our starry rainbow pouch in a hollywood movie?

so, last month, harlan films called us from the united states, requesting for permission to use our starry rainbow pouch as a prop/set dressing for their upcoming motion picture, greenberg

it's going to be florence's (greta gerwig) pouch, going to be totally her style.
do i read ben stiller in the release form?? scott rudin?? that's insane!!!

i didn't know they even request for permission for such small matters. they must need to send a bazillion requests out for every of such movie made.



it was really insane, for like, 2 hours or so.
died down once i received the formal request letter and faxed over the signed release form.

so, i know, it's just going to be 1 tiny weeny pouch in a gargantuan movie set.
friends who knew about it promised they'll squint to find the pouch once the movie is out, if it's going to be included in any frames for that matter.

fine.

hahahah

but still :)

so i had clean forgotten about it, what with all the truckload of work and my personal hoo-hah, until i read an email from meredith this evening, about her nephew working as a crew on the set of greenberg.

!!! insane!

sick to my stomach.

isn't this almost similar to legally producing and selling fake chanels anything and fake patek phillipe watches just so that "not so well-off" people can buy and enjoy them???? what in the world??? gahhhhh! such an atrocity!!!

bringing art to the "heartlanders" ??????
in the very first fucking place, this is exactly WHY the so-called "heartlanders" they are referring to here, will NEVER learn what art is all about! never! in this country that i call my home!

why appreciate the real thing in this or that internationally-acclaimed museum, when you can get a replica and hang in your "humble heartland flat". why bother supporting talented current artists whose art pieces costs 4-digits and above, when you can get a FAKE van gogh for just lesser than $300 singapore dollars?????
courtesy of poor self-taught "painters" from the usual suspects - developing countries like china, vietnam and indonesia

shit!
fuck!
i'm sorry but, i'm beyond sick to my guts.

fyi, this is in today's straits times papers, life section.

rushing off for an urgent meeting, but just had to spend a few minutes ranting my brains out here.

ciao. bad day. bad day!

earth hour

this 28 march 2009 8.30pm (12 more days), millions of people around the world will unite for one hour, earth hour, and take part in the world's first global election between earth and global warming, and switch off their lights to show that they care about our living planet. please join us if you care and can.
participating cities in earth hour 2009 already include singapore, chicago, cape town, dubai, hong kong, istanbul, london, los angeles, manila, sydney and toronto

working from home is good.

you know how sometimes people like to make baseless negative assumptions..
like how people who wear glasses can't afford to get contacts or lasik
or how how all slender girls have eating disorders

so one of which is, working from home means that your label isn't doing that great.
year after year, during some must-go-to-very-mundane-gatherings, i have to entertain stupid comments like "oh, you mean you are still working from home after all these years?"
while i snigger away privately as i pocket the $4000++ rental i would have spent on rent.

money aside, here are 10 great things about working from home:
taken from apartment therapy

1. Taking a Bath at Lunchtime (or a dip in the pool!)
2. Raiding the Fridge whenever I want (heck, i can work right beside the fridge if i want to)
3. Being able to hit up Trader Joes or Target in the middle of the day (mid-day shopping and movie dates! when i'm not so busy of course....)
4. Working in Pajamas (i can't work in my pajamas, don't ask why, i have to shower and at least wear something decently good enough for me to step out of the house the very next minute, so i've never done this before...)
5. Not commuting anywhere, especially in the rain (yes!)
6. Making lunch at home and being able to put a roast in the oven in time to eat before 10pm
(i can make my spicy korean noodles, kimchi, and roast pork for lunch!)
7. Making a mid day Yoga class (i don't yoga, but i do plenty of late-lunch dates!)
8. Getting to be alone for the day in semi stillness and not coming home ragged and exhausted (i can choose to stop work at 4pm and resume at 12 midnight... muahahaha)
9. Getting to play whatever music I want (as loud as i want to! that is, unless my part-timers and interns are right beside me and i have to "behave" like a "boss" :p)
10. Getting to hang out with my kitty (anyone or anything i choose to!)

so much for short breather... back to my busy-ness...

sad to say goodbye

it's the end of the road for one of the few home magazines i actually like...

