Page 177 - Philippine Tatler (April 2019)

Tim Tam Ong

It all began with a love for
beautiful things—one that was
most probably born of the fact
that her mother was into interior
and furniture design, while her
grandmothers helped develop
a taste for the unusual and the
expertly crafted. As a result,
jewellery designer Tim Tam Ong
creates startling, yet distinctively
wearable beauty with a
pronounced Filipino accent.
Heirloom, Ong’s critically
acclaimed 2018 collection,
pays homage to various
icons of local tradition. Native
games like luksong tinik or
the sorbetero [ice cream
man] plying his trade through
city streets are reimagined
as delicate pendants, while
local flowers are transformed
into earrings, bracelets, and
intricate necklaces.
More than this, Ong is also
a storyteller of sorts, one who
keeps a tangible chronicle of
culture through her work. In
doing so, she is actively playing
her part in safeguarding the
richness of our heritage for the
next generation.