This month, Nookmag directs the attention to start-ups. There are several different definitions of start-ups and for us, start-ups mean creativity, being fresh in the scene and possessing the urge to make an impact. In this story, we explore metalsmithing with Daryl Tan and Stella Lim of local accessory labels Stelliyah and Stale & Co.
Daryl Tan and Stella Lim – owners of Stelliyah and Stale & Co. – are addicted to manipulating metals to create timeless pieces for adornment. Metalsmiths – that’s what they are – are a rarity in an era dominated by commercialisation and machinery.
Stella’s interest in the craft sparked off when she was studying. She dabbled and took up classes to hone her skills. Setting up Stelliyah and diving into the world of jewellery-making full-time after graduation was a natural progression. Daryl soon caught the bug and joined Stella in this venture, which eventually gave birth to Stale & Co.
We recently got acquainted with the down-to-earth duo at their new studio located at Joo Chiat…
Nookmag (N): What is it about metal that fascinates you?
Stella (S): I started like how most people did – assembling things together, buying charms and beads off the rack and stuff like that. You name it, I’ve tried it. I really wanted to make something that is permanent – things that will last a lifetime or even longer than that. I have this fascination with ancient relics and jewellery.
I’ve always been a hands-on person. Before picking up metalsmith, the school gave me an option of using metal clay, which is being used by a lot of people now. I don’t know why but it didn’t entice me very much. I wanted to learn the traditional way of doing things which require hammering and stuff like that. It is very intriguing to know how you can manipulate metals. In the beginning, it seemed like an impossible task. It eventually became an addiction when I made my first ring. The possibilities are endless.
Daryl (D): It’s very interesting. She started metalsmith first and I learned from her. You may see metal as a very intimidating object – it’s hard and cold – and you wouldn’t think that you could do much with it. But after learning the skills, you’d realise that it’s actually a very flexible material. You can do so much with it. There’s something very spiritual about working with metal, the touch of it. At the end of the day, your finished product will contain the essence of your craft and touch to it.
S: People would finally understand where we’re coming from when they attend our workshops. It’s so addictive and it’s nothing like doing DIY craft at home. You have to try it to know.
N: What do you require for this craft?
D: What we do is traditional metalsmith, so our tools are actually very common hand tools. There are no complicated machines. Essentially, it all boils down to the most important tool which is our hands. We use our hands for everything.
N: Which particular metal do you feel most connected to?
S: It is really hard to say. To be honest, when I first started, I used brass because it’s cheap and it looks good. When I was learning, I didn’t have a lot of money to experiment on materials like silver or gold. Brass was the best alternative. I could screw up and it doesn’t really matter. We grew to love it because it’s so full of character. Brass tarnishes over time and this depends on the wearer. The tarnishes will never look the same for two different people. It’s also very versatile, sturdy and solid. It has a very nice touch to the whole antique look as well. Of course, we ventured into silver and gold for custom pieces.
D: Each metal has different qualities that we enjoy working with. Brass is versatile – it can tarnish and be renewed very easily. Silver is nice to work with – it comes out very different and there are a lot of things you can do with it. Gold is a whole new level – its value is very high. It’s a very obedient metal and it’s very easy to work with. We can’t really pick one. In general, metals are what we love.
G: Deciding on which metal to work with depends on our designs too. We know which metal suits a particular design better. For example, stones generally have a certain value. Even though brass looks good, but brass is not a valuable metal. We don’t want to set a sapphire in brass as the sapphire is expensive but the brass is really cheap. We’ll advise people that stones would go better with silver – that’s the basic. Or if they like gold, we’ll try to work it with it.
N: Is this how you usually work or do you bend the rules sometimes?
S: We do.
D: It also depends on what the customers want. We can advise them based on aesthetics but sometimes, they want things their way. If what they want looks good, we don’t mind doing. There’s no fixed rule to follow.
S: We apply different techniques to different metals. If some work are more intricate and can only be achieved with silver, you cannot do it with brass.
N: Are you still experimenting as you go along?
S: I think this will go on for a lifetime.
D: It doesn’t stop. Even though these few metals have been around for a long time, there is still so much to learn about them. We constantly discover new things to do with them. Every day we experiment with different things, whether they work or not is a different story.
S: There are also happy accidents – when you’re doing one thing and something else happens that make the piece of jewellery looks good. I always feel that it’s important to experiment. We don’t typically endorse rigidly following our sketches. We don’t want to restrict ourselves to designs that we draw.
N: How do your creations express the stories that you want to tell?
