pequitobun's blog

moving back to blogger…

pequitobun — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:24:36 +0000

pequitobun’s blog has moved back to blogger!

http://pequitobun.blogspot.com

Please do change your bookmarks and feeds to the new blog, and, if you care to know why i moved again…

a while back, etsy came up with a really nice tool for sellers called etsy mini, which you can embed in your website, blog, facebook or myspace pages to display your designs or etsy favourites. from the start, it didn’t work with wordpress, but i thought that that would get fixed shortly… well, it’s been at least 6 months (i think), and i don’t think it’s actually going to change, so i decided to move my blog back to blogger (if you remember, i moved here from there because this was prettier =), but with the new blogger beta, i managed to achieve the same look over there!)

so, YAY! ciaociao 2007, hello 2008!

xxx,

i love bunnies

pequitobun — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:33:32 +0000

bunnies bring us joy! (these are not my bunnies, came across the video on youtube and they are irresistible!!)

NYT tells me to blog

pequitobun — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 02:51:43 +0000

Today, the NYT told me that I should blog to grow my business. Other Etsy sellers tell me this all the time, but I’m so lazy!! I always start off being very enthusiastic about blogging, and then my enthusiasm tapers off when I realise how much work it is. But, it would be really nice to have a log of how pequitobun evolves, and hopefully get some feedback too from friends and customers too. Etsy apparently may develop some holistic tools for sellers (portfolio, blog, comments section, etc), but these ideas were raised more than a year ago, and I’m not sure when they’ll have time to get to it).

Hence, my New Years resolutions:

1) stop biting my nails

2) blog everyday if possible

3) it’s not New Years’ yet, i’m sure i’ll come up with more!

Ok, as always, I’m always eager to share my buys =). (uh oh, you’re going to see what a shopaholic I am!!) Here is what I bought today! (hmm maybe this is all a disguise to show off my exciting new purchase)
super duper cute tank from imyourpresent!

i love her profile, she says she loves “sewing and crafting, collecting porcelain figurines, petting kittens and dressing up like a present”. lol!

my boyfriend sent me this postsecret:

are you an asian girl with a white boyfriend?

(actually i think my boy is latino.

he’s not sure either)

erm, sorry sweetie, i think three asian girlfriends is a fetish. although i’m sure i’m the best one.

hahahahah

xx,

diligent blogger s.

p.s. I just realised that that top is in the same colours as a new pair of earrings I made for next season!

victorian rocker- girly always ($72)

new retailers, new buys, new designs, new sale and Happy New Year!

pequitobun — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:18:40 +0000

gosh has it been an EVER so long time since I blogged. i would so rather be figuring out a new design than to sit down and write for 15 minutes. i guess that is why some people who love to blog, blog (and do a damn good job of it!! i’m envious) and others do other things like make jewelry because honestly, I don’t enjoy blogging at all. although i do enjoy connecting with you sweet folks one-on-one, through emails or etsy convos, and I like updating my etsy shop appearance to tell you what’s going on, but I never think that I have enough news to fill a blog post! BUT, I think I’ve left this blog dormant for too long, and I don’t want wordpress to shut me down… and, hopefully, my life is not so uninteresting that I still cannot fill a blog post after 3 months. =)

so, what is new? let’s go in order. First, new boutique retailers for pequitobun! You can now shop pequitobun at Gateau Lingerie in Vancouver and Nova Juvel in Amsterdam. The shops are owned by very lovely ladies, and I am so delighted that they are stocking my designs. Abby at Gateau sent me a few pictures of their shop, they sell high end lingerie (and, how apt! all you need to feel dressed up is beautiful undergarments and some jewelry, yah? =)..) and I think that if I ever opened a pequitobun boutique it would resemble Gateau very much in feel- clean, neat, fresh and vintage! See for yourself:

So, if you live in Vancouver or Amsterdam, do drop by and take a look!

I also added a few online retailers, and you can now also shop pequitobun online at Modishoppe, HannahZakari, Stars and Infinite Darkness and CUT+PASTE. I also have a new Japanese web boutique retailer, her shop is still in the works… And, a Google search a while back turned up a Korean shop set up by a very nice customer of mine who bought a few items and is now selling them in her boutique (next to Anthropologie pieces! quite flattered but a little puzzled… don’t you love Google? heehee).

