Choo Yilin Artisan Jewellery Inspirations

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shop update: song now available on cate.com.sg for ordering!

here's our versatile best seller, Song's pinched dress in 100% cotton. saved from being shapeless by its strategically placed tucks, wear it as-is as laidback loungewear, or cinch it at the waist with a classic belt and channel european chic. available in black and piquant green.

shop update: introducing song

so, we've been busy getting things set up for the launch of eco-chic label Song on cate.com.sg as well as for our upcoming tea party. here's a little introduction of what the label is about, plus a first look at a couple of pieces.  we'll be offering a 20% discount at launch right up to Earth Day on April 22.
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prices range from $59 for silk scarves to $229 for silk dresses. cotton/linen tops and jumpsuits start from $89 and $139 respectively. all quoted prices are before discounts have been applied.

shop update: See you at The Metz on March 27 for an early start to Earth Hour!

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Earth Hour comes on at 2030 hrs on Saturday, 27 March 2010 and we thought to start it early with a tea party. Join Cate and sustainable luxury jewellery designer Choo Yilin for a day of expressing your own love for the earth.

We will be giving 50 sgd cash vouchers for your five best pieces of unwanted office-wear in mint condition. These items will go to young ladies participating in a mentorship and career programme run by Beautiful People. Separately, Choo Yilin Artisan Jewellery will also be giving out 50 sgd cash vouchers for five pieces of sterling silver jewellery or 50 grams of sterling silver scrap. The designer will bring back the silver to the refinery in Bangkok and have it refined and reused for the label's silver work.

We're also unveiling a new ecologically and socially responsible label, Song. Discerning customers will love their design-driven and sustainable fashion pieces with friendly price points. And Choo Yilin launches the Bezel Series, a collection of stackable and layered coloured-gemstones pieces. It’s also an exciting swap from 50% to 99.9% reclaimed sterling silver.

Both collections are going for special prices on Saturday. In addition, there will be lots of other goodies as seen on our website. The details:

DATE: 27 Mar 10
TIME: 1100 – 1800 hrs
VENUE: The Metz
83 devonshire road
#05-01
singapore 239864
RSVP: 26 Mar 10 for catering purposes.

The Metz is accessible via Orchard Boulevard and River Valley Road, and is within walking distance of Somerset MRT Station.

For more information, please contact:
Cate – sharon@cate.com.sg or 9742 8178.
Choo Yilin Artisan Jewellery – info@chooyilin.com or 9451 1010/+66 849 026 409;


Looking forward to meeting you & your friends over tea!

the karen artisans at work

i won't be the least bit surprised if you've never given a moment's thought to what goes on behind-the-scenes in the production of your jewellery pieces. these days, jewellery is most often casted as opposed to being handmade. in this post though, you'll get to see the Karen artisans at work with their metal of choice - 99.9% silver, also known as fine silver:

fine silver has an extremely high silver percentage, though after working with it, there is a slight contamination with the elements which brings the actual silver content down to between 95-97%. In comparison to the international 92.5% sterling silver, fine silver is very much softer and more malleable, and also more tarnish-resistant. the nature of the artisans' handmade work is also such that no two pieces are completely alike.

 

doing this series on raising awareness for the hilltribe community's way of life though, has brought back a long ago memory of my maternal grandfather as a silversmith. on our once to twice-a-year school holiday visits back to the sleepy Malaysian township of Seremban, the curious child that i was would often stand at his side watching him work at his desk, firing up the blow torch, pumping with his feet, and heating and hammering away. then the hiss of cooling metal, and the process repeats. of course, i'd get bored and head off to play, and sometimes, if i was lucky, i'd come back to him again and get to see the finished product : )

shop update: choo yilin artisan jewellery launches the hilltribe dew drop series

                     
here at cate, we are kicking off a 6-week long hilltribe awareness campaign with our designer and friend, Yilin of Choo Yilin Artisan Jewellery. Yilin has been working closely with hilltribe artisans in Thailand for their beautifully textured silver pieces, which have been a great complement to her design philosophy of individual, handcrafted designs that are very much organic and asymmetrical in nature. with a wider social cause at the forefront of her mind, her commissioned pieces help to preserve the centuries-old cultural art-form of hilltribe silver craftsmanship, supporting the artisans' culture and economy.

                    
the hilltribes dew drop series features the hilltribe artisans’ textured silver work heavily, with Yilin's signature natural, almost-quirky embellishments. expect to see more sophisticated detailing in this collection – stronger textures and unique forms, with something for the ladies and gentlemen alike. her hilltribe pieces are available for sale on cate at 15% off for the duration of the hilltribe awareness campaign, till the end of March. also on sale, this gift set of 10 cleaning kits for S$60 (US$43), with 100% of the proceeds going to The Karen Hilltribes Trust.

                      
we'll be sharing more details on this charity, as well as 'postcards' of the hilltribe artisans as a working community in our next post. stay tuned!

organic clothing series: #1 myths and realities of organic cotton

the rise of stylish, eco-aware customers in Europe and the U.S. has seen the recent, respectable increase in the sale of organic clothing with a 50% growth since 2002. with organic cotton making up only 1% of global cotton production, it is a drop in the ocean in sustainability stakes.

yet, in our continuing quest to be better informed consumers, we nevertheless thought to share some benefits of organic cotton farming vis-à-vis conventional cotton farming: (1) similar yields and quantity, (2) protects farmers’ and their families' health through reduced dependence on pesticides, (3) empowers women as loans to purchase expensive chemicals and equipment (required for conventional cotton farming) are almost exclusively available only to men, and (4) improves farmers’ income and livelihood thereby breaking aid dependency and debt cycle. reason enough? full report and stats via ecochic magazine.

pretty play things

delight your little one with these hand screen printed organic cloth balls by dressmeup.