We are officially back online!

After what seems like a million years, I'm back to creating for florspace. Looking back at all my creations at flickr made me really miss creating things, letting my imagination run wild!

Its been about 5 years in the corporate world before my other half got a position here in Brisbane, Australia. We moved last year and its been a great ride, settling in and exploring this great new place! We just pretty much got the wheels running with oils now so I pretty much can't wait to get back to sewing! Cutting up some gorgeous Japanese canvas for the much requested cube wallets is really making my heart sing! I well and truly miss this a lot!

I'm changing from a Singer to a Janome workhorse and she's a real trooper! More quality sewing and hopefully amazing things a-coming! Meanwhile, go shopping, coz we never sleep!

A major shift.... life story

Hello everyone. Time certainly flies. The last post was nearly 4 years ago. Ridiculous amount of days has passed since I last sat for hours at the sewing machine churning out yummy handmade purses and bags. (actual time - 6 years ago) To say I miss those days is a terrible understatement. How is everyone been holding up? Its strange but it almost feels like a lifetime ago. I've always wanted to write but the motivation eludes me.

What have I been doing you ask? Climbing the corporate ladder.

I lived and breathed florspace for 4 years and have had truly amazing time. I'll always remember those days fondly. In real life, I was also doing a business / finance degree during that time. When I graduated, I thought, maybe its time to live like an adult. I also wanted to prove that I could attain an accountant title. That was when I halted florspace. It wasn't as easy as you have a degree, you're automatically an accountant. I started out at a major corporation as something like an assistant executive manning data entry and running payments. I met a whole bunch of amazing people, learnt a lot about the corporate world and yes, its cruel, but I had the privilege of amazing seniors and bosses who were nice to me. I was lucky. But the department had to wind up so I moved on. This time, I got a job as a payable accountant at another large IT company. Almost there, I thought. The environment was very very tough. I worked very long hours but had opportunities to travel and train. I loved it but it was literally killing me. I switched again to a smaller setup, where I was finally an Accountant. Nothing else. I oversaw operations from the ground, set up new systems and trained people. Loved it. I was where I wanted to be in 5 years. I had the name cards to prove it.

I wasn't happy. My hair was turning white and thinning so quickly, I was deathly afraid of dying it so frequently. I had bad skin; pimples popped up daily to say hello. I was angry, angry at anyone and anything. My parents felt I was being a jerk. I could pay for a lot. Fancy dinners, brunches at hip places, expensive coffee, vacations and above all, my terrible addiction of ridiculously expensive bags. They weren't IT bags to me, they represented the quality and the scent of leather I had no time nor patience to produce. I didn't just go for the A Wang, Proenza Schouler, Chloe or Mulberry, I had a preference for Chanel and Hermes. (Sorry Vuitton, but you disappointed me a number of times, I stopped believing in you.) I picked up a Fuchsia Michael Kors tote at some outlet in San Francisco during a company training trip, used it to death and threw it around on the ground, much to my colleague's horror. I had a wardrobe of heels and dresses like they were my uniform. I mainly wore cardigans and a fit/flare type dress. On days I had to look professional, it was a slim figure hugging black dress with heels. I click-clacked my way around the CBD, convincing myself I belonged there. I spent after hours mulling over work and online shopping. Or gym. Yes, those expensive gym memberships. Ok I won't rant on that since they did help me get a wee bit leaner and healthier. But all that goes down the drain when I got home and sat down in front of my computer, binge watch american TV and ate potato chips. That was a secret shame. My weight would steadily climb once I got lazy to actually go to the gym. I made myself happy by buying something or hitting a new cafe / cupcake joint. Oh I had no idea my life was spiralling. You might read this and tell me, what are you complaining about? That's normal, that's life. That was what everyone was telling me. You gotta work, gotta pace yourself or you'll burnout. But how does one pace oneself? If you're tasked to do something, you do it. In return, I got badly thinning hair, bad skin, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and I got fat.

