driving me-self nutss

just a teeny peek into the teeny part of stuff that has been driving me absolutely nutsss...




in case you ever thought i was slacking away and not replying your emails because i hated you

shoppe update

*Holiday Shoppe Update*

We've been super crazy in the forest factory, not just fulfilling tons of wholesale orders, but also trying to rush out X'mas goodies for a big holiday update!

In case you haven't noticed, some new items are already up at the littleoddforest boutique!



And expect lots more to come in these couple of weeks! Including brand new love-baboon pouches and also our popular hungry monster pouches, all in new exciting colors! Our applique scarves will be re-stocked in different colors too!

*Christmas Shipping*

International Customers | place your X'mas orders before 10 Dec to ensure that it reaches you in time!

Local Customers | the last day of X'mas shipping is 21 Dec!

*Gift Tags, Packaging & Little Freebies*

All our regular customers know that we always try to pack our orders as nicely as we can, and we always try to include little freebies - stickers, postcards, promo discounts, or buttons etc.

And it's no different this holiday season! In fact, for all orders more than USD50, there will be even BIGGER surprises in your package! In addition to the free shipping of course ^_^

Also, if you mention that your order is a gift to someone, it may just come to you already gift-packed! *wink*

*2006*

If you have always wanted to get our current range of super-affordable felt brooches but haven't done so, well, there's no better time than NOW! We're going to be doing a little special revamp to our brooches and pins for 2006, so get one while you can now, before we say goodbye!

Although our designs are now available in more stores around the world, you can rest assured that only exclusvie range of designs are available in all the different shops, and our littleoddforest boutique is still the only one carrying our one-of-a-kind designs!

Here's cheers to a smashing year-end holiday and a brand new year!

etsy featured seller

okay mao... did i forget to mention? littleoddforest™ is featured seller at etsy! yay!

i miss you mao!... i hope you don't ever decide to not come back for good!! how can you leave me! here! alone! forever! with no yummy bagels and thrift store excursions! waaahh...! well... not unless i'm there too! not forgetting b of course.. he says he's happy to get to tag along...

please don't be spoilt and overspend.. and try to save more $$$ so that you can come back SOONEST to visit me...

okay.. i'm just pms-ing and being alittle emotional and manic depressive... and of course, making you feel bad for leaving me here so that you'll come back soon... heeee...

dada kissies and hugs...

Living in Spain - Bull Running

Bull Running in Spain.

Although everyone knows of Spain’s famous bullfights, many will not be aware of the ‘scaled down’ version – bull running. Sometimes just as dangerous to humans – although the bulls don’t get killed, this ‘sport’ is something that all the Spanish participate in – from children of 3 up.

Nearly every village or town in Spain has 3 or 4 days of bull running during certain fiestas. For those towns on the coast, it is usually ‘bous del Mar’ whereby a ring is set up on the sea front with a spectators gallery around it. Various objects such as tables and wooden stairs are placed in the middle for those participating to jump on to avoid the charging bull. Alternatively, they can dive straight into the sea – often followed by the bull. The bull is then hauled back to shore by men in small boats with a looped wire on a stick over his horns.

During his time in the ring, the bull is subjected to people throwing cans, poking him with sticks, and crowds running within the ring waving their arms, shouting and generally antagonising him. Each bull has to endure this for between 20 – 30 minutes (depending on how often he is dragged from the sea, during which time there is a delay in the ‘entertainment’).

Below the spectators gallery is an open area with bars wide enough apart to let the ‘bull runners’ in and out. Unfortunately, these bars are also wide enough for the bull to get his horns through. Every year there are serious injuries as well as fatalities, and this year was no exception. Local papers reported a young British girl on holiday who was tossed around by a bull from within the confines of these ‘safety’ bars and seriously injured. The same report mentioned that an enquiry was being made into the death of a bull by drowning. The safety of the bull is of high importance - those participating are not allowed to grab the bull by the horns, even to protect themselves from a head on attack – yet these animals are clearly terrified during their time in the ring.

