A Sin.

Hello guys ( if there is anyone out there reading my blog )! I was so busy with my life! I am working as an intern in a local brand in Singapore and I was doing my own thing that I totally forgotten about my space here! I hope everyone is doing fine! It has been away since I get to see what is the latest fashion runway! My bet! My sin for not blogging often. It is quite tough to always blog ain’t it? I wonder how those girls can do it. I applauded them!

I have been making tote bags and I enjoy doing it. It is like a hobby of mine I guess I haven’t master making clothes yet. I think I shall start soon shouldn’t I? I should stop lazing around and start practicing paper pattern and drafting. These are a few bags I made :

I wonder if it is good enough.

Red.

Sorry for the lack of posting! I have been busy with school work; though half of the time I am not listening in class ( long story ) Anyways, if you didn’t follow my instagram, I knitted a scarf with knit and purl stitches and end the ends with fringes. It took me about a month plus as I didn’t commit to it everyday and as I started out, it was tough for me. I was having a hard time to get the tension right. 

The scarf isn’t perfect but I am happy with the result! I am starting on another knitting project! Hope I can get it right! I promise I will try to post regularly! 

 

Trace back down the memory lane

I am sorry for the lacking of blogging. I have been pretty busy with my part-time retail job. Recently, I went to Hong Kong. It was great but it is definitely an expensive country.

 

 

 

There is a particular place that I love in Hong Kong is Yu Chau Street, The Fabric World. It was my first time going to another country, entering their fabric world. Yu Chau Street was a paradise for me. You can find different fabrics there. There are studs, genuine leather shops, beads, ribbon etc. Most shop provides fabric cards for you order but the minimum quantity is 5 yards which is quite massive. The order takes about 2 working days as it is transported from China. If you want to have reasonable price fabric, you can head down to those shops and slowly find the right one for you! I didn’t have alot of time to shop there as I was with my friends and they are hardly any fans of fabric. But I was glad to be able to purchase about 5 types of fabric. One day, I will return to Hong Kong  but only for the fabrics.

And if you are big fan of sneakers or skaters shoes, you can head down to their sneaker streets. All the shoe shops sell roughly the same designs and the prices are about the same. But compared to Singapore’s pricing, the shoes there are definitely cheaper. I got my converse for 44 SGD which was a good buy. In all, Hong Kong treated me well.

HOWEVER, time to get back into reality.

Well, I am pretty much jobless right now, waiting for my diploma certificate while I work part-time in retail sales. I am lost and confused which I don’t know if it is okay. I am bombarded with so many questions about my future. But the future that I truly wanted is to do fashion design.

Why I love designing? I love to go through research, to brainstorm on fashion stuff in terms of the cuts, details etc. The part when you can do design for people and when people appreciate your design, it is a great feeling. You spend hours and days doing one design but it is the thought process, the concept behind every design makes it one of a kind. As a designer, you design for the people but yet, there is a part of you in the work. It is an identity of your work which people can identify you.

After 3 years of experiencing design, I love the whole journey. When I first started in the Experience and Product Design in Singapore Polytechnic, I dislike it. It was a torturous journey. I always had my downs. It was bad but it keeps me thinking; trying to solve problems for people. It just make me feel good and make me stay up at night to work hard to complete the task. It just keep me going.

On Monday, I will be heading into my dream, turning my dream into reality. I can’t wait to start this journey. Anyone that is reading this will accompany me to work towards my dream.

Till then.

 

Missing IN Action

Hello Readers! ( If there is any out there reading )

Well, this year has been a pretty rough start with my Final Year Project going on which deals with animation. I had zero knowledge on animation and is expect to finish it within 2-3 months. Well, I managed to finish it but it is not perfect. There are flaws in the video but I am proud of how much I done and even if my lecturers don’t appreciate it, I will still pad my shoulder and tell myself : Good Job!

Another big news is I am graduating! Well, 3 years in Polytechnic is not very long after all. Reality is hitting me real hard. Now, I am panicking on what job I should take or what is my future gonna be like. Life is unpredictable. All I know is I want to do something I truly love and enjoy. In 20 years down the road, I don’t want to be an old hag that regretted her decision on her career path. I want to live my life the way I want. Even though it is just a dream/ a goal, it still is a dream. You don’t just tell someone to drop their dream. You encourage people to pursue their dreams, no matter how crazy it seems. As long as someone tells you that you can do it, you eventually will! Well, I wish my parents were that supportive.