D: There’s no particular story behind every piece. Every single piece as a whole tells our story. In general, it tells the story of our craft and our insistence in making everything with our hands. A lot of people tell us that we can send our work to factories for finishing as it’s so much faster. If you can make 500 pieces in one week, why spend time making five pieces? To them, time is money. For us, the five pieces would be of really good quality. Even though they have the same design, they are different in their own ways. Not all of the 500 mass produced ones will be good and everything is photocopy.
S: I like to refer to ethnic cultures for Stelliyah’s collections. I’m a fan of cultures and I like to read up about them. For the upcoming collection, I became very interested in the Tuareg culture from North Africa. They work a lot with silver. Basically, they are a nomadic tribe and they have the craziest skills.
D: Stelliyah is very ethnic-inspired, very tribal. It’s predominantly influenced by Stella. She can spend hours reading about different cultures, not just about jewellery but also about their lifestyle. Tuareg, for example, empowers women a lot and that’s a really nice thing for her to know.
Stale and Co, on the other hand, has very neat designs because I’m a sucker for clean lines. I like architecture and grid. So, two different people, two different styles.
N: Stelliyah’s pieces are created to build emotional resonance within each wearer. Do you have any idea how your customers connect with your work?
D: The accessories connect with them emotionally because of how they bought them which usually happens after a good thought. It’s not a piece of jewellery that they can buy from any departmental store. When they meet us to talk about the jewellery, they would realise how much effort has been spent making them. That’s when they connect with the piece and decide to buy. Customers have told us that the accessories that they bought from us are kept separated from the other stash of jewellery that they have because they value them so much.
S: I once read somewhere that mentioned that people’s favourite jewellery is usually something that they feel connected to, like a family heirloom or something that they had since they were young. It’s because they have a meaning, not because they are beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. When we design, we don’t ride on trends because they come and go. We want to make something that would make people feel a sense of nostalgia. Of course, that’s hard to create. The only way we can achieve that is if we make the jewellery by hand and we make sure that we do it the right way.
We enjoy talking to the customers because we get to explain the work process that the pieces went through. A lot of people enjoy that. They like the idea of knowing where the jewellery came from instead of buying from some shop.
N: Are there any crafters that you look up to?
S: We look up to the older generation who does things the old school way. We have met older jewellers who have shared knowledge with us. We won’t say that we’re the best because there’s always something to learn. Not all things can be learned overnight, it comes with years of experience.
D: We look up to the whole generation of craftsmen of the past. Unfortunately, a lot of them are either not around anymore or they don’t do it anymore. There are only a few left scattered around. We are fortunate to have met some of them. They shared everything with us without any reservations. They are enthusiastic about people learning their craft and we’re thankful that they have set this stage for us.
N: Any words for aspiring creatives who wish to make it on their own?
S: Don’t spend too much money. Craft is very expensive in terms of investing in materials and tools. One mistake that a lot of people make (I think I’m one of them as well) is spending money on everything and anything without thinking too much at the start because we’re excited and ambitious, only to realise that a lot of things go to waste. You have to be focused on what you want and start small.
D: It’s quite cliché but don’t give up. It’s fine working and juggling your craft at the same time. It’s tough but don’t stop. If you really love the craft, don’t stop. When you see that the business is bringing in enough money and everything is sustainable, you can switch to doing your craft full time. It doesn’t have to be immediate.
S: There are a lot of people saying that you have to do what you love. But in reality, you have to pay your bills and you have to eat too.
S: There were younger people who came to take up the craft and they sounded like they wanted to challenge us. We want to tell them to never ever feel like they’re the best. Even the masters out there, they still look up to someone. Only when you’re humble, you’ll learn. You stop learning if you think that you’re all great. People can be a bit complacent and that would affect your process of learning and developing. You’re thirst of knowledge would die off. If you think you’re not good enough, you’d want to keep going forward.
D: Whenever we meet the old masters, we never talk about anything that we know. What we know is only a fraction of what they know. Be humble. It’s a long journey.
N: Does it get tiring?
D: Yes, there are days when we get a lot of orders. We’ll work till 3am and we’ll be tired and hungry. But we’ll pick ourselves up and take a break.
S: We just need to rest. Thankfully, I haven’t gotten tired of the craft. There will be times where we’ll feel dry because we cannot create something new. When I first started, I was super addicted to the craft and I spent all my time doing and thinking about it. It was an obsession. When Daryl came on board, he taught me work-life balance, how to appreciate other things and have hobbies. We would take time out, unwind and not think about work. If you’re too intensely obsessed with it, it would be unhealthy to a point where you exhaust yourself and get tired of it.
D: Some days you need to switch off. You may love your job a lot but if you get too tired, you may end up hating it. For everything you do, you have to find your balance. We learn it along the way.
