As I was making a living out of FIMO in Honolulu, after about 8 years of selling nothing but FIMO jewelleries, I had to make my way back to my home country Malaysia and focus on the market in Malaysia specifically in the Kuala Lumpur.
I was doing very well in Kuala Lumpur for several years but when it was slowed down I managed to continue my studies and add a Diploma in Fashion Designs to my resume. Then I started to design dancing costumes, bags, casual island wears and a whole lot of other stuff for my Japanese customers. And for the past 5 years, my FIMO Jewelleries were not my main bread and butter anymore however my love and passion for FIMO Jewelleries never died out.
Recently Staedtler Malaysia appointed me to be their consultant on FIMO products as they have no expertise about FIMO polymer clay in Malaysia. I was so delighted and more than happy to be involved with such projects and I get to relight my dim light of love for FIMO again. And I met Mrs. Garlinde Karg, Marketing Manager/Professional Artists responsible FIMO development in Staedtler Germany.
This time I am more confident and learning more about polymer clay from books and internet. I bought so many books on Polymer clay to add skills to my basic knowledge. And as I was reading from page to page of all the books that I have, the two books that I enjoyed the most are Masters: Polymer Clay and 400 Polymer Clay Designs. In these two books, a few names of famous polymer artists always caught my eyes and they are Kathleen Dustin, Jeffrey Lloyd Dever, Elise Winters, Dan Cormier and Melanie West are my favourite among so many of them.
If I get to choose who I wanted to meet first among these polymer artists, it would be Kathleen Dustin. Her work is just so magnificent and beyond my imagination. I absolutely love all her unique purses, peeking face pebble beads and the best of all is her women of Harem Neckpiece.I want to be like her someday but if I get to ask God, I want to be as good as her today. She is definitely my benchmark now, just like Madden back when I first started making FIMO earrings in 1998.
I got so many questions to ask Dustin and I wish I could attend her workshop so that I could acquire first hand skills and techniques from her. It would make my day definitely, much better than buying a Rolex for me. Unfortunately she lives in Contoocook, New Hampshire, USA. And I need a world map to see where that is and I am living thousands of miles away from her polymer world. Ohhh! Darn it!
Since I cannot get close to the people I admire, colourful pictures are good enough to get me started and for inspirations. I love to make sketches of all the ideas I have in my mind. I travel around town quite a lot and the malls are my playground as shopping is my unspeakable addiction that I can’t afford. But I shop anyway! So I see a lot of things, colourful flowers, beautiful bags, trendy fashions and people.
All of these made me grow as a designer and open my mind to endless of things that I could never imagine. And they all end up in my sketch book turned inside out, dissected and transformed into new things.
I hope 2011 will be the beginning of all my dreams. And I hope people will love all my new creations and would be the things people dream about.
XOXO
Dwen Ujang
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