Watch this space

Dear Chenna Collections' friend,

The new season designs by Chenna Collections this year were created with a holiday hangover and as such, you will notice that they are quite easy breezy designs. However, as soon as we snapped out of the holiday mode, we were overtaken by an unusual busy buzziness of planning what the Chenna Collections team would get up to in 2011 and the result was the birth of Chenna Collections Boutique!
Yes, you read that correctly.
We are partnering with designers from different parts of the globe to bring a suite of quality handcrafted fashion accessories together in one place at one time. Over the next couple of weeks, our boutique will be featuring our in-house designs as well as those of like-minded artisans to bring you whatever accessories you can even begin to dream of.
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Everyone loves sneak peaks, so we'll oblige and show you some new stuff featuring in Chenna Collections' new boutique. :)


So, keep watching this space...you will like what you will see. :)

Love,
Chenna Collections

Chenna Collection's New Buzzzz...zzzzz

Is it just here in Australia or is it also nearing the end of February at your end?! Well, March begins next week and the air in the Chenna Collections engine room is filled with the sound of buzzing busy minds, expectation and excitement for all this year has in store.
We began the new year with a lot of work on the Chenna Collections brand and have now launched our brand new logo and website! Here's a sneak peek of whats new on our website:



But wait, that's not all! We have also released a new Kids collection called Teshi kids collection. Teshi means cheerful and full of laughter, which is exactly what kids bring into our lives. This new collection is meant to bring a smile to your face.



After this new season's release, we have eaten, sat and slept beside the drawing board so new designs have continued to trickle in and are constantly being added to our website and store. Keep on coming back so those one of a kind pieces won't get snatched away forever! ;)

The Chenna Collections team think tank is brimming with a trailer load of ideas for this year, such as developing new products and making our products available in boutiques and stores, so do keep an eye out for Chenna Collections accessories in your favorite fashion stores. Of course, we will let you know where you can find us once we finalise all our arrangements.



How are you going with your new year's resolutions? It is not too late to add to the list, so here's an extra one:
Determine to separate yourself from the fashion crowd and make a personal statement with your accessories. Why buy accessories from the shelf when you can get them custom made for a similar price?

Contact us with your ideas at sales@chennacollections.com.au and you will be surprised at what you can achieve!

Here's to a Happy and Fulfilling new year from the Chenna Collections Team.
Check out our website to see our new logo and new look - www.chennacollections.com.au.

Those bits and pieces of advice from Mom

In my teenage years, I was not overly keen on advice from older people. I had the feeling that the adviser preferred me to take their advice rather than just take it into account when I made my decisions and this point of view fostered feelings of manipulation and restriction.
I also noted that people advised from their library of values, likes and dislikes, personality, etc, so I just dismissed most people because I felt they were biased.

As I've become older though, I have come to understand and appreciate a lot of things my parents used to tell me. I have recently become a parent and I now know that though parents can be biased in many ways, their advice comes from a heart that cares for their offspring's well being {in most cases}.

Being a bit headstrong in those younger years has meant that most of the advice I was given now remain scattered in weird bits around my mind. That said, I seem to have gained the ability to piece like ones together and use them if need be.
Some things that were drummed into my little head include advice like:

• Don't receive gifts from people because gifts come with strings attached.
  
• Don't visit men for any reason.
  
• Don't hang out with friends that love to miss classes.
• Don't take anything that doesn't belong to you without permission.
  
• Say thank you when people do stuff for you.
• Save sex for marriage.
• and lots and lots and lots of other bits and pieces

There's one that has been impressed upon my mind though because its directly related to the kind of person I am. I'm usually an impulsive person while my husband is a more deliberate person, so while it takes me approximately 1-5 seconds to make some key life decisions, it would take my husband a couple of days. However, no matter how frustrating our personality differences may be, it can't be compared with the frustration of having to live with my mom for my first 23 years. I love my Mom but the sole reason for my high frustration levels in my younger years was that my mom took a couple of weeks to make 'favorable' decisions on issues that I needed an answer on within the next couple of minutes (or at most 2 to 3 hours).
How long can it possibly take to decide if you're going to let me go for that party or not? Oh and about that dress I can't wait to have, do you really need to take a couple of weeks to decide if I need it or not, AND then wait for it to go on sale because its a bit on the high side?
I used to stamp my feet quite a lot in frustration and anger but tantrums did not move my mom.

It was all for my own good though and this is why the bit of advice from my mom that has remained impressed in my mind is - "Shops will never run out of good things. If you wait, you will probably get it for a bargain."And how true that is!

Have you ever gone shopping and spied out a shoe that you felt will be snatched away if you did not make the purchase immediately? Did the shop attendant remember to mention that this was the last one they had and that they wouldn't be ordering anymore in? How can you deal with that kind of pressure? If you're a quick decision maker like myself, you'd probably go ahead and buy it. If you're like my mom and husband, you'd wait and get it at half price or with 75% off the original price towards the end of the season. Then I'd hate you for a while because you'd rub it in.

