Remember the @Marekita post about postcards? This time she sent me the above picture of the Wonderland gadget case she got from us a while ago! So happy I got permission to post this! I love the area shot loads! It must be amazing for you guys who get to be living in places where you can get vast lands and fresh air. Its so dense here, I can hardly see 10 metres ahead.
The juxaposition of the cute print & nature is so interesting, its mind-picking, in an amusing way!
@Marekita tweeted about the cute postcards that were included in her package from us! Its so sweet that she frames them up! Thanks girl! We do still have a couple of them, usually included with your orders of 2 MiniZs and above! I secretly love to squeeze out bits of time to make postcards....shhh! I love them! If you get some from us, do share! ;+)
The cute Lemon stripes tote has also been featured in this lovely etsy Treasury full of lovely yellow by Amy of northernroots. Thanks Amy!
We've also got really lovely feedbacks from our customers at etsy! I feel so loved these days! :D
Some of you guys may have heard, the head elf of florspace was down with a bout of stomach flu. It eventually turn out to be a full-fledged flu, fever, nose, throat & all, sans the canker sores. It was quite bad actually. I had an inkling (this is the 3rd time) I'm 'allergic' to vegetarian (asian variety) food since they tend to load up on certain types of oil which is really bad for me. I throw up when my body has to process too much oil, sugar & fat. Why am I still on the heavy side, I'll never know. But thank heavens I'm still able to run and jump. Anyhoo, this 'flu' had me sitting on the can while holding a bucket. Suffice to say, I was clearing out the gunk both ways. It was horribly painful, mind-bending & hellish. I was down for 3 days + fever etc. before I thought things took a turn for the better. I threw up & sat on the can again while my tummy decide to give me a numb pain for 2 nights. Somehow, I got much better today - tummyache gone, weakness in my limbs cease & i'm able to sew & type quite normally now. Thanks to mom's everyday porridge & loads of care!
So I wasted no time to do up the reversible messenger hobos (quite a mouthful!), which are rather complicated & time-consuming but are so fun to do up! The final product always makes me wanna do it all over again right away! I know, I know, you guys love the redness, so here's one of the ever ever popular Stroll print from Shinzi Katoh! I'm in love with both the large gingham & red polkadots & somehow in some strange manner, it just quirkily came together! Hmm...must be the little cotton lace that speaks volumes. I love these little pretty cotton laces. They bring almost anything together! 2 more 'red' hobos a-comin'! Before we got 3 more cute ones coming! + we got vegan leather handles from Japan! This means a lot more of your favorite classic everyday totes coming along too! Hope I can get to do that much before heading off to Sydney to join my other half (who's stuck there) for Christmas & the big NYE fireworks! I'm really looking forward to that since I missed it for a handful of years now.
A bunch of our new paper goods also came in! We're changing our card inserts in our purses to these cute ones above! You'll see them with the new purses we do up! And the extra paper goods mean cute postcards, stickers, magnets for all you awesome peeps who buy from us! You know your package always comes with extra love, but this time, the love gets more & more! Because at florspace, we love you & want you to be extra happy! ;+)
Have a great weekend you guys!! ♥♥♥
Just some of the red things in the shoppe...
My Beagle MiniZ
Red Hippo and Autumn Stripes Reversible Market Tote AND Mini Tote Set
Fruits Bunny Kawaii MiniB
Animal Crackers Red MiniZ
Red Squirrel Cube Wallet
Flower Love Large Wristlet Pouch
Red Bridge MiniB
Butterflies Red Large Wristlet Pouch
Red Hippo MiniZ
Last weekend to grab what you need from our shoppe! 20% off everything, plus our Minis are at only $5 & $6 each! Our Anniversary SALE ends Monday midnight, NY time (SG Tuesday 12pm). :+)
After all that lamentations, its time to present our hope for the future. We pulled out our all time favourite print for this year's ultimate set - the retro mushrooms. Every year we do one splurge. This set will come with secret, sweet stuff we're not revealing yet. All in good time and a surprise for the receiver too. ;+) All we can say is that its a lot of shrooms.
