Thursday 14 November 2013

Hello Kittycats!

The laziest blogger in (probably) the universe is back! I noticed that unlike many others whom I truly respected for dedicating their time to diligently post and share with the whole wide world, I only posted once in a couple of months. Oops. I know, it's a crime. Therefore, let me redeem myself bit by bit, starting with this post!

Being the ultimate cat person (yes, I'm a cat lady. I hope I don't get to be alone at 70 with 2 dozens of cats but if fate says so, at least I got my cats, eh? Well.... that will only happen if by then I'll be capable enough to keep the cats alive, that is), I was over the moon when I stumbled upon this cat cafe in the middle of a must do make-up shopping trip down at Myeong-dong in Korea! It all begins with my countless failed attempts of capturing my towering green tea and vanilla ice cream with the scene of Myeong-dong as the background..

my leaning tower of ice cream. aren't the couple wearing matchy varsity jackets and even the same hair colour just adorable! adding varsity jacket to my shopping list, definitely.
which then leads to seeing this fellow all dressed in a cat costume with (luckily) some English written on him/her...

excuse me for the wobbly image. whoooo.
 .. and off we go to the kitty cats!

gasp!
This was the view that welcomed us after we went up the dodgy looking stairways which was delightfully warm compared to the creepy entryway. I couldn't help squealing and kicked off my shoes, changed into their sandals and played with all the kitties I could grab hand on. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee.

the cafe provided treats for us to buy to feed them!

GARFIELD!

NALA CAT!

ARISTOCAT! yes i'm high on cats, excuse the caps.

MARIE! still so gorgeous despite my horrible photo taking skills.

ME! on a daily basis, rolling around in bed. oh, bliss.
They're all sooooo, so, fat and fluffy I was gonna dieeeeee. Now I know how Agnes from Despicable Me felt. Literally. After fooling around with the furballs for long enough, I finally gotten back some decency and realized I haven't ordered anything or even grabbed a table so therefore we did. The owner was too kind to let us play with them first and kindly ushered us to our table. We quickly proceeded to putting our orders in by their counter afterwards, and wasn't I shocked to find out that the entry fee that includes a cup of drinks out of quite a handful selection was only 8,000 won! Truly the most delightful 8,000 won I had spent within the entire trip.

don't you worry about hygiene, people. before anyone gets in and all we have to spray our hands and dust of ourselves with some antibacterial gel, hence having the kitties on the counter top nearby the pantry is completely fine. they smell fantastic, anyways!

oh hello there, you with the quirky grin!

someone's looking for a treat, eh?

i love how this dalmatian kitty keeps changing its sleeping pose.

SIMBA!

While waiting on our orders, I straightaway wandered around and that liberty of table hopping, rolling around with the kitties on the floor,  and giggling all the way we could is what I love most. We all know that in normal cafes, such behaviour couldn't possibly be done as one normally sits, sip the delightful flat whites, chattering away in controlled volumes with occasional high-pitched laughter, despite how casual the cafe is. Whoever the original brain head of these cat cafes are, I salute you!

peek-a-boo!

REAL LIFE GRUMPY CAT!

HAHA! I just couldn't have laughing away straight in its face with my finger pointed, aren't I'm rude. but you, dear, are just too hilarious!

the cats' plush condos.

miniature houses that i wouldn't let my hands off if i were eight. "no, mummy, i won't leave until you let me take back one home with me." that's probably what i'll do back then and still secretly wish to do at my current age. shame on me.

Our drinks was ready within minutes so I went back to my table and look who I found.

garfield sniffing our cosmetic buys under my chair!

whom swiftly hopped on to my bag... uh-oh.

and decided to nest there. major UH-OH.

he won't leave for the longest time, I had to tickle his way out of my chair! there's a policy in the cafe that none of the cats should be carried so tickling him is all I can do and I think that doesn't really help as to him I guess it's as comfortable as being rubbed on the belly. sighs.
after several minutes tickling him until my arms aches, his royal highness won't budge so i just stand beside my throne, panting, trying to feel my arms.  as he saw me in complete defeat and only then would he stepped down! oh, you, lovely little rascal. 


giant rocking horse which I was so tempted to hop on but stopped myself from doing so out of the will to protect one's dignity.

serene view from our table.


kudos to that, a cup of coffee IS magical.
I did read about these cat cafe joints in Tokyo way back then from Jane Aldridge's post but I never expected that they have it too in Korea, so it was a such a pleasant surprise after we blew off our wons buying make up products that we aren't sure of using but just have to get! It's such a perfect place for lazy cat persons like me who actually lives more like a cat than a human being should - which makes it pretty impossible to keep a cat itself as a pet - yet still want to pet some furballs every now and then. That said, even if you are not that much of a cat person, still do give them a chance if you happen to stumble into one as it'll definitely be such a memorable experience! My friend who is totally afraid of animals of any sort came to join and sat in horror in a corner trying to avoid all the cats but in the end he still managed to squeeze some fun out of the "terrorizing" experience anyway, so why not give it a go? Until the next post then, cheers with the typical Asian grin and peace hand sign! Heehee.


Friday 6 September 2013

Ribbonacci

Hello again lovelies! I am beyond glad that this Saturday I am finally free from running errands first thing in the morning! The luxury of staying in bed under the warm sunshine is just incomparable. Agreed?

