Inspiration

Cheerful little things

I remember seeing the little tree, sitting quietly on a simple wooden plate. Then I noticed these tiny, tiny leaves that had been painstakingly cut out by hand and glued on, one by one. It was a creation by Koey.

Koey is a talented zakka artist based in Hong Kong, and she makes the most cheerful little wool things. I contacted her for this small interview, and she took time to share a bit about her work and inspirations.

Independent Leafy Tree,001

“When I was smalI, I started to have an idea
that I could do what people could do.
With my enormous and uncontrollable curiosity,
I always explore new things to try and make.”

me

“To me, creative juices are indeed something extremely precious.
They may flow to me so suddenly that my hands sometimes
move too slowly to work them out. But they can dry up as well.

There are so many things which can stimulate my creativity, such as
listening an appealing music of any type, a good movie, reading
some lifestyle blogs, having some new materials and tools,
being sad or even simply staring at the air.”

a bag of

making goooooooo..

“There is a small group of people in this world who are
creating their own life with their own hands and creativity regardless of
money. Such life seems to be more enjoyable, unique and meaningful. After
that, I became more determined in creating cheerful things.”

unfinished works made in 2011

Don’t you wish you could visit the la Belle Epoque store in Hong Kong, and see her works in person? Until then, I think I’ll try to follow Koey’s tutorial for making wool mushroom pincushions…

*All photos by Koey

20 Comments

  • Reply
    Emmie Rae
    February 22, 2012 at 11:41 pm

    I love the way you have presented this interview! really inspiring and natural. oh and i adore the little pincushions! eee. xx

  • Reply
    Studio Meez
    February 23, 2012 at 1:05 am

    She is amazing and I love her work!

  • Reply
    Barbara
    February 23, 2012 at 4:32 am

    Thanks for sharing, such a great inspiration!

  • Reply
    Marlous
    February 23, 2012 at 4:38 am

    That looks so lovely. I always love pictures of tables full of materials.

  • Reply
    Pink Ronnie
    February 23, 2012 at 7:08 am

    That tree is amazing. I remember seeing those little mushrooms on Koey’s blog. So cute.
    Ronnie xo

  • Reply
    Galine
    February 23, 2012 at 8:19 am

    !!!! She must have the most dainty little hands…my thumbs would get in the way if ever I tried making something so small, haha!

    Amazing, though…all that effort really makes these pieces stand out! I really love the little bear in the last picture! 🙂

  • Reply
    Claudia
    February 23, 2012 at 9:28 am

    This tree is amazing!

  • Reply
    Etienne
    February 23, 2012 at 10:36 am

    I’m not a handmade lady. Shame on me! The tree is so cute! And the red mushroom! I would love to have the small bear here with me!

  • Reply
    Koey
    February 23, 2012 at 11:19 am

    Sewon, thank you! This is really sweet and makes my day.♥

  • Reply
    Veronica Fish
    February 23, 2012 at 3:35 pm

    I am dying of happiness

  • Reply
    emilie
    February 23, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    what a great fin, thanks for sharing ! it is so delicate and beautiful…

    by the way, good for you, keep practising yoga every morning 😉

  • Reply
    winnie
    February 23, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    I’m totally going to find out where the store is when I’m in Hong Kong. Her work is so magical.

  • Reply
    Cookie Cutter
    February 23, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    Such kawaii creations! I love the image with the tools of her trade. Nice!

  • Reply
    kelly zarb
    February 24, 2012 at 3:01 am

    What a beautiful post such an amazing artist. Its always lovely to see what inspires people to create and also what they create with those inspirations. Thanks for sharing Sewon as always.

  • Reply
    Jenny
    February 24, 2012 at 11:23 am

    Extremely wonderful introduction to such a creative person! I love her point about those who choose creative happy lives free from the thoughts of monetary value and how it seems like a more enjoyable life in & of itself. That hits home.

  • Reply
    Johanna Tagada
    February 24, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    So nice to read her words, that interview was a great idea Sewon!!!
    And lovely pictures :), like really often on her blog.

    Have a nice weekend!
    xxx

  • Reply
    Celsy
    February 24, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    This is so so inspiring and lovely sewon, thanks for introducing her work 🙂 it makes me want to do it too!

  • Reply
    alma
    March 1, 2012 at 4:06 pm

    they’re sooooo cute!!

  • Reply
    Rina
    March 3, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    I LOVE zakka!! This is such an inspiring interview. Koey’s shop must be like a little dreamland. I feel that I should get in touch with my creative side once again.

  • Reply
    Krys
    March 5, 2012 at 1:07 am

    That is so intense, I love handmade work and this is really no different. Thanks for sharing this lovely interview with Koey! xx

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