the 3 months

Its a terrible cliche, but its true that time has become quite precious to me these days. It seems to be slipping away faster than running water and the more I try to hold onto to it, the more it escapes my clutches. I fear I'm not getting enough done yet I wanna run away from everything. Its definitely a strange tug-of-war.

My sincere apologies for the lack of updates in these 3 months. Apart from trying to spend time with my other half in Sydney who was trying to complete his Phd thesis (its completed btw), & coming back to the heat & school responsibilities & restocking the shop, I've hardly had time to breathe much. Its hard to believe but more than half the year has gone by. I'm still amazed and so humbled that everyone's still so supportive of florspace and the stuff we make!

Thank you & HUGs!

It's May

I trust some of you guys may have heard, I've made my yearly pilgrimage to Sydney, just flew here on Monday on the SQ 380. It was a pretty pleasant flight (to me!), in fact it might be one of the best ones I've ever had and I fly almost every year since 8. I'm not proud of my carbon footprints, but I make it up by walking a lot. ;+) So I had the last 3 seats all to myself right against the wall as the plane was bit empty (yaaaay!), which means the time I would've spent elbowing someone while fidgeting or trying to climb over to make it to the loo will be missed (NOT!). Suffice to say, I got my movies, american TV, food, Tiramisu ice-cream all in the comfort & peace of my 3-seater. I even got about 3 hours of lie-down sleep minus the movies & food. Determined to enjoy this situation, I even made the 2 steps to the loo 3 times during the 7 hours which usually I cringe to climb over people or get annoyed when people try that. I avoid the loo usually, even for 7 hours. LOL I was pretty well-hydrated this time! ps, fly weekdays, its $200 cheaper. :+)

Anyhoo, some of you guys prolly already know that I have to be here in Sydney for a little while to see my other half who is finishing his phd and is unable to make it back to Singapore. My next sem starts in July so I'm gonna head back only then. I'm hoping to wind down a bit, after all that crazy work & school stuff. And, to plan for our autumn/winter collection for 2010.

On that note, I've gotten some news (read: official email from SK peeps) that Shinzi Katoh fabrics are not allowed to be made into stuff and advertised sold online, i.e. not for commercial use. Funny thing is it was not indicated on the fabric selvage (like some Sanrio fabrics), neither was it on the website, not to mention SK fabrics are sold in various sites online. But arguments aside, we can't go on using SK fabric for our off-the-shelf items, but if you like a custom item, let us know and we can work something out privately.

So there it is, our little May update. I'd plain forgotten to pack my new sony pink cam in so I'm gonna have to survive with DH's old sony. Hope the pictures will still be good. :+) Hope you guys are having a good start to the month.

Gadget case in action

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!

Chocolate Research Facility No. 2

Chocolate this good deserves a 2nd post. I started on the Cappuccino block.



Shots of the inside of the shop. The left side is the 100 flavors of chocolates.



The creamy thick coffee inside. The chocolate outside is seriously smooth. I think its a great alternative to Haigh's, which is already like a drug to me. So its Haigh's in Sydney, CRF in Singapore. I'm in chocolate heaven. X___X

Chocolate Research Facility

A week ago, a twitter friend sent me this tweet. Obviously I my eye almost popped that I had a new gourmet chocolate shop in my backyard (almost) and I didn't know about it! I had the duty to make the pilgrimage & report back as told. You've got to check out the dripping chocolate website & you'll know what I mean when I say I have to go, no questions asked. But I was bogged down with the darn 30-pg essay last week and I was finally free yesterday. I got to go down to the Millennia Walk branch today and boy was it like a trip to the candy store! :D I love that the shop is called Chocolate Research Facility and they have, literally a HUNDRED flavors of chocolates split into 10 different categories, from tea, coffee, fruits, local flavors (Durian, anyone?) to exotic flavors!



I'm always amused when lovely florspace customers tell me its so tough to pick any purse from my store. I felt exactly the same in the CRF store! I love that the chocolate bar mould is segmented into small, medium, large & um, xxl (?) pieces! Feelin' guilty? knock off a small piece. ;+) But from how it tastes, I'll need the whole block. :P



The back of every chocolate box. The designs are sort of thematic, but my fav is the cheese flavored one - cow fur print. LOL I have not tried that yet. I'm not about to gorge on the bars that quick.