So, pq is expanding a little quickly, but I hope I’ll be able to supply everyone with the pieces they want.

Next, I of course have to share with you my Etsy BUYS!! I love shopping on Etsy, and I picked up a couple of really awesome things in the past few months. From most to least recent:

nana from sereneonion… SO ADORABLE!!

ultra rad vintage dress from ultraretro (i collect dresses more than wear them! lol):

super pretty scarf from begonia44

the warmest and most fabulous head accessory from gobbolino:

china from the genius who is trixiedelicious:

dreamy, awesome, rocking SHOES! from salvage life and ultraretro:

and, tons of vintage home furnishings like vases, carafes, mugs, glasses, etc etc!!

isn’t everything lovely? =) *beaming*

Next, tons and tons of new designs in the past few months, of course… here are some of my favourites (well, I can say with sincerity that 95% of my pieces are my favourites, but here is a sampling! I’ll place the emphasis on designs that are still available, do check out the shop for more designs):

painted flowers

sweetheart in goth

heaven is full of rosebuds

crown jewels- debutante

labour of love- warm in winter

red eyed and claws

victorian rocker haute- creme brulee

creme brulee

thinly veiled barbs

Also, for you sweet people who still read this blog after months of dormancy, a sneak preview of new designs to be added on January 1st:

Almost lastly, pequitobun’s end of year sale will start soon for mailing list members, and on Dec 27 EST for everyone else. Do check pequitobun‘s shop announcement on Dec 27 for details!

Lastly, thank you with all my heart to everyone for a wonderful, creative and fun year. I really appreciate how Etsy and handmade have been so embraced by the community, and I can’t thank my customers, fellow Etsy sellers and indie blogs like Modish enough for making this so enjoyable and rewarding.

Have a safe, happy and lovely holiday season, and a toast in advance to the new year! The love for designing goes on at pequitobun, so please do bookmark/RSS-feed and check in often. =)

Lots of love, hugs and kisses,

spread the indie love: handpicked handmade goodies complimentary with all purchases!

pequitobun — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 21:27:24 +0000

For a while, I was subscribing to The Sampler, and a few customers who bought from me during that period obtained little free sample gifts with their purchases. I really enjoyed being able to thank my customers in this way, and so I decided to continue this by buying little samples from other Etsy shops! Many of the incredible folks at Etsy responded with really great ideas for samples, and I ended up buying quite a bit of yummy samples from a couple of shops. I chose items that I thought fit with the feel of my shop, were small and light, and that I hoped would be useful to my customers. I wish that I had enough moolah to buy something from everyone, but unfortunately, I had to stop myself from going too crazy. So, if you are a customer, from now on, you will get a little gift with any purchase over $25! If you have a preference, please indicate it in messages to seller, and I will try my best to accommodate you, although I can’t promise that your first choice will be available (plus, I kept a few for myself =P). So, here are the current actual available samples, in no particular order other than category and date they arrived at my place =) :

Body butter from BathLife: bathlife.etsy.com

Body butter from Sugar Lips: sugarlips.etsy.com

Soy tea candle tealights from Dirty Bird Soaps: Dirtybirdsoaps.etsy.com

Handmade fridge magnets from Jess Mattingly: jessprkle.etsy.com

Printed notecards from Just Another Day: JustAnotherDay.etsy.com

Bath soaps from Lady of Luxury : LadyofLuxury.etsy.com

Bath soaps from shower treat soap showertreatsoap.etsy.com

Bath soaps from My Secret Garden (mysgarden): mysgarden.etsy.com

Bath soaps from A Breath of French Air: AbreathofFrenchAir.etsy.com

Hand and body lotion from Right as Rain Creations: RightAsRainCreations.etsy.com

Moisturising body lotion from Norma’s Bath and Body: Normasbathandbody.etsy.com

Aren’t they all gorgeous and amazing? I am constantly blown away by the amount of pride and love that Etsy sellers put into their shops, products and customer service, and am so proud to be part of this community!! I hope that my customers will love the little samples. Enjoy! =)

xo,
~pq

all set up

pequitobun — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:30:35 +0000

we’re finally all set up in our new place! i spent some time worrying about how my new workspace is going to look… in our old place, my supplies took over the entire living room, so much so that we could never have guests over. =( Anyways, now the only part of my apartment that will be messy is the caged- in section of our bedroom with my nice antique mahogany desk workspace! Why is it caged? We figured that it’ll maximise my time with pequito to have his home around my workspace! Sometimes I’m making stuff, and he’s licking my feet with bunny kisses asking for attention. He’s such a cutie!!