In the villages it is different. Usually the main street, or ‘plaza’ (town square) is blocked off and the cages are erected to provide protection for shops, and houses as well as for the spectators and bull runners. Again, wooden structures are put up for runners to avoid the bull. During the 4 day period, the timetable is generally the same. Baby bulls for children in the afternoon, mid-sized bulls for teenagers in early evening, and full size bulls at night. Between midnight and 2am, street lights are turned off and the ‘bulls with fire on their horns’ are released. Rags are tied to the bulls horns and set alight, and the bulls are freed into the street, where they are again antagonised by runners and spectators alike. All the villagers participate, I have even seen old ladies hitting bulls with sticks. During the running of the bulls, these terrified animals run slipping and sliding along the streets, and often suffer from broken bones. They are unable to stop quickly, and often crash straight into anything in their path.

During a bull run in La Xara, where our apartment overlooked the main street where the fiestas took place, I caught on video a fully grown bull totally demolish a cage where about 50 people were standing. These cages are built pretty solidly and each pole is bolted into the ground, but a couple of head butts from a strong bull and they collapsed. These same people who had previously been terrorising the bull were now terrified themselves. Fortunately for them, the bull was trying to extricate himself from the bars, which gave them time to take shelter elsewhere.

In Jalon last year, one of the village men who was said to be a professional bull runner, was gored to death and out of respect the remainder of the fiesta was cancelled. However, this year they continue to run bulls.

When their time in the street, or ring is over, the bull is collected by the mother bull who is lead out by their owner. On spotting this mother bull, the bull will run to her side and follow quietly back to the holding pen.

These bulls are magnificent animals, apparently cared for by their owners like gods, but they are dangerous animals and no one should be surprised that those that choose to run with them may well get seriously injured or killed. The Spanish, as well as many foreigners appear to ignore this fact and are shocked when people get hurt. I have seen children knocked over by baby bulls, adults tossed around in the air , and a teenager gored through the stomach, yet I rarely attend these events. When a bull gets hold of someone, he doesn’t let go but continually tosses them or head butts them until others step in to rescue the unfortunate victim. Anyone who escapes a near miss, or even a hit, is classed as a hero just like the bullfighter, and it is seen to make the boy a man and a man a god. (I use the term ‘man’ loosely as young girls and women also run with the bulls).



A teenage boy being subjected to an attack. The bulls horns had punctured his abdomen in several places before the bull was distracted from his victim and an ambulance crew arrived.

venuszine.com

just popping out of my forest factory for a bit to say...

little odd forest™ is the first of a series of holiday gifts to be featured in venuszine.com's diy - indie giver guide!

hope you're all having a fabulous thanksgiving holiday! (for those who celebrate it, that is)

my fingers have been so blistered and numb for so many days now, if only i can finish all these orders... i can have myself a short short teeny weeny break too... i'll be replying all emails by monday, so if you're still waiting for a reply... please don't fret! what's up with this asap world today... asap everything... including email subject headers starting with "reply to me asap!"... just makes me NOT want to reply to you asap... haha! evil grins

my felt brooches and pins

because of some recent feedback i've gotten about certain people copying my brooch ideas and packaging designs, i've decided to discontinue the current range at the end of this year...

new improvised exclusive designs of the same critters and also new ones , will be introduced in Jan 2006, with more exclusive prices because the range will all be numbered, with more design handwork involved...

i'm so burned out... back to work...

arrgghh!

first of all... thanks for all your thoughtful responses. i was a wimp and all i did say was... nothing! i just stopped smiling, did my eyebrow raised look thingie, let off a huge load of hot air, and thank god i got a phone call on my cell just at that very moment... then i just said "sorry i'm busy at the moment, talk to you again when we meet next time" it sounds abit formal and pretentious in english now that i've to translate it, but yeah, it's how you say in mandarin... anyways, he is in the local fashion retail industry, has a number of shops in malls all over singapore, he would be what you call, someone who has "made it' i suppose! bleurgghh...

i've no deep rooted hatred for every single mass produced item, hell, i buy ikea stuff and topshop's plain tanktops like no one's business.. but to make such statements about me not being able to do anything about it if he decides to rip off my designs some day... is just.. ????????? yes...

also, i just have to say that far east plaza is getting to be so annoyingly sad nowadays, i can't seem to avoid small brand design rip-offs whenever i've to drag myself there for some work related shiat... there're even a couple of switchboarders' design which have been copied outright, from label to print design on the tee.. i'm so glad i've decided to stop retailing there, for now at least

on to other bad news... i have officially lost 3 packages i've been expecting - 2 from the united states and 1 from the philippines. a present sent to me from the philippines from my dearest aunt millie, which had arrived in singapore post office safely over the weekend, was actually missing the monday morning they had to deliver to me. i even had to file a police report in order to claim back some monies as compensation. it was so obviously an inside theft job, someone working in singpost looking for an early x'mas present i suppose. fucker!

