There's Tea For Me And You, Then There's T43
By: Li Ying
You drink tea scalding hot, with sugar, and perhaps with a drop of milk… but do you think twice about that teabag that is left damp and limpid in that emptied teacup of yours? The trio behind the contemporary hand-fabricated accessories of t43 certainly do, and the inspirations they draw from such teabags have certainly surpassed all imagination.
T43 consists of Nana Akashi, Szufen Huang, and Serene Wong and their brand stands for passion, friendship, and the close-knit bond that is drawn even tighter with the reminiscing powers of, yes, tea.
Art, Tea, Scent (note the word play with its semblance to “artisan”) are three distinctive collections by three friends who hail from Central St. Martins.
The Art collection by Szufen Huang encompasses earrings and a brooch, a bangle, pendant and neck ruff.
The Art collection is inspired by the famous Chinese tea “Hua Kai Fu Gui” (“Fortune Blossoms”) and as such can be seen in the designs through the delicate silk organza texture that imitates the “blooming” of the tea flower once it touches water.
Hand-pleated designs from Huang’s Art collection are unique and all tailor-made to the every customer’s specifications.
The Tea Collection by Nana Akashi draws its inspiration from teabags.
Teabags are evidently central to Akashi’s collection: with flavours such as Lady Grey, Prince of Wales, Orange Pekoe and Darjeeling (we seem to have a positively English collection here, don’t you think?) silk-screened unto the pieces.
Cool tea-tags that could double as key-chains or even tags for that silver chain around your neck!
The Scent collection by Serene Wong is also handmade and has no two of the same design - you can personalise this with your favourite scent as the perfect gift for a friend or even yourself.
The essence of rosebuds and blossoming tea leaves can be found in two of the pendants in the Scent collection. Serene told us that her favourite tea, Peony Jade, was responsible for giving rise to this collection: “Scent was my interpretation of the tea theme where my designs acted as metaphors to illustrate Scent as a concept through sensual, organic and floral forms because that’s the feeling I get from inhaling the scent of tea leaves."
The Scent collection opts to capture the fluidity, delicacy, and sensuality of fragrance that tea emanates.
With the holiday season fast approaching, you are not short of gift ideas any longer: hop onto t43please.com for made-to-order pieces from their Art-Tea-Scent collection.
t43 is available at:
M Boutique
47A Haji Lane
Singapore
Sources: t43please.com, wottoncool.wordpress.com