These mushrooms, a burst of life and colors are a representation of our hope for the future for this doom and gloom year we had to go through. May things become simpler, people more honest and lives get richer with experiences of nature and adventure.
RRP$99, now $79. See the hope.
STARTS at approximately 1pm Singapore time, 12am EST, Nov 28th 2008. Will end Sunday 12 midnight (Singapore Monday, 1pm)
Black Friday-Weekend Sale Conditions:
1)Reserved, preorders, customs not included in the sale
2) Sale items are not included
3) Florspace Home items not included BUT can be shipped together. Wait for a revised paypal invoice, SG wait for revised email notice.
4) Payment is expected immediately at the time of order for international paying by paypal.
5) Payment is expected within a day for local orders, ie, payment has to be received in our bank account within a day after information is emailed to you.
6) No further discounts will be allowed.
7) While stocks last, or subject to our production capabilities. Items will be relisted as the sellout, so a little patience is in order. :+)
8) Conditions are subject to necessary changes.
9) Violations of rules mean sale will be cancelled. Sorry!
The GOOD news is...
Spend $50 and above, you'll get free extra yummy goodies in with your order! Ranges from our exclusive unreleased christmas stockings, our printed calendars which some of you guys have already received...plus ALL ORDERS gets yummy candy canes, our exclusive christmas postcards, keyring.....etc!! We don't usually hawk our freewares, coz they're always given out out of goodwill and most importantly because we love you guys for your continuous support! So everyone's gotta know every order comes with extra love! ;+)
Tell your friends, shop in your pjs with a mug of hot choco. What could be better?
THE Black Friday-Weekend Sale
-----
Phew! The first 12 hours of the sale has ended and so many of you guys waited patiently at the computer for the sale. HUGE HUGE thanks to everyone who's SO supportive of florspace! Your monies put food on our table & to buy more yummy fabric choice for you guys! Couple of the big ticket items have sold out but we'll try to put up more for sale tomorrow! Been working our asses off today so we need a bit of shuteye first. ;+)
- 12.13am 29th nov GMT+8, 11.13am 28th nov EST
Just swapped the banner for the little shoppe. This time I'm actually early for my sale administration work. LOL I'm finding it tough to manoeuvre with the limitations of 700 by 100 for etsy banners. What do people think? Everyone seems to be holding up fine. Maybe its just me. I'm just lousy with the photo-editing. I messed up with photoshop coz it was really too complicated. Then I thought of learning Illustrator after spending too much time at Paul Frank's site. But I thought, its prolly a good idea if I did not. It might explode on me! I'm using photoscape and its so-far-so-good. *phew!*
Whoa, I cleared up 5 bags of stuff today from just 2 cupboards! Plenty of old mags, school notes, old diarys and some trinkets. Most of them are going to goodwill. If you're in town (Singapore) and deal with magazine papers (like make stuff out of them; coasters, baskets, bags, bowls, boxes, wallart, floor collage(!), table, woven art, envelopes, etc.), feel free to come over and collect them. You might need help. Its impossible to carry a bagful over 2 inches. I'm waaaaaaay too deep in my fabrics to delve into other projects right now. I would LOVE to do everything, but I gotta keep focused before I go insane! Its like what Laura would say, "I gotta clone myself". Ditto, girl.
