Ryan Seacrest Spotted

Passed by Times Square this afternoon and Ryan Seacrest happened to be there taping for E! News. I left after making a few funny faces to the camera. Here is a picture taken by J's phone.

My New Year's Resolutions

I received a holiday greeting email from my cousin in Shanghai this morning. Surprisingly the attachment was not a greeting card but a slide show of children in need from Africa.

These children have to walk miles just to get water. Many of them have to take care of themselves and their younger siblings because their parents died from diseases. They face starvation and death everyday. I have no idea what their world is like and I don’t even dare to imagine.

Many years ago, I stumped upon a photo of a vulture preying on a young emaciated Sudanese toddler at The Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. It was an overwhelming image that I was trying very hard to hold back my tears. It was the first time I heard of this famous, award winning and dead photographer, Kevin Carter. His life was very admirable and tragic itself.

For a long period of time, I tried not to read about all the wars and the bad things happening in this world because I feel powerless and guilty. I have finally realized ignoring them does not make me feel any better.

We have the luxury to create art, to imagine, to be materialistic, to be entrepreneurs. This kind of luxury is something we cannot take for granted. I think to celebrate our lives, to live it to the fullest and to be aware of all the people that need our help is what we can do.

My new year’s resolutions are to love myself, my friends and family better. As for the children in need, in honor of ippie design, we are donating to Oprah’s Angel Network starting from today.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays and thank you for your support!
We have many exciting ippie projects planned in 2007 and I will keep you posted!
Again, thank you for stopping by! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The ONE

My girlfriends told me when they met their soulmate for the first time, they just knew that he is the ONE. I guess I totally understand what they meant, because every now and then, I meet the ONE too! Here is my latest "ONE". An updated version is in store for Spring with colors such as green, white and pink. My favorite is the black and the white.

I love you

Christmas Gifts For Me

Got a call from UPS and found out that my Christmas gifts are arriving tomorrow from London! No suprises because I ordered them myself. I will probably open the package and stare at them for about 27.6 hours straight.

So I am in love with this clutch from a new British Designer Angel Jackson. I like them so much that I bought two in different colors. Check it out!



I am thinking about matching both clutches with these earring and different outfits:
Classy/Flashy Look


Contemporary Look


Bold Look

Ippie loves RENA

RENA loves ippie.

RENA is a VJ of MTV Japan (http://www.mtvjapan.com/tv/vj.html). She frequently appears in Japanese fashion magazines, ads and posters. In addition, she also hosts television programs and radio shows. Just how much do people love her in Japan? Checkout her blog which is visited by more than 30,000 people daily. (http://ameblo.jp/rena-selection/)

RENA is beautiful, focused, smart and successful. She is the type of woman ippie design celebrates: Independent, Classy and Fun-Loving!

And she loves wearing ippie jewelry, just another reason for us to go "RENA" crazy!

RENA is wearing ippie earrings at a shoot for MTV.


Close up, RENA is wearing the Gold CZ Hoop Earrings. (E03806)


RENA is the cover girl for the radio station.


RENA is wearing ippie earrings (E02506) at her radio show.


RENA is wearing ippie's Triple Wavy Hoops (E01306) for a shoot.


RENA is wearing ippie's Filigree Hoop with Mother of Pearl (E00606) for a TV shoot.


RENA is wearing ippie's Large Wavy Hoop with Round Filigree Earrings. (E01206)

Ippie Design was featured on the Thrifty Boutique Jewelry Blog

Ippie Design was featured on the Thrifty Boutique Jewelry blog (http://thriftyboutiquejewelry.blogspot.com) today! Thrify Boutique Jewelry blog is a popular e-zine and is a member of the well known TB media group. Click on the image below to see the reivew!

Thursday Night with Jon Stewart

The weather has been really warm in New York City! (Did you know that it was snowing in Seattle and Dallas? Strange weather huh?) Anyway, other than the usual Thursday nights, this week I went to see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The show is usually taped around 6pm and aired at 11pm EST on Comedy Central. I was excited to see Jon Stewart and his guest, Jack Black! Jon Stewart is amazing, during the entire taping, he did not make one mistake. I pretty much laughed and clapped through the whole show. Well the truth is, I was trying to laugh as loud as I can, so later I can say “hey that’s my voice on TV!”

