Makes Me Laugh

Flight of the Conchords. A comedy duo of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. They started out as a live act, singing songs so silly you just couldn't ignore. Now they have a comedy series, based loosely on their loser personalities and sad-ass music career. Hilarious stuff!

Mix 'n Mismatch

The key is to break the cardinal rule of pairing stripes with florals, or checks with tie-dyes... you know what I mean.

So it is looking mighty cute in this shoot from November's Marie Claire US, despite everything I have ever learned about mixing and matching. But I'm just wondering you could pull it off without being model-slim, standing unglamorously at a smog-filled bus-stop, and trying not to look too much like a fashion experiment gone horribly wrong.

Anyhoo, I am loving this editorial. Who cares if a normal person would look absolutely bonkers. The photography, the styling, the colours... two words: GOR! GEOUS!

(via Marie Claire)

Gratuitous fabulous jewelry pic

Persane Earrings

Satellite Paris

I love how these are so unique yet so archaic. The hues, the form, and that Byzantine-feel... *sigh* :)

Happiness Is...

... SO up to you. :)

(via ffffound)

Things These Two Get Up To

Challenge each other to bend their pointy the other way...

...Eek!

On My Lust List...

I have been salivating over Lulu's work for many, many months.

Being a Frida-fan aside, I love the colours, the overwhelming number of elements, and how Frida Kahlo looks like a Powerpuff Girl. Aren't these just the cutest pieces of art!?

Flaming Heart Angel

Frida Kahlo and Doll

Dia De Muertos Skull Flowers

I think I am going to give in right now. 'Coz there's a "Buy 2 Prints and Get 1 Free" offer at her Etsy shop, My Pink Turtle Studio.

Wedding Commission

The one on the left is for the day's church wedding, while the one on the right is for the evening's wedding banquet.

Both are still prototypes (pins and wires are brass), and I shall be working feverishly the next couple of days (wedding is early November!), deconstructing the prototypes, and reconstructing them in 14K gold filled wire and pins.

The day's "princess" piece is of freshwater pearls, apatite, and a super-gorgeous concave-cut blue topaz. Everything else is 24K gold plated 925 silver, and (soon-to-be) 14K goldfill.

The evening's "diva" number is of garnets, amethyst, black spinel, and succulent freshwater semi-baroque pearls. As above, everything else is 24K gold plated 825 silver, and (soon-to-be) 14K goldfill.

A matching bracelet for the day, and a matching bangle/cuff for the evening is in the making. So watch this space! ;)

Makes Me Smile

Saccharine-sweet, but so what. This gets me bopping every time. :)

John Hardy

This is John Hardy. Born 1949 in Canada, he was a jewelry art student, who made a trip to Bali in 1975, and never made it back home.

Hardy had discovered the traditional art of making silver jewelry, and decided to stay on in Ubud, a small village in Bali famed for its highly skilled artisans. Their knowledge and know-how is passed down from generation to generation, and Hardy was fascinated by the techniques and motifs. He was determined to learn extensively from the artisans and masters who for hundreds of years have served the royal courts of Bali.

John Hardy Silver and Gold Greco Drop Earrings

The metal-on-metal technique is called "dotting", sometimes known as "granulation", where itty-bitty bits of silver and/or gold is heat-mounted on a main body of silver, and then hammered, to form a pattern. Armed with this knowledge, and his own vision and creativity, Hardy started his line of jewelry from Ubud.

John Hardy Leather Naga Dragon Bracelet

John Hardy, the self-titled line of jewelry, is a brand synonymous with "sustainable luxury". It has always been Hardy's intent to give back to the people of Bali, both in financial terms, and through the preserving of the traditional art of Bali silver jewelry. Infused with this brand of history, conscientiousness and a brilliant modern interpretation of traditional Eastern elements, John Hardy jewelry is some of the most soulful pieces you will ever come across.

John Hardy Pave Diamond Twisted Cuff

In 1999, after forging very successful relationships with the top guns in American retail, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth avenue, Hardy handed the Head Designer torch to Guy Bedarida, who was then a senior designer at Van Cleef and Arpels. By 2002, John Hardy the label was working with precious gems as well.

John and Cynthia Hardy

John Hardy the man was veering his focus in another direction. He and his wife Cynthia, began looking into making the entire John Hardy establishment more green. Seasoned environmentalists that they were, they initiated the planting of bamboo on a small island off Bali called Nusa Penida, home also to the highly endangered Bali Starling. And leading by example, they commissioned a showroom, named Kapal Bambu, in Ubud, made entirely out of bamboo.

Kapal Bambu, the John Hardy showroom in Ubud made entirely of bamboo

Interior of Kapal Bambu

Why bamboo, you say? Because bamboo is fast-growing and robust, and has been proven to absorb 30% more carbon dioxide than hardwood trees, that also incidentally take ages to grow. As a tribute and a campaign, John Hardy launched its Nusa Penida Bamboo series, featuring gorgeous bangles and hoop earrings, with the characteristic texture of the bamboo plant. And with every piece of the Bamboo series bought, John Hardy plants a promised number of bamboo plants on Nusa Penida. This number is engraved in the jewelry piece.