i had also ordered a plush friend from mypapercrane.com more than 1 freaking month ago and yup, nada!!! aarrgghh!!! heidi was kind and sweet to offer a refund or replacement, i haven't decided yet - it's so hard because she ain't making anymore of the plush friends! SOB! and j was so sweet to send me a whole package of vintage fabric and buttons he has so nicely rummaged for me from chicago thrift stores and it's been 6 fucking weeks!!!!!!! it's not the compensation i want, it's those STUFF i want!!!!! @#$%&!!!!!

now i've made myself to worked up to continue with my brooches bulk order. grreat.

......

not in these exact words, since it was said in mandarin...

"hahaha, you're so young and so wet behind your ears. what is so special about your products? so what if they are all your so-called tenderly handmade and limited editions or one-of-a-kind? i can just buy a sample from you, give it to a factory in china, mass produce it in tens of thousands and at the cheapest prices, with the best factory workmanship and quality control, sell them like hotcakes and earn so much for profit for so little effort, and there's nothing you can do about it... you've so much more to learn, too idealistic and naive to make it in this industry, like so many of your generation today."

just interested to know how you would respond to that...

afw 2005

so... our booth at the afw!

you may see the transformation here...
http://flickr.com/photos/odditii/sets/1349559/

the fair went pretty well for us greenhorns, regardless of the negative publicity of the fair towards the end of the exhibition (that was a real pity). we got to learn and absorb so much, the ton of constructive and positive feedback and responses... it was really incredible! i'm so glad that we didn't let the cost turn us off when we were first approached to participate in it, and probably because we were the younger participants, many people there were very open to talking to us, telling us more, and advising us about certain things - especially our friendly contractor tai-chi dude, the super nice label guy from taiwan, and many many other ladies we met ^_^

we were also pleasantly surprised with surprise visits from some of our very dear customers, and from lana and gang, david, corina, shan, and lisa (even tho you came when my booth was already totally dismantled) mao! i really appreciate your overseas call... you will be reimbursed! i promise! hee..

it was really weird when i saw the dude that interviewed me like a million times who made lots of strange claims and requests over and over again, when i first came back to singapore from chicago, and that was my first design job interview. he was in the very same pair of pants and shoes he was wearing in all the many days of my interview, and also at the fair, twice, (the color i shan't mention because then some people in the industry will already know who i'm talking about! :p), since i saw him on 2 different days of the fair... wowee... i'm keeping my thoughts to myself

you were right, lucia, my little things did sell like hotcakes.. i'll email you detailss of the fair, both you + amy! ^_^

Living in Spain in winter

Whenever you read about life on the Costas, it will mention the 320 days of sunshine, and mild year round climate. However, the true reality is that its bloody cold in winter! Yes, the sun is out during the day most days, but come 5pm the chill sets in and the temperatures drop. Spanish houses are built to stay cool. In the summer you never feel cool enough, but in winter you realise that it works and they do not retain the warmth of the days sunshine. In fact, it is often warmer out than in!

Everyone knows the benefits of living in Spain - the healthy climate, warm weather, sun - sea - sangria - etc. For those intending to relocate, you should also be aware of some of the negatives which very rarely get a mention before making that final decision. Obviously for me, and many others, the pluses far outweigh the minus's or we wouldn't still be here - but it is sometimes difficult to remember those when you are sitting in the dark and cold at night because the bad weather has caused a power cut and you have run out of gas or logs to keep warm.

The majority of older properties do not have central heating, relying on the wood burning stove to keep warm. However, coming home from work and clearing out last night's ashes, bringing in logs, building and lighting a fire, is a tiresome chore. Depending on where the fire is located in the house, it will generally not be enough to heat the whole house anyway. Even if you are lucky enough to have central heating, this will most likely be fuelled by gas bottles which are quite expensive, and you may well run out of gas before the delivery is due.