I gotta take pictures. Its 12am now, so til next morning! *yawn*
....
p/s: Thanks you guys, its so encouraging to hear you guys! *beams*
Its been 2 years and a couple of days. This review is long overdue! Its been a busy time, putting out yummy things for you wonderful people who love us so much and tell us so! I should stop the long ass appreciation speech and just say, you people are everything to us, without you all, we're nothing, literally. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
When I set out for florspace, I really was at the breaking point, fiddling with store-bought bags that didn't really get me anywhere. Like clothes, shoes and everything else, there was always something so wrong with the bags in stores. By 'bags in stores' I really mean the mass-produced kinds. With little income to spare for Chloes and Vuittons and Kate Spades, I have to look at the more affordable range on the floor. I've been a bag lady all my life. When I go to a store, unconsciously, I'll end up looking at bags. Still not sure why, but somehow I'd always end up scrutinizing one or maybe, if I get lucky, lugging one home too! The exhilaration of bagging a new bag is just pure joy. That is until, said bag, has a problem. Size, color, texture, style, durability, utility & sometimes, even overusage disintegration and/or the smell of "vegan" leather can be so 'wrong' that it has to be stuffed into the back of the wardrobe. I feel bad, for the earth really, going thru bag after bag, purse after purse for years and years with the buy-and-throw attitude rolling on faster and faster, more and more. It got worse in the recent years when mass-produced bags started flooding the market from China. I was very pissed when the fakes started flooding in. I have the utmost respect for most designers and feel absolutely disgusted when their designs are simply stolen, copied and sold as if it was the most natural thing in the world. There was even a time when I spend spotting fakes in the street for the sake of it, I still do it now. I even reported a lot of listings on ebay because they're hawking fake bags. Whats the difference between selling a fake purse on ebay and stealing? With imminent depressing factors in the world, I decided I couldn't take it no more one day and decided to make my own bags for myself. Hell, if I'm so pissed with what's available, I should do something about it. After months of trial, florspace was born, as a way to share and as a means to feed myself coz I was sick of the corporate life about that time as well.
And yes, like every other business, we do have ugly episodes. Even though florspace was born to share the love for quality handmade things, like it always should have been, it is definitely tough to please everyone. Its easy to say, I can't please everyone anyways, but difficult to say when to draw the line, which comments are hitting below the belt. We are customers ourselves at some point, everyone is, and recognizing the difficulties in business, we try our best to play nice. It can be taken for granted and thats where things can start to get messy. Over the internet, over emails, words are words. Its dangerous, I think, coz ever so often, it gets misinterpreted. I'm so lucky to have DH who is a wordy expert, a social discourse linguist who deciphers my misconceptions and misinterpretations. I'm lucky to say its still pretty unusual, so I pray it stays that way. Still people can sometimes be annoying, intentional or not, I don't really have an idea. But I do have a natural tendency to make peace most of the time. Everytime an episode arises, I re-read wonderful things so many other people have said and feel better. Its still funny how one bad review can really just cancel out all the good things that have been said.
On business opportunities, we did receive quite a number of requests recently. Due to manpower shortage, the fear of becoming yet another mass production corporation & the desire to keep things smaller, more exclusive and of a higher quality, we've decided not to go anywhere yet. We're open for wholesale orders, not consignment because of a pretty bad experience. Hmm. I'll be happy to work for collaborations too! (silkscreen people, are you hearing this? ;+)
In the next years to come (I hope!), I do wanna strive so much to make better & yummier things, search the world for more yummy fabrics (another japan trip next year!), procrastinate less and take life's lemons and make them into Spanish Fly. Of course, spread the general niceness. ;+)
Hmm.....I need cake & bubbly.
What a number! LOL I know, I'm unabashedly flaunting meaningless milestones. Its been a long Sunday. I managed to sneeze myself awake (20 times?) this morning at 9am when I planned to sleep myself silly coz I'd been missing out on sleep for weeks now. It was tests after tests, then DH left, then it was lots of lovely people making orders, then more tests. Life does indeed go on endlessly. My head keeps telling me, "you need a vacay". Is everyone feeling that?
Anyhoo, I promise myself this blogpost isn't going to be lamentative (!!), but to give huge thanks to everyone who made up that number! If not for the computer screen, I'd give you a hug. Your support made our motivational gears running and our unending passion to create quality handmade goods. While re-reading florspace's etsy profile, I realised how important it is to stand by the philosophies I'd first created when starting florspace, which is to create individualistic purses that are of quality materials, cute, versatile and most of all functional. I demand each piece to be personally "abused" by me before it goes to you, test stretched at the seams to make sure they survive a purse-wreck while in our bags or when the drop. If I don't see myself buying the item, there's no way it goes into my shop. Its a strict basic rule, at least for us. Looking back, its great that I took a moment to bring myself back to where I'd envisioned instead of being led further with every single day that passes.