I hummed & buzzed around the store like a weird bee not knowing which one to pick! I had mom along coz I was taking my parents to lunch. Mom didn't understand what the fuss was about the little white boxes. They looked like medicine to her. teehee There were seats to have a drink, chat & hang around the beautiful store but I had a lack of time and I wasn't allowed pictures instore. If you check out the "our space" link on the main page, you'll get to browse thru the store & chocolate pictures. I say go now. The chairs are amazing repro of Eames stiletto leg chair (Benedict, I know you'll love) & the tables are like squares of chocolate! Talk about an experience! The simplicity of the interior design seriously made me feel at home.



I came out with a bag of 4 blocks for a start. Hazelnut Dark from the Nut Series, Cappuccino from the Coffee Series, Cognac from the Alcohol Series (I'm going for Martini next!) & Cheese from the Exotic Series. I'm keeping the coffee & alcohol blocks from DH. Since I think they'll be devoured soon, I'll have to go back coz I also got a $2 off my next visit & a loyalty card for 1 free block after 10 blocks from a really nice shopgirl to a frenzied choco nut! Thanks dear!

The chocolate ranges from S$8 to S$12. A little pricey for the size, but would be worth the taste & experience! They have really cute chocolate theme goods too!

Happy April...make something!

How time flies and this is no april fool's joke. I have a long term paper due this saturday and exams are at the end of the month before I fly off to Sydney in search of bit of rest & my other half. Its funny how it feels like the term has only just begun and voila, it ends, together with my initial promises to work on my projects and studies early. Obviously, I have poor time management! I always get distracted when I see fabric, or a new purse or a new piece of clothing. These things automatically set my mind in motion, doing air-de-engineering of the pieces I see. Its a pity the mental activities do not manifest itself into physical reality as much as I want to. Recently while my trusty assistant has been working on Mini purses restocks, I've been working on some easy clothing pieces so that I can save much but still have new clothes to hang around in. Several people have reminded me that its a talent that I am able to sew, however simple even though I always take that for granted (like knitting, crochet, cooking...etc.), leading to think its mostly lack of time (read: laziness!) to venture into more complicated projects for now. Damn my slow hands & super fast clock on the wall. Damn!

For the lovely people who wished you know how to sew, its really not that tough! Keep visiting amazing sites for inspirations, tutorials, how-tos. Get a sewing machine if you don't already have one & learn how to use it. No time? Start small. Simple projects like a tissue case or a child's skirt or pillowcase dress. Go slow when in doubt, don't be discouraged when your project doesn't turn out right. Take time to figure the mechanics out. Try again & again! When you finally get it, the feeling will be out of this world! ;+)

Just some great sites on the worldwide web for DIY/re-engineer clothing & stuff
(the external links from these sites are endless & amazing! :O)
Threadbanger
Cut Out + Keep
Instructables
Craftzine

Happy crafting!

Its called faith

I'm procrastinating working on the audit report hence the blogpost. DH emailed this poster yesterday that he made in light of the recent pope issues. The text below says, "There's nothing more reliable than 3-inches of bulletproof glass". He thinks that the pope looks devilishly like Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. I'm not sure what to say to that, except maybe thats the reason he needs 3 inches of bullet proof glass.

DH has a very warped sense of humor. But in times of stress, he cheers me up. I hate stress, it makes me stomach wonky and is causing my nightmares. I'll much prefer to create things. My head is an imaginary drawing board, already bursting with colorful ideas. Sigh.

Postcard happiness!

@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

Spring

They say its spring! I know quite a lot of you guys are snowed in and looking earnestly at the sky, hoping the sun would shine soon (you twitter peeps!). I admit I don't really know how that really feels like as I spend more than 2 decades in a mid-summer all year round type country. It ranges from ridiculously humid & splashing wet to monstrously sauna-like warmth. I used to yearn for cold weather and curse myself for having been born here in Singapore. The thing about summer is that clothes get boring and well, you don't get to 'cover-up'. When I went over to Sydney, it was bliss for half a decade. I shelled out for hand knit baby merino jumpers (sweaters), trench coats, pea jackets & all kinds of booties. I loved the layering effect a lot. Obviously, I got a little loose-y with the snacks. Now that I've been back here for a while, I've sort of gotten used to the obnoxious heat since its much easier to workout outdoors without having to spend too much time warming-up & gasping for air in the cold. Clothes do get boring (tees, shorts, havaianas), but its easier albeit unforgiving to watch the changes, so no more piling on snacks. :P

I hope it gets better for you guys who are battling/hating the cold. Stay close to the fireplace/heater! And yes, spring is here! Still hoping that someday I'll get to sit beneath a sakura tree and watch the flowers fall around me. I gotta settle for sakura prints for now. If you love them too, do check out the cherry blossoms MiniZs in store! The prints are amazing, better yet, printed on dobby weave cotton which gives a beautiful texture & feel.