After the show, I went to my favorite Thai restaurant called Won Dee, which I believe offers the best Thai food in the city. I had so much food that I needed to walk it off. On the way home, I passed by the Rockefeller center. The big Christmas tree is already up and lit! I just can’t believe another year has passed! Time flies!

When I got home, the Daily Show was on and I was very focused on the sounds that the audience made. It was too bad that I could not identify my voice on the show, but I still managed to fall asleep with a big smile. ;)

My Jewelry Making Process

Some people always ask me how I design jewelry. Since I never had any formal training, I just learn as I go.
I thought it would be interesting to show the process of how a pair of earrings are born at Ippie Design. (If you have any suggestions please feel free to leave comments or contact me!) Here is a snapshot:

First I have to get inspired! With the idea in mind, I start working on a design pattern. In this example, I wanted to create a contemporary pair of earrings that represents nature, wilderness and Africa without looking like the typical African tribal styles. So the first step I took was developing a zebra pattern.


After I decided on the pattern, I design the details of the earrings by sketching it out. (Below is the final sketch of the earrings) Other decisions that need to be made in creating the earrings are the materials (sterling silver & dark oak wood in this case), the size and the finish.


Next step is making the design mold! The pictures below show the casting molds. Casting molds are made from wax and then translated into molds below. You can see the back of the mold before insterting dark oak wood.



And at last...the zebra pattern earrings with inlayed dark oak wood are born!!

The Picasso & American Art Exhibition

It was a beautiful, sunny day here in New York City (though the unusual warm weather has been somewhat worrisome). I met up with my friend Cynthia (she is also a model for ippie Design, some of her photos will be on ippie.com shortly) to checkout the Picasso Exhibition at the Whitney Museum in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

I am not going to lie. I can rarely understand Picasso’s paintings. I always try to find the meanings behind a piece of art, but I always realize that art is something we can all enjoy and love visually without understanding the story behind it, if there are any stories

I am fascinated by Picasso’s Cubism work. The integration of multiple views and perspectives, geometric reconstruction of objects, merging of figures, backgrounds and time made his work so interesting to look at. It inspires my mind to wonder and to imagine all the different interpretations I get from his artwork, and that is what I enjoy the most. It feels like a puzzle and I’m trying to piece it together.

This Exhibition showcases not only Picasso’s work, but also many work from a diverse group of American artists who are directly influenced by Picasso. You can find paintings from artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock and explanations of how Picasso inspired them and their artwork. Overall, it is a very interesting exhibition; it ends on January 28, 2007. So check it out!

Jewelry & Style

Some people say you can tell a person’s personality by looking at their shoes. I say you can tell a person’s style by looking at the jewelry they wear. In the movie Devil Wears Prada, when the "zero fashion sense" Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) first showed up for her interview, she was wearing a Tiffany look alike necklace. Her whole look was very tasteless. Tiffany makes beautiful jewelry, but some people wear them because of its brand only. Luxury brands don’t equal to style; you ultimately create your style.

When designing jewelry, I focus not only on the style, but also on the quality. I think the quality of the jewelry is very important because it represents substance. A woman cannot just be beautiful to look at; she has to have substance in order to be happy and attract others. In my opinion, wearing good quality and stylish jewelry shows not only a person’s taste, but also her style in life!

Obviously, I am in love with jewelry. I love jewelry that are delicate yet bold yet with a sense of simplicity…that is the kind of passion I put behind my jewelry.

"Accessorizing is the new, modern way to dress."

I read an interesting article today by Allison Kaplan from the pioneer press about Accessories. Here is a snippet of the article:

Former Nordstrom fashion director Kevin Quinn spent the past year and a half organizing the wardrobes of Twin Cities residents. What he discovered: We don't need any more clothes.
What we do need is the know-how to put the pieces together in new and adventurous arrangements, he says. And accessories are one of the easiest and often most cost-effective ways to do that.
"This is America — we're going to keep buying," Quinn says. "Accessorizing is the new, modern way to dress."

