If you’re one to enjoy the slowness in life, woodworking is an activity that might interest you. The first thought that comes to mind when woodwork is mentioned is usually carpentry, but Studio MUYU offers not just any ordinary woodworking; their woodworking intricately creates unique wooden jewellery pieces.
To introduce this calming activity, Style Theory co-hosted a woodworking workshop, DONG with Studio MU YU. The DONG session is a 1-hour fuss-free workshop for the Women of Style Theory to create their own personalised wood jewellery.
Studio MU YU is an artisanal woodcraft brand with products such as slow-made wooden jewellery, bags, and other lifestyle products. Its brand name consists of two Chinese characters – 木语 — which translates to the language of wood, giving each piece of work a story to tell.
Lyn, the founder of Studio MU YU, started her craft in this as she believes that through intricate crafting, such slow-made pieces exude a timeless quality like no other.
In the session of creating their own personalised wooden jewellery, the Women of Style Theory were able put a pause to their busy lives and enjoy creating their wooden earrings.
Here’s what went down during the session:
1. Sanding the wood
Everyone was given a few different shapes of wood to work with. Upon choosing theirs, the first step was to sand down the wood. Like most processes of refinement, sanding the wood creates a smooth surface while removing rough edges and possible splinters to prevent cuts.
2. Creating the design
Once they achieved optimum smoothness, they customised and created unique coloured patterns for their earrings
- A wood-staining technique was applied in this step using wood colour paint. They went ahead to create colours and patterns on their woodwork.
- By using masking tape to cover up parts they didn’t want to stain, each participant’s wood jewellery pieces had a unique colour and stain to it.
- After creating the design, they were given other accessories like tassels. It creates more definition and uniqueness to their wooden earring pieces.
3. Finishing touches
To preserve the natural wood finish, they applied a layer of oil to protect and give shine to their wood pieces.
Lastly, with tools provided, they assembled their earrings together with a metal connector. Each of them had a chance to make two different earrings by the end of this session!
Pro-tips for maintaining your pieces:
- Rub a small amount of oil to maintain the shine of the wood.
- Opt for light and clear-coloured oil such as olive or lavender as coloured oil would stain the wood.
Sometimes it is good to take a step back in life and enjoy the slowness. While trying, you might even learn something new out of it! If you want to take a chance at creating your own wooden jewellery – check out Studio MU/YU’s workshop sessions!
If you’ve missed this chance at our Community event or want to read more about community sharing, follow us at @styletheorysg to learn more top tips from our workshops!
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