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Tuesday April 24, 2012

Get Your Bling On!

By RACHEL DESIREE FELIX

What first started out as a hobby making handcrafted jewellery for herself soon turned into a flourishing business for Tan Sze Yoong, local jewellery designer and Founder of Sze Accessories. Believe it or not, she left her full-time career at Estee Lauder as a beauty trainer to follow her passion in 2007 and hasn't looked back since.

Starting off into the business world by going online with szeaccessories.com, Sze Yoong made the decision last year in May, to take up a space and start retailing in a lifestyle store called Kaleidoscope. A haven for jewellery enthusiasts, it has handmade pieces as well as one-of-a-kind, classy accessories from around the world.

The 30-year-old, who was brought up in a close-knit family is also a new mother. At present, she has her hands full with her lovely baby girl, Sienna Ong.

"Running a successful business while balancing motherhood is certainly no joke," she shared. Sze Yoong welcomes us into her cosy family home and dishes out the details on her life-long passion and love for all things accessories!

What is your passion?

My passion is creating interesting jewellery pieces which I design and are hand made with love. I like to give them a twist of creativity so that they're up-to-date, stylish and rare. It's putting together colourful beads, findings and unique materials to create a masterpiece that's high-street, niche and luxuriously put together. When I'm in my workshop, I'm totally immersed in creating a world of possibilities!

When/How did it start?

My grandfather owned a tailoring shop tucked away in a small town in Perak. As a child, I would perch on my granddad's long measuring table and watch him measure layers of material to make the next suit. Born out of passion for shiny, glamorous accessories, instead of becoming a dress maker, I semi-followed in the footsteps of my grandpapa and got to start my own fashion jewellery line. Also, during my school days, I used to love dropping by my dad's advertising company and hung around watching the business. An area in the company that I was particularly drawn to was the creative department. I could sit there for hours watching them bring ideas to life. As I grew up, I realized that I too have a strong passion for creative arts. Combined with every woman's love for fashion, what started off as a hobby to design accessories for myself eventually came to life as SzeAccessories.com.

"My passion is creating interesting jewellery pieces which I design and are hand made with love."

The most enjoyable aspect?

Looking at colourful arrays of beads can be therapeutic! Coming up with designs in my mind and seeing them realised into a real piece makes it all so fulfilling. The best part is seeing someone wear an adornment that I've created-it makes me feel that my work is well done and worth every bit the effort.

A favourite moment?

Two favourite moments of mine includes being nominated as the top 10 Martell Rising Personality Award 2009 and the Marie Claire Women with Substance and Style Award 2010. Being recognised for a job well done is probably every person's favourable moment. We all like to know that our efforts are well accepted by the people around us, but better still, by the masses.

Passion is....

Putting your all into what you're working at! Giving it more than a 100% and pushing the limits to achieve the surmounting target that's far from reach but attainable with passion, determination and hard work.