365 "Likes" Project - 31st Mar 2014

31st Mar 2014 - old-school flowers display

Do you remember the days when flowers at the market florists were simply displayed in PVC pipes filled with water? I wonder who thought of this ingenious and simple way to display flowers? No fancy vases needed, just some industrial everyday materials!

365 "Likes" Project - 29th Mar 2014

29th Mar 2014 - Ark gallery, Jogjakarta

I enjoyed the visit to Ark Gallery very much, like all the artists' studios we visited this trip, the architecture of the gallery was unique with the gallery situated in the 'basement' of the building and in the midst of the residential area. Who would have guessed that the residential areas hid away so many gems? All these galleries are independent and set up by people who just wished to support their local community of artists. I loved feeling this lively 'rebellious' spirit in the art scene here, it seems to arise quite organically despite Jogjakarta not being as developed a city as Singapore! And of course the passion when the curator explained the exhibition... She is one of the two established lady curators in Indonesia! 

365 "Likes" Project - 28th Mar 2014

28th Mar 2014 - trishaw ride!

The trishaws in Jogjakarta are very different from those I am used to in Singapore... In their case, the passengers are seated in front and the bikes are attached to the back, it was a cooling ride in the night to Alun Alun area as the rider explained in their language the various places we passed, and Widya translating for my benefit!

365 "Likes" Project - 27th Mar 2014

27th Mar 2014 - traveling on a plane.

365 "Likes" Project - 26th Mar 2014

26th Mar 2014 - Cloud at ilight 2014

This was my favorite piece at the ilight show which I visited today with my friends. It looks amazing from afar and has an interactive element, it makes me want to pull on every line to light up the entire cloud!

365 "Likes" Project - 25th Mar 2014

25th Mar 2014 - While Winter Whispers by Lullatone

lullatone never fails to make my day, with their non-interruptive instrumentals playing while I work on the computer, I love it! Even the little humorous song names, and Scandinavian inspired album art, they have a distinct pajama-pop style. This was their last album celebrating the winter season... I wonder if they would come up with a springtime on to complete the cycle?

365 "Likes" Project - 24th Mar 2014

24th Mar 2014 - whales fabric designing

one of the few more 'refined' drawings in this sketch-blog since this is one i have been working on today for a fabric design to enter the Spoonflower weekly contest. i had so much fun spending time on this! I always love the traditional patterns on Japanese fabric so i had to incorporate the Seikaiha into this, I always imagine what it would be like to have a full fabric collection based on these traditional patterns used in contemporary ways.

365 "Likes" Project - 23rd Mar 2014

23rd Mar 2014 - Traditional Rituals of Respect

Visiting the temple for Qing Ming festival made me think about the traditional rituals we do as a sign of respect to our ancestors, we offer joss sticks and burn joss paper which represents sending of wealth to relatives who has passed on. 

365 "Likes" Project - 22nd Mar 2014

22nd Mar 2014 - internet research

We learned in new media class before that the internet is like a rhizome, one link leads to another, some links come dead, some pages lead to many others, it is more than a web of pages, it is a rhizome. Sometimes I like to just google search my way through images and stumbling onto unexpected inspiration many times.

365 "Likes" Project - 21st Mar 2014

21st Mar 2014 - Walk Off The Earth

The band's covers and feet-thumping music videos never fail to make my day!

365 "Likes" Project - 20th Mar 2014

20th Mar 2014 - dreamers of the local craft/design retail scene

I met two dreamers today who had different directions they wished to push the local design retail scene towards, both goals were refreshing and exciting too!

365 "Likes" Project - 19th Jan 2014

19th Jan 2014 - Paprika the movie

After rewatching this at an older age, I finally understood the nuances behind the movie. Still, the scene that captured me years before is still my favorite - the one of the parade of disconnected items. In fact now maybe more so, I loved the scene after having visited Japan a few times since first watching the movie. I can recognize familiar cultural icons. What's not to like about a dancing fridge?

365 "Likes" Project - 18th Mar 2014

18th Mar 2014 - Papermoon Puppet Theatre

I enjoyed myself so much today celebrating My cousin's birthday by spending the day out. Along the way we stumbled onto some really cute artworks that upon further investigation, I realized, it is made in the artist studio I am scheduled to visit during the craft trip in a weeks time. What a coincidence! I am glad I got to see their works beforehand and I am so excited now!

