Featured Seller: Minicyn

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MiniCyn

Story by MiniCyn

Published on Feb 01, 2012 in Shop

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Call me Cynthia or Loek Sia, whichever comes easily for you. My adult life has been filled with lots of adventure! I’ve lived in four countries and six cities to date. When it was time to decide what to do at university, I chose architecture but became distracted with with linguistics and art history. I actually ended up graduating as a silversmith, and it was my profession for a few years. Not long after that, I went on to study as a graphic designer and illustrator; I ended up making it work for the next 14 years. But here I am now, back to jewelry and loving every minute of it! To be honest, in between all that, I did enroll for a place in contemporary dance school, too. But I told myself, hey, you need to earn some money to pay off those student loans.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Listening to music plays a very big part in my daily life. It cures me of troubles and gets my spirit on the upside. Discovering new non-commercial musicians in my local city (wherever I may be) is always fun too. Melbourne was great city for that, I have to say. If I have some time left, I’ll squeeze in some reading (non-fiction) before bed. I enjoy getting physical by running or practicing Ashtanga yoga.

What would be the title of your memoir? Why?
I haven’t had time to think about writing my own memoir. Why? Because it’s not the end yet.

Where does your inspiration come from?
I don’t have a formula. Everything I do and the people I meet are more than enough to fill me with inspiration.

What does handmade mean to you?
Things that are made with love. When something isn’t, it has no soul. You can feel it.

Who has been most influential in your craft?
My mum. She’s beautiful and wonderful, and I have not met anyone like her to this day! I hope to be like her when I have children one day. She made and cooked everything for us from scratch; she also showed us that everything is possible without ever saying it. It’s magic!

If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be?
Picasso! He’s creatively playful and serious at the same time, which is a great combo.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Everything that my mum taught me to make, as well as her hand-drawn, hand-written recipe book. It’s so sophisticated, cute and funny… just like her!

How do you get out of your creative ruts?
I usually just turn to focusing on the technical side of jewelry making. It’s important to provide good quality handmade products. For the current handmade renaissance to last, it has to be sustainable not only for this generation, but to the next. Long live handmade!

Where would you like to be in ten years?
Doing what I’m doing now, but with a good, kind creative community beside me. I’d hopefully live in a warmer climate with the beach or forest nearby! Most importantly, I want to contribute what I’ve learned to the community (especially children).

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