MORE STORE OPENING SPECIALS!!!

Hi Everyone! We are promoting our 100% uniquely handmade clay products over this period of two weeks! Hurry down to our store at http://thecreativeclayco.storenvy.com/
For now, we give you an offer which we JUST rolled out!
A picture tells a thousand words and so we'll let the pictures tell you!
Just email us your interest at tcclay@gmail.com

HURRY WHILE STOCKS LAST!

Have you visited our Store Yet?

Thecreativeclayco's online shop took the founder two years plus to envision. After spending seven years playing with air-dry clay and teaching it to children, young people and adults, we have decided to showcase it in an online store. http://thecreativeclayco.storenvy.com/

We want this to be part of our grander vision of providing opportunities to the less privileged - specifically people with disabilities. Managing double bottomline? Thriple bottomline? It's really challenging. When we mean challenging, we mean more than the usual challenges: Besides the 4Ps, we have the social mission - the HR policies, and the need to rise up to the marketplace competition - stiff competition in the face of rising inflation and weak growth, to do well AND to do good.

And we don't want people to buy from us out of sympathy; and I believe our PWD staff don't want that either. We want every customer to buy from us because there's a need to be filled, a demand to be met, and a product that can attract. In other words, we want people to appreciate the 100% hand-made products as a thing to be appreciated.

What's the road ahead? We don't know. But we will do our best to make it a good company that stands out from the crowd, not just in Singapore but also in Asia and the rest of the world.

We are focusing on Scalability, Sustainability and Sociability. We will also try to provide integration of the PWDs with the rest of the company staff and to make ourselves a truly barrier-free organisation.

In the recent Social Enterprise conference, these words, said by someone, still rings in my ears: What separates one human being to another is OPPORTUNITIES.

We want mre opportunities and we will work very hard to create opportunities for ourselves and for our less privileged staff.

Will you give us and yourself an opportunity to make their lives better?

Buy from us.

Make this Christmas a more meaningful one for yourself by patronising us, a social enterprise that provide opportunities for ourselves and the people with disabilities. We know that this term PWD is actually not very accurate.

It should PWO - People With Opportunities.

Have a joyful and meaningful Christmas.

Up Close and Personal - Joycelin

Joycelin joined Peak Paradigm and Thecreativeclayco as a clay craft apprentice. Her Cerebral Palsy caused her to be unable to walk. But boy, her hands can surely do clay handiwork!

She will be packing, later producing handicraft for sale. She is seen here receiving her first day gift - a set of clay tools. We appreciate her joyful and can-do spirit!

We asked Joycelin to tell us her story:

Joycelin Toh’s Story


Engaging with art and craft has been my burning passion since childhood, especially clay art. Clay art making and painting gives me great joy and contentment. I’ve made many pieces to give to friends and others during birthdays or other seasons. My friends love it and say it’s beautiful.

I have participated in art competitions and some of my art work has been displayed around Singapore. In one competition when I was with the Spastic Children’s Association School, we entered a team competition to decorate a big starfish and we won first Prize.


I went to two Special Schools – Asia Women’s Welfare Association School (AWWA) and Spastic’s Children Association School (SCAS). In my two special schools teachers taught me how to do art and craft and enjoy doing arts from then on I fell in love with art.

Besides art, I have also participated in other competitions like swimming and horse-riding. All these competitions helped me to gain more confidence, courage, joy and boldness in life.

I graduated from Spastic Children’s Association School in 2010 and joined Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) in July 2010 to take up the IT Apprenticeship Programme. Later on I went onto the Techwerkz Programme, learning data entry skills.


I joined Peak Paradigm in December 2012 through the help of my Job Placement Officers. I want to do my best and bless others in my clay art as I sell to them to our customers.

A Fresh Start to THECREATIVECLAYCO!

Today marks the start of our new social enterprise blog, THECREATIVECLAYCO.blogspot.com! We employ people with disabilities as clay craft artists, administrative and other positions with the aim of empowering them and giving them opportunities. All of us need opportunities and that's why we see fit to start a social enterprise.

We need your support! Our online retail store will be opened very soon and we hope that you will like our 100% handmade clay handicraft and buy them for use and enjoyment.

We will be making more announcements very soon.

Thank you!

www.jumpingclay.blogspot will be changed!

Hi everyone! www.jumpinclay.blogpot.com will be changed to www.thecreativeclayco.blogspot.com from 2/12/12!