365 "Likes" Project - 17th Mar 2014

17th Mar 2014 - pattern making for soft toys

I am pretty proud of myself for being able to design a pattern successfully to look like a 3-D Tapir. And I wistfully think think may be the qualifications to a career as a high end soft toy artisan!

365 "Likes" Project - 16th Mar 2014

16th Mar 2014 - Rain

After many weeks of drought, we got a good heavy downpour today, I could almost see all the plants dancing for joy... And so were we as we got clear skies after days of haze.

365 "Likes" Project - 15th Mar2014

15th Mar 2014 - POPIN Craft Talk

I enjoyed it so much despite my incessant coughing during the session. To listen to such speakers, it is inspiring and insightful! All within the intimate setting that has become characteristic of What POPIN does best!

365 "Likes" Project - 14th Mar 2014

14th Mar 2014 - a scoop of honey

A spoonful of Manuka honey soothes my throat even if it is just for a little bit.

365 "Likes" Project - 13th Mar 2014

13th Mar 2014 - Invisible Cities

I just started on the classic by Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and it has been lovely. It is difficult book to get through due to the heavy descriptions but it is nice imagining in your head how these cities might look.

365 "Likes" Project - 12th Mar 2014

12th Mar 2014 - Yoganidra

I was hesitant about going for yoga today due to my cough but I am glad I did. The deep relaxation was so good, and I didn't even cough once during the session! The urge to cough kept me awake though and I managed to go through the whole cycle which left me feeling rested. 

365 "Likes" Project - 11th Mar 2014

11th Mar 2014 - Small and Able

It was my shortest consignment relationship ever, but it has been a joy during this short stint. Sometimes you feel like you can just click with someone, Siew is that someone like that for me!

365 "Likes" Project - 10th Mar 2014

10th Mar 2014 - my Marimo

Every 10th of the month when I change the water of my little plant, I reminisce a bit about my Japan Grad Trip, that's the purpose of buying back souvenirs from travels I guess!

365 "Likes" Project - 9th Mar 2014

9th Mar 2014 - Binjai Park Dinner

Expensive dinner but so good as always, perfect for celebrating the end of the workshops with NLB! :) it has been a good collaboration!

365 "Likes" Project - 8th Mar 2014

8th Mar 2014 - Salmon Omurice

The one from the food court in Novena is good enough to satisfy my craving!

365 "Likes" Project - 7th Mar 2014

7th Mar 2014 - Prototyping new products

Every now and then a great idea would strike and it makes me want to start making immediately. This is one such instance, in multicolors. Guess what?

365 "Likes" Project - 6th Mar 2014

6th Mar 2014 - a quote 

I found this quote imprinted on the wall of The Substation during my first visit... And it seems as the big project gets closer to being, the quote get more relevant, like a gentle reminder from the founder of the art space.

365 "Likes" Project - 5th Mar 2014

5th Mar 2014 - Frankie Magazine

With a photo of a lady on the cover, these new indie magazines look like fashion magazines on first glance. But flip through the pages and what you will find is endless handcrafted items, design ideas, travel stories and interviews with the unconventional personalities of indie businesses.

365 "Likes" Project - 4th Mar 2014

4th Mar 2014 - Fabric Scraps

We spent the whole of the afternoon going through the big mountain that is Irene's fabric scraps today! Lots of gems to be discovered and strange conversations with the fabric pieces as we neared the end of the pile. How long were we at this?! They also make good collages.

365 "Likes" Project - 3rd Mar 2014

3rd Mar 2014 - Dance like no one's watching!

From the ethos of the venture 'no lights, no Lycra' (read from Frankie magazine) and the viral video 'Eastleigh's got talent - bus stop dancing queen', dancing like no one's watching is like a release! 

365 "Likes" Project - 2nd Mar 2014

2nd Mar 2014 - new Waterbottle 

I am loving my new water bottle that I got from Bali! Perfect to get me through another workshop day at NLB!

365 "Likes" Project - 1st Mar 2014

1st Mar 2014 - Guess the word sg

This phone app had us in stitches today as we hum tunes and guessed through Singapore slangs and kopi lingos... Not easy but laughter-inducing all the same!