The Crumpled Paper and Hibiscus

Hello and Welcome!

I'm thrilled to connect with you through this first edition of our newsletter. My name is Rafika Weiss, and I'm the designer behind Rafika Weiss Jewellery, a collection of unique, handmade jewellery inspired by art, architecture, and the rich cultural heritage I carry.

"I'm Taking a Big Leap (and It Involves Crumpled Paper!)" - Part 1

So, I’ve got a little story for you, and I promise it’s worth the read. So, picture this: a few weeks ago, I was casually scrolling through my inbox, just doing the usual “delete-delete-block” routine when something caught my eye. The subject line read, "Apply to LOEWE FOUNDATION CRAFT PRIZE 2025 – 8th Edition."

Now, here’s the thing—I’m not one of those people who jumps at the chance to enter competitions. Those eager days of joining every art contest? Long gone! But for some reason, this email had me intrigued, and before I knew it, I was clicking away.

And then I saw it. €50,000 prize money. I mean, excusez moi?! That’s a life-changing amount! I immediately started dreaming—imagine the tools, the gems, the workshop upgrades! Not to mention, it could really help my mom back in Malaysia. She’s in her 80s and dealing with Parkinson’s, and that prize money could mean extra care, better support, and a whole lot of peace of mind for both of us. Okay, now I was seriously tempted.

But then, I noticed the tiny detail in the corner: deadline – November 30th, 2025, 11:59 PM. My jaw dropped. The competition started on July 1st, and I have just found out about this! Now less than 10 days to come up with a design, sketch, gather materials, create a prototype, polish the piece, fill out the form, take the photos and get it all submitted. 10 days?! Talk about pressure!

So, I plopped down on my favorite cushion, staring at my sketchpad, waiting for some miracle of inspiration. And after a lot of blank stares, two ideas finally popped into my head: a floral design (because who doesn’t love flowers?) or… crumpled paper. Wait, what?

Yes, crumpled paper! Every time I sketch, there’s always that one idea that doesn’t quite make the cut and ends up in the trash as a ball of crumpled genius. And then it hit me—those “almost” ideas, the ones that don’t get finished, are still a part of the journey. The crumpled paper could be a metaphor for creativity itself. I was sold, Oooookay!

So, the crumpled paper concept was officially born, and now I was racing against the clock to make it happen…

Stay tuned for Part 2 in my next newsletter, where I’ll spill all the details on how this wild idea turned out and, if I managed to pull it all together in time!

And hey, I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever had inspiration from something totally random? Or maybe you have your own funny stories from creative chaos? Hit reply and share—I can’t wait to read them!

Thanks for being here, and wish me luck on this wild journey!

With love and excitement,

Rafika Weiss

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Part 2

The ‘Crumpled Paper Saga’ - Part 2

Hello, lovely reader!

First of all, happy Wednesday and I wish you a well and fruitful day in everything that you are doing :)

So, last time, I told you about my *brilliant* idea to make a piece of jewellery inspired by… crumpled paper. Yes, you heard that right. Crumpled. Paper. Why go for delicate flowers or classic designs when you can have something that looks like yesterday’s grocery list after it’s been through the wash? Genius, right? Well, let me tell you how *that* turned out.

First, I chose a thin brass sheet as my “canvas.” Why brass, you ask? Is it because it’s strong, resilient, and symbolizes the spirit of the creative process? No. N to the O. No. It’s because brass is *cheap*. I mean, let’s be real - my budget is closer to “Ramen instant noodles” than “fine gold leaf.” 😂 So, brass it was. I spent hours folding and crumpling it, trying to make it look like a perfectly imperfect piece of wadded-up brilliance. And let me tell you, it’s a lot harder to make brass look like trash than you’d think. Some days, it looked more like a discarded snack wrapper than an artsy statement. 😅

After wrestling the brass into submission, I added some ruby accents, threading them around the “crumples” with gold-filled wire. Why rubies? Because they’re like little “sparks” of inspiration—hidden gems within all those discarded ideas. Plus, ain’t they pretty? ❤️ I thought it was coming together… until I realized I had no idea how to actually attach this crumpled masterpiece to a ring without torching the rubies in the process🤔

Cue the creative panic. As I sat there, staring at my pile of metal mayhem, I happened to look out the window and saw a bird flying by. *Aha!* Inspiration! A cage! If I built a little cage around the crumpled brass, I wouldn’t have to solder the rubies directly. Genius, right? Or so I thought…

I immediately sketched a cage design, cut up some silver wire, and even made a prototype with aluminium wire. But… let’s just say it was one of those “it seemed like a good idea at the time” moments. First, the crumpled brass was too big for the cage. Fine, let’s make the cage bigger! Oh wait… now the whole piece is too heavy, and if I resize the brass, I’ll lose half the crumples, which was the *whole point*, duhhh… 😢

I thought of every jewellery trick. Wet tissues, water baths, fire scale protection—you name it, I tried it. But each solution came with its own nightmare. Soldering might burn the rubies, water might rust the brass, and the fire scale residue would turn my “artistic crumple” into a “mysterious lump.” Clearly, crumpled paper and cages were not meant to be. *Sigh*

With just a few days left before the deadline, I had to admit defeat. But then I remembered my original idea: *flowers*. Specifically, the hibiscus. The beautiful, proud hibiscus - Malaysia’s national flower, and something that doesn’t involve wrestling with brass like it’s some kind of metal origami. So, I switched gears to a hibiscus ring. Why a ring? Because it’s less likely to end in disaster than a necklace, and I don’t have to worry about people poking themselves in the ear with it.