We look forward to an new and exciting journey with the new social enterprise which we have recently started. We are a social enterprise who employs people with disabilities to give them gainful employment. That's our mission. And we need your support! Thanks!

Faceoff beween King of Pigs and Red Angry Bird

So you think you know a lot about Angry Birds? Here's some interesting facts, from
http://goo.gl/KyJ40


1.Angry Birds was made by a team of four people and took eight months to finish because it was such a low priority for the company.
2.The game cost less than £70,000 to make.
3.Angry Birds fans include public figures as diverse as David Cameron, Paul Gascoigne, Kylie Minogue, Conan O’Brien and Jon Hamm, Mad Men’s Don Draper.
4.It has sold more than seven million copies on Apple’s iPhone.
5.After the raving red hot game, the Angry Bird Space is launched as a paid version.
6.Rovio Mobile developed more than 50 games, with relatively little success, before finally striking gold with Angry Birds.
7.The Angry Birds beta for Android hit more than one million downloads in three weeks.
8.Twenty different Angry Birds toys will be released early in 2011.
9.Peter Vesterbacka, Rovio's official spokesman, has the job title 'Mighty Eagle’.
10.Speaking of unusual titles, one of Rovio's game testers was nicknamed the 'Rovio Killer' because he was so bad at their games.

It's one the games which i consider highly innovative!

What THECREATIVECLAYCO Stands For

We are so proud of our social enterprise. Thanks to the generosity of Angela Kong who collaborated with us to do this at an unbelievably record-breaking time! Pro Bono!

Our beneficiary are the special needs - We focus on the special
needs individual ('i') We assess their strengths and train them; we give them opportunities - then they give back to the organisation. ('O') When that happens, there'll be a smile on our faces!

And that's precisely what THECREATIVECLAYCO Stands for!

Meet our new staff!

Meet our staff! Joycelin (picture, right) joined THECREATIVECLAYCO. as a clay craft apprentice as she has a passion for clay craft.

Joycelin says: "Arts have been my burning passion since childhood and making clay art and painting them gives me great joy and contentment.

I Joined Society for the Physically Disabled in 2010 to take up the IT Apprenticeship Programme then later the Techwerkz Pro
gramme. I want to bless others in my clay arts and sell to them to our customers."

When you buy our handmade clay craft, please know that part of the proceeds go to the training and development of our special needs staff.

Say Hi to Joyceline when you see her :-)

We use many varieties of air-dry clay as we are constantly innovating :-)

Introducing THECREATIVECLAYCO!

Hi Everyone! We have recently registered a new company, a social enterprise, under this name THECREATIVECLAYCO. We have considered a long while to do this. Why? We figured: "Why just slog to meet the double-bottomline? Happiness is not just dependent on making money. Why not involve the less priviledged in our quest to return something back to society?"

Thus the birth of THECREATIVECLAYCO. We aim to benefit people with disabilities by employing them, training them to use air-dry clay to create beautiful art objects for sale. This will generate income for themselves. In this way, they have gainful employment, get training in lifeskills and in the process become self-confident.

This, we feel, is very much aligned to our government's aim of creating opportunities for the less priviledged in Singapore.We feel very much that this is not just a commercial strategy but deep down inside us, we want to do this. So we need your support as well. The special needs staff will learn workplace communication skills and other relevant skills which will enable and empower them to be effective contributors in the Singapore workforce.

On 2/12/2012, our blog will be changed to THECREATIVECLAY.BLOGSPOT.COM to reflect the change in our business identity.


Will we survive in this cut-throat industry? We think so! Firstly, we are versatile with many types of air-dry clay. We started out with the Korean brand but the price started to increase astronomically. At the same time, so many varieties of air-dry clay emerged in the market.

Secondly, we believe innovation is surpreme in the art and craft industry, just like in any area of business. The real innovation is not hiding behind patents and sueing people who infringe them. True innovation is in one's brains. I quote Dr Ting Choon Meng, HealthStats International CEO, who has 80 patents to his name. More importantly, he's a doctor with a heart - his inventions tackle the scourge of diabetes, one of the main killers here in sweet Singapore (no pun intended).

I quote him in today's Straits Times - Opinion Page, A37. He says: " In research institutes, the KPI tends to be filing patents. To them, IP equals patents and patents equals IP. This could not be further from the truth. Look at Coca-Cola. Its recipe, a trade secret, is kept inside the safe. Imagine if it filed a patent, the whole world would know what Coca-Cola is made of. You need an IP strategy, which means thinking of the business model, then working backwards to decide what to do - to file, not file, keep secret, brand, whatever.