Anyways, lots of updates in my Etsy shop, so take a look! it takes more time than I currently have to add entries to my website, so I’ll be adding new stuff mainly to the Etsy shop for now. Some favourites:

winter dewdrops.foliage

pearly perch

speak love

princess grace- allure

princess grace- pale smoke

cotton candy

victoriana

winter dewdrops- branches

Also, time is quite overdue to pick the recipient of a free pair of my high-powered fashionista earrings, the free gift for August! For those who are not subscribed, I offer a free piece of jewelry to one person on my mailing list each month, so email me at pequitobun@gmail.com to join the list if you would like to find out about sales, updates etc, as well as have a chance to win free pequitobun jewelry. =) The item for that month is usually posted on the front page of my website.

This month, the winner is unbreak******@hotmail.com. I had my boyfriend say a number and that corresponded to the above email address when sorted alphabetically. (poor boy, he’s building me an IKEA stepstool and they mislabelled the screws, so he had to start all over!!!). Please contact me to arrange for shipping! Thank you for reading, guys! Have a great weekend! I’ll figure out soon which the free gift for September will be!

xo,
~pq

freeedom!!!

pequitobun — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 03:25:43 +0000

here i present, a completely random post:
(Disclaimer: I have been thinking of nothing but vertebrate genetic disorders for a week)

YAY!!! I just finished the draft for the book chapter I have been writing… I just sent it to my advisor, so, fingers crossed that it is up to par, but meanwhile, I’m definitely getting a glass of wine =). Wow, it feels good to feel this relieved!

The book is due out next Spring (I think), which, incidentally, is also when a jewelry design book that my designs will appear in is set to be published! It was a wonderful surprise to be contacted by the book’s designer, a super awesome and talented lady (with great taste …), to contribute my designs. She picked 16 pieces, and I think I finally sent her pictures of 13 or so to include. How funny, I’ll be published in my first medical textbook and jewelry design book at the same time! well, shan’t speak too soon. *knock on wood*.

in other news (hey, i’m stuck at home with a glass of muscato and my bunny and my boyfriend are ignoring me, and I’m too brain dead to hang out with people whom I expect myself to be entertaining around– long convoluted sentence but I’ve been writing non-stop of 7 days forgive me…ahahhahahaha *maniacal laughter* why do i think I will regret this entry??),

anyways, in other news, everyone is getting engaged/married/having babies. it’s crazy!! i think i’m just at that age. while me, i’m still in school. my little sis is working for a big investment bank and just got a promotion YAY!. at least she’s be able to buy my kids toys (i’ve been dropping hints to my boyfriend, believe me– makes everyone else uncomfortable i wonder why)…..ahahhaha *maniacal laughter*

ahhh life is nice. boston is hot. i don’t know how pequito deals with that much fur.

pics of his sexy pose and adorable furry big feet!!

my mailman hates me for buying so many supplies. he gave me a very upset look when i ran into him the other day, and he told me “i am alot of work”. my boyfriend says the same thing!!! now, i wait for him to leave and then creep downstairs to retrieve my mail. sometimes i pace in the corridor for quite a while waiting for him to be done with the mailboxes. it’s kind of awkward, really. but i love him, he brings me tons of goodies from around the world.

i got my driving license!!!!!! YAY!! yes, I am 25 but it’s a long story…. stolen car, living in two countries, makes getting a license an extremely boring and arduous task. or so i thought… had i known that they allow you to almost run over people during the test, i would have taken it earlier (no, i didn’t really, I just got caught between two open doors, not my fault!!)

friends visiting in august. bringing nice food from singapore. YAY!

new Japanese wholesaler. YAY and ~~~stress~~~

scholarship progress report ~~~don’t think about it~~~

how about that woman who ripped off her boyfriend’s testicles with her bare hands? a fellow half of a jew-sian couple (an asian girl who dates a jewish boy– now i’ve said too much) showed us this story. it happened in 2005 and i’m so amused that it still occasionally resurfaces as the top emailed story on BBCnews!! Like today!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4253849.stm

ok, i’ll publish this now, if i think of anything else appropriately random i’ll add to it. time to fill some orders…

xo,
~pq

what in the world is pequitobun up to?

pequitobun — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:03:00 +0000

probably no one cares, but the reason i’ve been so low key with (i.e. not making any) new designs is that

1) I’ve been writing a paper

2) I’ve been co-writing a book chapter

3) I’ve been packing stuff for my move.

