A fresh new look. :)

Hello my lovelies! If you're reading this, then you've probably already seen the new look of AiClay's website! Instead of a blogger layout, it's finally a real website where you can navigate around to buy directly from me, read the story of AiClay, register for workshop slots etc. Personally, I LOVE IT!

Apologies for not announcing the launch of the website over here earlier, hence giving some of you a scare when you went to www.aiclay.com as usual to read my posts. It was launched on 13th March last week.

I've been working on this for a few months together with my website designer, emailing back and forth about little details about how to improve the website and its aesthetics. Basically I just wanted a clean, simple layout with the main focus on my pictures, I think the final product is pretty much what I had in mind!

But I'm never going to neglect this blog, this is where AiClay started and I've always loved sharing my stories and experiences of being a miniature food business owner with the readers. Although I don't receive many comments, there are a few I always recognise. You know who you are! I'm always very touched when I see your names appearing in my email inbox as commenters, thank you for the continual support. :)

This is also why there is a tab on the website which links to this blog.

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On to one of my new works!

My inspiration comes from all the food I see, in real life bakery stores and online platforms. And sometimes, my customers are my best sources when they link me up with fabulous food places and makers. 

Today, let me introduce to you Maria Carrossel - Doces, a Portugal-based cake design brand. Their cakes are just the prettiest, sweetest designs around, and I wish I can fly down there for a bite!

My customer showed me a photo of their cakes, hoping to get it miniaturised. And after asking for permission from the talented sisters at Maria Carrossel, they were psyched to see their cake in tiny form. So here it is. 

On the left is a photo of the real cake, and on the right is the miniature cake (duh).

A sweet weekend. { chocolate-coated strawberries }

I'm so looking forward to this weekend! A rainbow nyonya kueh workshop tomorrow noon, bbq gathering at jy's place, and then sleepover with Taro until next week. Since we'll be in the east, I foresee many trips down to East Coast Park. ;)

Here are some miniature chocolate-coated strawberries to sweeten your weekend as well. I actually made them for Valentine's Day, but hey presto, it's March in a blink of an eye lol.

The March holidays are coming up! I have organised a whole week of holiday workshops, for the students and also the parents who are finally getting a break from fetching their kids to school. Please refer to http://www.aiclay.com/p/workshops.html for more details. Slots are already getting filled up, be quick!

P.S Thank you all of you for your comments on the previous entry, I read them all! :)

Heart-to-heart: On working from home.

It's been quite some time I wrote in here. 

There have been so many social networking platforms to write on (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) and it's just so much easier to post on the go with my phone that sadly, I've neglected my oldest networking site, here. By the way, I post DAILY on my Dayre (it's a new microblogging app, please go download and follow me there! I update constantly about what's going on in my life and AiClay work there) 

Currently, I'm waiting for my lunch to cook (a vegetable patty in the oven and eggs waiting to boil). So let me talk about something that I've been thinking about these few days. 

When I first quit my full time job (a 9-6 desk bound job) and started working on AiClay, I faced a constant turmoil of emotions. When I was working, I hated the daily shuttling from home to work, squeezing in the train filled with mobs of robotic and depressing faces, waking up to my annoying alarm and never having enough sleep. The list goes on. Constantly, I craved for the comfort of my warm bed, dreaming of snacking while watching telly dramas, or just being home. 

But this changed very quickly when I brought my office home. Or called my home, my office. Whichever way you want to see it. 

Admittedly, I had more than my fair share of slacking at home when I first quit my job. I didn't know how to schedule my work, or what I could work on if there were no commissions. I bathed in my newfound freedom to wake up anytime I wanted to, and to take breaks without seeking anybody's permission. There were even days I just slept till noon, went for mahjong dates, or lazed in bed playing Candy Crush (yup, that was the craze then) for hours. I probably squeezed in a bit of working in my tight schedule of being lazy. -dry laughter. 

You know how they say, too much of something is bad enough? (okay the Spice Girls said this) That was definitely true for me. I had too much freedom, and freedom means nothing when there was nothing to be free from. Taking breaks was meaningless because I wasn't working prior to that, going on holidays made me feel guilty, and weekends just meant that I was resting (again) with the rest of the working world. 

I felt a growing sense of unachievement (is there such a word?) as the days went by. 

Also, I was so occupied with having fun, that it bugged me when I couldn't find dates. I felt so trapped at home, ironic as home was where I so desperately hoped to be when I was working. 

I tried to fill up my schedule with meeting friends, anything that could allow me to leave home. But friends had colleagues to hang out with after work, or meetings to attend. My boyfriend suffered the brunt of my incessant need to leave the house. I was asking him out everyday, and unreasonably I was expecting him to accompany me constantly. Our relationship was strained as I grew clingy. 