The second thing about IP is that everybody thinks we file a patent, have the product we can sell, then protect it, enforce it and sue infringers. But that is a very low form of IP. The highest form is in the licensing of IP. That means i don't even need to make products; the IP is the product."

That's space-age thinking for all of us.

Thirdly, we will survive because we are not a big organisation. We are still a small fry who aims to do good. In our case - we help people with disabilities. It is not a business strategy per se. It's a human condition which we want to see met. Big businesses are only concerned about profits - however necesary they might be. Big people take a big hammer and hammer smaller people with a mallet. They also take time to change and adapt. Usually they do not have time to innovate, be creative, learn how to work and emphatise with the less fortunate. For organisations who do not speak the international language - which is still English, add in 5-10 more years for them to innovate.

Whatever, the case may be, we have moved on from using one type of clay to the dynamic use of many types of clay to suit different types of clay works. What's more important is that we want to help people with disabilities by giving them opportunities. That's why we need your support!

One More Thing: Please LIKE us on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/TheCreativeClayCo?ref=hl

Thank you and we look forward to an exciting start in our social enterprise, THECREATIVECLAYCO

Children's Art Camp!

These excited children were so happy to find out they were going to learn how to make a snowman wearing a scarf and the red angry bird! Their faces tell the story satisfaction and happiness :-)

The Creative Clay Challenge for Corporates

Being trained in Organisation Development and having a deep interest in management, i customise this programme for corporations from different industries. This is a recent one which as usual went successfully well. The participants had great fun and bonding as a result.

Starfish on a pebble

This is done for a very special occasion - the wedding of a friend. A memorable moment :-)

Magnetic Clay Stone!

The constant need to innovate is not only an economic need - in the world of art and craft, it is also a necessity. Which is why given a conducive environment with a reflective artist, innovations do take place.

This clay 'granite stone' is magnetic! The magnet is embedded in the clay. So, this artistic work is now a practical desk-top stationery! Check also at this URL for more innovative works: http://goo.gl/75cxE

Exhibition and Workshop

November 8, 2012. I was at the Pit Building. The F1 race was over but i was there to facilitate a workshop as a volunteer. This is the collaboration between me and another Social Enterprise, Social Change in Action. The audience? Young people. They enjoyed themselves! And so many wanted to buy the green pig but it was not for sale. Sorry :-)

Calm and Balance

Black and white is an extremely powerful combination. When these two colours are managed well in air dry clay form, the results are satisfying. Here, they look like granite stones.

Playing with AIR-DRY CLAY is GOOD for YOU!

When a child is given a piece of clay, he or she instinctively squashes, kneads, pokes and presses it. It is a wholesome and fun activity. Our air-dry clay is safe, non-flaking and non-toxic. Very simply, they dry by itself. It also leaves no mess (parents and teachers are happy with this!)

There are so many benefits of playing with clay:
1. It improves one’s gross and fine motor skills.
2. It helps one to be observant.
3. It improves one’s left and right brain functions.
4. It improves one’s self-esteem
5. In addition, shaping air-dry clay into shapes and figurines that one likes is
a fun, all-weather activity fit for all ages!!!

In a one-hour session, the child makes a few items which he or she will be able to bring home. All materials will be provided. It is enjoyable!
Contact us: peakpara@gmail.com or leonardkok@yahoo.com

Let the FUN begin!

Know Our Heritage Food Series 2 and 3

Hi everyone! Our Know the Heritage Food Series is officially over! The responses were good! If it interests you, we will put up 2 and 3. Let you guess!

Series 2: Which is the CLAY Belly Button Biscuit?
Series 3: Which is the CLAY Ang Ku Kueh?

Know Our Heritage Food Contest - Series 1

Besides using clay for facilitation, I have also started making handmade clay items for sale a few years ago. My latest concentrated efforts are focused on our "Heritage Food Series."

Under my company name, Peak Paradigm, I have also started organising a series of contests to promote our clay items for retail.

This is the first one in the series. Visit out FB page to join the contest:http://goo.gl/Es41w

Standard Contest rules can be found here: http://db.tt/QK1SdBmH

Kueh Tu Tu 嘟嘟糕

You could have either stumbled onto this page while blog-surfing or purchased our magnetic mooncake. In either case, THANK YOU!!!