Well, I just got to push on.

 

The Window to Our Soul

3rd day of 2014. I wanted to start this year well but things don’t usually go the way we plan. Relationship have its ups and downs. I envy cute couples on street; when the boy looks at the girl from the side or when their eyes met. It feels sincere and true. As the saying goes, ” Eyes are the window to our soul. ” Truly it is. You can never lie with your eyes about your feelings. Emotions are translated through our eyes. To look into your partner’s eyes, you can identity if he/she is true to you. I wish I can look into my boyfriend’s eyes; to make me feel less insecure and believe in our relationship more.

Didn’t manage to see him for more than 2 weeks and when he came back, we barely got time for each other. He is busy earning money and studying so am I. Having a part time job and school is not easy. With CCA, it is even more tiring. As a girl, it feels so distance like I barely feel him around. I think most girls will feel this way if they had lesser time with their boy. I just feel a ting of sadness as I can’t hold him like I use to. I can’t glance at him from a side. I can’t see his face and look into his eyes. I only have a picture of him to look at.

Sometimes, when the night comes, my mind run wild. 

Overseas Trip : Danang, Vietnam I

I just came back from one of my most amazing getaway; Danang, Vietnam.

My Hotel Room

A drink at the Balcony 

The view at the Balcony

 The Marble Mountain

The hotel I stayed in was great; an ocean view at the balcony, a huge bathtub for me to soak in and enjoy the view at the same time and a comfortable bed for me to cuddle in. The hotel is just beside the Marble Mountain and it is 1o-15 minutes walk away! The weather there was cold, temperature was always at 18/19 degrees. Day 1 was nothing much as the hotel I am in is far from Danang City and located beside the beach. Furthermore, I arrived around 5 plus and the sky was starting to turn dark. The sun sets faster in Danang. By 6 pm, it is already pitch black. The hotel is more for relaxation and I was practically a pig; eat, shop and eat again. The food in Danang is never ending. I ended by Day 1 with rose wine at the balcony! A great view!

Day 2 : Hoi An

Breakfast 

I love hotel’s breakfast buffet; omelette, pancakes, loaves of bread and jams, yogurt, fruits, salad and cornflakes. I can never stop eating! But the negative point about this hotel is the breakfast buffet is always the same; only minimum changes which is only 1-3 types so after awhile, I kind of get sick of it or feel lost as I don’t know what I wanna eat! But as long as there are eggs, salad, fruits and bread, it seems good to me! Most of the resort near the China Beach have shuttle buses to Hoi An; a town in Danang where you can buy local delicacies and tailor your clothes or make your own shoes. However, be warned that it is pricey doing your own clothes and shoes. A leather bag can cost about 125 USD. Trust me, it ain’t worth it. But I do see quite a few Caucasians tailoring their own clothes or making their shoes. It is up to you honestly if you want to splurge or save! 

Street of Hoi An

 

Temples in Hoi An

When I enter Hoi An through a small alley, I had a bad experience. There was this ticketing counter and that lady was forcing us to buy tickets to visit the temple or else she won’t let us go through but there were people walking past us so I asked her why they do not need to buy the tickets? Then she start catching people but they were Asians. She did not catch the Caucasians. Not even one. She was biased. Seriously, what era are we in now? She should treat everyone equally. I was so mad but at that point, my family and I were clueless so we just bought the tickets. It was to visit the temples which was nothing much to see. It was such a scam as it was about 8-9 SGD dollars per adult which I felt not worth the money. Nevertheless, it was a great experience! Hoi An is a food paradise. I am just eating away in restaurant as the restaurant food are worth the money and much cheaper than Singapore. Street Food are mainly their fried dough. You can see a wider variety of street food in the late afternoon as more people are coming out selling their food!

