Behind the Scene: Lisa Surihani

Selamat Berbuka Puasa. I dug out some behind the scene photos of popular film actress Lisa Surihani, as a gift for my Malay friends.

Photo was taken while I style Miss Lisa Surihani for a contact lens advertisement. Oh boy, she is surely pretty and sweet, exactly like what she seems on TV, and I must say, she is really professional. The photo shooting session lasted many hours, and she was feeling uncomfortable due to eyes infection, but she still gave her 100% effort and performance.

Lisa was so worn out during the long-hour shooting. She had to close her eyes whenever the photographer was not pressing shuttle release.

An Afternoon with State Assemblywomen YB Gan and YB Chua

I was totally stunned when YB Gan Pei Nei, State Assemblywoman for Rawang, text me for image consultation this morning. 3 hours later, when she showed up with another State Assemblywoman, YB Chua Yee Ling (for Perak Kuala Sepetang), I was relieved to find that they were just friendly, down to earth, energetic and open minded.

This is exactly what I'd pictured them to be. After all, they are rising stars from PKR! They are the voices of the common people like me, and I wouldn't want some snobbish, arrogant people to represent me in state assembly or Parliament.

I had a great deal of respect for female politician like Fong Po Kuan, Elizabeth Wong, etc etc. Can't believe now I get to dress two of the female politician that I admire so much. I feel very lucky, and truly honored.

今天早上，当万挠区州议员颜贝倪小姐发短讯给我，要我为做造型设计时，我简直是不知所措。我还真没有为政治人物做过造型！而且，尊贵的国州议员们会不会高高在上，难以相处？

幸亏，当YB颜贝倪带着另一个YB蔡依霖（霹雳十八丁区州议员）光临敝店时，我很快就发现两位年轻女士亲切、开明、充满朝气，和我们这些平民百姓，并没有太大的不同。他们带来的几位朋友也同样健谈而亲切，不摆官威。没错，民联的人民代议士，就应该是这个样子的！我才不要那些“高贵”、“贵族气派”、“珠光宝气”的人，代表我在国州议会上发言。

我常觉得，女性是政治的良心。真没想到，能为我心仪已久的政治新星们做造型。无关商业与收入，这是一种纯粹的荣幸！

Yellow Power - The Color Signifying Purity and Clean (Bersih!)

Fashion makes a statement. So, what is screaming in your head in the month of April? How about telling the world our hope for a better tomorrow? How about showing our support for a clean election? How about expressing our rage towards corruption?

Yes, fashion is a powerful tool to EXPRESS YOURSELF, your believes, your hopes, your dreams. Political expression does not have to be dull and boring. This April, add a bit CHICNESS to your political expression.

时尚，也是表达态度的一种方式。近来，你最渴望表达什么？你对美好未来的殷殷冀望？你对贪污枉法的深恶痛绝？你对公平选举的强烈诉求？

在这攸关国家未来的关键时刻，何妨多一些把黄色穿在身上。政治不一定是毫无美感的。多花一些心思，你的政治诉求，也可以变得很时尚。  

Bon Odori

My dear staff Rena Loo is crazy about Japan and Japanese culture (and most importantly, Japanese boys). Since she is leaving a LOFT of things soon, we decided to have a little Bon Odori party in our shop last week, and all of us wore yukata to work.

It's really funny when none of us dare to go out buying dinner and almost starved ourselves to death until Samuel da-bao for us and save us all.

Goodbye Rena, thanks for your service and wish you all the best!

Happy Deepavali, Malay TV Presenter Vena and What a Great Weekend!

Malay TV presenter Vena

Happy (belated) Deepavali! I want to thank all the customers who visited a LOFT of things(ALOT) during last few days. Business was great, and most of all, I had a great time serving all the creative and easy going customers. 

Malay TV presenter Vena and her gang of friends were among the creative and open minded ones. They happily tried out the outfits, mixed and matched themselves, and I must say, the way they mix and match the fashion pieces inspired me and my staff. I really didn't have to give much advice,  they picked out some "strange" garments (as you know, I have quite a number of "strange" garments here in ALOT), and boldly matched them with other unexpected pieces.

Not all of the looks they created were great, but I really admire their COURAGE and willingness to TRY, to CREATE THEIR OWN STYLE. It's ok to make mistake, cos I believe, FASHION IS ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN!

All outfits shown in the pictures above are available at a LOFT of things.

Say Welcome to....

Say welcome to Char Chyi, my new staff in a LOFT of things. Yesterday was her first day, and I liked her already. She learned fast, and she took initiatives to clean the floor, wipe the showcase, while I didn't even give her any instruction. I admire this young lady's work attitude. She is a bit shy though, so don't bully her.

I want to thank Char Chyi parents and brother Ermesd. Why? Because I believe it was the way they raised their kids, so Char Chyi has grown to be a good-manners, understanding and responsible young lady. 


This is also Char Chyi first job. And I hope she can gain some enriching experience in a LOFT of things.  

The Mysterious Man and The Yellow Silk Skirt

When I just opened my shop in Mid May, a mysterious man barged in my shop. He was about 40+++, no doubt a blue collar, wore a dirty shirt and pants, and only checked out the female dresses. He looked very suspicious to me, to be honest.

