Let's not hide this gem of a store.

Hello. :)

Today let me reveal a well-hidden treasure trove. Have you heard of BFF Zakka? It's a cosy, charming store tucked away in a corner of Katong, and it houses many unique treasures and works from local artists and crafters. Just head to their facebook page to see photos of their lovely store.

This 27th July, how would you like to make and decorate a miniature donut with me at BFF Zakka? While we're crafting away, we will also have refreshments and drinks to fight the urge to nibble on our miniature donuts. ;)

Please email to bffzakka@gmail.com or call 6348 9096 to register your slot/s!
Registration closes 12pm on Friday, 26th July so be quick!

P.S Did you know that two of BFF Zakka's partners are Jesseca Liu 刘子绚 and Ann Kok 郭舒贤? No promises that they'll be at the workshop but you never know! 

Kapoh-ed from Instagram.

To kapoh means to steal, according to the Coxford Singlish Dictionary. A little lesson in my country's unique language. ;)

So here we go, all kapok-ed from my Instagram of the week's happenings.
By the way, my instagram name is joceaiwei, go follow me if you'd like! :)

First, here we have one of the new locations for our craft parties - Sculpture Square! It's a lovely building nestled in artsy Bras Basah area. And yup, that's AiClay's poster on the beautiful red door.

Together with a few awesome ladies, the miniature burger craft party kicked off last Saturday. 

P.S I'll be having a smaller Home Studio Workshop version later today too, do check here to see how you could arrange for your own weekday workshops as well!

And on Tuesday, I attended my first ever wrap party. Now that sounds like I went to a gathering where we all rolled lettuce and meat in a tortilla, but nope. This wrap party was held by the amazeballs production team I got to work with a few months ago, and to celebrate the WRAPPING UP of the show 逐梦者. Kudos to all crew behind and in front of the screen. We got to watch a snippet of the show and it's such an interesting way to showcase the various unique lifestyles of our fellow Singaporeans.

My imagination sometimes go into overdrive and while sitting in the train/walking on the street/etc, I'll imagine what lifestyles the strangers have around me. The show 逐梦者 will help curb some of my curiousity lol. :)

The first episode will be shown on 22nd July, Monday, 9PM. I'll need to get back to you about which episode AiClay is on though.

P.S Thank you Qiao for attending the wrap party with me too! ♥

Adios for now, mi amigos. :)

Heart-to-heart: Green-eyed monster.

Hello there, it's Painfully-Honest-Me again. :)

Ever since I saw the wonderful outpouring of support for my previous heart-to-heart blog entry, I realise that hey, I have indeed more than the 5 readers I originally suspected haha. (no, but I'm serious.) There's so much of my life I want to share with you, it's way different from the lifestyle of the regular Singapore office-girl, along with the mental tribulations I go through. If you've ever been curious about what happens after one takes the advice of those popular Pinterest slogans like the one pictured below, then you'll be interested in my heart-to-heart entries.

Today, let's focus on one nagging horrible flaw I have, which I've never publicly admitted. 

-breathes deeply.

I find it difficult to be truly happy for others. 

There, I've said it. 

Okay wait, I AM truly happy when my friends get married and start families etc, and I honestly want my friends to be happy and would gladly do things to get them there. 

What I'm referring to are people in my trade. Which is the tiny circle of miniature food crafters. Not a lot of them in the world, as you can imagine. Definitely not as many as the circle of doctors, lawyers, or any other regular profession.

I'll let you in on a secret, I've been consciously steering clear of the other food miniaturists' blogs. Well I used to surf them back in the days I just started AiClay. But I noticed that this growing sense of bitterness would just swell in my heart, and I'll feel so discouraged that they've managed to perfect some food I couldn't, or they've achieved some success like have massive good sales or be invited to some overseas exhibition etc.

So I stopped going to these blogs, just so these terrible feelings would quit surfacing.

I've tried to be open and positive, and I'll head into someone's website consciously repeating to myself like a mantra, "Wow, that's amazing texture. Now I have to improve on my techniques to perfect my food miniatures. Ooh, her weekend sales rocketed? That's wonderful, hopefully I'll be able to achieve that too if I keep working hard at my craft."

Apparently you can't MAKE yourself feel positive, because I felt the same afterwards even with the consistent pep-talk. Just a tad more silly.

I have a suspicion that it's my insecurities acting up, and I am slightly better with handling other people's success now. I attribute that to AiClay having gained a small, okay tiny level of success too, which is why it's a lot easier for me to accept that others are successful too. But I wish it didn't have to be like this. I do want to be happy for others EVEN if my own sales was down or if I lost subscribers/readers.

Now every time the green-eyed monster rears its butt-ugly head, I'll bury those negative emotions and simply refocus on something else at hand. But who's to know if all that negativity would just snowball and unleash itself with a fury one day.

I'll like to know if you struggle with these emotions as well, and how do you deal with them?

If you're a food miniaturist as well, please don't think too badly of me and hopefully you'll consider it flattery that I'm so jealous of your successes haha.

Hello July. ♥

We have two craft workshops this sunny July! (The haze has almost totally subsided HOORAY.)

Hope to see you at at least one of them huh? :)

Don't forget that you can always come for my Home Studio Workshops if you can't make it for the public workshops! 