From the John Hardy Nusa Penida Bamboo Collection. The cuff above also contains detailed depiction of Nusa Penida's endangered Bali Starlings.

In 2003, Damien Dernoncourt, a prominent French businessman based in Hong Kong, joined John Hardy as CEO. By 2007, Hardy and his wife sold their entire share of the conglomerate they had started almost 30 years ago, to Dernoncourt and Bedarida. Seeing that John hardy the jewelry line was in good hands, John and Cynthia Hardy decided to shift their focus.

construction of the Green School

So they went and built a bamboo international school, called Green School in Ubud, where the curriculum is an admirable blend of formal education and a green philosophy intended for the better of the future of Mother Earth; an entirely relevant and holistic approach to living better, more responsibly and more consciously, as part of our macrocosm.

John and Cynthia Hardy's Green School

“We are building the School to create a new paradigm for learning. We want to cultivate physical sensibilities so that children adapt and grow capable, as well as spiritual awareness and emotional intuition to encourage them to be in awe of life’s possibilities,” says Cynthia Hardy.

Bambu Indah

The latest project of the Hardy's is the bamboo hotel, Bambu Indah, which means "beautiful bamboo". The gorgeous property features individual rustic luxury bamboo huts dotting a rice field landscape, and a natural pool, which is basically a big hole in the ground lined with recyclable polyethlene. Its water is channeled from natural springs from the mountains, and "cleaned" with the bunging in of "smart" bacteria every now and then.

Bambu Indah's natural pool

one of the rooms at Bambu Indah

More than amazing, I find it absolutely admirable and so inspiring, what John and Cynthia Hardy have achieved in their lives. Arriving in Bali in 1975, as young hippie travelers, they have since carved out a super-successful business with something close to their hearts, and that's jewelry art.

Having gained success from that, they created more meaning in their lives and made serious efforts to give back and sustain those that have sustained them. Theirs is a life story of constant growth, of continued faith in ideals, a hippie fairytale that ends exactly how it began: In Bliss.

"And they lived happily ever after..."
The Hardy family in their home in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.

Things To Remember

This forwarded email is making its rounds, and I thought I'd just share it here 'coz its just so... well, worth sharing. :)

I AM THANKFUL:

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

Thanks Dawn!

(pics from realsimple)

Happy Diwali!

Acquisitions :)

I took a trip to the supplies shop a couple of days back, and this is part of the stash I spent a small fortune on. Right now, I'm planning for the Jan'10 collection for KL, and these colours seem super apt for the new year.


And yesterday, while I had some time out to myself, I went down to Borders, armed with my 20% off emailed voucher, and got me some new reads. A lovely colour reference, next month's Yoga Journal, next month's British VOGUE, and a coffee table book on Paul Cezanne. Gorgeous!

Separated At Birth

Kim Kardashian

Nicole Scherzinger

"Kimora Lee Simmons" Barbie

Thing To Do Today

"WORK"

By Ford Madox Brown.

Two Years Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the 2nd anniversary of MAYA & RUHI's Etsy shop. And I thought it'd be good fun to have a 15% off sale for a couple of weeks. :)

This Monday Morning...

... I am needing a dose of Ms Mary J Blige. Turn it up!



What a superb tune, and the perfect pick-me-up!

"...so I like what I see when I'm lookin' at me, when I'm walking past the mirror..." :D

The MAYA & RUHI Oct09 Collection - Tamara de Lempicka

This collection is inspired by the life and works of Tamara de Lempicka. The feel is slightly vintage, with a lot of pearls to reflect the 1930s' "flapper" era, when jazz was all the rage, and women had all but crawled out of their corsets, and were ready to stand for their rights. To vote, to wear trousers, to break from society's restrictive roles for women during that time.

* UPDATE 11 Oct* The entire collection can be seen at my Facebook group. Click here to see! :)

Wrapped Solitaires


From my moodboard...

Tamara de Lempicka was an aristocratic Polish exile of the Russian Revolution, who took the Paris art scene by storm with her inventiveness, ingenuity and kick-ass charm. A sought-after socialite, respected glamour icon, celebrated artist, and indomitable party animal.

Self-portrait, "Tamara in The Green Bugatti"

Maria

De Lempicka’s style has been described as “soft cubism”, and her iconic masterpieces are oftentimes used to represent the Art Deco era. It possesses the feminine sensibility of classic beauty, with a progressive edge that made her work immediately recognisable, and just so signature de Lempicka.

"Lady in Pink"

"Solitaire Noir" and "Solitaire Blanche"


Classical, yet modern. Crisp, yet muted. Heady, yet translucent. The MAYA & RUHI/OCT09 Collection features the Art Deco penchant for pearls, vintage motifs, structural lines with a sense of feminine allure. A celebration of the free spirit and downright fab-ness of Tamara de Lempicka.

"Kizette Sleeping"


"Kizette"

This is my first cohesive collection, and will be launched in KL on October 15th.

Good Luck, Maya!

Maya's final exams have started, and she has very wisely armed herself with a slew of lucky charms. That's on top of having worked very hard studying and revising the past few weeks. I am so proud of her! :)

All the best, sweetheart!

Makes Me Wonder

"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti."

- Sophia Loren

Erm... would that be magic spaghetti?