"Dear Readers, it is with very heavy hearts that we say farewell. Over the last 4 years, in 28 issues, we have done our best to create a great magazine. We started with a real idea—that style is for everyone—and tried to carry it out with stories that provide inspiration and empower you to act on it. From your tremendous response, we know that we were onto something. In this tough economy, however, we simply weren't able to get the advertising support we needed. As domino evolved, we never lost sight of our original democratic premise. Looking back at the manifesto we published in the premiere issue, the first tenet of domino is still the truest: Home should make you happy. We hope we have played a part in making this come true for you. Love, All the editors of domino"

amen!

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn." -Gore Vidal

brit invasion.

i will finally finally finally be relieved off my duties to help my girl friends in america get their seasonal dose of topshop!!!!
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/around_town/fashion/Topshop-opening-date--leaked.html
for now, like later this afternoon, i still have to continue searching the racks for the clothes in the topshop catalogue photos they spam mail me with and ship to them.... but not for long!!!! yyeeharrr!! cheers to my freedom!!!! haha

just random...

the usual fashionista quote -
"...... in these harsh economic times, buying clothes that go the distance is actually a smarter way to shop. Good designer frocks typically last longer (meaning you can wear the bejeezus out of them without them looking it -- and lower your cost-per-wear), are often more impactful and versatile (re: you can impress your future boss in that interview as well as that cute guy who just asked you out) and retain resale value (when something no longer works for you, you can take it to your local consignment shop or Ebay it and actually get some green, as opposed to having your frayed Forever 21 finds rejected by the girls at Buffalo Exchange ...... and having to toss it in the bin and say goodbye to your money forever ...... "

well, except for the fact that my gal pals and i recently splurged on 3 supposedly "good designer frocks" at "good designer frocks" prices (eye-rolls) - not on the sale rack, mind you - the first to give way was from this "highly-acclaimed singapore designer" - the buttons at the side details fell off while i was walking on the streets (!!) after 1 gentle hand-wash, and my friend's zipper couldn't zip up smoothly after 2 wears. how embarrassing it is, that i was strongly recommending my friends who haven't been back in singapore for a while, to support singapore designers who have made it big abroad and come with international-designer-price-tags. then, that fabulous dress with that "fabulous" price to match from this internationally renowned designer, was obviously not designed properly for wear after our 1 night out dancing in them. the design was made in such a way that the heavy intricate piece on the chest part kept on pulling down the dress in front, and we had to keep pulling it back like every other 10 minutes. imagine how long that night was. we should force that designer to wear it on himself. the third, another badly engineered top that was only meant to look pretty when you try it on in the changing room and swing around in it for that 5 minutes or so. but then it just couldn't be worn for more than 15 minutes without needing some adjustments and fidgeting. mind you, we are all size 0s and 2s. and do not have bendy weird body shapes. if it doesn't work for us, then it won't work for anyone, right?? -____-

maybe the so-called designer frocks have to cost at least 4 digits and above to be that good.

decor8

i have never related more to any post i have read online than this one, i think (or close enough maybe, ok, not that i read a-lot online, but still...)
http://decor8blog.com/travel/decorating-on-a-budget
well-written, honest (and yet not overly personal and rubbing off wrongly), smart (and yet stylish) decisions made. i'm inspired, holly :)

out of nowhere...

people with crude bad taste should be arrested and not allowed to publish any print material at all. did you see the 2nd last page of the life section of today's straits times newspaper???! *gag*

too many sweet distractions to work...

yep. there are simply too many sweet distractions for me to concentrate on work! even if it's like the crazy year-end holidays, which doesn't help at all. so anyhoo... i've been leaving many of the work responsibilities to my dependable (most times... haha) fairies and elves. been way too busy to be online either, other than to get work done. sorry cute folks! meeting up with and socialising with some of littleoddforest's most regular clients here in singapore has been pretty awesome, thank you cute peeps for such great times! :) and i've just restocked our shelves over at isetan scotts this morning. so go check it out before we check out from there! 24th dec! ;)

i simply can't can't can't wait!!! for the year-end getawaysssss. you got that right, plural! ;D and for 2009 to be here soooonnnnn!!! can't wait can't wait!!! *jump jump hop hop skip skip* weeee!!! i'm super excited and happy!! although some people (you know who, mao!) are just very stressed. well. everyone copes with new endeavors differently. ha.

