One thing about living in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, is that there is always something going on every week! Be it a new cafe, a comedy show or weekend markets one doesn’t run out of things to do. I normally check out happenings in KL from Time Out KL which is a great guide.
Last week was the Markets at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya which had a vast range of goodies sold there such as homebaked cakes, clothes (even a clothes swap!) to kitschy cool gadgets. I picked up some temporary tattoos (reliving my childhood!), and some jewelry pieces which I wanted to revamp.
Some weeks ago I was at another market in Bangsar Shopping Centre, Bangsar and there was this stall selling handmade scarves made by Cambodian women. They were also selling these beautiful ‘handmade’ braided necklaces (strips of cloth from the scarves) with embellishments. Prices? Around RM450 (£90) and going as high as RM650 (£130) which was fine (although a little steep), noting how unique the necklaces were and that they were handmade.
However upon further inspection, I noticed that the embellishments/pendants attached to the braided necklaces were in fact, bits and pieces from cheap (mass produced) necklaces that are sold on eBay and some I have seen in Platinum Mall (wholesale mall) Bangkok last year. Fully handmade?! I was appalled. The prices of the pieces immediately turned me off. When I asked the lady manning the counter about the necklaces in general noting its uniqueness, she answered, “Oh, we give our in-house designer full freedom on what to design!” Maybe someone ought to tell the designer that ripping off other necklaces, attaching it on a braid made from strips of cloth and then branding it as “handmade” does not justify its ridiculous pricing!
To prove my point that it does not in actual fact cost a lot to “revamp” a necklace to become a statement necklace, I found the exact turquoise necklace (shown below) which was ripped off and put onto the braided necklace (which was then sold for RM450). The market at Jaya One was selling it for RM29. I even saw the same necklace in Platinum Mall (a wholesale mall) in Bangkok last November which was cheaper. Want to know the full cost of revamping this statement necklace below? Less than RM40! And this is with a chunky chain, not braiding from strips of cloth – which in my opinion is not at all that expensive if you choose cheaper cloth.
This DIY tutorial in making a statement necklace is easy and easily done with other necklaces as well:
- Necklace with a statement pendant (just visit your local markets!)
- Chain
- Pliers
- Jump rings
Step #1: Use your pliers to detach the statement pendant from its chain.
Step #2: Attach the statement pendant to your desired chain using jumprings. Make sure you hold the necklace up each time to check that both parts flow properly. TIP: Attach the necklaces in a curved manner and not in a straight line!
And voila! You’ve got yourself a statement necklace! Remember, don’t say “fully handmade” when it really wasn’t. Just say “revamp”.
Go on, go and enjoy your revamped DIY statement necklace! x
