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Fashion: interview

 

 

 

Daisy Wong's Luxurious Creations

80-something-year-old Daisy Wong constructs fine beadwork.

by Peggy Li

It's been 15 years since Daisy Wong first started putting beads together to create her jewelry masterpieces. It began as a way to pass the time, a hobby that she could display proudly, wearing her own work and giving them to her four daughters to enjoy. Little did she know that it would be the beginning of a new life with beads and a business for a lively 70-something who believed, "Everyone should have a hobby. It keeps you busy and happy." Her work ethic and creativity was evident since Daisy was a young girl. "As a child, I loved beads and I made my own dresses since I was 12 years old."

Daisy would wear her creations and gave them to her daughters, who loved the pieces. Her necklaces feature intricate bead work that features a woven style, and discovered that every time she would wear one, friends would tell her, "'You know, Daisy, it would be a dirty shame if you didn't do something with your necklaces.'" While too modest to ever think she would sell her pieces, Daisy's life changed that fateful day when she walked into Saks Fifth Avenue in San Francisco one day. "A woman at the jewelry counter, she made a motion for me to come closer to her. She said, 'What are you wearing? Your necklace?'" The jewelry buyer, very excited for Daisy's pieces, got her an appointment with the head buyer for the store. Daisy brought them everything she had, and when she asked them how many pieces they'd like, the response was, "All of them!"

Now 80-something, Daisy's work has been worn by such celebrities as Hillary Clinton and Natalie Cole and has been sold in stores around the world. An exhibit of her jewelry at an art gallery in Hong Kong even allowed Daisy to dust off some clothing designs she had made when she was a young woman dreaming of a fashion career. "I had six gowns and sold a lot of necklaces!" she remembered. "It gives me confidence that even the first lady has one of my necklaces. It encourages me to work harder and think harder and try to create even more variety."

Even with such successes, Daisy remains modest. "I wish someday I could take some lessons and I can do a better job." She strives to improve her techniques and designs gaining inspiration from various art periods.

Two years ago, Daisy experienced a dizzy spell, and moved from her home in San Francisco to the retirement community of Rossmoor in Walnut Creek. Still settling in to her new home, she has not had the chance to continue making many necklaces. She feels her memory isn't what it used to be, and she hopes to regain her energy, but her struggle with her health hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for beads and jewelry.

"I believe that life is not for sitting and doing nothing. [To] do this that you can enjoy and you can wear, and if people like it so much then they buy it from you! To me, making jewelry is a beautiful thing -- an art -- and also, it keeps you busy, you feel useful. Every time when I finished making a necklace, I would go to the mirror. I would look at myself and if it looks good, I have a big smile, and then I can go to sleep."

Daisy' describes her designs as, "Always busy. Some are very sweet and simple. When I design, I think of all the people who could wear it. I love colors!" Her inspirations for her eclectic pieces are her four daughters. "Each necklace I'm thinking of one of my daughters. They all love to wear my necklaces, so, I make them with my love and heart."

Although time has slowed down this "80-something," artist, Daisy is looking forward to the weekend, where she will attend a local gem show. "I could spend all day there!" she said excitedly. Her neighbors have to drive her, and they will have to take frequent breaks, but Daisy predicts, "We might not go home until the next day!"

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Daisy Wong
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P. Ka. Bu.
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