but yes. how can i possibly force myself to have the time to be here to put up a post, if there's nothing to bitch about! lol!
http://www.eightyonedesign.co.uk/blog/2008/09/why-does-everyone-think-they-are-a-graphic-designer/
yes.
why on fucking earth does everyone think they are a graphic designer. or "designer" even.
good article. and read the comments too. thanks for sending me this article, meredith! i can't tell you how good it feels to know that there are plenty of people out there reading my heart and mind... i miss those days when we (me and my proper graphic designer friends) have bitching sessions about bad taste and people who think they are such godly designers.i think i am entitled to some ego since my art design degree didn't come cheap. hahahaha go ahead and slap me for my cockiness.

i totally agree that a design education does not mean you are some godly designer either. but like the article states, you have to at least have a certain amount of technical and theoretical knowledge to back up your creative ability (if you had any to begin with). otherwise, it's just going to be good ideas & bad execution, or great execution and stinky poo design!!

i hate it when the exact same people who can't tell a good font from a bad font, a print font from a web font, take on graphic design jobs, perpetuate the bad taste with their bad taste clients, and charge dirt cheap rates. i guess not everyone understands that when you pay peanuts you get monkeys. because they can't tell which is monkey and which is not. urgh. my dad used to be in the timepieces business (watches and clocks), and as a kid, i used to question him on some of his purchases (yes, i might have been opinionated bitch since a kid.), those gawddamn ugly watches! eewww! and his very comical reply was
"dada, there will always be people with bad taste in this world. and we want to earn their money too."
wahahahahhahah!!!

just because you have the moolah to buy photoshop and a macbook pro, does not mean you a graphic designer and are allowed to create atrocities with fonts and images. photoshop is a pixel-based program meant for photos, not vector-based for proper illustrations. don't you just love it how everyone is so photoshoppy nowadays. yes yes yes, we know you have photoshop. but do you know how to use it? dang it.

last week, someone approached yet another friend again this time, who does freelance illustrations, to do some serious graphic design work. and again, i'm so proud that mh is a friend of mine. because he actually rejected the good-paying job offer, telling the client that he is able to do all the illustrations needed for the project, but not the main graphic design and font work as he is not qualified to do it, and recommended another of our friend, a properly trained designer to do the job. even with the client's insistence that he trusts my illustrator's friend good tastes. a gazillion kudos to you, mh! or your principles and integrity :) although i have to agree that you are most probably able to do a good job if you had taken it on ;)

so, the question is, are you a software executer, a graphic/web design prostitute, or a graphic/web designer?

gotta go catch some sun at the pool now! it's been so rainy!! i think i might be growing mould.
*muacks!*


add-on~
oh oh oh! i forgot to give thanks!!!! big big big thanks to all of you super duper awesome peeps who made your way down to fashbash @ cathay and sweated it out there shopping!! well. i know i was sweating. i apologise for the spectacle of me serving your needs while holding on to my hand-held piggy fan. hahahahah
you all made the sweating so worth it though :)))) xoxoxoxo!!

dumbasses.

okay, i just need to rant a bit before i rush off to catch the evasive sunlight.... it's just a string of events the past couple of weeks that has annoyed the shiat out of me.

some people apologize too easily
some people apologize too much
some people apologize too little, too late
and some people, just don't apologize at all.

most singaporeans don't know to use the magical word "sorry".
just one magical word, so simple, so short, and sweet and soothing to the other party's ears, and everything could have been resolved. so easily.
but no. no magical word.
and it fucking pisses me off so much.

so haughty, so full of yourselves, so fucking mighty, thinking you're always right, nothing wrong done, no harm done. no big deal. what's the big deal. ever so defensive. so afraid of losing your gawddamn ugly face.

the old are like that.
they like to say "the salt they have taken is more than the rice we have eaten in our lifetime"
well, good for you and your salty kidneys.
and it's no wonder the young don't learn anything good either.