Plus, (1) and (2) mean I’m mostly brain dead and visibly ill, whilst (3) means I really don’t want to wait till the last minute to pack my mountain of supplies.

My boyfriend promises to build me a stellar workspace in our new place, and I am bursting with ideas for new designs with my wonderful stash of gemstones and pretty vintage pins! If I survive all this writing, I promise lots of updates (time for the fall collection!) in about a month.

my precious *yes, say it in a gollum voice*: aquamarine, tourmaline, sapphire, garnet, copper rutilated quartz, more aquamarine (my fave!), blue topaz…

Stay well and hope you’re making the most of summer! =)
xo,
~pq

gemstones are not all born equal

pequitobun — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 19:22:23 +0000

I’ve been working with a variety of gemstones for a while now, and I have definitely discovered that I seem to prefer some stones over others, to the extent that it makes me wonder if this connection is somehow innate. For example, even though many people love lemon quartz and citrine, their colours and “feel” just don’t appeal to me all that much. This is despite the fact that those two are both stones that often come in large sizes with few inclusions (and are hence cheaper to obtain gem quality stones of; for example, to find a clear emerald or even tourmaline is much much more difficult than to find a clear citrine, hence, emeralds and tourmaline are much more expensive).

In contrast, I absolutely love aquamarine (make that the whole beryl family, which includes emeralds) and rubies (actually a red sapphire). Maybe it’s the inner snob in me, afterall, those emeralds and rubies are considered precious stones. Aquamarine is just such a pleasing stone, I get very happy and peaceful just from looking and holding one (or a strand). I still think that those “gem traits” descriptions of various stones are pretty shammy (i.e. different stones are said to promote different feelings of harmony, peace or happiness blah blah), but perhaps there really is a grain of truth to them!

In any case, I’ve been buying lots of aquamarines and rubies and making stuff with them.

my girl

nekkid ring- aquamarine

victorian rocker haute- queen mariana- very similar in style to my victorian rocker earrings, but made with all 14K/20 gold-filled findings, including chains, hoops, jumprings

queen mariana’s bedside table

Morganite is also in the beryl family, and I’m super pleased with this damselfly I made from 14K/20 gold-filled wire and gemstones!
for me- sweet damselfly

Finally, I just want to show you guys these cool earrings I made from salvaged links from a vintage bracelet and awesome flashy labradorite:

space age betty

Anyways, that is my mini gemstone class + self promotion post (hmm I guess they all are!). In other news, the winner of my love.sweet.eternal. necklace last month was Amanda at v******glitter@hotmail.com. Sign up for my mailing list to qualify for next month and subsequence contest/drawings if you haven’t already! =) Thank you everyone for being such good sports for last month’s contest!

*phew* Back to work! Happy weekend! =)

xo,
~pq

can’t….stop

pequitobun — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:49:52 +0000

i keep saying, no more making jewelry until I finish writing. but i have no self control!! here are some sparklies…rubies, labradorite, chains, vintage charms… =)

quiet flash

she salsas

for me- slip slidy she salsas

royal grapevine

in other news, i got some AMAZING gems today that i am so majorly pleased with!!! I love gemstones in unique colours, and today, i got some beautiful sea-green sapphires, peacock-blue apatite and a to-die-for strand of tourmalines in gorgeous transparent blues- from pale blue to green-blue to dark inky blues. ahhh… my heart melted when i held them!! =). so so happy.

i’m off to montreal to see manu chao!! when i come back, i’ll draw the winner of the love.sweet.eternal. necklace from my mailing list (you can still sign up for my mailing list to enter at my website!). have a great weekend!

and yes, i WILL WORK this weekend in the car. *determined*

xo,

~pq