Which explains why florspace isn't a hobby. We're not here to make a quick buck, but to share the quality that always should have been but have been lost in the sea of perpetual consumption. So understand if we're a tiny bit pissed when we're being thought of as another home-hobby-turn-shop-for-profit thing. I've always wanted to do this and will always do.
*phew* Its prolly damn weird to be "taking stock" in March. Oh hell.
I'm perpetually late anyways.
Friday showcase. Check us out! Its our first time trying the showcase thing out after clicking on it so many times and finding awesome etsy people through the showcase!
Can you guess which one's us? ;+)
I got a problem! I'm ridiculously addicted to these retro mushrooms and I've got no way of getting rid of them! In fact, I'm down with the retro bug and it looks permanent! Help!
LOL If um, you happen to be in my boat, come join the retro side. Everything's so beautiful, colorful and did I mention the possibilities are endless? The age of space travel, lava lamps and Supertramp. Uhhhhhhoooooo~~~
o-k-a-y....its getting a tad ridiculous. Overheard - "Earth to Lyn!" *deep breath* DH was busy the other day ranting on and on about Derrida & Heidigger's ideas (he's doing Phd) and while "listening", I managed to finish these lovely mushie pouches! Yaaaaay! Its a 'brighten up your everyday' pouch! Use it on its own to travel light, or put one in your purse so you'd smile everytime you open up your bag! They all got cute gingham inside and zippers with holes so you know what that means! Customize it & make it yours! Hang that voodoo doll, or the cute plastiques florspace always includes with your orders! Woo hoo!
Did I get your hearts palpitating yet? They've got removable clips! Use them everywhere! One great tip from a friend - put them around the boyfriend/husband's belt loop and put the wrist loop around your wrist and taa daa! He's not going anywhere now, is he? *evil chuckles*
Still at the fabulous price of $22, right here!
Yaaaay! More of the uber cute hedgehogs have crawled their way to florspace! *drool* They are crazy adorable and I'm pretty glad to have gotten my hands on them. I have big hands. LOL
Methinks the dobby weave texture just adds to the beauty of the print, non? The zakka-style shrubs the hedgies are playing amongst really completes the natural look.
Time to sit back, take a little time off and watch the hedgies play in the woods!
(Don't make fast movements or loud sounds coz you'll scare them off!)
Same old price of $6.50.
Find them here!
New Collection for Spring 2008!
This collection is inspired by the good times at canivals when I was a kid, but most of all, the Luna Park at Sydney where the good times pepetuate! DH and I had fun there, searching for our inner child, screaming our hearts out on the rides, having fun knocking the teeth out of clown heads, winning softies and rushing for the Lemonade stand to refresh. Our outings always ended with a ride on the ferris wheel, where it gets chilly during sunset and we get to wind down for the night...
Miss Everyday Cupcake here didn't make the picture above coz she was too busy whoofing cupcakes on the window sill. Oh well. She's part of the collection anways! A bazillion ways to eat cupcakes! A cupcake a day, keeps the blues away. Even if you're on diet, this is a guilt-free way to brighten up your day! :+)
I thought this would be a great way to start the year! Instead of working your asses off, stop for just a tiny bit, and indulge in something rewarding. Look for your inner child, bake some cookies or go to a fair. Be nice to yourself in 2008!
Its Live. Remember this? I was having a lot of trouble letting this one go! Conversation with DH went like this couple of days ago...
DH - why haven't you listed it yet?
Me - I don't know...
DH - Are you going to keep it again?
ME - Alright, alright, I'll list it. *pouts*
So there, I've hardened my heart. Go look. Its the perfect size for the everyday carryall.
