Dazzling daisies
A Malaysian carves her name internationally with her jewellery design awards.
MALAYSIAN jewellery designer Ivy Teong Yan Ni recently made a name for herself in Italy when she won not one, but three awards for her jewellery designs at the A’ Design Award held in Como, Italy, in June.
Teong, founder and chief designer of Juwelen Design based in Petaling Jaya, received the awards for her Blue Daisy jewellery design, under the A’ Jewelry, Eyewear and Watch Design Category.
The A’ Design Award, an international design award initiated in Italy, highlights participating designs and provides the winners with publicity and recognition.
The prestigious annual competition has honoured 2,437 winning designers from 106 countries in 98 different disciplines. Only 30% of the submissions were voted as winning designs by the juries. The highest award is Platinum followed by Gold, Silver, Bronze and
Iron.
Teong’s Blue Daisy Multifunctional Earrings won the Silver A’ Design Award, an award given to the top fifth percentile designs that delivered an exemplary level of perfection in design. Her other wins were Blue Daisy Multifunctional Ring (Bronze A’ Design Award) and Blue Daisy Multifunctional Pendant (Iron A’ Design Award).
“It’s beyond my wildest dreams that I won the three awards. I thought winning one award was already a blessing. It was the proudest moment for me to represent my country, my hometown, on a global stage to receive the award with hundreds of people witnessing, applauding and acknowledging my work. This global recognition means a lot to me, especially for a new start-up like mine,” says Teong, 40, who hails from Ipoh.
For her winning design, Teong says, “The blue daisies at a florist captivated me at first sight. It’s rare as you don’t get to see blue daisies often.”
The charming colours of blue and yellow were so mesmerising that she created the Blue Daisy, a versatile jewellery collection that can be worn in eight unique ways with interchangeable
functions.
Teong initially worked in the telco and banking industries before she fell in love with pearls.
In 2012, after learning pearl beading, she began creating her own pearl pieces as a hobby, selling them to her friends and at bazaars. She is also certified in pearl and jewellery design by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Bangkok, and has local certification in jewellery manufacturing arts.
Teong, who comes from a broken family with a below average income, doesn’t have a background in the jewellery business, but she believed in her passion and hard work.
In 2014, she quit her job and founded Juwelen Design the following year.
“This win has given me greater belief in my design capabilities and I am now a member of a global designer association. With this milestone, I dare to dream bigger, not only to contribute more to the design industry worldwide but also to create beautiful jewellery design pieces to be part of people’s daily life,” she says.
Teong encourages local designers to compete at the international level. She says, “It will open up your mind to a whole new experience and will eventually open doors for many business opportunities. Post-award is like just the beginning!”