Third time’s the charm: How Curious Creatures founder Larissa Tan turned her side hustle into a full-time business

That said, she didn’t let her failed ventures stop her from trying again. “When I dream about something, I don’t just sit on it. I work hard to make it happen,” she says. While it was disheartening, these experiences taught her not to give up and that she would need to persevere to see results. Instead of dwelling on the past, she continued working to improve on her latest venture, Curious Creatures. Learning that she would need to put time and effort into a venture to see results, she decided to go all this time around.

During her time on Etsy, she began experiencing increasing competition due to a surge of businesses joining the platform. Thus, she moved away from the e-commerce company and set up her own domain. However, it was not as easy as it sounds. This meant having to drive traffic to her domain organically. The following years saw her participating in various local art markets while building a social media following.

Tan was able to turn her dream of opening a boutique store into reality, opening a studio and shop at Kreta Ayer in 2017. This year, she opened the label’s flagship shore at Ion Orchard.

Getting zapped

Its new flagship spans 500 sq ft and showcases the brand’s demi-fine and fine jewellery collections, luxury piercing services and permanent jewellery welding services. The latter is a service which Tan brought to Singapore where jewellery is custom-fitted and welded close with no clasp.

Tan first came across this concept during a trip to America in 2018. During this time, the concept of permanent jewellery was unheard of in Singapore. “As someone who rarely removes my bracelets upon wearing, I was intrigued by this concept and felt that there was potential in bringing it to Singapore,” Tan explains.

However, before they launched the concept, plans had to be put on hold due to the pandemic and was only launched in November 2022. Regardless, the concept—being the first in Singapore—took the island by storm. Tan shares that appointments were fully booked for the first six months. She adds: “Even now whenever we have weekend slots available (at its Kreta Ayer store), slots would be taken up quickly.” The overwhelming response for permanent jewellery led Tan to offer this service daily at its new Ion Orchard flagship store.

A new addition to the store is the luxury piercing service. Tan explains that the brand’s service transforms one’s ear through the “combination of anatomy-specific piercings, fine jewellery styling and detailed aftercare”.

Currently, Curious Creatures is the only brand offering such a range of jewellery and services under one roof. With so much going on, Tan understands the importance of taking breaks between major projects. “[These] breaks are great for seeking inspiration and staying inspired,” she says adding that if all else fails, the next best thing is to hug a cat.

Looking ahead

With the jewellery industry constantly evolving, Tan continues to dream of new accessories to add to its ever-growing collection. While it’s challenging to predict what the future will look like, Tan sees the growing trend for “sustainable and ethically sourced jewellery, personalisation and technology integrated jewellery” and hopes to satisfy these consumer demands.

With Tan at the helm, Curious Creatures looks set for continued growth thanks to its beautiful jewellery collections.

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