This local snack not only has a long and rich heritage, it is on the "must-eat" list of everyone (well, almost) everyone staying in this region, especially Singapore. Mention Kueh tutu to any adult and you will see a pair of knowing eyes which reflect profuse agreement of its unforgettable taste. Ask anyone living in this region and they would probably point you to a nearby stall selling it.

Kueh tutu is made with roasted rice flour and steamed with a small square of pandan leaf as its base. It is usally done with a mould the shape of the tutu itself. The fillings are varied - ranging from peanuts and coconuts to - actually practically anything that you can imagine. However, more often than not, i see only coconut and peanuts as its fillings.

The very same mould used to make the real tutu are used to create, by hand, these delightful kueh tutu fridge magnets, and i personally hope you will not just use it as a fridge magnet but you will also inquire about the background of this timeless local delicacy!

If you want to learn how to make it, please refer to this blog. Bon appetit!
http://ellenaguan.blogspot.sg/2012/06/kueh-tutu-aka.html

See you at Cameron Tea Cafe!

Hello Air-Dry Clay enthusiasts living in Singapore - For 4 consecutive weekends starting tomorrow (220912) I will be setting up a clay booth at the Cameron Tea Café, Block 152, #01-217, Bishan Street 11 !!!

You can expect:
+FREE Bubble tea (if you sign up for 2 clay lessons)
+Clay Demo
+Clay Display

You can buy handmade Clay items at a discount too (offer period 2209 to 141012)

If you are interested in corporate training or team-bonding using clay as a facilitation tool, do come down and find out from us!

Drop By Tomorrow!
(11.30am to 8pm every weekend )

Mooncakes (月饼) for 中秋節

You could have either stumbled onto this page while blog-surfing or purchased our Magnetic mooncake. In either case, THANK YOU!!!

The Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival or in Chinese, 中秋節, falls on the 15th day of the Chinese eighth month. Mooncakes have played a central role in Mid-Autumn traditions. These traditional pastries are usually eaten with chinese tea during with friends and family members while appreciating the fullness of the moon. Lanterns are also carried by the old and young on this very important day of the Lunar calendar.

The practice of appreciating the moon dates back to 3000 years in Chinese history. But what about eating mooncakes? It began in the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty. At the end of Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) the oppressed Han wanted to overthrow the rule of the Mongols, so they planed a revolt in secret. To keep the uprising clandestine, the Han military commander asked his soldiers to spread the rumor that there would be a serious disease in winter and eating mooncakes was the only way to cure the disease, then he asked soldiers to write "uprising, at the night of Mid-Autumn Festival" on papers and put them into mooncakes, to be sold to common Han people. When the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival came a huge uprising broke out. From then on, people eat mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival to commemorate the uprising.

Mooncakes are a major part in the Singapore culture. Many Chinese people buy them to eat or as gifts. Due to the creativity of the makers, the mooncakes of today come in more shapes and flavours.

Png Kueh (饭粿)

You could have either stumbled onto this page while blog-surfing or purchased our Magnetic rice cake or png kueh. In either case, THANK YOU!!!

We love our local heritage and we would like to share more about this local snack with you.

This snack (picture, left) is popularly known as Png Kueh, 饭粿
The typical filling in this local heartland delicacy is glutinous rice with mushrooms and dried shrimps.

The Teochews also called these dumplings Poong Tor which literally means "rice peaches". In Mandarin, they are known as 桃粿 which means "peach dumplings". The peach is regarded in Chinese folklore as a symbol of longevity.
Dumplings like the Png Kueh that is made in the shape of peaches are as offerings to dieties during religious festivals. Both of these items have the familiar pink hue to make them look more like peaches.

There are two common colours to the png kueh but not many know the reason behind it. The red ones are used as an offering to the gods who dwell in heaven, while the white ones are used as an offering to the ancestors who dwell in hell.

Whatever the case may be, this handmade png kueh can be used as a fridge magnet or a paper-clip organiser, or both. It looks pretty on your table and also contains a big filling of the heritage of Singapore as well!

Happy Holidays for the Muslims: Ketupat Decor

Singapore is a multi-racial society and we do celebrate quite a number of holidays here :-) For the Muslims, 18th of August is the end of their fasting month and it is also followed by a time of forgiveness, both horizontally and vertically. It is marked by improved family ties and feasting with friends, A culural symbol is the ketupat decor - ketupat is a type of rice packed in a palm leaf and specially woven in a distinct manner. Ketupat is frequently eaten with grilled meat - known as Satay in this region. I made this ketupat decor and pasted it (without the bird) at the corner of my TV and friends say it is nice.

