From selling jewellery on her blog as a teen, this Singaporean now designs pieces for Japanese royalty

There’s a certain quality about Lechelle Petite’s jewellery designs that gives them an organic, unique, handcrafted appeal. It’s not just an effect from the natural gemstones that are used in them – it’s also the way the materials and colours are combined and matched.
You’ll find unexpected pairings among her creations, such as pearls with jadeite and gems like tourmaline, Swarovski crystal and even hand-blown glass accents.
“Most of the designs are one-of-a-kind, either because I do not like to replicate my art, or that [a particular] gem we work with is unique and impossible to replicate,” said the brand’s founder, Michelle J Tan. She also puts together every single piece by hand.
Tan has the support of a team who create the jewellery parts for her. They do the preliminary work, such as cutting the gemstones, creating the gold component, floral accents and the small charms that she incorporates into her creations.
“These parts then enter my home studio and I personally put all of them together. I drill the pearls at my studio desk, set them, and pull every single jewellery piece together. They do not come ready-made, and some designs take up much more time than others,” she shared.
Demand for Lechelle Petite’s jewellery has grown beyond Tan’s expectations since she started it in 2020, so much so that it now has the capacity for a brick-and-mortar store. There’s a pressing need for her to scale up production which is why she will be setting up shop for her online brand come October. The space will also house her team for better efficiency.
“I’d never imagined opening a studio, as Lechelle Petite was always meant to be a small part of my life,” said Tan. The brand began its journey during the period of lockdowns implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, as she found herself with extra time to explore crafting.
“I had just moved into my first home in 2019, and was all alone in the house for months. It was during the lockdowns that I restarted work with my hands. I’m active on social media and began sharing my creations – beginning with friends and then to the public. I tested out the market for my work as I had done so many years ago on LiveJournal,” she shared.
Lechelle Petite isn’t Tan’s first venture into making and selling jewellery – she had actually done so once in her teens. “At that time, blogging was a big deal and I designed my own blogs on LiveJournal, Blogspot and Xanga. When the Singapore LiveJournal marketplace emerged, I began turning my creations into wearables – earrings, necklaces, rings, cuffs and more. That was my first taste of a business [with a sales performance] that was rather successful for a 15-year-old,” she added.
As her business and finances grew, she was able to incorporate gold wire and gems into her creations, beginning first with Swarovski’s, then graduating to natural gemstones that were worked into the jewellery via wire-wrapping, or set in gold castings that she had customised by jewellers. 
Coincidentally, Lechelle Petite resulted from a similar chain of events. “From starting with handmade creations, I slowly got into working with pricier gems. I reconnected with my old suppliers, who had also grown over the years to be able to offer me more support. The only thing different was that Instagram connected me immediately with those who appreciated my art,” said Tan.
Interestingly, she had never considered being a jeweller as a career choice in her younger years. “I had other interests that superseded my love for art back then. These included dance, literature, competitive public speaking and debate, and later on, foreign affairs, when I entered university,” shared Tan. She went on to pursue a career in government service, and subsequently helped out with her family’s business in early childhood education.
Jewellery-making, for her, started as a pastime – her interest in it began organically, originating from a love for creating beautiful things. “Every [jewellery-related] skill I use now was picked up during my youth, through hours and years of trying techniques chanced upon or creating my own, until I liked the outcome. That’s how I spent my hours, especially during my teenage years, when my parents were busy with their businesses. As for fine jewellery design processes, I learnt them from contacts who were professional jewellers,” she shared.
Tan sees her jewellery as wearable art. “Lechelle Petite specialises in pushing the boundaries between handmade art and technical fine jewellery. There are beautiful components in handmade art that fine jewellery cannot replicate, and vice versa. I believe in using any medium that is beautiful to make something visually attractive and emotive,” she explained, as she talked about her inclination towards mixed media.
“I enjoy my gem-buying trips – touching, feeling and imagining what the thing I hold in my hands could be, while keeping in mind my own design considerations. Then, I sit at my desk and just start working on them. Sometimes, work begins with a sketch. Sometimes, I just start working and allow the creation to take the lead. It’s a fluid process with no real structure, and purely reliant on my imagination and my aesthetic judgement,” she shared.
Pearls are both a focal and complementary feature in many of her designs, since Tan is also a supplier of fine Akoya pearls from Mie and Kobe in Japan. This is why she has consistent access to a wide range of Akoya pearl colours that are not commonly seen in Singapore.
Jadeite is another interesting feature in her works, which she utilises in creative and contemporary ways. In fact, she chose the stone for two pairs of earrings that she had the opportunity to create for Princess Hitachi of Japan and Yuko Kishida, the wife of Japan’s former Prime Minister, earlier this year. These were presented as gifts to them by the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo at a private event in Japan that Tan was invited to as a representative from Singapore.
“I thought it’d be odd to present Japanese Akoya pearls back to my Japanese VIPs. I wanted to feature a gem that the Japanese were not as familiar with, and that represented Singapore as a connecting hub to the world. Thus, I chose jadeite – another gemstone that has a legacy as strong as the Akoya pearl. It’s popular among Singaporeans across our multicultural city and is unique to Asia, with its origins and heritage in Southeast Asia,” she elaborated.
Tan appreciates the fact that she had made amazing connections with many different people – whether clients, suppliers or simply fans of her work – through Lechelle Petite.
“Perhaps it’s due to when I started it – a unique moment in history where everyone was online and engaged. Thus, my customers are people who truly appreciate my work and many of them are like friends to me. I think what keeps them coming back is that Lechelle Petite stays true to its unique vision and we produce approachable yet detailed pieces with our own touch,” she said.