Then you have the Gota Fria's to cope with, which literally translated means the 'cold drop'. It is actually a torrental downpour that can last for days without stopping. Within 15 minutes, roads can become inpassable with cars stopping dead in their tracks. Mud and rocks slide down from the mountains all over the roads, there are power cuts which can last several hours, satellite TV disturbances, and public transport grinds to a halt. Spain is not prepared for winter weather or rain. The same 'inconveniences' occur during a normal storm, which although are generally short lived, will still cause an amazing amount of distruption. Last year we had a heavy snow shower in Jalon meaning no-one could get in or out of the valley for over 24 hours.

Living in Spain in winter can therefore be cold, wet and quite uncomfortable at times. Many permanent residents go back to the UK in summer because of the heat, but me - I would go back to the comfort of central heating and 24/7 services between November - March if I had the choice.

all things cute

sweet rachel of ilovecutethings placed an order from me few weeks ago, and i'm so happy she loves them! ^_^ Read about it in her blog here!

you should go check out her very cute online shoppe and her cute stuff!

updates and of course photos!! of my experience at the afw coming up... drama-mama...

email issues

to: hardy mathilde

please provide me with another email address via which i may reply to your queries. i have been replying to all your emails since last month, with our main email accounts, with my gmail accounts, and also my yahoo mail accounts, and yet you haven't received any of them! i'm not deliberately trying to not answer your emails or anything like that, and i'm very sure there's nothing wrong with all my email accounts. so please try to use another email account when you read this. thanks!!!

by request

quite a number of people have been emailing me asking for details about the exhibition, so here goes:

Asia Fashion Week 2005
- 8 - 10 November 2005
- 10am to 7pm
- Singapore Expo Hall 2B

Admission
For trade visitors & professionals only.
Minors below 16 years will not be admitted.
Admission to the exhibition is free and is by registration only.
You may register on site during show days or you may wish to pre register using Pre Registration Form available online. All admission badges will be issued on site during show days at the Pre-Registered Counter.

Open to Public - 10 November 2005
S$ 10 per admission

Dress Code
All visitors must be properly attired. No shorts or bermudas and slippers are allowed.

meanwhile, crawling back to the forest factory...

bye for abit

i've been having a bad case of cough and flu, so have stopped sewing in case of freak accidents.. things have been thoroughly crazy these 2 weeks, but in a good way.

as usual, piling pre-orders (i wish i was an octopus, though i've just started hiring an extra sewing help occasionally) and things are also flowing quickly, aided in part by our birthday month and free shipping of course! i feel like it's x'mas already, with all the discounts i'm giving away... HO HO HO!

so it's all good, except, i'm not updating the store as much as i'd like to. i've been so pre-occupied, together with b, with the afw and many other stuff all coming at the same time. ever wonder why that always seem to happen without fail

there are actually new stuff ready to be uploaded to the boutique, but they're to be displayed at the afw 2005 trade exhibition first, sooooooo there will be craaazzyyy updates after the 10th! hmm... let's make it the 12th, give me 2 days off at least... expect lots of brooches!!! bagsss!!! yippppeee!

anywaysss, the afw is open to public on its third and last day, 10th nov. i think there's an entrance fee of SG$10. so anyone who's feeling like the expo is not god-damn freakingly far away and feel like parting with 10 whole bucks (ha!) scoot on down! and say hi! lots of established brands etc. and the greenhorn littleoddforest.. bah...

in any case, pictures will be taken and shared on flickr ^.^

other news...

a lesson learnt - i know that photography is really important for web stores, but this is really too much of a difference! some items which have been selling slowly (due to bad photography i gather :p), i re-took a whole bunch of their photos a while back, and hey presto! hotcakes! selling out! phew!

some very kind mentions, one from the netherlands and another from a sweet customer!

i never knew i'd get to say this.. but some friends i got to know online know me better than my "real" friends, how freaky is that?? not you, mao and b, of course, you guys are still theeee best! a big shout out of thanks to karyna, shayne, amy and lucia! you've been my pillars of support and help. and there are really some very very sweet customers out there who drop me nice emails every now and then too. i'm very easily touched by little things like that and love exclaiming in joy and annoying the shiat out of b by my repeated exclamations.

i've also been offering to accept promos from fella indie designers and crafters over at lj and the switchboards forum, anyone from here can also just drop me an email if you're interested! so expect little promos from other websites in your orders soon. won't you rather support all things made with love, than by some disgruntled robotised factory sewer in part of a big production line..

til the 12th.. byes!