Picking jewels

Chinese designer teams with Swarovski

In order to make each piece precious and special for her customers, all of Shen's designs are drafted and handmade by herself, and are inspired by her own life experiences.

Every month, Shen updates her accessory closet with two to three new items for customers to wear and match with clothes.

Many of Shen's customers transformed from being clients to friends. And they all have their own ideas about how to wear Shen's accessories.

"More people want to own customized jewelry with detailed design elements to be different while they also tend to be more confident to mix-and-match ordinary outfits with my large jewelry," Shen says.

Much of Shen's jewelry is influenced by architectural styles such as Art Deco and Baroque.

Priced between 1,000 yuan ($163) and 3,000 yuan, Shen's work is specifically designed for practicability, and she is keen for her accessories to be affordable and wearable.

"I don't want to sell my accessories at a price that is out of reach for middle-class women. They also deserve to be elegantly dressed with personalized jewelry, just like those wealthy ladies," Shen says.

At the moment, Shen has two brick-and-mortar stores in China and five buyer's shops overseas favored by Chinese customers.

By the end of this year, Shen plans to open a working studio in Shanghai with a showroom and a shop for customers to see how the jewelry is made.

Her long-term goal is to have 10 shops, plus distributors selling her designs all over the world, within two to three years.

"My goal is to have my designs worn by as many ladies as I possible - in China and the wider world. I hope my name will become associated with unique design accessories," Shen says.