Twilight stuff available online

Start:	Dec 1, '08 5:30p
End:	Dec 28, '08

Please watch out for new Twilight items to be uploaded on December 1, Monday. Only very limited pieces available, so be sure to check them out.

More cupcakes

All cupcakes for Ms. Joanna Gan-Garcia. More pics to be uploaded.

All 4 dozen are one of a kind, no two are alike!

SOLD, please don't ask if they're available.

Mini workshops!

It's the season for bazaars and holiday orders so I don't have time to teach my usual 10-hour extensive workshop. But a lot of you have been waiting for a new sked so I decided to prepare a new lesson plan for a shorter course.

Mini workshop: Miniature dessert charms for beginners (4 hours)

Learn to create yummy polymer clay dessert charms which can be used for jewelry or home accessories. Make basic cupcakes, lollipops, donuts, and a whole lot more. This workshop is all-inclusive and hands-on.

Small class size: only 4 slots available. Clay and meals are included.

2pm to 6pm
Nov 22, Saturday
Pasig

For reservations please use our reservation form.
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I'm just using my phone to browse right now, so replying to your inquiries is a bit complicated.

Updates, please read!

A few updates:

• On invitations to become a contact -  I can't open the invites page, it freezes my laptop everytime I do so.  I hope to solve this problem soon so I can start accepting invites again.  But please do note that I can only do so many clicks a day. I hope you understand.  Please be patient.  I have over 1,000 invites to accept (but I'm sure most of those have probably been revoked already), so please do hang in there. 
  
• On inquiries - I will get to your pm/email as soon as I can.  I was offline for too long, so things have piled up.  Askyummy's on leave.
  
• On gcash payments - Please do send me a confirmation through email if you've sent a payment through gcash, I can't trace your payments without your email.
• On "How the heck do I purchase a piece from you?" - I am out of anything for sale right now, terribly sorry.  I am just about to finish the Holiday Cupcake orders, and I hope to post new stuff within the week.  I make everything by hand, all by myself, so everything's one of a kind, or in limited editions - so it's hard to get hold of my stuff.
  

A simple request:

• Please, please don't just get photos without permission.  If you bought the item from me, and just needed the photo to blog about it, no prob at all.  But I've found a few others using photos of my products without my knowledge, and posting it in their own sites without crediting me.  Your interest in my work is very much appreciated, but I will appreciate it even more if you ask before you save photos from my site, or at least credit me.

          
Thank you!

Meet the Beadlady

Who: Angeli Verzosa Sobrepena

What: Chocoholic, insomniac, bookworm, hermit, Martha Stewart-wannabe (except for the jail stint ha!)

Age: 23

Occupation: Full-time crafter, Part-time freelance writer, Occasional stylist

Favorite material: Polymer Clay, Fabric

Blog: http://www.beadladyangeli.blogspot.com



"She Makes Clay Cool and Chic"

By Pam Pastor
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Last updated 17:35:00 04/29/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Twenty-three-year-old Angeli V. Sobrepena started like many young accessories designers—by stringing together beads bought from stores in Quiapo.

“I was making way more stuff than I could wear. Beading is addicting, so I found myself with too many necklaces, bracelets and, most especially, earrings! I loved making earrings! It’s ironic but my ears aren’t even pierced!”

But after a year, Sobrepena got bored. In the desire to be more creative, she started looking for unusual materials. She found a book that taught her how to make beads using polymer clay. Soon, she was hooked.

“I no longer had to content myself with the boring beads from the local bead shops. After years of research and trial and error, I now make my own beads.”

Polymer clay has given Angeli the creative freedom to make unique beads—including realistic-looking sweets.

“I can create beads inspired by anything under the sun! The material’s versatility has allowed me to create unusual pieces. And that uniqueness is what my brand is all about.”

The BS Development Communication graduate with a major in Development Journalism from UP Los Baños has been selling accessories under her brand Angeli’s Art Beads.

She painstakingly makes each bead by hand and so her customers can be sure that every piece they buy from Sobrepena is a masterpiece created by her.

“Our pieces are for the individual with discriminating taste, someone who has great attention to detail, someone who recognizes high-quality craftsmanship.”

Her all-time bestsellers are her cupcakes.

“People collect them. I can’t stop making them even if I wanted to. People request for them constantly and I don’t have the heart to turn down cupcake requests. Now, I have three different sizes—teeny tiny for kids, regular and giant. They’re so popular probably because my icing looks very realistic and very colorful, so they’re pleasing to the eye.”

She has her own appetite to thank for her creative ideas. “Most of the time, it is my being matakaw that gives me ideas. I love sweets, especially chocolate! Thus, my dessert collection,” says Sobrepena.

She recently launched two collections—Bitten (“It features realistic chocolate-covered truffles with bites”) and a still unnamed collection that features very intricate beads peppered with tiny flowers, vines and leaves.

Her Bitten collection was a big hit at a recent bazaar. “They thought I was giving out chocolate samples! I placed them on a cake stand, so they looked even more realistic. I’m a chocoholic—I need a dose of chocolate everyday! So Bitten is the answer to those days when you just can’t get your daily dose.”

Her customers also love her Poetry collection, which includes necklaces with chunky words written in script. Her Love Letter bracelets are also a big hit. “They have an envelope charm from which you can pull out a ‘secret’ message.”

Inspiring stories

More than the urge to be creative, the desire to help her parents is another strong factor for Sobrepena.

“I am inspired by rags-to-riches stories, like John Gokongwei’s. I’m not a rich kid, I have no capital, so stories like that make me believe I can do this. My parents serve as my motivation; I want this business to flourish so I can help with the expenses.”

There are countless young entrepreneurs on Multiply today, but Sobrepena knows she stands out.

“I don’t make what’s uso, instead I try to make something new, something surprising. I get bored easily, so I usually make one-of-a-kind pieces. My collections are one-time releases.”

“I always try to introduce something new to the market, something original. Once you post something on Multiply, the next thing you know, someone else is making a similar thing. So if you want to set your creations apart from everyone else’s, you constantly need to come up with something new. This way, by the time it gets cloned, you’re already on to a different design,” she adds.

Quality is something very important to Sobrepena. She doesn’t mind spending hours on a single creation.

“I also make sure that my pieces are sturdy, and will not crumble or break after some time. For every single cupcake I produce, there are probably two rejects which are actually okay-looking but are not to my standards. I see to it that all the details in my work are close to perfect. If you see my creations, you’ll notice how realistic they are. I’ve been doing this for five years now, so you can expect good quality.”