He asked me the price of a yellow silk dress, and we exchanged some conversation before he left empty handed. Up until today, he had visited my shop 4 times. Every time he came, he would check out the same yellow silk dress and ask for discount. And I'd tell him again and again, I had a fixed price policy.

Today I learned that he intended to buy it for a girl (not girl friend, he insisted), and she was a Korean now living in the USA. From the way he talked and what he revealed about himself, I had no doubt that he was a blue collar who didn't make much money. But this was a car technician who claimed he liked fashion. And he actually knew Chloe, Jimmy Choo and even Michael Poh!

I still don't know the relationship between him and the girl. But I think he truly had great love for fashion and the girl.

Now, if you were me, what would you do? Will you give him discount, deduct the price to a point that he can afford?

Signage is Finally Up

After weeks of confusions and headache and frustration and anger, my signage is finally up. I'm one of the earliest tenant who moved in and the last to get his signage installed. Why? Long story...

Anyway, can anyone check the Chinese Yellow Calender for me, is today (14/6/10) a good day to put up the signage?

See the worker performing acrobatics work.

Yahoo, I have a signage now! I'm not a suspicious shop anymore.

And yup, this is the signage you guys had helped to finalize the design and name. Thank you all!

Coffee's Ready

My coffee is ready!

I was so worried that my coffee was still not good enough, and that the $$$ I invested on espresso maker was a waste. However, after much experiment, I think my coffee is finally up to standard.

My high school senior Xue Xian and good friend Jil came to ALOT for coffee tasting the other day. They were both coffee lover and knew a lot about coffee. Well, according to them, my cappuccino and espresso were up to standard. Although Xue Xian prefer other milk, but he said it was just personal taste. Overall, the coffee was nice.

With their approval and blessings, now I can finally put them on my drink list.

Thank you, Jil, David and Xue Xian xue-zhang, for your valuable advice and the big dinner.

Beautiful Strangers

One of the thing I enjoy being a shopkeoper is that, i get to meet people from all walk of life. Elaine Garcia, a girl who lived in Berlin and Bangkok before, walked in the other night. And from the way she talks, I knew it instantly we could be friends. A jet setter and a fashionista, she seems to have lived an ultra interesting life, and I can't wait to hear her stories.

And there was this guy Jimmy Zai who claimed that he had been reading my writings and column in newspaper. We spent an afternoon sipping tea and chatting without any real topic, while I was busy cleaning this and that. It's so nice to have someone accompany me to kill an slumber afternoon.

And the other night, two aunties walked up and were so excited to see my shop. "Your shop is so avant garde, we should hang out with young people like you more, so that we are not left behind. " they said. They stayed and chatted with me for half an hour.

It was really encouraging when I encountered people like them. However, there are also other strangers who gave really helpful comments, including customers and my new neighbors. (i.e, the owner of next door music school) They have nothing but good intentions. I think they'd rather see me survive in this business.

For that, I am thankful.

No time to go out for dinner last night. So Samuel brought me sushi. Surprise! I am surrounded by angels. ^.^

First Espresso. (who can help me on this?)

Bought an espresso maker. This is the first cup of espresso made by me. See that Crema on it?

David Chai happened to visit me while the espresso maker arrived. So he was the first who tasted my coffee. He said he liked it better than Starbucks. However, it doesn't take a genius to figure out he was just being supportive.

Eunice and Kian Long visited me later that evening, so I fix them some drinks too. They said it was bland and they liked it. However, I knew they actually meant TASTELESS.

Ok. later that night, another friend Samuel came. And he frankly said, it was terrible.

I've been experimenting with it and still couldn't pull a nice coffee. Gosh, making coffee is hard.


Anyone got any advice? Anyone can help? Please?

Marriage, Business, Commitment

I'm afraid of commitment. Yeah, I'm the kind of guy despised by all women. The public enemy.

Therefore, to me, starting a business is more terrifying than getting married.

Starting a business involves more commitment than getting married. My friends all told me going through a wedding was exhausting. Trust me, the money and energy that go into starting a business is no any less than planning a wedding. And even though many marriage fail, starting a business is riskier than getting marriage.

And the scariest thing is that, starting a business means your life(at least in the near future) is officially sealed. If you think walking into marriage means losing freedom, then starting a business is equal to walking into a prison. Whether you like it or not, you can't run away from it. You have invested so much money, and you are bearing loans and debts, you simply can not just say,"hey, I don't like this new job so i better quit."

You don't like where you are? You can always get a new job and relocate your whole family to a new city. You need a break? You can always bring your wife and kids to an exotic place and get away with reality for a week.

And for me, I had lost all these privileges. Like it or not, I'll have to stick with it--at least until the loan is paid up. No more easy quitting, no more vagabond's lifestyle, not even a careless vacation.

Hey, all the married men out there, if you think you are miserable, think twice.

I am venturing into a new life. I don't know what is waiting for me ahead. However I know it's a road I must take. Maybe I'll finally learn what commitment means, and grow into a real man.