Happy spring everyone!

Managing time...

So I've finished one accounting theory case study paper. The whole thing left me feeling more loathing of the finance and economics driven world more than ever. Its all about who owns the most cash gets the most say. Where's the love dude?

I shall not bore you guys with the gory details. I went straight out with my girlfriends for dinner after I sent in the paper, in the pouring rain no less. It was dramatic! I was glad to rid of some of the semester's work. there will be one more Audit report due in 2 weeks and then exams at the end of April. But all that aside, I'm seriously dying to crawl back to my drawing table & sewing machine to make stuff! Its weird but creating stuff, despite the sweat & ouchies, is really the only thing that takes me away from it all. My current fav is the Snaps wristlet purse. They are so so so cute to behold! Of course, and having great times with friends. But, I simply must learn to manage time between studies & making stuff. :P

What do you do to wash yourself off from cruelty of the world? ;+)

Sundays

Spent last Sunday shopping for supplies & packing up gifties for lovely florspace customers. I'm not sure why but the gifting process is quite therapeutic for me. I think its because of the simple act of giving. Also, I imagine the happy faces of the recipient when they open up our packages. Recently, the lovely emails we'd receive is really humbling! They really make our days so much brighter, and makes us wanna do more too! Thank you so much for taking time to write us!



We're also continuing the yummy fruit candy from Japan coz you guys seem to love them! Yeap, we don't ever stinge on quality coz its the only thing that matters to us in this awful profit-driven world, which we're pretty tired of! So everyone gets a good shopping experience!

Hope you guys had a good weekend too!

Beware the Ides(eyes) of March

Obviously I was gonna whine. About the unforgiving nature of cellulite, white hair and the damn rush of time. Not that we really can do anything about the last one. My trip to Bangkok has been wonderful, loads of family time, culture, nice people, food and shopping. So good was the little trip that the withdrawal hasn't quite worn off. When I got back, the joy of exploration was suddenly removed. My emotional state plummeted, so low that I've quite lost the ability to motivate myself into doing things that I love. It became a "have to do" and I've always hated that. I think I've got the ups and downs of a bad behaving artist. Hence the excuse for not writing. ;+)

It has since gotten a little better as the memories of the trip wears off though I know school work is gonna tie my hands up again as the papers are due, very soon indeed and while we busy ourselves with the restocks of over 20 very popular & long-awaited MiniZs, we're also putting up our Cruise 2010 collection. I pray school isn't gonna kick my ass too hard this time. I've got one more semester to go after this one and I'm done. DH is still busy with finishing his phd paper and I miss him & Sydney terribly. Its funny but the only solace is to experiment with new recipes at home with mom. Today we created veggie mini Okonomiyaki. It was pretty good! I'll put up the recipe soon. Promise.

And I'm back to whining about how can I beg for more time to do everything and still actually have a life, visit museums, go to my fa cafe without looking at the time & browsing at bookstores. Hell, I actually miss my bed! How do you guys chill in this day & age?

tired

Suddenly I realised I'm tired. Its been sorta building up these days. Between the last year of school beginning to kick my ass, making stuff, listing Decole goodies, & some gnawing life issues, I'm beat. Seriously.

A fellow crafter asked on twitter if I'd slept among creating all the stuff for the shoppe.

I was amused but in reality, I do sleep. Just that maybe the recent cloudy dreams of my childhood memories makes it even harder for me to be fully rested and energetic for the day. I kept floating through the day and living through dream-state at night. I might be yearning for simpler days. I'm not sure. Boy am I confused!