Early December 2015, other half, now my fiance, got a job at a university in Brisbane, Australia. I remembered he had a very early skype interview. I had to go to work. Mom and Dad was free that day so we went out for breakfast and they drove me to work. I love being in the backseat of my parents car. Happiest days of my childhood. Fiance called me and say, "I got the job. Let's go to Brisbane. Its time to change". That was a major turning point. It wasn't easy for him to get a job in this day and age. He had been trying for a number of years to get a permanent position and we were living apart, for a total of 9 years actually. He went back to Singapore last July and thank god he didn't have to stay long. He does not like the place. Even though I was happy to have him around, I was still exasperated and angry most of the time as I was still working and having to deal with difficulties. I think he knew he had to get us out.

My Christmas present last year was a copy of his contract from the University. It suddenly felt real. We were going to move. We had a vacation to Hong Kong planned for mid January (amazing trip!) so after we came back, within a week, he packed up, shipped the boxes and he was gone as they wanted him there asap. I was left with a bit of gaping hole. He left the decision on whether to move, or when to move over, to me. I gave it a bit of thought and started packing. I promised my aging parents I would call often and visit yearly. I gave notice to work, had a good replacement, an lovely send off. With more packing, throwing and donating, I was clear to ship. I booked the tickets and by mid-May, I was in Brisbane.

I'm not unfamiliar with living in Australia. I spent 3.5 years in Sydney. I loved Sydney. But when I came here, fiance told me, you're gonna feel like someone took all of Sydney, dumped it into a bag and poured it all out like a child. He wasn't wrong. Queensland is much larger piece than Sydney. Even the city feels more spreaded out. Girl friend told me, we need to drive here. But I've decided to save on the transport since we're not heading out every day. Public transport here is rather expensive, same with rent and utilities. We're lucky to be slightly higher up in an apartment building with amazing views of sunrise and sunsets, but we can't avoid the flies and occasional cockroach. Eww. Oh well. We're lucky the city mall is 15 mins away and the museums are also a hop and skip away. Its been rather fun so far. Fiance says I've got less to be mad about now, save for the bills. 

I've been receiving convos / emails over the years about whether I'll be making more of a wallet or bag and I just want to give a shout out to you amazing people. You make me wanna come back! So I guess the big question is will florspace be up soon? Well, the short answer is yes, the long answer is well....not-so-soon. I want to research on better designs and trials before rolling anything out. You know me. I want the quality before quantity. Not to mention the postage costs here seems much higher than back in Singapore. We'll see.

So yeah, that was my story. To be continued with more observations and quirks of Brissy.
Stay safe and happy.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone and have a fabulous year ahead! XOXO

Marine dress

Before I start, Happy Diwali to my lovely friends. Today's festival of light marks a new year, and even more fabulous one for all you people ahead.

Inspired by the super cute purple dress by Crissi (next post below), I decided to finally do my own little official dress. I'd never did a proper cut out dress. It was always taking the easy way out, attaching some fabric to a stretchy material for the boob part. I thought I should grow up and embark on the real stuff. So, no pattern in mind or hand, I drew out a simple tank for the top, double layered the inside and out so I'll get nice flat seams. The secret is to snip the curve areas. The bottom is no secret, just a long rectangle. 2 rows of 1 inch wide elastic holds the center part together.

I'm partial towards marine styles, so 2 rows of white grosgrain ribbon trims the bottom. ;+) Love how it turned out, fits great. No zipper coz it can be pulled over. Easy. 7 hours of easy, that is. Now I wanna make some more. Certainly more rewarding than buying one off the shelves.

I leave you with a lovely song.

about Crissi Cochrane

discovered this amazing & adorable indie singer songwriter, who also incidentally makes really cute dresses! (thats how i found her anyways, i was trawling for craftyness.) Her Drive all night vid is right above. Hit play, you'll fall in love with her sweet voice and how calm her music makes you feel. :+) find her deets at www.crissicochrane.com

Love her Battenburg And Berries Dress. vintage chic, no?

just thought i'd share. 

Hello Shorty!

Hello blog world! long time..... almost a year to be exact. time flies when you're consumed by the corporate world. yes, unfortunately to feed myself independently i needed to do the unthinkable. so now i'm some accountant slaving away her life for pennies. life is generally not as miserable - i surround myself with books and crafts, secretly sewing pieces of clothing whenever the weekends come along. this particular weekend is rather fruitful. i had been thinking of making summer shorts for a while and i couldn't find a pair for a decent price in the stores, so i thought, heck, i'll make one. so here's a tiny tute to share my tiny joy.