SOR-REE
A-PO-LO-GISE

very hard to pronounce? to enunciate? to spew out from your smelly mouth? yes? no? it might be fatal to say those words out loud? fatal to even type it down in an email?
just 5 alphabets to type, just 2 syllabus to say.
will cost you a billion dollars? a slice of your fatty flesh?

didn't learn it in school? your parents didn't do a good job teaching you? didn't learn it from society? nothing learned from living in this world for so many decades? from reading? nothing? no? humility and humbility mean anything to you at all? don't know those words?
pppfffttttttt.

who ever on earth made such a silly rule that when dealing with work, people shouldn't apologise too easily?????

so what? you say
karma will come back and bite your stinky rotting corporate asses. that's what.
watch out!

letting mouth loose

so, i'm sure you're all super sick of reading how thankful i am for all your support to our little gig at isetan scotts. hahahahaha! so fine, i'm not doing that here ;p
go here for updates! - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=46770635428
or here - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6443311126
or here - http://www.facebook.com/pages/littleoddforest/7178022302

i've been pretty quiet and missing in action because am busy busy busy!! no time!!!!! too much on-goings behind the chaotic work scenes but additionally, my personal life too, it's all good good news though! :D

for temporary relieve of stress...

when you are in the business long enough, you will get to meet all sorts of people.
literally all sorts.
from jealous peers who are determined to see you trip and fall... or even your downfall..
to unrelated people who have too much free time on their hands and a "free-mouth" to boot too...
to people who have no money to buy anything but like to walk around putting down everything within her sight, so she can convince herself not to help stimulate the economy..
to those who are not into our style, but yet still bothers to take the time, saliva and trouble to let the sales gal know face front that she is not digging your style..
to... oh, it's neverending! makes life so much more interesting eh? sure! bring it on!



LAME PERSON EXAMPLE 1.
much older people who like to intimidate and bully young girls.
40-something year old woman sternly lectures one of our frightened young sales gals that we shouldn't claim that our purses are handmade, because "did you handmake the zippers? I'm sure you did not. did you handmake the plastic bangles or the buttons? Those are all not handmade, so how can you say that your products are handmade? you shouldn't say they are handmade. you can get sued you know."
you are an adult who doesn't know better than to say such things in such a tone with such words to a 16 year old sales gal... sigh.

LAME PERSON EXAMPLES 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d.
a bunch of ladies who have too much time to kill.
"how can you say that is is one of a kind when i've seen that fabric before? i'm sure i've seen it at abcd before."
insistent about her own definition of our OOAK despite our poor gal's explanation. so nothing else you say will make her change her mind.
"wah, you dare to claim is one of a kind? what if i see an exact piece somewhere else leh? can refund or not?"
smile. smile. smile. laugh at her wit.
"what's so special about these bags? so expensive! i rather buy a Guess bag."
then, go buy loh. just the other corner only...
"eh, how you sew this piping detail ah? Hmm... your boss got open craft classes or not?"
??????????

LAME PERSON EXAMPLE 3.
(so lame that she didn't even leave me an email address that works.)

Feedback Type : I just wish to say
Name : Joannie
Email : abcde@xyz.com
Time of Msg: 10/30/2008 7:42:37 AM

Your work is not very original, I see a lot of influences everywhere and I think it''s quite sad that you are flogging them as your own style when you are just copying off design publications.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hi Joannie!

thanks for your email, i felt i had a need to reply you, even though i have been advised not to.

i don't see the need to defend myself since i know better (and i'm pretty sure yourself too) but I'm just curious which are the "design publications" you think that i'm copying off from? as the only books/mags i read are novels, home & decor and graphics. I'm no fan of fashion magazines or anything of that sort, not that it matters to anyone. i like to see things positively, so it's good in a way to know that "my style" is similar to some that are already shown in "design publications", and worldwide too, as i presume you are not in/from Singapore?

this is the first time ever i've received such an email in my 4 years doing this, but It's cool with me, because for every 10000 *hearts*, i know that there will be 1 you can't please, as with everything else we do in this world, be it the arts, politics or life in general :) anyhow, i appreciate your email - that my work bothers you so much that you actually took the trouble to drop me a message.

hope you have a good day!

LAME PERSON EXAMPLE 4.
"wah, local label but so expensive"
"those other bags are different loh, they are branded leather bags eh"
"abcd local label is not the same, he's international fashion brand, how can you compare yourself with him? He make beautiful clothes and sells in Paris. You just design what, fabric bags only leh."

LAME PERSON EXAMPLE 5.
"how i can be sure you pay fair wages or not? you must show proof what, then put it up somewhere here on display or something. for all i know your things all made in China factories right?"



that's the first part of lameo peeps for now! more to share with you later! wahahaah!!! i'm soooo glad i only have time to be at isetan for restocking of goods, so i wasn't there to witness all these psycho twilight on-goings!!! just smile, and let the others be ugly, the best advice i can give to all my awesome group of LOF fairies! off for my friday night out now... happy weekend, folks!! xoxoxo!

p.s.
brand new stocks in the shoppe now! :D
brand new tanks! weeee!!!

p.p.s.s.
a happy face to kick start your happy weekend!

the GaMs...