 

An Artist

I don’t know which word is a right definition of this man’s job but he is one meticulous painter. He was painting this big wall which was craved and polished smoothly in a temple. He took his time and paint a man’s face; adjusting the color tone to give a realistic effect. All these small little details of how the tone of the different facial areas is one tough job. Kudos to him. A man was craving in another wall and he was using all sorts of handy machines for cutting, shaving and sanding. It is fascinating to just watch him do this work. Well, it is better than an office job.

                                                           

Beautiful Streets of Hoi An

Life in Hoi An 

Vietnamese love to play chess. It is part of their lifestyle. There was a restaurant that was dedicated for chess player; men sitting in low stools and having their tea/coffee and playing chess. Other men will crowd around and look at their game. And it is a common sight seen in Danang. We do see old men in Singapore playing chess but it is a rare sight. While the men play their chess, women were making lanterns. I saw many shops making the lanterns; using thin bamboo streaks to make the skeleton of the lantern before gluing the rice paper on it. If I can speak Vietnamese language, I will definitely ask those ladies how long they spend their time doing. To me, using wire is already tough by making the skeleton of the body but bamboo? It is a skill that takes time to master. A dedicated job!

Small little details

The picture on the right which has many face images and name card was found in a shop. I find it interesting as there was faces from all around the world. It feels like an investigation; thinking who are these people and what do they do. Somehow, I feel like Sherlock Homes; finding the common point among one person to another.

Night Vs Day

 

Night of Hoi An

The night lights in Hoi An is gorgeous and memorizing. The beautiful lanterns lighted up, hanging from one end to another. It did not feel like Chinatown. It is just a statement of Hoi An. When the night comes, it is becomes a place of relaxation; for tourist to relax, chill and take a break from the buzzing city.

Local Delights ( Spring Roll, White Rose, Wanton )

My family was walking to a small street and we saw this local shop that has a few tourist so we decided to settle our lunch there. The owners were humble and a joy to talk to. Even though we had communication problem, they will try to communicate with us and ask about the meal. After our meal, they gave us banana. I love banana so when they give, I just take and munch it down quickly. I love the white rose but you have to eat it when it is hot as when it turns cold, the rice paper becomes hard to chew down. The wanton was delicious; crispy and tasty!

Comes to the end of Part I. I will upload part II soon & I will try to update more often!

New Start.

I am Jolin as known as JNKL. How to begin this blog post? Basically, I am a lazy human being on this planet. I can never finish a long blog post as I don’t have any patient to do it. None. Practically, I am a pig not human. But my determination is stronger than before & I shall accomplish my dream.

What is my dream? When I was young, I want to be in the world of fashion. The clothes that people wear to portray their character & look, the concept & inspiration behind every collection that fashion designers did. Every single detail they put on the runway is important. But what I love is when you see your product being displayed or shown to the world, there is this happiness blooming inside of you. You have been through war, breakdowns & disaster but yet, every designer made it look effortless. Being a designer is never easy. Everyone wants to be a designer but what makes you stand out? I guess by portraying yourself through your product. Well, it is like art but yet, it isn’t. Fashion is art. Fashion creates art. But yet, there is always a part of a designer in every garment they made to say that : This is me.  To leave an impression to the audience by showing themselves through every piece of fashion art on the runway.

This is why I love fashion. Right now, I am just using words when I want to use actions, to prove to people that I am not just a girl who sits behind the screen and say : ” Hey, I want to be a fashion designer but it is expensive. I don’t know how or what to do or where to began. ” I won’t be that girl anymore.

From this day, I promise myself to dress up & portray myself through my styling. So follow me through my journey of my life though I can’t guarantee that it will be fun & full of excitement as I am a nobody in this planet. My name is nothing, honestly. I am just a regular girl in Singapore. But I will do my best to keep this blog entertain & full of me.  It will take one step at a time. Success isn’t that easy to hit. There will be downs, many downs before reaching the top. I will take one step at a time. I have to totally revamp my wardrobe. It is a mess, most of the clothes are filled with dust. I wish I have bigger wardrobe but I don’t so I got to deal with the space I have.

Hence, for starters, this is a picture of me when I was young. Yes, I was a swimsuit model. I loving my sexy hot look in that photo. Anyways, I will be posting my TOP 10 favourite fashion designers. So stay tuned!