When Joyce Orena was a model, she turned up for work once in a pair of torn Levi's jeans that she had embellished with crystals and beads from her mother's trinket box.

"Everyone wanted to buy that pair of jeans off me," says the 42-year-old Filipino jewellery designer who was in town last month for a design exhibition.

While modelling from 1989 to 1998, her handmade jewellery also caught the attention of her friends in the industry.

So she decided to start her own jewellery line, Jo Joyce Orena, in Manila after she stopped modelling.

"The reception to my designs was very positive and I was so passionate about fashion, style, jewellery and accessories, so it was an eventual step," says Ms Orena, who spent her summers as a child watching the women from ethnic tribes in northern Luzon - where she is originally from - create their own jewellery.

For about six years, she sold her wares at home parties hosted by the socialites she had met through modelling.

Although business was good, she longed for her own store space which would help to expand her brand.

"My friends were very worried about me as there was no local accessory label with a stand-alone boutique. But I always believed that I would be successful," says Ms Orena.

And she is glad she followed her instincts. Within the first month of opening in 2002 in Manila, a customer purchased almost all of her stock. Her jewellery is also stocked internationally, in a boutique in San Francisco and, more recently, at Metro Paragon here. Back home, she is the only Filipino designer to be stocked at Adora, a high-end concept store in Manila.

One of the highlights of her career was when singer Katy Perry purchased a tassel bracelet with Swarovski crystals at her boutique at Greenbelt 3 Mall, Makati City, in 2009.

"We were all starstruck. People can enter your shop and just leave, but the fact that she got something meant that my designs caught her eye," says Ms Orena.

Her signature charm accessories can be mixed and matched. For instance, bracelets can be hooked onto other bracelets to be worn as a necklace. Or one could buy a necklace and take it apart to wear individual portions as bracelets.

"Women get bored with accessories easily, so I want them to be able to play around with them. I design for a woman who is not afraid to experiment and wants to infuse fun in her wardrobe," says Ms Orena, who is single.

Her pieces at Metro Paragon range from $59 for a bracelet to $799 for a necklace.

When she is not busy making jewellery, she writes a weekly style column for the newspaper The Philippine Star, something she has been doing for the last 15 years.

"I never thought that I would write. In fact, I don't really enjoy it because I'm not a natural. But many people tell me that they enjoy my columns and it's affirmation that I'm doing something right," says Ms Orena.

8 things in her bag

1) Bracelet

This is one of my favourite charm bracelets from my line. It never fails to jazz up my outfit. I put it on when I need cheering up.

2) Notebook and pen

I always carry a notebook and pen so that I can sketch or write when I'm inspired.

3) Mobile phone

I never go out without my phone. I just started using Instagram to promote the brand and, for Instagram, you need to update very regularly to gain a following.

4) Card holder

I'm so afraid to lose this card holder from Gucci because I haven't found anything else that has so many card pockets.

5) Travel case

I've been using this travel case from Paul Smith for the last 10 years. I travel at least once a month and it can hold many things.

6) Stain remover pen

I love wearing white shirts, so I have this stain remover pen in case I get my shirt dirty while I'm out.

7) Vitamin C

When I feel like I'm coming down with a sore throat, I'll pop one of these into water and drink it to prevent a full-blown sore throat.

8) Sewing kit

When I travel, I always need to have a sewing kit with me to fix any buttons that may come loose.

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