*applause* finally. someone feels the same way as me, and what's more, it's the fashhag. what am i doing, still being a member for 3 years now???

it's a beautiful world. if you are hyperopic

i'm not claiming to be some big generous person. but it drives me absolutely insane when a person who clearly isn't on the brink of poverty, calculates every single penny she or he has or spends.

business is business, rules are rules, be it 10 cents, or $1000.
if customers are always right, are always king, and you are always at their mercy, then all businesses in this world will crumble and come to an end. it doesn't matter whether you are a small one-person operation like me, a medium sized SME or a large conglomerate; whether you are in the business of indie and handmade, or in the business of large scale mass-production. it will become a vicious cycle eventually. or maybe it's just me being more of a pessimist. which i am rarely.

i have learned to pick my battles over the years, and learn to be smarter when handling difficult people. i haven't perfected the art yet, i don't wish to perfect it either, because i deem the perfection of the art of completely pleasing testy customers to be the absolute end of my soul.

i prefer to retain that little belief and principles i am entitled to, so that i can live with myself. i do not need to sell my soul over that little money. maybe i am afraid of offending you, and that you may spread lies and rumors and tell everyone you know your very one-sided story. but maybe, i don't really give two hoots about it.

if i give in to you, it doesn't mean you have won the battle. it simply means, i can't be bothered to fight and that it was simply not worth my effort. it is, after all, just a few cents, which can't buy me anything in this world i live here. maybe a one-stop train ride. that's about it. i don't put money to heart. but i am very opinionated, and live by my beliefs and principles, and i have a ton of those.

a person who buys, will be on the selling side at some point, and a person who sells, will buy at some point. i believe in karma. i believe that one shall not do unto others what one does not want others do unto her/him.

i believe in being nice. playing nice. does that even exist anymore? i don't really care. if something doesn't go my way, i always give chances. my natural instinct is to empathize. to put myself in your shoes. when that doesn't work out, it means that your ways do not flow so well with what i believe in, then we are set on different paths, and i may choose to be confrontational or not, depending on the battle returns. likewise, when i choose to do it my way, and if you insist on veering me off-course, then... depending on the battle returns, i may fight, or i may choose not to.

i am truly amazed at how some small businesses are run. i could be jinxing myself here, but just look around and see how many so-called "small" businesses are still hanging around after a while. i am not claiming to be a know-it-all, but since this is essentially business... in the business of business, you are not suppose to do anything that loses $. maybe you are running a charitable organization, i don't know for sure. who am i to comment? i am after all, in the same company as you too, in etsy. which says just a tiny fraction about my conflicted feelings about etsy and it's demographic mix. for the sake of business, i choose to carry on. and take this as an unlucky day when a bird shat on my head.

or. maybe you are just like me, sticking to your own beliefs and principles. which is, choosing to fight tiny battles and to win them, to fight over a few cents, not relative to how much you earn, to stick to your guns about what you stand by. so maybe i should admire your guts. but i don't, not the slightest bit.

because i do not believe in living a life by being petty and calculative, and confrontational about those 2 things mentioned which you believe in. life is way too short and beautiful to be tainted like that. for every one person who is unhappy with me, there are always more who love me and what i do. not that it matters, but yes, unfortunately, i am only an ordinary human, and it actually does matter at least that tiny bit.

petty

1.	of little or no importance or consequence: petty grievances.

—Synonyms 1. nugatory, negligible, inconsiderable, slight. Petty, paltry, trifling, trivial apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. Petty implies contemptible insignificance and littleness, inferiority and small worth: petty quarrels. Paltry is applied to something that is beneath one's notice, even despicable: a paltry amount. Something that is trifling is so unimportant and inconsiderable as to be practically negligible: a trifling error. Something that is trivial is slight, insignificant, and even in incongruous contrast to something that is significant or important: a trivial remark; a trivial task. 3. small. 4. stingy, miserly.

someone up there is testing my patience, yet again. did i pass the test? does it really even matter?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

add-on!
i still need retail sales personel (details below!) urgently!
25th august - 14th sept
9.45am - 9.30pm (1 hr lunch + 1 hr dinner)
1-2 shifts / flexible schedule
$6 per hours + 5% commission
temp, full-time.
in singapore! orchard location! thanks!

