Granted it has been nearly a decade since I spent time in Bangkok and at Chatuchek Market; believe me, things do change! At that time, I was not that into making jewellery so was not paying attention to beads and the like. There was the odd stall that had a few ready made items, but nothing special that I particularly needed to look at. Now, oh my gosh!!! I’m not kidding when I say Hung Hom or Bangkok. There are so many stalls with strings and strings of beads, pearls, stones; they are hanging, on counter tops, in bags, in display cases…everywhere! And the ready made jewellery shops go on forever! I was not looking for beads on this trip so did nto spend any time really looking at much; however, I did wonder past a stall that had pearls in a case. I looked at a string that was probably 6-7mm and they had a price of 2500baht (about HK$590). I could tell by looking through the case that they were no where near the quality that we can get in Hong Kong for much, much less.
I did break down and get this piece as inspiration and did pay too much for it I might add. I wondered by a stall and was stopped in my tracks by this necklace and many others the woman had hanging on the walls. She hand made them all and was working on one when I stopped. This piece is made with wrapped wire to create this beautiful cascade effect. The wire is then wrapped with a very thin satin ribbon. Absolutely amazing. The other stalls were not very keen on picture taking so I had to study a few pieces quite well and then step around the corner to take notes. The ready made jewellery was very interesting and I have a few good ideas that I’ll be able to modify and use concepts from.
And while I’m on the subject of price, none of the vendors will bargain any more at Chatuchek. It was quite disappointing. I am quite a good bargainer and enjoy the game that is played when trying to purchase something. This time, the vendor stated the price, maybe knocked 50baht off and then if you wanted to bargain further, they said no and turned around!
What I was really looking for at Chatuchek was a Thai Spirit House…which I found! I am very pleased with this and as soon as I get a high wooden plant stand, it will reside in an honored place in the living room. The young woman at the shop where we found this was, surprisingly, willing to bargain and we finally got it for the price we wanted to pay. But she needed to make a call to Mom first to check it out. Instead of being the classic long and narrow spirit house, this one has four equal sides with four entrances which means I need four sets of temple dogs to guard each entrance!
As David and I were sitting at A’s in Chatuchek (a great watering hole that has been in the market for a very long time) having a fresh lime soda, he nudged me and pointed to a table of 4 women saying, “See those women over there?”. “Yes”, I replied. “Well, one of them is a client of mine from Hong Kong”. You know it’s a small world when you run into someone you know from home while on holiday.
I am still working with my stock of burnt jade and other stone pendants. The knot of choice for the past week has been the Phoenix Tail knot. I like the texture it creates. It can be a solid color for impact or two color which softens it a bit. Unfortunately I did not get the purple/lime green creation completed that I mentioned last week. It is taking shape, however, and should be featured here soon. Below are two examples of what I have knotted in the past week.
Here is a close-up of the Phoenix Tail knot…
I am happy to report that my photo quality will be getting better in the near future. David heard from a friend that you can purchase mini light boxes in Sham Shui Po for a few hundred HK$’s. It is his mission now to locate and buy me one of these light boxes. This will eliminate the need for a bright sunny day for me to take good photos.
In addition to knot tying, I will be starting private tuition in sewing towards the end of July. I can tailor make (no pun intended!) a program to suit your needs whether it be starting from threading the machine; wanting to know how to design, pattern and create home furnishings; or project work such as making a dress. If you have a sewing machine that is gathering dust, let’s put it to good use!
I’m away for my summer holiday on 4 July to New Zealand. While away, I intend on keeping up with my regular Monday posts; except for maybe 20 July as that will be a travel day for me. Nothing will be blooming in the garden for me to take a photo of but winter in NZ is great for sunrises. I’ll see what type of nature I can capture for my next couple posts.
A suggestion for the week…try something new. Is there something you’ve always wanted to try/do? Have a go! You might pleasantly surprise yourself by how talented you are!! All the best…
Inspired Phoenix 