The Good

• Winning an award for my pendant.
• The work experience at Charles Green.
• Getting to go to Germany for Inhorgenta with my friend and getting one final chance to go to our favourite takeaway in Passing – the food is so good¹.
• Completing the final year of university and having a degree.  I felt that I wasn’t going to achieve a good final mark but I’m extremely happy that all the hard work and travelling expenses paid off.
• Getting a few chances to work on commissions, which I love.  Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than turning a collation of thoughts and ideas, of the ideal jewellery piece, into an adornment they can actually wear, or give to their loved ones.
• Completing my website/shop².  Thanks to my host’s help I finally have an EPOS to actually sell my jewellery.  Now, all I need to jewellery to sell…
• Getting to go back to Hong Kong and staying for more than two weeks.

The Bad

• Nothing worth mentioning here.

The Forgettable

• Tonsillitis.  In particular getting is so close to my trip for Germany, where is was too cold.
• It was also kind of the reason I missed the awards ceremony.  Not good at all.
• My final exhibition.  My pieces weren’t bad, they just weren’t finished trying to get them perfect was not going to happen.  However, it tough me one valuable lesson: to keep the precesses less and simple!
• Eh…some of the football results…

Oh how rude of me… Happy New Year everyone!  If I drank I’d virtually clink glasses with you but since I don’t I’ll give two very Asian “victory” signs.

1. That is good pronounced with elongated o’s.
2. Designed and imperfectly coded by me.

It’s strange how opinions can change almost at a click of the finger.  After college I was adamant that further education was not  the path for me but thanks to my cousin and then-colleagues who persuaded me to take on the challenge of university.  Were it not for them I probably would either be still inspecting cameras or feverishly coding and designing websites¹.

*Memory lane*

Whilst on MSN Messenger² to my cousin she mentioned a jewellery course she was considering, which was jewellery making-related.  It was something we could do together.  The course sounded great fun but I still wasn’t sure but thought I might as well since I needed to make something of my life.  However, I knew persuading my parents was going to be a job and a half – and I was right.  They weren’t particularly keen on the idea, being the kind of Asian parents where if an immediate career wasn’t a dead cert. then maybe the course wasn’t the right one.  Eventually with some wise words and words of encouragement I made sure I pushed forward my choice – I wouldn’t say my mum was in agreement more so than annoyed with my constant pestering.  It resulted in an “ask your father” response.  Needless to say he didn’t disagree.

That was when I felt I needed to prove, not only my parents but also myself, that I am good at something.  Particularly since school and college results left a lot to be desired.  I needed something to be pleased about and to rectify what I didn’t do before.  Going to university was an opportunity to give my confidence a boost.

After sending my application I managed to get an interview for a gemology course, which I had to decline because I didn’t apply for that course.  I called to rectify and was told to come in and see the interviewer.  Since I had left the application late I thought there wasn’t going to be a fudge of a chance that I’d get onto the course but I guess we got a lucky break; my cousin and I secured a place on the course.  We both came out of the interview very happy and were about to enrol on ND Design Crafts.  Having earlier been shown around the exhibition by the interviewer we looked in amazement at the spectacular jewellery pieces.  Was I really going to be able to create jewellery like those?  I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped when I saw an 18ct gold brooch, which was made by a former ND student.

*End of memory lane*

Never mind prematurely thinking university was not an option I stuck with it for a further 3 years – completing the Higher National Diploma and BA(Hons).  It’s a chapter in my life I’m extremely proud of because I achieved a lot better than what I thought I would have and have been wanting a career in jewellery since I made my first gold brooch.  I can finally say that I have found my future, which wasn’t the case after college.

All in all I”m excited to see what I can bring to the future so remember my name because in the future my name may be plastered on shops. :P I know I’ve made it when I can price my jewellery more towards the higher market, or as some may say ridiculous prices.   I’m thinking big as in Thomas Sabo big!

1. Not that there’s anything wrong with the latter occupation but it’s just not healthy losing slept trying to fathom why something you’ve coded isn’t translating correctly.  Heh.
2. The thing back then.

With that said, it’s onwards and upwards.  I’m going to get a couple of the rings’ components redone¹ and laser weld the parts together before the starts of the Graduates’ Exhibition.

It will be that mark of something though.  University has been an experience, well, you would think I experienced at least one thing having spent 5 years there.   I probably would be in the situation (with a degree) if it weren’t for my cousin or work colleagues so I’m glad they gave me that little push I needed.  I never thought I’d find “it”; the job that would lead to a career I now desire but it’s happened.

I won’t get to graduate until next year in February but I very much look forward to what the future has in stall for me.

Congratulations to those who have made  it to the end of university and all the best in the future.  I will certainly let you know how mine goes.  I’ll either bore you with it here or on my more professional jeweller’s blog.

1. The sublimation and laser cutting.

It started as a three member spectator viewing but gradually, with chuckles, the audience grew. I’ll tell you that this guy would make us Asian woman drivers rank amongst the best worldwide.

As he was doing his umpteenth point turn commentary started leaving the lips of the few watching.  Not only was this guy taking an age to reverse out quite a gap but he’d turn his car into the exact same position he found himself in at the beginning of the predicament.  Not only that though, when he eventually managed to put himself in a reversing position, he hit another staff member’s wing mirror.  You could hear the shock and see hand-to-mouth emotions.  That and a few mild criticism of said driver’s lack of vision.  To top it off it could have reversed into the gate and even though all that was needed was a straight reverse his wing mirrors could have fallen foul of the gate.

I’ll stress that no other cars were harmed in the process and the gate didn’t even feel a scrape.