of 2 minds

well, not really, but just very tedious to get it on... get on with it, lynda! sheesh... *slaps ownself*

i've embarked on a new project, peppywanders! ta-dah!



i planned on it couple of months ago... well, not couple... some... some months ago... ha! and no no, i've not been procrastinating about it... it's just that littleoddforest is so super full-time (and over-time!), that i hardly have time to do peppywanders... everytime i thought "yay! finally some spare work time to work on my nifty little new project!", and then, here comes a new wholesale order, or there comes another custom bulk order, and the few shitty business things to deal with here and there... and then it was time for new lof collection... and then i have to deal with my sewers... then i have to fly in and out of singapore.... and then... you get the drift.... and yet, the very reason why i decided to start on a new project - peppywanders - was because i feel that i needed a fresh creative breather space. ironic!!!!!! ha!!!

i never learn lessons, do i.... that was part of the reason why we had to downsize crafthings to be part of littleoddforest's online shoppe, i felt it was befitting since the wooden bag handles are custom designed by me anyways.... so that was okay, and luckily enough, my crafthings' original customers just simply, quietly, and nicely shifted to the new domain and continued patronising us, so that's awesome. but i won't and i can't do that for peppywanders because.... it's an outlet for me to do all things non-forest related. and that would totally defeat the purpose wouldn't it. not to mention confusing everyone and destroying the branding i've built up for lof all these years (i make it sound sooooo old... hahaha)

argh.

and so i started putting them on etsy. but. you know. things don't work out that way.... no no no... i plant a seed... i water it whenever i can... it sprouts a little..... then i was too busy to water it diligently... or sun it when it's cloudy... and then... the little sprout dies. yep. i've sold only 6 pin buttons for peppywanders, and it was all via flickr, and my second child is crying out for its mummy. the very bad and lousy mummy who's too busy with the older sibling, who can wipe its own shit, bathe itself, clothe itself and basically, easier to take care of. ha! for my 2nd child, i am pretty sure it's still in the freakin' womb the last time i checked, and i'm not even bothered to experience labor pains yet! bleurgh.

well, i say, i'm determined to not let it just... die. maybe it'll suffer a little, here and there... go through the exact same growing pains lof did. and hopefully... grow! maybe.

oh. or. i'll learn to mutate another one of "me" tonight, and then, who knows! my clone might be able to start work on the new website (which is in photoshop layer mess) and get p.w. rolling on! just like littleoddforest. i want both of them to rock together. is that too much to ask?? too greedy, you think?? perhaps.

but that's me. i'm a greedy one. i like to take big munches. right, ruth? hahah!

so. take a guess what will be my next news?
the soft launch of littleoddforest's new collection online starting this week! am in the midst of completing our first 2 stockists' orders of our new collection, so there will be spillover goodies from wholesale orders for the website as per usual! i just have to get done with the photo editing parts.....

see? i can't even do a proper post solely dedicated to peppywanders. i have to make it share with lof! terrible!

i guess i'm destined to only have 1 baby. 1 and a half. maybe. a freak!
and no, i don't know what's up with all my references to births and babies. and no, i'm NOT going there... it's bluergh! for me. for now. hahaha


p.s. the 2 big feet plushies in my photo for fredflare's nbt'08? they are peppywanders' mascots! hahahah! and i did have great fun making them. can't find the photos though????... ggrrrr..... so, later.

handmade nation fundraiser

this is coming in late, but better late than never....
paper boat is one of littleoddforest's fab stockist, co-owned by filmmaker/author, faythe levine

"Faythe Levine, co-owner of Paper Boat, is also working on an independently produced documentary called "Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft & Design" (also to be released as a book by Princeton Architectural Press in November 2008).

The documentary is currently in post production and is in need of funding assistance. In order to help with production cost, monthly raffles have been set up to raise money.