I agree with what Kevin Quinn said. As I grow older, my own style is moving towards wearing simple clothing with dramatic accessories. Many women do not have the luxury of spending hours in front of the mirror everyday, with the right accessories, you can look fashionable without trying too hard, and most importantly it’s quick too!

Ippie Jewelry Featured on the Accessories Magazine

I am so excited to share with you that ippie's jewelry was featured on the Accessories Magazine's November 2006 issue! Accessories Magazine is an industry trade magazine that focuses on "retail readers who sell women's fashion accessories in any type of retail environment, including department stores, specialty stores, mass, junior, catalogue and Internet retailers". (www.accessoriesmagazine.com)

Ippie's "Single Filigree Hoop with White Mother of Pearl Earrings" (E00606) was featured on their Spring 2007 Fashion Preview section. In this section, experts showed how textured surfaces, exotic materials and delicate details add dimensions and unexpected combinations to spring's soft silhouettes.


Accessories Magazine, November 2006 Cover


Model demonstrates sophistication and style by mixing ippie's sterling silver filigree earrings(E00606) with long strands of colored pearl necklaces in the Spring 2007 Fashion Preview section.


Featured Earrings, Single Filigree Hoop with White Mother of Pearl. (E00606)

Halloween Party 2006

Ippie hosted a Halloween 2006 party on October 28th in New York City's Chelsea hotspot SOL. Many good friends and customers came dressed up for the party. We all had lots of fun, lots of laughs and DANCED ALL NIGHT LONG!! (I needed the exercise) The funniest costume by far was Lt. Dangle from Reno 911. See for yourself!

Ladies Who Launch LIVE Event

ippie jewelry was featured in the Ladies Who Launch’s LIVE event in New York City on Oct 19th 2006. Over 500 professional ladies and media such as the Oprah Magazine, Glamour Magazine, Elle, all attended this exciting event. The event started from 9 am and ended at 6pm. Event details included many successful women entrepreneurs sharing their struggles and their successes, which I personally found very inspirational. NY post reporter Paula Froelich, NBC Co-Anchor Perri Peltz all gave inspirational speeches giving us entrepreneurs hope. There was also a fashion show where ippie jewelry was featured on most of the models. I was so happy to see all of my jewelry being exhibited to everyone at the event. I got alot of positive reviews and feedback from everyone! I also donated 10% of my sales of the day to No Doubt, a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged students to graduate from high school.

I had the opportunity to get a few pictures with the models and here there are.


Model with teardrop filigree earrings (E00406) and a Sharon Gill top. (Sharon Gill Design, a contemporary line of Indian inspired women's clothing that makes a statement. Some of her designs have been worn by 'Laurie Berkner' on the Good Morning America Show.)


Model with large 18K goldplated filigree and wavy hoop earrings. (E01206)

Interview with glamhub.com

I love meeting creative, determined and entrepreneurial people. I encountered many of them in New York City. One of them is Denise Tong of glamhub.com. Glamhub.com is a new fashion information hub that focuses on providing fashion and beauty news in the New York area. It also contains interviews with local designers and I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Denise back in September.

To read the complete interview please click here.

It all started…

Although I have been working on my jewelry company since early 2005, my first line of sterling silver jewelry was officially launched in the August 2006 market week in New York, focusing on my first line called “The Shanghai Collection”.

My travels to China over the years inspired this collection. I was in Shanghai, where old meets new is evident throughout the city. Enormous skyscrapers standing behind ancient Chinese architectures, western influences mixing in with the 5000 year old culture, creating a sharp contrast that is both exciting and unique. Inspired by this observation, I designed the Shanghai collection by combining detailed traditional patterns and bold contemporary shapes. In order to further give the jewelry a subtle touch of modernity, I used high polish finish to add shine to each piece.


Traditional Chinese architectures with carved wood windows and doors - Shanghai 2005


Bold yet detailed, sterling silver & mother of pearl -The Shanghai Collection


A typical sight on the streets of Shanghai where old meets new


Filigree Necklace - The Shanghai Collection