And then, one day it hit me. Even though I was supposedly working from home, I hadn't actually been doing so. 90% of my time at home was NOT doing work, so how could I say I was working from home. 

The process of getting into a schedule, and gaining self-discipline is long and not easy. But 4 years into a home-based business, I can now say I REALLY spend at least 75% of my time at home working. Even if I'm shuttling between appointments (with friends or business), I'm replying emails and marketing on my social networks as well. There were a lot of factors that contributed to this as well. For example, I converted my room into a home studio where it's a lot more conducive to work from. My bed is now a makeshift one, so I no longer have the luxury to just laze on bed in between tasks. Or the fact that I've been blessed with having kind strangers and friends share their ideas and opportunities with me, and opening up my mind about the potential AiClay can blossom into. 

The most awesome change I see in myself, is that I no longer feel bored or unhappening even if I spend the entire week just working from home. How can I, when I'm busy working on exciting new projects for AiClay and discovering new potential challenges. Of course, I still love meeting my friends and family, and would fit in dates with them every once in a while. It's just healthy for my system. 

So that's my story. Sorry if I don't make sense some parts, or if this hasn't really been helpful for you. But if you work from home, please share your experience thus far with me. I'm always happy to hear your stories. :) 

Now let me go peel some eggs. :) 

Of young business owners.

So AiClay got another mention in the Straits Times Life today! As a business owner, I'm always grateful to have a (positive) mention in media, so thank you Cheryl for recommending me, and Bryna for the interview. :)

After reading through the article, I realize almost everyone cited the same reason for being an entrepreneur - which is to be empowered. It could be in big parts in your life, like deciding to take a one year break to look after your newly born, or even tiny aspects like choosing the colour of your work chair.

No matter how arduous the journey, it's totally worth it knowing that each and every decision is yours for the making. 

Let's work hard together, all business owners, young or old. :)

I love you, I really do. { cupcakes & biscuits }

I sent out an AiMail with the same title last night. (Yes! Subscribers check your mailbox! There's a secret Valentine coupon code in there too. :))

And I want to say it again to all of you blog readers. Because some of you, have been with me for a long long time. This blog was started since the day I decided to show my miniature works to the world, which was in 2009. That's around 4+ years! 

Sometimes I wish I had more comments on my blog entries, but then it dawned on me that I should treasure the few I receive from time to time. And that even for myself, a lot of times I just skip commenting on the blogs I read. So as long as I know that people are still reading AiClay, and coming back for more, then it's enough for me. :)

I made some miniature cupcakes that day, decorated with dreamy pastel sprinkles. (If you're on my Instagram, you would see the working process of how I made the sprinkles)

Here they are, in their naked cute butts lol, before they got frosted.

Then, I sculpted some animal biscuits and gingerbread cookies to complete the teatime set. 

Tadah. :) 

That snow globe is from New York, I really adore it! 

Happy Valentine's Day to you, whoever's reading. 

I'll love to know about your day, if you spent it with someone special or even just doing things you love doing. :) So just write in the comments if you would like to share it with me. 

One of my dreams.. { Sift desserts }

.. is to have my miniature food showcased in actual bakeries and patisseries, and even other F&B outlets next time as I definitely hope to venture beyond western desserts.

Currently, I'm in the talks with some cafes in Singapore to introduce AiClay's works to them, as unique branding points. Imagine having your staff wear pins with your signature cake, or having an entire collection of miniature fruit tart charms which your customers could purchase on top of buying the real fruit tart. That way, they'll get to eat and have their cake (or insert with food of choice) as well! 

So while doing some research, I came across the commission which I made for Sift Desserts in 2012. It was commissioned by the lady boss's friend as a gift for the owner of Sift, and I learnt and had so much fun making all the little cakes and tarts, all modelled after the real thing. As Sift was located in Hong Kong, I could only rely on photos which she had provided. 

And I realise I've never shown the photos to you guys, so here is the real thing VS the miniature dessert. :)

Right: The real desserts

Left: AiClay's miniature replicas

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P.S I'll definitely be heading to Sift Desserts if and whenever I go Hong Kong. The desserts are so delicious looking! 

All photos of the real desserts are property of Sift Desserts.

And here's the photo of the desserts on my hand, for size reference. They were all so tiny and delicate it broke my heart a little bit when I had to send them off in their customised brown box. 

Wish me loads of luck in this project with the cafes/bakeries, it's one very close to my heart (and stomach). :)

P.S If you're a F&B owner or know someone who owns one and am interested in collaborating with AiClay, please drop me a mail at buzz@aiclay.com! :)

Surprise craft party! { miniature minion }

Last year 27th Oct, a group of lovely ladies trooped to my home studio armed with bags of tidbits and  a bunch of pretty flowers. Together, we got down to work to decorate my home studio, all ready to welcome our secret VIP! 