++++++++++++ How to do ++++++++++++ How to do this ketupat? It is easy. Just take two colors from your Paulinda clay container, yellow and green. These are Colours which Muslims like very much - it's their cultural colours. Green represents the unviversal colour of nature and life. Yellow is a nice complementary colour. Once you hear the secret you will be surprised: Roll out a line of green and yellow of equal size. Cut the clay into equal sizes and roll them into spheres. Round balls. And join them in alternate colours. Tada!!! Just add a simple ribbon on the top and bottom. Easy? Now get out your craft mat ;-)

More on Elephants

GOOD MORNING WORLD! i'm born on 18-08-12 @ 0938 hrs. I weigh 5 grams and my doctor says i am born sociable. Cos i already made a friend. Mom says he looks like a bird from some social networking site. Says something like: he's a twit. :-) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ How to do this: You know, to do an elephant in clay is not difficult - a bigger droplet for the body. For the head - manage a round ball such that one end becomes the trunk. This is followed by two flappy ears which are of the right proportion. Then four roughly equal-sized lines to become the limbs. However, to do a cute elephant is another thing. For the advanced learners, show your skill by doing another figurine of a much smaller size, like the blue bird here. I really like this one. Do you? :-)

The continuing saga of the TOILET SEAT

The toilet seat is a good subject and prop for many funny clay pieces i'm sure. Rodin's "The Thinker" started that. I'll leave the rest of the imagination to your good self!

Ingenuity strikes when we are in a reflective mode, where we take time to see life in a measured pace. Take this white toilet seat, made of two materials - plastic and clay, for example. A leisurely breakfast in the morning caused my eyes to see another use for a non-recyclable item. Guess where it is taken from?

Well, no prizes for guessing it right as i have already done the work for you. I have also recycled many things in the process of creating my clay works - either as armatures or props. I want to drive home the message that a reflective life is a creative life ;-)

What Babies are Made of

Learn How to Make Babies!!!

You know, the baby issue is a perennial issue here at the heart of the little red dot called Singapore. With a small population of 5 million plus, we are not reproducing ourselves - and this makes future sustainability a real issue. The first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, sais it again recently. "Having babies may be a personal matter, but it has considerable consequences for Singapore" So- married couples, go, shut down your computers and TVs and smartphones and let the real love conversation begins! And for this special period (090812 to 010912), Peak Paradigm is responding to the National Call to stoke the national passion! So we are charging only $4.70 per person! But it takes TWO to learn, lah! Learn to make babies (featured here) and other clay objects like milk bottle and poo!!! Message us on FB or email us at peakpara@gmail.com today! Let the passion begin!!!

All things Red and White

Our Nation's 47th National Day is just round the corner and from today till 9th August I would like to show my appreciation to my country for making this "Little Red Dot" called Singapore a peaceful, prosperous and productive place for the pursuit of a fresh green environment with good air to breathe. Wearable badges to show our love!

The backing for the badge is a strip of plastic with double-sided sticky tape already attached. The plastic has a safety pin to it as well and it can be purchased in all good art supply stores. Just stick the clay to it!

What babies are made of

Here's some things which are pretty easy to make. I don't think they need any explanation.

Celebrations!

It's a special day for me as i celebrate my birthday. Sashimi is one if my favourites and of course a Jap restaurant is necessary. Well just to see how close are my color-mixing with the real deal, i brought along my clay sushi to the nice and cosy restarant. See whether you can spot the clay sushi. Cheers!

All things Singapore - The MERLION

Undoubtedly, this is a symbol which every tourist will associate with Singapore. Half-fish and half-lion, this mythical legend has long become an icon of Singapore. This 15cm-high piece is commissioned by a government agency and i wanted it to look friendly. The original sculpture sited at the Singapore River has 4 canine and it looks majestic. With the majesty comes respectable dignity and it looks somewhat serious and fierce. So, i did not attach the canine and i added a benign smile on the face. The colourful mane represents the multicultural nature and dynamism of our society. It sits on a base of marbled waves. I also used clear, flat marbles to add highlight to the sculpture. There is a thin stick joing the base and the Merlion which i used as an armature to prop up the vertical sculpture. As in all clay sculptures using Paulinda Clay, designs are not etched on it. but rather imprinted in it, which means using any kind of tools or objects to leave an impression on the clay. The scales of the Fish's body is imprinted using a rounded tool, which created circular designs. This is a piece which i am able to do for any organisation.