For more information about the documentary, book and to buy raffle tickets please visit the Handmade Nation BLOG HERE. There is also an Etsy shop HERE where you can purchase promotional items and donated handmade work. All proceeds of the raffle and the Etsy shop go towards production cost."

cyclone in myanmar

i just received a text message from worldvision singapore.
"Death toll may climb above 60,000 with a threatening disease outbreak."

if you haven't already heard (then maybe you should start reading the papers or watch the news!), cyclone nargis hit on 2 may 2008 and has already claimed more than 22,000 lives in myanmar and more than 40,000 still missing to date.

please learn more about the situation and how you may help here -
http://www.worldvision.org.sg/st_newsroom.php

solve it yourself

as a child, this has always been drilled into me by my parents, "learn to solve it yourself. don't depend on others to solve your own problems. you have to learn to be independent so that you'll think for yourself and be a useful person when you grow up." my mum stopped short of teaching me how not to not be a society-leech i think. i love my mum, but i sometimes have a love and hate relationship with the way i was brought up.

when i first came back to singapore, i hated it so very much. i only had a culture shock coming home, it's crazy. you might think it's exaggerating, but it took me almost an entire year to get over it. to get over all that i missed, and to get over all that i had to face day in day out. to get over the fact that i no longer have my own cool pad but have to move back in with my dad. to get over the fact that i had to work, pay my own bills, give my parents money, and so on.

later on, after having it enough, prostituting at local design firms, i started forestprints design with my remaining 10k savings, i dumped it all into the business and started it with zero in my bank account. for almost the entire first year, i couldn't live the usual lifestyle i was so used to, hitting the clubs every weekend, being generous with treats (or basically, being a "carrot" if you may) with my "friends", shopping as and whenever on expensive stuff at least once a week, restaurants, starbucks every single day, yes, even simple things like that that we take for granted when money isn't so hard to come by. for the very first 3 months, i had to survive on weekend meals paid for by b, scrimp on weekday meals, and "shamefully" accept the occasional handout from my mum. sometimes my strong pride took over and i stupidly refused her handout, saying that i was coping just fine.

then when business picked up and things started to look better, i still didn't want to spend, i wasn't used to my bank account looking so sad, so i started to save, something i have never done before in my entire life. incredible. not that i wasn't taught to save, i just didn't, and pretended to. because in the end, i will dig them all out to get yet another new gaultier wallet, when i was still in high school, and yes, i managed to only hang out with friends that were just like me or even worse, or leeching on me. my parents thought giving me alot of pocket money will help me save even more. they couldn't be more wrong for once.

forestprints design has since grown, and i'm really grateful for that. but although i'm doing much better than if i had stayed on working for someone, the business hasn't grown like super exponentially, or enough for me to have put aside a large comfortable sum to still grow it much further. i've also pumped in a substantial amount into setting up and maintaining of the fair-wage workshop in philippines. well, okay, admittedly, i have changed from my spendthrift days, but am still only halfway there i suppose. when you earn more, you tend to spend more, true.

when i thought i had enough money to buy a home studio, the property prices went sky-high. so i had to temporarily shelf that big idea, although we're still keeping an eye out there. i've been drilled not to live with any debts if possible. and i was not about to take out a loan for the 20% downpayment, on top of the monthly mortagage. so b and i then decide to get a new car, a car we can finally call our own. enough of sharing it with very petty and picky people i say! (another long story). and because he shares the same "do not leech on your parents" mantra, we paid the downpayment by ourselves. we were eventually surprised to slowly find out that none of our friends around our age who owned a car did that. so anyways, there goes a portion of our available cash. just so everyone knows, it costs a foot and a leg to own a car in singapore, compared to the US and europe... so yes, we're left with 1 foot and 1 leg.

that was also about the same time, i thought i should move on and execute option B in my business plan - rent a showroom studio space - since i can't own one yet. but an estimated minimum 30k investment is needed in order for me to have it at my ideal location, amongst many other considerations and factors involved. any one interested in investing in littleoddforest??? ha. i'm not business network savvy at all. i'm not a very pr person. not even close. i just like to make silly friends. yeah. so then, the big question is, should i just start over like i did almost 4 years ago, and take a big financial risk in order to execute option B? i do not have parents' money as a backup option. i'm sounding abit bitter here now, aren't i... hahaha... nah. i'm thankful for how my mum has taught me. and yes! she's back in town!!! wooow! :D

so okay, anyways. fine. i'm moving on to option C. b was very sad and affected when he heard of this. silly b. i'm off to work on it now! and unfortunately, also hoping and trying to solve just one of many production issues i have been plagued with this year. humans are disgusting. ciao~

2008 charities

just received a letter from dhaka, bangladesh, from our world vision sponsored child :)