FYI: no. of point turn – 21-odd.  The counter amoungst us lost count when people blocked her view¹.

1. I think a many drivers would have done it in just under 6.

Ideally, after university I want to be earning a great salary but the likelyhood of that happening to a will be recent graduate is slim.  One things is for sure though, when I eventually do get my own place my first luxury purchase will be a piano.  Although I wish for a Steinway and Sons piano that’s unlikely to happen – they’re really expensive but sound oh-so good.   I think a more “affordable” – and I use that term loosely – option would be a Yamaha…probably the digital type and preferably with pedals.  However, I’m not giving up that dream of owning a Steinway just yet.

Anyway, less than 3 months to go and I’m sure it couldn’t go slow enough but before even worrying about work I need to concentrate on getting the highest mark for the project, otherwise I leave myself very disappointed at the end of this course.  However, I get a weeks work experience, which I am very much looking forward to.

Come the end of the semester I will probably bore with a post of my 5 year experience at uni.  You have been warned!¹ :P

1. By the way, by bore I mean having to read the post, not uni. itself.

I was shocked, I think the overjoyed part came later that morning when it had sunk in.  I still can’t believe…

The best thing about it is that I get to spend a weeks work experience at Charles Green – I can’t wait.  Many thanks to Mr Green, Charles Green and Sons Ltd, and particularly Pip who was a big help during the project.

Congratulations to my classmates Helen Dobson (Helen has written a better post on the ceremony as she actually…ahem…attended.), Sophie Waters and Amy Roberts who also won awards for their pieces.

Friday 25th February

My friend and I headed to the EMA (East Midlands Airport). It wasn’t until checking out the luggage (as in having it weighed before put through the conveyor belt) that I realised I had forgotten to check-in online – I blame the illness – so unfortunately that meant my friend and I had to fork out £10 for tickets, on top of the £20 for luggage. With more money thrown out the window than we intended we continued through to the security, I was worrying slightly here being that I not only had my tables for the tonsillitis but also some Panadol, and travel sickness medication – wouldn’t look good through a monitor would it? Indeed, as I thought, I had my first narcotics swab. Dramatic as it sounds it felt as if my clean record had been thrown out the window. Having watched a lot of Borders UK (or something along those lines) and Nothing To Declare I knew what and what not to do.

The flight was slightly delayed as the engine needed changing of refuelling, well, from what I would lip read and hear the staff weren’t exactly vocal about it. Nevertheless we and fellow passengers were escorted to a different plane

About 3 hours later we were at the hotel, Tryp Hotel. The staff were really friendly and quick to assist us if there were any issues with the room. The bathroom light didn’t work so I revert to my mobile torch. Yes, it was that dark no light was even seeping through the bottom gap of the door.

Saturday 26th February

The day of the fair.  Due to recent events of the economy I thought there was going less use of expensive precious metals but to my surprised there was a lot of white, yellow gold, platinum and palladium.  From the moment I walk through the entrance of the hall I was bedazzled, the jewellery before me just sparkled and I was surrounded by gem-encrusted jewellery.  My friend and I perused around and found the usual big names of the jewellery world: Pandora, Chamilia, Ti Sento and Swarovski.

The jewellery that caught my eye the most were the pieces with colour and some ingenuity to it.  A collection that caught my attention was by Jacqueline Cullen: Granulation.  She utilises Whitby jet ( more commonly associated with Victorian mourning jewellery) to celebrate the qualities of the material, her pieces look quite sculptural but with the delicate details of 24ct gold adds a finer touch to her pieces.

I am very much fascinated by kinectic jewellery and was shown one, I think under the name Luna Collection.  The head of the palladium ring was set with a tiny diamond and the whole head of the stone rotated so it looked as if the tiny stone was eclipsing.  You can refer to Schulte-Hengesbach’s website but it’s not the one I’m describing – it’ll give you the basic gist of what I’m trying to describe.

One ingenious idea I remember seeing but didn’t note down the brand was a flower ring, some of the petals were satin polished, whilst alternate petals contained a cluster of drilled holes, giving the impression of pave setting.  I thought it was clever how they turned drilling into an art form to create reflection and sparkle to the piece.  Unfortunately I didn’t not down, nor do I remember the name of the maker.

I saw a lot more and there was a wider variety of things, only a minute percentage of which I have touched on.  Apart from food I didn’t spend much elsewhere but I did buy the bible of Hong Kong Manufacturing companies.  The directory is almost as thick as the yellow pages and cost me just 5 euros and comes with a CD alternative.  My finest buy I think and will certainly come in handy when looking to outsource my work.

Sunday 27th February

Only had a ticket for the one day so my friend and I spent the day watching BBC News, reflecting back on leaflets and postcards we picked up from the show, and thinking about our final projects.  Then we headed to the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Monday 28th February

Auf wiedersehen Munich and home sweet home.  Strange that my bag didn’t get a narcotic swab…

It works but the downside is it takes me a step back from the design stage.  The stage I currently find myself in.  Over the weekend I finally came up with my final designs – typically reverting back to one of my original sketches – but I know find myself with less than two weeks to complete my jewellery collection.  Due to the fact that I’m sourcing from other professionals (stone setters, rapid prototype makers…etc) I have to ask them to help me out in a short space of time.  Not ideal but hey-ho, it’s something I’m going to have to deal with in the big world of work. :S

Please keep your fingers crossed for me to get this done.

http://annielijewellery.tumblr.com/

Please choose via the link above. I’m writing this post with my mobile and don’t have the pictures with me – otherwise I’d have uploaded it here – sorry about that.