And I miss Sydney. The pace is definitely slower. Yes it gets crowded and noisy but there's always a quiet space to escape to. My apartment, the park, museum, by the harbor, somewhere! But here in Singapore, like Hong Kong / Shanghai / Tokyo etc (if some of you guys have been to those places!), there isn't really a quiet space per se. I'm not kidding, since as I speak, my neighbors upstairs are screeching their furnitures. I prolly ought to mention they sometimes do that at 3am. Periodically, they drill / hammer their walls at 11pm. I'm not sure whats up. I completely understand the agony of getting used to crowded asian cities as some of my friends have mentioned. Today an american dude yelled at a bunch of local kids who were blocking the entrance of a supermarket/mall. He spent most of his time knitting his brows in the supermarket after. I don't think he enjoyed the shopping trip. I didn't either, coz I came home distressed and head-heavy. The 100deg weather prolly doesn't help either.

Gonna need a lot of decent rest to hit the ground running again. (>__<)

summer love

its been 20 days and spending summer in sydney with my beloved DH isn't as steamy as one might think....metaphorically that is. I'm never a summer weather person. People who know me would know that I'll need 25degC or less to function like a normal decent human being. I'm precisely writing because its too hot to sleep. Sweating and sleeping isn't normal for me and DH thinks we should ride out the horrible heatwave weekend without airconditioning or electric fans. No, he isn't a green-maniac. He's just good in adverse conditions. Not me. I'm 'spoiled' in terms of the weather. I'll cut costs by working in the heat back in singapore, but come sleep time, I need AC, period. One time that my AC brokedown, I went without sleep for almost a week. It was madness. In the end, I was almost insane.

Now that DH is snoring under the 'wet blanket' I made for him, out of towel soaked in cold water, I'm free to indulge in my late-night thoughts I haven't been able to do in a long time. Through time together and apart, its difficult not to deal with the tiny annoying differences we both have. We've been together for almost 13 years now and have spent about 5 years long distance, through hours of arguments, tearing apart each other's characteristics, likes, dislikes, beliefs so many many times, and yet, life still manages to throw us curve balls when we least expect. Perhaps its the nasty heat thats making us less huggable, but isn't couple-hood suppose to survive these adverse situations? I realized I've changed... no longer looked at him the same way I used to. I hate it when that happens. Here is a guy that I've spent so much time and been through so much with, we literally grew up together, yet I'm losing connection with him. No longer it seems exciting, no longer do I feel the rush, the need to be with him. Its a freaky realization. Does this mean this is it? End of the road? No more light at the end of the tunnel? I cried bitterly at this new-found realization. What's gonna happen to us? What am I to do? I told DH, please do something to win me over, and fast. The worst thing was, he didn't change one bit, he still loved me, still did silly little things for me, even though they felt unnecessary. I felt horrible at myself. Maybe the 'freedom' I enjoyed in Singapore without DH was a bad idea. But I could only have time to make stuff and somehow excel at it because I had all those time! Did all that became my life? Has it defined my existence - one without DH? Did he become redundant in the process? There were so many questions directed and I didn't know who or what to blame even though I felt like I was the perpetrator.

A few days later, when things run better after the weird outburst I thought, maybe me, him & us didn't change at all. Maybe it was because I had to be alone in Singapore that I felt I had time and space to self-actualize, to do things I really wanted. I felt happy and the feedback that fed this happiness was all the nice things people said about florspace and the stuff we made with our hearts. It is so important that everything is smooth and everyone is happy. I didn't sleep for 2 days when a dear customer received an empty package. My heart stopped short and DH didn't quite know how to deal with my annoyance then. I felt happy only when it was resolved and she was happy. The only drawback with this life arrangement where I see DH twice a year is that, left to fend for myself, I had to sink myself in the little life I handmade for my very self. The little existence in Singapore remains wholesome with only a smidgen of it left for DH and when that tiny bit shrinks smaller and smaller, that fear of DH's redundancy is realized.

But in the end, after all those thoughts were sorted out and we found new things to discuss (eg, Twillight series, Jacques Lacan & Le Parkour), everything seems to be fine... for now. We still have our little differences, annoyances & the horrible heatwave but it seems we'll be okay. I like to think there's always someone better out there and settling is the easy way out. But when do we stop to think that maybe we should hold back ourselves, work on things and not call it quits when the road gets bumpy? Love is never easy anyways.