Hello Shorty!

Bit more girly than expected. not necessarily a bad thing! It looks like boudoir short, but its really a lot wearable in real life. change the fabric / embellishments to create a different look.

You'll need your fav shorts for this project, if you don't have a pattern already. its rather easy to make a pattern and very useful for simple adjustments for future projects.

You'll also need paper for your patter, ruler, pencil, chalk, scissors, thread, sewing machine, embellishments & of course fabric for your short. depending on size, i recommend about 1.5 yards/meters for safety. you'll also need a bit of time. I took about 6 hours, with the pattern, decisions and embellishments. some amount of coffee recommended. ;+)

1) Pattern.

Fold your fav short in half to get both the front and back pattern. i recommend a non-stretchy short if you're using a non-stretchy fabric. the pattern is generally a rectangular piece with an extended piece at the bottom so there's like a curve "L" at the side. See snapshort for elaboration. the front piece ussually has a shorter L, the back has an extended L at the crotch, to make room for my um, ahem, ample bottom. :P i.e., the larger the bum, the longer the L has to extend out. i left more space at the side seams for luck and i kinda wanted to have the bottom leg part to be slightly wider.

2) Sew the crotch area. Front side to back side.

 

 3) Sew the side seams. Repeat for other leg.

4) Flip one piece inside out and place it in the other pant leg. line them together and sew the inseam. this will ensure a smooth curve around your crotch area.

5) Flip it inside out and you have your basic shorts! All you have to do is finish up the top and bottom.

6) I stitched around the seam to ensure the seams are strong enough to withstand machine washing.

7) Waistband. 

Cut a length of fabric, long enough to go round the top with a bit to spare for the seam and wide enough to fold over. Pin it along the top of the short, good sides together, and sew around the top, leaving a space for your elastic to run through.

8) Insert elastic.

Cut a length of 1 inch elastic (it can be wider, just adjust the width of the waistband to accommodate the elastic.) comfy enough to go round your low waist area, cut and insert it into the waistband of the short. pull it through, join the ends of the elastic together by sewing a zigzag stitch along. adjust the elastic until it fits in nicely then sew the opening.

9) Pockets

Feel free to skip this step if you don't need them. i personally adore them to store objects i often lose. or they're perfect for your hands. ;+) think about the size, make sure it fits your palm, how big and deep you want them to be, mine was about 5.5 inches all round. also think about where you want them. try your shorts on and figure that out.

10) Round edge

I like to use bowls and plates for the perfect curve. ;+)

11) Chalk the edges.

12) Sew the edges leaving about 2 inches space to turn the pockets out. Cut the edges for a smooth finish. iron the pockets and sew them on your shorts. embellish them if you like. i used ribbons and vintage lace for a girly touch.

 

13) Hem / sew bottom leg portions and you're done! finished short is the one on top. ;+)

It looks soooooo cute on i might make a couple more. the bottom leg part is a bit wide so i might take it in a bit next round. i'll need a grey linen slightly longer one for work. we'll see.

hope you guys like it and enjoy short-ing! :D taaaa!

5th Anniversary SALE! - belated...but awesome! :D

When life gives us lemons, we make Pellegrino.....

Sorry its belated guys....but Its time to sit back and let the fingers do the clicking! Its the 5th Anniversary SALE time!

SALE starts this Tuesday night (GMT +8)!
For 2 weeks ONLY! (ends on my birthday, 21st Sept. :+))

Absolutely 30% off everything instore!
(even sale items! woo-hoo!)

SHOP AWAY already! :D

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Anniversary SALE Conditions:
1) Reserved, pre-orders, customs, additional requests not included in the sale.
2) Sale section items are included! :D
3) Payment is expected immediately at the time of order for international paying by paypal.
4) Local customers can pay by paypal using your credit card.
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Note that every single purse that goes into the shoppe is all painstakingly made by hand so no sale-time rejects ever!