Will this Plan B work? Will I manage to create a hibiscus masterpiece in time? Find out in Part 3, where we’ll see if I actually pull this off or end up with yet another Plan C, or all the following alphabets. 😁

Till next time. 😘

Rafika 🌺

P.S. Ever had to scrap a last-minute idea? Tell me all about your own “Plan B” adventures—I promise I’ll laugh *with* you, not at you! 😉

P.S.S. In Part 1, the Deadline should be written on November 30th, 2024. Not ‘2025’ BTW. In that case, I will have a year of preparation. Sorry, my bad :P

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Part 3

The Crumpled Paper Chronicles: Part 3 – Chaos, Hibiscus, and a Midnight Meltdown

 Welcome back to The Crumpled Paper Chronicles, where my journey as an artist teeters between "passion project" and "fiery disaster waiting to happen." If you’ve been following along, you already know I’ve tried (and mostly failed) to turn crumpled brass, rubies, and wild ambition into wearable art. Spoiler alert: things didn’t improve. But hey, the heart of any good story is a comeback, right?

 There I was, drowning in a sea of mangled wires, beads that seemed to have an affinity for rolling off tables, and a workbench that looked like a crime scene. Inspiration? None. Sanity? Questionable. Then—cue the heavenly choir and dramatic slow-motion close-up—an idea! Hibiscus! The stunning national flower of my homeland, bold yet graceful, kind of like the artist I was desperately pretending to be.

 Why didn’t I think of this before? Oh, that’s right—I was busy crumpling brass and questioning all my life choices.

Plan B: Hibiscus (Bunga Raya) or Bust

Armed with a caffeine buzz and a Pinterest board of hibiscus photos, I dove headfirst into sketching. My notebook quickly morphed into a collection of doodles that could only be described as “botanical horror.” But hey, we all start somewhere. The goal was to design a ring that screamed, “Look at me!” without also screaming, “This will stab you.”

 I settled on a silver base with brass petals. Why brass? Because it’s cheap, forgiving, and—most importantly—it wouldn’t make me cry if I botched another project. Carefully, I cut out the petal shapes and added texture to mimic real hibiscus petals (except my version wouldn’t wilt in two days). With a dome block, I shaped each petal into soft, curvy perfection. Watching the petals come to life was magical—like the universe was finally giving me a break.

The Soldering Saga: A Comedy of Errors

 Then came the real challenge: soldering. If you’ve never soldered before, let me tell you, it’s like playing Jenga with a flamethrower. First, I needed to attach a thick wire to the petals to form the pistil. Then, I had to solder thin wires onto the pistil for the delicate filaments and styles. Easy, right? Ha! No.

 On my first attempt, the thin wires snapped under the heat. My second attempt? Same. My third? You guessed it. After what felt like hours of cutting, replacing, and muttering things I can’t print here, I decided to take a break on my trusty red sofa—aka my therapist. I need to Brainstorm using my Left-Brain which I am sure is full of Spider Webs because I rarely use my logical thinking when creating 😁

 That’s when it hit me: the problem wasn’t me (okay, maybe a little😋😅  ); it was the direct heat. These delicate wires weren’t built for the full wrath of my torch. I needed to be gentler. Enter: stainless steel tweezers. These magical tools could transfer heat indirectly, giving me a fighting chance.

 With my new approach, I carefully guided the flame, and lo and behold—success! The filaments and styles stood tall, a miniature miracle of metalwork. I felt like I’d just climbed Mount Everest. Of course, the pistil still needed to be soldered to the ring, but that was a problem for “Future Me” to solve.

Final Touches and the Midnight Meltdown

 With the structure complete, it was time to jazz things up. Using 0.15mm copper wire, I painstakingly wove Japanese silk-glass beads around the pistil. Yellow Czech crystals and deep red rubies added the final pop of colour. By the time the hibiscus ring was complete, it was nearly 11:30 PM. I had 30 minutes to photograph it, edit the photos, and submit my entry to the competition.

That’s when disaster struck. Again.

 As I positioned the ring for its glamour shots, the pistil broke. BROKE. The weight of the beads and rubies was too much for the fragile structure. My heart sank. With no time to re-solder, I grabbed the strongest glue I could find and whispered a desperate prayer to God. The glue held—barely. The pistil looked like it was holding on for dear life, but it was enough to snap a few photos.

 Then, just as I was about to upload the images, my laptop hit me with the ultimate betrayal: Forgot your password?

 Panic. Sheer, unfiltered panic. My fingers flew across the keyboard as the clock ticked closer to midnight. After what felt like an eternity, I finally remembered the password, hit “enter,” and… the clock struck twelve.

 Game over.

From Defeat to Determination

 I sat there in silence, staring at the screen. I had missed the deadline. The competition was over, and I’d lost. But as I looked at the finished ring—a stunning hibiscus bloom crafted from nothing but scraps and stubbornness—I realized something. This wasn’t about a competition.

 This was about grit. It was about pushing through every failure, every setback, every moment where giving up seemed like the easiest option.

 I didn’t win a prize that night, but I gained something far more valuable: the knowledge that I can keep going, even when everything falls apart.

To My Mother, My Muse

 To my mom, the woman who inspires me every day: I’m sorry I couldn’t win this one for you. But I promise, I’m just getting started. One day, I’ll create something so extraordinary that the world won’t be able to ignore it. And when that day comes, I’ll make you proud.

 Until then, I’ll keep crumpling brass, breaking pistils, and learning from every glorious mess. Because the real victory? It’s in never giving up.

 Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another hibiscus to create—and this time, it’s going to bloom without a midnight meltdown. 🌺

With Creative Mind and Love,

Rafika Weiss

p.s Have you ever tried to make something last-minute for a deadline, only to have the universe laugh at you? Come on, spill the tea, will ya? Share with me😎😊

p.s.s Until next spam email from me! *wink 😉