Needless to say, I LOVE sales when I happen upon them. Don't we all? Sometimes its hard to wait for a sale when you've got your eye on something in particular, and it gets harder when you're not sure if it will still be on stock during the sales period. However, it is a good financial management principle to be a little bit more patient and to hunt for those sales and bargains. The satisfaction of a good bargain hunt lasts longer than the aftertaste of an expensive indulgence that ends up being quite needless.

While we're on that note, don't forget to take advantage of our End of Financial Year Sales which have slashed 20% off all our marked prices. To add more spice we also have a Special Offer ->For purchases of $100 and above, you receive a complimentary coupon which gives you 50% off any other item of your choice! How good is that? Even your mom won't complain!

Direct store link: Store
For those my savvy on Etsy: Chenna Collection's Etsy Shop
Website: www.chennacollections.com.au

Woot Woot

I've finally finished lining all my bags! I must say that attaching lining to 100% beaded bags can be very intricate. I'm happy that its all done now, so I can do other things like taking out my 'fake' dreadlocks in anticipation of doing a new hairstyle tomorrow! yay!
If you're wondering how the beaded bags are made, I stitch the beads together one by one (yes, I touch every single bead that goes into a bag) to make the sides of the bag, then I stitch all the parts together, create some kind of clasp, then sew the lining and attach it to the bags by tacking.

Check out the finished products below.

Starlight beaded clutch



Silvia beaded clutch



Just puckered beaded clutch


Map of Oz beaded clutch


Natural beaded clutch

Adora beaded clutch

Signature handbagPeaced beaded clutch bag



All that Glitters beaded clutch

wHats YouR cOmFort zONe?

We've all got comfort zones in all areas of our lives. They show up in our careers and businesses, our family lives, relationships, and even hobbies.
For me, trying new recipes can be a wobbly step out of my comfort zone of boring and repetitive recipes.
In a work setting, taking up more responsibilities most often results in journeys into an uncomfortable zone. The good thing though is that we can be pleasantly surprised when we have ventured into this new zone. You know another thing? The new zone almost always becomes a comfort zone after a while! Isn't life ONE BIG CYCLE?

If you're adventurous, then you might even search out these disconcerting new stuff! Sometimes I'm adventurous and in my culinary life this usually results in frequent visits to video jug to learn and try out new recipes.
In my designing life, new can be exciting and new can also be daunting.
Recently when I bought my supplies, I ordered some acrylic beads for making bags. When my supplies where delivered, I found out that most of the beads were BIG! For someone who had mostly used 6mm beads, 12mm beads were daunting. The thing with trying to make bags with bigger beads is that it's a bit difficult to make some intricate and complex designs with big beads because they can be quite bulky and heavy, and you don't your clutch bag to be too heavy.

I did the natural thing that we do when confronted with something out of our comfort zones- procrastinate.
When I finally persuaded myself to work with the big beads, I was pleasantly surprised by one of their major attributes. Making bags with big beads is way faster than using smaller beads. If it will take me 2 days to finish a 6" wide x 4" deep clutch with 6mm beads, it'll take about 4 hours to finish the same size of clutch with the big beads.

In future, not only will I be working with big beads, but I'll be more open to incorporating new (and daunting) materials to my designs!

I hope you'll be more open to trying new and scary stuff at your workplace as well. Who knows, you might actually be enlarging your comfort zone. :)

Here are some of the clutches with the big beads.

Peaced beaded clutch
All that Glitters beaded clutch




And Adora beaded clutch

All that Glitters

With the completion of my bag designs for this season's release, all the late nights (i have been going to bed at 2am everyday) and loooooooooong days have suddenly come crashing down on me. Left with just a few finishing touches to make, I decided to postpone everything else (asides from blogging) to the remaining days of the week.

My lastest clutch bag is called All the Glitters because the beads that are used in making it glitter. Check it out below.





I also learnt how to make my own labels. When I finish lining the bags, I'll upload a pic showing the labels.
Till then, its off to bed to rest my aching back and drooping eyes!

Peaced

I am on a high because I have just finished the clutch bag I had been working on since yesterday. I was determined to complete this today and so despite the fact that my little 5 month old and normal household tasks demanded my attention, I managed to squeeze in a couple of minutes and hours here and there until this piece was finished. Wooooooooooooooooooo

I called it Peaced partly because I used some peace stones in the bag and also because the colours are quite tranquil.
I loved making it and the design sort of flowed as I worked. I love the feeling you get when you've created something new that you're happy with.
check it out below








I can't wait to start working on my next piece sometime tomorrow.
I wish everyone a happy and safe Easter holiday!