Given this kind of Saturday privilege, I'll love to share another mini project I had illustrated for a long time ago as well (by now I think most of you know I am not that prompt in updating.. or rather, simply put, I am just the world's best procrastinator) with my dear Natalia and a talented petite lady, Louisa, for her uber cute line, Ribbonacci. I am very excited when I was first invited to participate in it as an illustrator as I just love, love, LOVE her designs. Not to mention it's ribbons, my second ultimate weakness after pointed pumps. Scroll down to see what we had managed to come up with!


this is by far my favourite illustration, displaying Louisa's mix and match collection from seven individual pieces to create these party looks! can you guess which individual piece i fell for? if you said it's the bird-cage kind of skirt with ribbons attached here and there, you are absolutely correct!

oh, this is Louisa by the way! late introduction, apologies for my delayed reaction.

last but not least, potraying Louisa as a mannequin in this classic princess gown look!
Yes, it's a mini project... that's why there are only three illustrated campaigns. Don't judge, people. Ahh, I know you all kind people won't anyway! Have a lovely weekend!

Love,
Pris

Friday 23 August 2013

VASS - Editorial Campaign

I woke up this beautiful Saturday morning realizing that finally after a few hectic weeks I have some time to share these photos I styled for VASS Jewels Co. from a few months ago! Fast how time flies isn't it? From hours to days to weeks to months ... and suddenly I had yet postponed posting on my blog for so long. Awkward pause for a melancholic moment wondering about time and life. Okay. Moving on.

Similar to the illustrations that I made for them, the photo shoot focuses on enhancing the wearer's personality characterized by the particular exotic gemstone bracelets. I had so much fun working with wonderful people to produce these images - the talent I respected much: Indah Yuniastri; lovely photographers, Ade and dear Natalia ; the young and talented make up artist, Juen Lan; my minion sister Christy as the assistant and of course the entrepreneurial ladies behind the jewellery line, Michelle and Debby. 

This is by far the fastest photo shoot I had managed to deal with so far. Six concepts in just four days of planning with just a single day to shoot them all .. such an adrenaline rush it was! By the grace of God we were extremely delighted that we managed to finish on schedule with these results. Scroll down to see what we managed to whip up!

Lapis Lazuli - Purity

Garnet - Seductive

Amethyst - Dreams

Moonstone- Nature

Citrine - Prosperity

Aquamarine - Calm & Composed

Above are the shots taken by the talented Ade and below are the ones taken by our dearest Natalia!

Citrine - Prosperity

Amethyst - Dreams

Moonstone - Nature

Lapis Lazuli - Purity

Aquamarine - Purity

Garnet - Seductive
What I particularly adore regarding the campaign's concept is the fact that these bracelets are not meant to weigh you down, it is meant to highlight the person's existing character. I found it sad sometimes when I saw a person walks down losing herself, drowned in the need of certain brands just simply to make themselves feels less insecure. Always remember, your worth is not measured by what you carry, it's measured by how you carry yourself. Isn't that what style is all about? Let fashion enhance you in its own unique way, helping you find yourself somehow. Oh, deep Saturday morning thoughts. Maybe it's due to watching The Great Gatsby so late at night? Anyway, while I continue with my awkward melancholic pauses, I wish you all a lovely weekend!

Lots of love,
Pris :*

All images courtesy of  VASS Jewels Co.

Friday 19 July 2013

VASS - Expression Is The New Impression

It's Friday night ... and this nerd finally decided to stop procrastinating from posting a project so dear to her heart while the world are having rounds of drinks and going higher than the Empire State. 

A few months ago (yes it has been a long while since my last post, hasn't it?!) I was privileged to be a part of VASS -a jewellery company focusing on semi-precious beads gems bracelets- as an illustrator and their stylist! As much as I love fashion, my love for it only begun based on my love of drawing and illustrating ever since I am able to hold a pencil with my fat, stumpy fingers. Hence, I will start this post series with my work as their illustrator first! Below are my illustrations for their Spring/Summer 2014 catalogue which I am very honoured to be trusted of.

the cover
January-Garnet-Seductive
February-Amethyst- Dreams
March-Aquamarine- Calm
April-Crystal- Mystical
May-Agate-Confidence
June-Moonstone-Natural
July-Camelian- Intelligence
August- Peridot- Health
September- Lapis Lazuli- Truth
October- Tourmaline - Joy
November- Citrine- Prosperity
December - Turqouise- Luck

It's a pity that not all of the original layouts of the catalogue can be uploaded here. Some layouts that you might find to be quite odd are actually under the format used in their website and I do apologize for not being able to present the original look. Oh, and please do excuse the people there for misspelling the word "success" as well, for I believe their wonderful and fearfully made bracelets are already a success in itself! Hee.

Any hows, as explained in the foreword page of the catalogue, each of these birthstones enhances the major type of personality bore by the people born in the particular month. For instance, a January girl is mostly seductive and her seductiveness is believed to be fully enhanced when she wears her designated birthstone, garnet. Still, garnet itself is not only restricted to enhance January girls' seductiveness as those who are not born by the month can wear it if she does prefer to amplify her seductive aura. Therefore, the question extends to which aura do you want to exudes? Personally, even though I am a January girl, I would love to wear the February's dream catcher amethyst bracelet to remind me the power of my dreams. Or the aquamarine. Or the turqoise. Well, maybe everything listed below since I can't decide and it's all reasonably priced in IDR! How about you?






Apart from all the confusion in choosing which one to get, words can't describe how much I thank these people for trusting me with their catalogue and reigniting my passion for illustrating. I enjoy every bit of time spent painting all these and I do hope you like it too, my lovely readers! Do anticipate my next post on VASS' editorial campaign, have a pleasant weekend everyone!