[Sydney] - MCA Zine Fest

I hope you are enjoying this Sydney series of posts so far. Today, I'll share with you one of my definite highlights of the trip. The MCA Zine Fest!! Part of the Sydney Writer's Festival, the zine fest was awesome! Even more so for me since I haven't witnessed one of such a scale! 

Held at the Museum of Contemporary Arts (MCA), there were some booths in the outdoor area and a huge space indoors. I loved the energy in there! There was so much appreciation and support for zines in that hall, from people of all ages. I mean, zine culture has been in existence for quite a long time. And whatever genre of zines you are into, you'll find it in there. I happily blew my cash, building up my zine collection. I also met my lovely friend, Anthea of Spoonful who had a super cute booth there!

 

 

 

Table where you could make your own zines.

Start them young!

After my pocket got quite empty, we checked out some of the cool exhibits in the MCA.

[Sydney] - Colors Magazine Exhibition

Also part of Vivid Sydney is an exhibition by Colors Magazine, Happiness - A Survival Guide. It wasn't a big exhibition. But oh, I loved it so! 

Happiness can be such an elusive thing but I really liked the way this exhibition dealt with it. Serious enough yet tongue in cheek at the same time. 

Not related but after we checked out the exhibition one beautiful evening, we crossed the road and chanced upon these tents selling lotsa yummy food! Ah, love the little surprises we encounter in traveling. I guess that's why T and I never plan our travel itineraries down to the details. Going with the flow is fun! Try it!

Mr Cloud in Uppercase Magazine

I first saw the latest issue (#13) of Uppercase magazine when I was in a book shop in Melbourne. I was super thrilled to see my little plushie, Mr Cloud, featured in it amongst other great works. Arriving home, I found my copy in the mailbox and took a snap shot for you. I must say, I'm proud of Mr Cloud :p

Have you gotten your copy? This looks like another great issue!

Terroir No. 2

A little while ago, an opportunity came by to collaborate and I am so proud to share with you the final product. 

Terroir magazine is a bespoke bi-annual magazine that seeks to showcase Singaporean perspectives on travel and what various places meant to us. I learnt about Terroir during the launch of its first issue and was smitten by it! I LOVE the beautiful paper, each sheet carefully hand bound. On its pages were gorgeous images, dreamily transporting me to other places in the world.

Terroir has recently launched issue 2 and I am thrilled to have contributed to a writing and some photos from my time in Japan. Thanks for letting me a part of this, Ben!

Read more over here. Terroir is available for sale here on a print on demand basis.

Frankie Feature

I hate to interrupt our current Japan series but I’m dying to share this piece of news with you! Cookie Cutter’s FEATURED in issue 44 of the super duper cool FRANKIE magazine!!!! (Feels good to be saying this :p) It’s a small blurb but that’s not stopping me from doing my happy dance (and you’re most welcomed to join in)!!

I know every sentence in this post has ended with an exclamation mark so far. Haha. I’m elated.

Happy Monday to all.

PhotoYou feature

A quick post today to let you know Cookie Cutter appears in the autumn issue of PhotoYou magazine! 

I’ve been working on some new designs for my animal pouch series and sewing a lot. It’s been fun coming up with those funny cute faces. Hope to share them with you soon. I know you haven’t forgotten about the Bangkok post. The photos are being organised and it’ll be coming up. So, stick around!

Happy mid-week, folks!

Green Enough?

Going green has become a huge thing globally. To some, it is about being responsible and to others, it’s simply a matter of participating in the latest cool thing. Regardless of where you stand, I think you’ll enjoy this fun photo shoot which tries to convey the green message in terms of your food and clothing choices. The illustrations of the plants, fruits and vegetables superimposed on the photo are so cute!

Have a great weekend, lovelies! And do something green :)

[images: scans from Little Thing]

Simple Everyday

Thank you to all you lovely folks who expressed concern over my fly saga (see previous post). I’m glad to say that except for the disgust which is still lingering, I’m pretty much fine :) Hey, I just added something interesting to my lifestory! :p

I bought vol. 20 of the Japanese magazine, Come home! and it came with 4 gorgeous postcards of photographer tsukao’s images. Shot in Serbia, I love them for they capture the simple beauty and joys to be found in everyday life.

I hope you have a happy monday!

[images: scans of tsukao’s photos]

Sewing Spaces

I think I first picked up a needle and thread when I was in elementary school. My classmates and I were taught some basic stitches as part of our craft class. We were each given a small piece of checkered fabric. The checks served as a form of guide as we sewed the various stitches in rows across the fabric. And along the circumference of the fabric, we learnt to do blanket stitch. We used threads of different colours for each stitch. I remember looking at my completed piece of work with glee because that little piece of cloth was filled with different stitching patterns and bright colours. As I look back with fond memories, that seems to me an easy and smart way to introduce the stitches to kids.

For a long time after leaving school, I didn’t do much sewing at all but I’m glad I found my way back to it in recent years. It’s what I loved and still love.

I was browsing a Japanese magazine and, man, I now know what my dream sewing space would be like (complete with some dream sewing accessories)! ;p

p/s Thanks for all your lovely comments about the journals in my Etsy shop!

Japanese Kitchen Love

I used to be a little obsessive about keeping the kitchen uncluttered. Bottles, cans, utensils must all be kept away and not be seen lying around. Right now on the contrary, I feel that such kitchens lack warmth and character. It’s the little things lying around that tell people about the family who lives in the house. Afterall, we want to furnish our homes in a chosen way/style so that they tell our stories, isn’t it?

There is something about Japanese kitchens and dining areas that I so love. Maybe it’s because I’m intrigued to find out about the space where all that delicious food was prepared. Maybe it’s the generous use of natural materials. But you know what? They are all filled with things, some more functional, others more decorative. And they never feel cluttered to me. In fact, I am charmed by them! What about you? What’s your kitchen/dining area like?

[images: personal scans]

Good-looking & affordable storage Ideas

Since I shifted apartments in the beginning of this year, I have been fussing a bit over organising and storage. It’s still on-going by the way. I needed to find a way to make the little bit of space I have look uncluttered and at the same time have things easily accessible when I need them (possible scenario: need to quickly grab things and dash out of the house to catch the bus). Recently, I bought this bag holder. It hangs in the wardrobe and has slots to hold up to 14 bags. Best of all, it keeps things pretty flat. The holder isn’t super cheap but I’m loving it so far!

Flipping through the Japanese interior magazine I bought not long ago, I see some organising and storage ideas which I like.

For your crafty tools. I like to have them easily reachable.

Kitchen utensils. Hanging them means they dry easily too.

Having this near the entrance means less turning the house upside down looking for keys.

These organising ideas don’t entail heavy price tags and they look pretty good too!