Chinese String Arts

Awesome small shop with a very nice lady that for sure knows what she’s doing. Can’t beat a custom made string set up for anything you want to wear around your neck.

This place is a bit of a hole in the wall, so it may be hard to find — until you begin to realize her shop is in the center of the entire plaza.
If you are an adamant practicing Buddhist, you’ll be happy to know that Helen is also active within the Buddhist community, and does a lot of work for Buddhist monks, nuns and laity. My prayer beads were restrung and secured tightly using imported satin cords from Taiwan. She has a wide variety of tassels one can choose from, all handmade by Helen and some of her students.

I feel so lucky to live within driving distance of the only place in the US which offers traditional Chinese knotting. When I accidentally destroyed my beloved Jade necklace I Googled a place where I could get it repaired. All the web sites said there was only one place in the US where you could get this done — you can imagine how elated I was when I read it was right here in Southern California!
The owner, Helen Tse, is a pleasure to work with. She has the most amazing collection of cords/​strings specifically for Chinese knotting. For those of you not familiar with Chinese knotting, it’s typically done with red or green satin-​y looking cords and they melt the ends with a cigarette lighter. The string is amazingly strong — it will last for years and does not fade that much at all. Chinese knotting can be used to make lucky charms, decorations and jewelry.
Helen re-​did both the necklace I broke and my bracelet because I wanted it to be adjustable. Her work is beautiful. I can’t stop staring at both pieces.
She also offers classes if you are interested in knotting. I believe she said it’s $ 60 for 4 one hour classes. I’m definitely going to take some classes from her in the future.