And its also the preview for 2008 designs! ;+)
Yeah, its official. DH is back. Its weird coz we haven't seen each other for a while and things have to change coz he's mostly at my place. No more crazy late nights at the computer and of course a serious lack of time for my sexy sewing machine. I can say bye to lazing in front of the telly in the arvos as well. Mum reported that the shopping area is flooded with human traffic and it takes a good half an hour to navigate thru the crawd when it would usually take 5. I'm permanently afraid of town right now. In fact, there's a lot of inertia to go out, especially when public transport is required. I'm not spoilt, I swear. I do appreciate my dad's car loads. Its tough to muster enough courage to face the public crawd sometimes. I wonder if its just me.
Anyhoo, that was yesterday's dinner. I made soup but it was difficult to show without it looking weird. LOL DH says he misses fried rice loads. I shot him a funny look then my memories of awful sydney food came back. I hope he gets fatter here. *shhhh*
My dear assistant, mum helped with these. She's becoming tremendously good at making cubes now. I won't be surprised; her workmanship has been commended again and again thru the years! I'm super glad I have her help with florspace. The Sakura in pink was a custom order for another fabulous etsyer and Keroppi was snapped up by a dear customer just a couple of hours after it was listed! I do feel really happy, loved & humbled that so many of you guys love florspace! Hmmm.....I'm starting to miss Keroppi! I only had a piece of that gorgeous fabric and I've got only scraps left so its tough to let it go. LOL DH liked Keroppi too. But I'm sure the new ower would love it too! ;+)
Later guys.
Realised I forgot to post these! My post vacation slump is happening right now. When I need the awful bedsheets to be washed, clothes to be ironed and put away and general housekeeping to be done. Now you know I'm not as clean and perfect as I look like! Awful procrastinating behavior can be so bad but sometimes I can't help it. At lease the parcels have been mailed. It was such great inertia to go out in the scorching sun and all. Its still 32degC here, no less. Eugh!
Anyhoo, new cubes are up in the store. A mix of traditionals and mod elements. They look like a weird bunch together but see them seperately and they each have their charms! Some of them have been snapped up, so get in quick. Don't say I didn't warn ya!
This is what it would look like when I go outdoors to look for peace. Vintage flask of tea, fuits, magazines and a trusty shawl. I have a pillow hidden in the tote too. ;+)
My last installation for the Go Big Or Go home inspiration of large totes. Apparently you guys love it so I'm going to try to add that to my inspirational repetoire. I'm running out of the gorgeous cream canvas that I use for the insides (or out if you please), so it'll warrant another fabric run this coming week or so. I get excited when I can go buy fabrics. Oh the feel of cloth on my hands and the sound of scissors running through it...
English rose is a decorator weight fabric, used for home upholstery and curtains, which would be a perfect weight for a sturdy tote. I'm dead-against substandard quality. So often I balk at the prices stores are selling for a mass-produced bag. No offence to anyone but it stinks both in prices and quality. My bags are entirely machine-washable. Got icky? Just drop it into the machine, short-cycle, gentle detergent, no softener and warm iron. Good as new.
I'm loving the muted & chic designer stripes, perfect as a year-round carryall. As its original fabric name suggests, it does remind me of the great England ladies at tea. Great for mums, markets, picnics, travel, school. Holds a ton, has a pocket and comes with a cute zippered pouch for your smaller essentials. At just $59 for the lot, right here.
I got really inspired by these gorgeous autumn trees I saw in Hokkaido. They were just rows and rows of them sitting quietly among the mountains. Unfortunately my camera couldn't begin to capture the gorgeous depth of those autumn colors. It was like sinking in a tub of orange crush. Its weird I know. I have a long love affair with trees. Out of 900 shots from my trip, a good 30% are trees, branches and leaves.