Let's rewind to a few weeks before that day. Eileen contacted me to host a surprise craft hen party for her friend and bride-to-be. After some discussion, we settled on making miniature minions together and set aside a date where all of the bridesmaids could come join in the fun as well! 

Fresh flowers are really the prettiest decorations. (though not the cheapest unfortunately.)

The lady on the right was the happy bride-to-be! She revealed to me afterwards that she never expected that her bridesmaids would organise a crafting party for her, and definitely never dreamt that she'll be making miniature minions together

with her closest girl pals.

I managed to capture their serious side in making the little minions, but what you don't see here is how much fun and laughter was going around! Since all of them were close friends, it was a super lighthearted session with plenty of chitchat and mocking of each others' minions lol.

The girls put on a flowery headpiece and sash for the special bride before we got down to crafting, and she was really sporting to have worn the sash till the end of the craft party!

Wow that's a very well-buffed fingernail haha. One of the ladies' by the way, not mine. Of course I made use of the iMac again to project my demonstration of the minion-making process to the girls. The little fellows look huge on screen but nah, they're tiny heh.

Check out the platters of tidbits they brought over! I don't think my studio has ever smelt that delicious ever haha. Crafting and snacking really goes awesomely well together. Just make sure to use utensils to handle your food or wash your hands!

At the end of the craft party, there was an adorable family of little yellow fellows all handcrafted by the girls! Really awesome work, especially since it was the first time working with polymer clay for most of them.

Happy faces. And a very happy me behind the camera as well. :)

This is the second bridal party I've held so far, and I honestly feel it's one of the best hen party ideas for a craft-loving bride! Let me tell you why.

For the first bridal party I held earlier in the year, the bridesmaids didn't know each other beforehand, so while crafting, they got to chat and discuss the various ways they were going to torture the groom's brothers lol. Best part was, there was never any room for awkward silences as there was always something to do with their hands! Crafting is really an awesome ice breaker. They all left the craft party newly acquainted and chatting happily like old friends.

Also, they all left with a momento which they've hand sculpted from scratch. For the first bridal party, all of them even wore the pendants they made (they all made pendants with the theme 'rainbow', that's them in the photo above!) to the wedding! It's something to be cherished, and you'll always remember the banter and laughter shared when you see the craft piece. 

Pretty much beats just a regular dinner, or the common mass manicure session right? You can customise the craft item to be something which suits the wedding theme, or even something related to the bride's loves.

Looking forward to hosting more craft parties again, just send in your enquiries to buzz@aiclay.com and we can talk there! :)

I'll like to give away some cake. :) { rainbow cake bracelet }

A rainbow cake charm hanging off a dainty stainless steel bracelet.

I am giving away this on my Facebook page, please head there for details! You have till 23:59 31st December 2013 to enter the giveaway. :)

Only one to be won, do join in the fun! 

A tiny rainbow cake.

Many times I get inspired by the beautiful food photography I see in social media, but rarely do I actually get down to sculpting them. But just a few days ago I spotted Yina's (a lovely Singaporean blogger) photo of a rainbow cake.

It was just too gorgeous a photo and I was immediately drawn to all the colours on that delicious-looking cake. I then set about to miniaturise the cake, not entirely identical but largely inspired by it hmm. 

Also, I actually had the intention to make the plate as well together with drawing the snowman in 'chocolate sauce' but with another project awaiting, I guess this would have to do for now. 

Just 2 days till the last workshop for the year, and less than 10 days before I fly off to New York. Wow, everything seems to be happening in fast motion suddenly. 

Hope everyone's doing well, and basking in the joys of December!

Bittersweet. { miniature love letters. or egg rolls }

I've been working on this commission for a few days, and it comes with a bittersweet story which I've gotten permission to share, and will do so in the later part of the post. Especially love it when these commissions allow me to make miniature food which I haven't even thought to try making, and I must say I love the results. :)

There are at least 40 miniature love letters/egg rolls in the little glass bottle, and they are all individually hand sculpted and removable from the bottle. For those who haven't eaten these before, these Chinese love letters (or egg rolls) are a traditional crispy biscuit often eaten during Chinese New Year. 

So, a lady had commissioned me a few weeks to make a little bottle of egg rolls, and it was to be a gift to her late mom. Her mom had always enjoyed food miniatures, and decorated her office with them. 

In her daughter's words.. "Just to share, the reason why we picked love letters was because it was intended as a gift to commemorate my Mom's birthday next year. Even though she's gone. My Mom's birthday had always coincided with CNY, and next year it'll be no different, and since love letters are one of her favorite CNY snack...we thought it couldn't make a better choice than to gift her that..." 

Her daughter wishes to make this a yearly tradition, to add a food miniature to her mom's resting niche every year. I had sculpted these little egg rolls with this bittersweet backstory in mind. 

It's always a pleasure to hear from my customers about the stories behind their commissions.