dream big!

taking a break from the holiday rush (and from our blog delinquency!) by sharing you what was shared with us.

a few weeks back, i had a friend arnel casanova come to our office to share his story with us.

if there's anyone who can say that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, it's him.

he was born into a very poor family,

and against all odds, he was able to finish school...

learning english through the old pages of old Newsweek magazines that were used to wrap fish in the market he worked in as a child...

working in a bakery (to get through college), and sleeping on its floors since he had nowhere to stay...

all this (and more) didn't stop him from succeeding...

and when i say "succeed", i mean

graduating with flying colors,

getting a law degree

(while working for a law degree, winning an honorary award from President Ramos for some peacekeeping work he had done),

... and yes... getting a degree in Harvard.

anything IS possible!

read more about him here.

real inspirations

while in my side of hk, i really got inspired by the packaging of these "healthy" chips...

i love the use of "real" photos against graphic drawings and fonts...

it reminds me of those cookies with a look that i liked so much...

all this inspiration led me to buy these set of coasters that could be an additional peg for our upcoming cup noodles...

they're still all about "real" black and white faces against cute, bright colors.

inpsirations + this noodle box + yummy healthy noodles could maybe be something great :)

now all i need is seed money for this exciting project.

show me the money!

reel vignettes

i know you've been doing really *inspired* set designs...

so i thought you'd really like this recent event of elle decor in LA...

where interior designers + set designers created vignettes inspired by movies/TV shows.

some were pretty straightforward like this...

the others will take a lot more guessing...

can you guess what these were based on?

(these were movies...)

(these are tv shows...)

check out the whole feature here.

tres cool !

my big pink headboard

combining inspiration from something i saw in one of our fave spots in harajuku -- a cute and quaint li'l creperie...

and inspiration from my fave design period,

i'm working on my new headboard... right now, it's still a bit plain...

but i plan to add 3 or 5 big buttons across, just like on mid-century modern sofas...

and add a li'l twist by filling a corner up with my brooches...

i was inspired by this screen in that creperie i was talking about...

but right now, i only placed 3 pins... that's all i have.

i know you have lots.  wanna spare me some? :)

if you can't wait, get protected.

wow wow wow...

many thanks to wanggo! what an inspiration...

all of us can't get over his story, and most of all his courage to speak out...

he shared with us practical wisdom (like latex is better than rubber... water-based (or spit) better than oil-based...)...

and more profound wisdom too.

i also liked how he stressed on the value of waiting...

i'm not sure if he'll ever realize what impact he has made... and how he probably saved lives just by sharing an hour with us...

thank you, thank you, thank you!

condoms save lives... nuff said. (sorry, il papa).

bill-ieving

my addiction to TED was revived when our parallel universe featured a vid on creative learning.

so many to watch... so little time...

among the many clips i watched, this i think (for now) is my fave.

i think it's very relevant to me, as i build my little space.

it's a little long, so make sure you're free to watch and enjoy the whole thing.

(note: herbie hancock is the one playing the piano in the background)

enjoy!

absolutely beautiful things

wow! great artworks!!! (mark's oil in pans are clever!).... are you not inspired to paint again!??

speaking of inspiration, i stumbled upon this interior designer's blog called absolutely beautiful things where she records all her inspirations, designs ideas. i love it! its soooo my type! and its a great resource for my production design work (and for my new renovation!). now i'm slightly confused about my lavender and red idea (but only slightly ;).... haha!

here's her home...

black and white awnings


kitchen, counter with pink bar stools


dining room


living room (i love the striped chair)


wallpapered bathroom


hot pink loom chair


don't you think its so me? i love that she loves pink :) chickitout!