If you've been following me on instagram, you'll know that my Home Studio is going to be totally renovated, so that it's a nicer area for us to craft together in! Originally I had wanted to get a professional painting company to do the job, but unfortunately the person I liased with was rude and dismissive ( thumbs down for lousy customer service) and so I decided not to employ his services anymore.

Plus, it should be fun painting a room, right? Haha, let me know if you've painted your own walls before.

I'm going to update with photos of my Home Studio transformation once it's done. :)

We made miniature macarons together!

Yes we made a lot of them, on that cozy Saturday afternoon. :)

While all of them didn't know each other (except for a mother-daughter pair), they all hit it off pretty well and started chatting like old friends quickly into the workshop! So 4 hours breezed through with much laughter and chatter.

 And do you spot the biscuits on the tables, yep we even snacked during the little breaks. :)

Behold the mess we made haha. 

Crafting's not complete without a colourful mess of materials and tools.

A lovely mother and daughter pair, Saralyn (daughter) was also the customer who suggested that I made durians a while back and bought a basket of them from AiClay! :)

They're holding up the completed macaron bracelets in their boxes. As everyone got to choose their own preferred colours, this sweet pair made matching macaron bracelets!

P.S Saralyn/Katlyn, if you're reading this I apologise for the blurred image! :(

Now, will YOU be there to make macarons with me next time?

Go to http://www.aiclay.com/p/workshops.html for more information!

Iced Gem Biscuits & July Commissions!

Amazingly, the haze situation in Singapore seems to have improved sooner than expected! I still have a box of N95 masks which I preordered for my family but it seems like it might not come to use anymore, so hooray! 

-fingers crossed for clear skies.

The skies are still a dreary grey though, so allow me to brighten up your day with my newest work - Rainbow Iced Gem Biscuit on earrings!

They come in a splash of fun rainbow colours, all available for you to choose from! If you would like to have a different coloured biscuit on each earring, just let me know in the Note to Seller before you check out! ♥

(I also have a pastel edition to be introduced soon).

So these biscuits are a lot bigger than my previously sculpted iced gem biscuits.

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Do allow me to interrupt my flow of pictures with a short announcement, commissions for the upcoming July are open! Limited to the first 4 confirmed commissions, more information in the tabs above.

Sorry I stopped opening commissions for a while because I was concentrating on my workshops. That's the trouble with being a one-woman show, something is always being neglected argh!

Okay commercial break over. Back to pictures!

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Presenting to you, all 7 colours of the rainbow! Okay not exactly, I know white isn't on the rainbow. :/

If you're an AiMail subscriber, you can make use of your exclusive Free Worldwide Shipping code to purchase them! If you're not yet subscribed, quick do so before the next promotion swings by!

Food with faces. :)

So I just ended another super fun workshop at my home studio, and we were crafting and chatting at the same time as it was a one-to-one workshop. :) My student asked me if I had ever sculpted animals, and if I will. And it dawned on me that I have indeed made a few miniature animals, but in food form. 

I didn't get a chance to show her the animal-themed food miniatures, but decided it'll be nice to show them all in this entry! So just a little recap here, also for you Isabelle! :) 

I guess it's fun to make things with faces once in a while. ;)

Let me know if I've missed out any of my work, or if you have any more suggestions for animal-themed food! 

Reporting from hazy skies.

Hello Singaporeans and the rest of the world! 

It has been a trying week for us of here here on the island. For those who aren't in the know, Singapore's air quality has plummeted past record-breaking levels and it's affecting everyone here.

AiClay isn't spared as well, so the little gingies and I are here to bring you an important announcement! 

This Sunday's Donut Workshop at Sculpture Square has been postponed until the air quality improves significantly, hopefully by July. 

However, Home Studio Workshops (HSW) are STILL available, so you're definitely welcome to come craft and hide from the haze with me in my humble abode. (My home studio will be fully air-conditioned to keep out the nasty haze.)

For HSW, dates and workshop content can be adjusted according to your preference and our schedules, so there's more flexibility! Even the prices are flexible! Check out http://www.aiclay.com/p/workshops.html for more information.

Lastly, let's all take good care of ourselves and pray hard for clear skies soon. 

P.S This Sunday's Donut Pendant workshop will be held at my home studio instead, and fees are at $65/pax specially for this workshop. If you're keen just email me at buzz@aiclay.com before 5pm today!

The Pizza Project - Part Two

The Pizza Project is seeing some progress! First up, pepperoni pizza. 

The miniature pizza (and the tarts and donuts) is handsculpted by me with polymer clay, and it measures around 2.9cm in diameter.


P.S Yes pizza can live amongst sweet tarts and donuts, why not? Lol.

Shall we craft together in June?

If you can't make it for the public workshops below, Home Studio Workshops are now available! Just email me with your preferred dates and workshop content. 

For everyone who have been requesting for personal classes, I am now able to conduct classes for a group size of 1-4 participants. Please check http://www.aiclay.com/p/workshops.html for more information!

Please note that public workshop fees have increased due to longer crafting hours and a better location. They will be held at Sculpture Square, which is a lovely building which lovers of art should all visit! Bring-a-friend discount still applies, $5 off each for you and your friend/s. ♥

See you there! ♥

P.S If you're subscribed to AiMail, do check your inbox for something from me to you!