight at any meetings.

Finally at noon, we ended the meeting by sitting down for an exquisitely prepared (although a tad expensive) lunch by Green T.House. Every dish was nothing short of artistic and a true inspiration from the rock melon arugula salad to grilled sea bass and a divine steamed nutty-rice in grilled eggplant. But by far we were most impressed at our dessert – an all-yummy-in-house-tea-flavored-ice-cream topped with large chocolates pieces sprinkled with tea! Ah~hence Green T. House! It was worth every penny

Quite a few hundred RMB poorer, the meeting was officially adjourned after lunch.

Well done to Keri Mac, Cindy Ma and the committee of BJJC for another great meeting. As usual “Laoshi” could not have done it without you guys.

For full photos (courtesy of Denise) – view it on

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7713569@N06/sets/72157626637673031/

BJJC APRIL 2011 MEETING

As Beijing begins to blossom, so do the fresh new trends and styles of Spring. To embrace this energy, Melissa Milne, of Anyday Studio was invited to teach a brand new technique of weaving thread with beads to the BJJC members and guests.

Melissa was asked to demonstrate how to make wrap bracelets like the above. Wrap bracelets are becoming popular this season and are casual and fun to wear. All members and guests were given the opportunity to make their own 18 cm bracelets. The technique is simple but time consuming. All the ladies had a great time mixing colors and beads of their choice.

The meeting also involved introduction of the Committee again (Denise, Juliana and Felicitas)  to new students. Denise was on site to take a lot of photos of the meeting while Juliana and Feli assisted Melissa.

It was a great meeting with a turn out of 28 members at a new location – AlioOlio restaurant at Chaoyang West Gate. Most ladies stayed to enjoy lunch till the late afternoon. A big thank you to Melissa for giving the demonstration.

The tutorial link for this design is

http://www.auntiesbeads.com/Wrap-Bracelets-Video_p_9111.html

(you do need a vpn to watch it)

Contributed by Melissa Milne – 4th May

Two of my seasoned graduates, Denise Chong-Lewis and Stephanie Baker, were featured on-air by CCTV News – Crossover – programme on 12th December for  a segment about jewelry making in Beijing. The segment showed how my courses were run, followed by interviews of the above graduates and their lovely jewelry collections and ending with Stephanie’s demostration on how to make earrings and Denise on how she teaches kids to make jewelry. Denise’s own 7 year old daughter was even featured as a guest model.

Watch it on – http://english.cntv.cn/program/crossover/20101212/100157.shtmla

Denise’s account on this special event -

“Lao shi” does not always have to be the teacher! In summer 2010, I took a short break from teaching and enroled in a photography workshop. Although I have spent years shooting my own  jewelry collections, there were still huge gaps of knowledge when it came to the world of photography that needed to be filled. For once I would like to shoot a photo of my kids that does not turn out blurred!

My first priority was learning how to operate my Canon 400D, aside from the usual Auto mode (which defeats the purpose of having an SLR really!). Christopher’s course showed me first hand what all the buttons and various functions are for in a camera and the magic they can perform in a click of a dial. Suddenly aperture, ISO, depth of field, macro no longer make my head spin. BJJC invited Christopher to be a guest speaker last season during one of our monthly meetings. His talk was so popular that a group of ladies immediately signed on for the Basic Jewelry Photography course. On top of the essential basics on how to operate their cameras, Christopher also taught the ladies how to create a lightbox and the best way to shoot their jewelry creations.

Aside from good design, a good photo on-line will make the difference between sale and no sale. This skill is vital to all new designers who wish to launch their own jewelry websites/businesses.

Christopher Lay

Christopher Lay is an international photographer who hails from southern Oregon in the USA. He has lived and worked in Puerto Rico, Israel, Cambodia, Japan and, for the past 5 years, has resided in China. His travels and passion for photography have carried him to over 30 countries around the world.

Although an accomplished photographer for over 2 decades, his achievements while based in China have included: an artist in residence at the Shenzhen Fine Art Institute; a documentary video shoot in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya; a solo exhibition at the Triple J in Shenzhen; a group exhibition which he curated; and a solo exhibition at the Pickled Art, Unit 1 Gallery in the 798 Art District. When time permits, he also enjoys leading photography workshops in Beijing.

Christopher attained undergraduate degrees in Speech Communication and African American Studies from Portland State University. Though photography was not his prime focus as a student, his study of the art began at the tender age of 10 when he first picked up his father’s SLR and began using the family darkroom. Course work in Jr. high and while attending Interamerican University in Puerto Rico enhanced his self-taught style and knowledge gained while working beside other professionals.

Chris and family

During the past two years, Christopher’s clients have included: Condé Nast, CNN Traveler, Women’s Wear Daily, Jet Li (actor), Dilion Wu (world wushu champion), the Beijing Wushu Team, the Australian Embassy, the Linda Gallery for the Coming Home Exhibition, The Orchard Restaurant, Daystar International Academy, AliveNotDead.com, the Porsche Carrera Cup, Fluid Friction, The Foundation for Global Leadership and numerous private clients. You can see some of his work at chrislay.com.

Melissa Milne - Rhode Island, United States of America

Anyday Studio began well before my amazing journey to China. In the States, Anyday Studio started out as Anyday Bath and Body where I manufactured and created my own natural skin care line from home.

These experiences taught me many things about running a small business and how to be successful. However, moving to China proved to be a huge roadblock to Anyday Bath and Body since the raw materials required for my products were just not available. I started to investigate what other treasures Beijing had for me to explore, and how I could use my entrepreneurial skills abroad.

My love for creating things by hand drew me to all the amazing markets in Beijing. The availability of beads and jewelry supplies is overwhelming. When traveling to the markets I felt lost and needed guidance and instruction on where to begin so I took one of Janice’s jewelry courses. The course taught me the proficiencies I need to create and design beautiful pieces of jewelry. I have learned many different skills and found that I love the simplicity of stringing beads and use beading wire to create free form designs. Now when I scan through a pile of beautiful stones at the market instead of feeling
overwhelmed I now see the possibilities of many new designs and I can’t wait to get home to start creating the images in my head.

As the piles and piles of necklaces began building on my boyfriend’s work desk, he suggested we post them on line. Anyday Studio has become a venue for handmade crafts and currently offers my own jewelry, coconut lip balm and Nature’s Charm soy candles. All items sold on Anyday Studio are handmade and designed with woman in mind. The core belief of Anyday Studio is that everyday should be special day and we should indulge in the things that make us happy as often as we can.

Anyday Studio www.anydaybathandbody.com