This was another gorgeous tree just outside one of the hotels we stayed in. The leaves look really really pretty. I think I have one of it. Not sure what I'll make it into yet. It'll come when its right. The emotionally artistic side of me has long been supressed and since uni days has started to push its way out and resurfaced. There were so much of these yellow leaves just falling like snow, leaving the city streets so gorgeously speckled! It was like the streets were paved in hues of gold. I don't wanna play favourites but autumn is one of my favourites (like how many can we have!). To quote Carrie Bradshaw, "New Yorkers treat every nice day in autumn as if it were their last". It almost felt like that. Seeing all that beauty just made me smile naturally.
Friday's dinner. Mum had a hair appointment. She usually buys dinner. Oh well. It was felt-playing time. Randomly, I took them out, arranged them, thinking about what I can do with them. When I came across the yellows, oranges and gold hues, the memories came back. I started cutting them up into leaves....
Still unable to let the orange addiction go, my crazy-dazed state led me to this! I spent all Friday and saturday on this coz I couldn't stop. An entirely unique piece, it'll be named Autumn Forever.
Not showing what it is yet! But soon.... ;+)
ps: If you're looking for wallets, we're having 7 new ones trickling into florspace!
pps: forgot to mention I'm on indiepublic. ;+) I'm pretty slow with these online communities so do bear with me! And yes, I read all your lovely comments! Thank you! :+)
That wasn't meant to be an insult or a command or anything. Its just that, I made a mistake of bringing my tiny little tote to Japan and it could barely house my "essential" belongings, let alone hide anything I manage to get my hands on from the stores, from my parents, that is. Well, usually its hiding purchases from DH but my parents can be just as naggy. Why are we girls destined to hide purchases (price tags, clothing tags, you name it.) ?! That I never understood. As if it was something to be ashamed of. Dang. So, came the desire to make big things to um, hide more.
Anyhooooo~, I thought it was time for additions to the Grande section of florspace, which has been empty for a while and has yield some disapproval from people. Sorry guys & gals! The winter market tote was first. That gorgeous linen was just sitting around in my cupboard, waiting to be turned into something for a long while. Sometimes I can feel my fabric calling out to me, to be made into something they want to be made into. I k now its weird. Talk about having a problem! If I make them into something they dislike, comes the problems during sewing! LOL Yeah... This tote will be your best friend during those winter markets, when you have to lug flowers, produce and all those yummy yard sale finds when all those other peeps decide to cower at home with hot chocolate. We market going people will not stop going to the markets! Wind, rain, snow, summer or winter! Yaaay! Its a steal for the fabric and size @$42 right here.
And it gets bigger! Yaaaay! I used some of this gorgeous uplifting rainbow stripes for the covering of my sewing essentials cupboard coz it was getting unsightly, as my mum would constantly say. So the size was perfect for this cheerily, slightly (or very?) Mexican, rainbow gigantic tote! I've got a pillow, a flask and a big Ikea fleece throw all in that tote right up there. Stuff are all clean of course. I'm a clean freak btw, and I cleaned that chair before I took pictures. As you all noticed, I'd seldom shoot outdoors because of weird looks and icky surfaces. I had to do it for this one and one other big tote, coming later! ;+)
Signature fold corners! Non-wastage of fabric too! And it adds a bit of something, than the usual square corners, don't you think? ;+) Look at that perfectly aligned sides! LOL (I'm amazed myself...)
There, you can see the flask right here. Throw on the left, pillow on the right inside. The size is perfect for family picnics and going off to the beach. All that stuff to carry! Also great for the gal who needs to lug craftivities to sell at the local market! No more unsightly china bags that break when you don't need them to. Double stitching around the top and triple stitching on the handles means your stuff stays in. If you need the flat rope tie for extra security, just ask!
Thats the pocket and how it looks like reversed. One lady used to tell me that my purses get a bit too brighty for winter. No worries, just flip it around for the yummy understated cream inside. Yaaay! 2 bags around the year! A steal @$49, right here!
ps, if the large totes get icky, just throw them into the washing machine with some mild detergent. Warm iron and its ready to use again!
One more to come...stay tuned!