Still, when do we really know when its not okay? I'll never know.... I'll enjoy my summer love for now & will try be nice. :+)

guilty

Not guilty of eating too much chocolate cupcakes, but of neglecting the blog. Oh wait, that too. Yikes. Its been such a crazy time, I had mosaics of great etsy finds yet have absolutely no time to post them up. I'm really intending to do so when all this madness (exams) end and I get a little break with DH in sydney. He's got broadband now so no excuses!

After my bout of stomach flu in September, everything's like whirlwind! Loads and loads of custom orders. Well, loads to us anyways coz we take time to make stuff, to make sure every little detail is of supreme quality. I get antsy and guilty and can't get to sleep at night if the stuff isn't as good as I want them to be. So on and offline, we do buckets of purses for weddings, shops and people simply love our stuff! Heavens bless these wonderful people who keep us alive. I know, its not Thanksgiving yet, but we feel so lucky to have such wonderful support! Its not a millionaire job, but its good enough for me. Hell, I'm living in heaven! Ironical but so true. LOL

If this all sounds bit fast, its because I'm high on coffee & stressed out from studying for the tax and corporate accounting paper looming at the end of this month. (*gasp*) Worst yet, my landline at home decided to trip out on me suddenly. No internet, no landline at home right now til end of the week when the technician comes. I'm actually writing this at a coffeeshop at the next suburb over at 9.15pm on monday night. Not complaining since they got coffee, smidge of wireless internet and proper table and chair. The facebook flash games won't work tho. Maybe its a good thing, since I got quite a bit of admin done. phew! Apologies to everyone who's been waiting for feedbacks from florspace. yikes! But thats done. finally. :+)

All that said, I'd better get back to my books. See ya when I see ya.

Wanroom on my shelf

I had to squeal when I found Wanroom in the usual bunch of gashapon machines! Immediately I set about like a maniac locating dollar coins to feed into the machine! LOL They're tiny, adorable & comes with tiny carton boxes in the plastic sphere too! Now they sit on my shelf right above my table to add to the cuteness. I believe they make me a little happier.

Try putting bits of things you like on your work station that you frequent! :D

Giving Thanks....

Its been a really busy time for me. School assignment deadlines are looming & we're busy with custom orders & loads of new & amazing fall totes. It has become quite clear now that I will have to make a trip to Sydney at the end of the year to be with my other half since he's unable to come over. I'll be gone from Nov to Dec. florspace shoppe will stay open but there's prolly not going to be new things unfortunately. Its a sacrifice I have to make to be away from my dear dear sewing machine! Anyways, its my birthday (Sept 21st) and CT, a wonderful customer & BFF has given me some wonderful gifts! They have really made me feel better! The little note above is so true & hence I'm gonna do it. People have never been able to tell my true age anyways. LOL



I'm particularly fond of the gorgeous wrapper! Perhaps its age, perhaps its fall but I'm into a lot of muted colors & elegance these days. I've recently added slate grays of stripes & dots, browns & very deep turquoise to my wardrobe. They calm me down a lot while dealing with all the crazy things happening around me. I've learnt to keep above & to have a teflon soul so that nothing really sticks. A good night's rest is really all I need to recharge for a new day.


Of course a good mug of warm tea does the trick as well! Recently, I've found a small range of Dean & Deluca at the 360 Market @ ION orchard. Its a god send since I've been a long time fan of Dean & Deluca! Sure wish to own their grocery tote someday, but for now, I've got my sights set on the French Sea Salt which costs S$38 a jar. Nonetheless, the house blend tea above is amazingly beautiful in scent & taste. The aroma is beyond words when I'm down & out. Thank heavens for good tea! & good friends!

Gonna celebrate with some cake with the folks tomorrow...

Friday Updates: After the flu

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!! ♥♥♥

Its fall!

Just a couple of picks from our humble shoppe for the new season. :+) Find them here!

Can't believe its fall! Time does fly by so quickly... as things wind down a little for the year, take a little break, have some tea & enjoy a nice day out with friends, or curl up on the couch with a good book!

A little humor for the tired soul

DH emailed a little poem(below), together with this cute comic. Feeling a little tired & out of sorts lately albeit still working. A little sick & tired of everything actually. So much to do and so little time. Hopefully the "downbeat" bug will go away soon. Maybe I need to get away for a while....

This Is Just To Say
by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold