Sentuh Hatiku

Matters from the heart today…

I received a lovely email last night from a sweet and very talented fellow blogger and friend: Ismoyo. We met up earlier this year when she came to London to work on her book and we spent a wonderful day chatting and walking around Chinatown, Soho and Covent Garden looking for all things Asian: I guess because it’s in our genes, as we’re both Eurasian Indos *hehe*. I love Asian design, especially package design and I have a super soft spot for Sanrio characters.

Ismoyo posted her 500+ post last week and organised a ‘Times Five Giveaway’ to thank her readers and guess what? I’m the extremely lucky winner of her extremely kawaii package #2 chock-full of wonderful Sanrio goodies *YAY!* Such a sweet gesture, I’m looking forward to receiving her beautiful gift! Like I said earlier: she is a very talented designer based in New York, so do go over and have a look at all her wonderful things!

When I moved to London I had to give up on most of my personal things, I’ve given away or thrown out furniture, crockery, treasures, books etc. etc. These days my whole life fits in about 30 cardboard removal boxes. I don’t have any crockery of my own anymore, it ended up near the garbage for someone to take. So I’ve decided to collect some treasures over time, that way I won’t have to spend money on it all at once; a treat to myself.

Since there is no Hema here I have to find things online and I’m getting good at it… Last week some of my treasures arrived in the mail and I’ve been extremely happy with it. I’ve paid a decent price [eBay]: compared to shop prices my things are cheap. I collect Chinese plates and bowls and I found a beautiful toast rack which is exceptional and I wonder about its history. I’ve never seen anything like it here in the UK and I suspect it’s a valuable antique.

The Chinese bowls are the same as the ones I used to eat from when I was a kid: I love the pattern and the dragon. So if you have these still, please please please don’t throw them out! Plates, bowls, spoons, tea cups with the rice grain and dragon… anything is welcome! I will keep them safe till the day I’ll be sitting at my own kitchen table, enjoying a meal and using these treasures for the first time. That’s the stuff that Dreams are made of…

Sentuh hatiku [touch my heart].

So detailed…

Not just a toast rack…

My Dragon and Rice

Waiting to be used…

Networking Images

I’ve met up with my friend KB. yesterday. We’ve known each other for quite some time but while I was still living in the Lowlands she decided to move to London at some point, came back to the Lowlands after a few years and then moved back again to London. I moved a few times myself over the years and because of that I lost contact with her. Lucky me I registered a while ago with a website similar to Friends Reunited and found out that she basically lived ‘around the corner’ from me in London for two years before she decided to move to Surrey. I asked her to come along to the annual Picture Buyers’ Fair organised by the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies. It’s a good opportunity to do some networking and see MvdM. at work *LOL*. Although I didn’t expect much it turned out to be a really awesome day.

I talked with some very interesting people which reminds me that I still have to visit a website of a photographer who had some amazing pictures on display. I promised to email him because we ended up having a discussion about web design and how most websites look like crap and so unprofessional. When I mentioned this I was trying to be modest and didn’t use those exact words but he bluntly corrected me and we had a good laugh about it. His pictures are the kind that will keep you intrigued for hours, staring at them. Pictures of forgotten ancient places, specialising in the fantastic and the supernatural. Eight books have been published by him and he had numerous exhibitions worldwide. Some of his pictures are part of famous collections in London, Paris and California. I will ask him if I have permission to use one of his pictures here.

I also met a very nice Dutch woman: while KB. and I were discussing something, she overheard the conversation and we ended up having lunch together and talked for at least half an hour. She lives in Scotland, is a photographer and has her own business. She was extremely interested in my photography and offered to represent me. So if all goes well my pictures will be archived and for sale soon. This is the third professional photographer who shows interest in my pictures which is great. I will also be represented by another company who asked me a while ago if I was interested in putting my pictures up for sale. I haven’t done anything about it yet: I have about 4000 on archive and will have to make a selection first which is going to take quite some time, but it will be fun and I’m really looking forward to this!

In the meantime I’m still busy designing the second phase of a website for a new company that needs branding. I’m not allowed to write anything but it’s fun and quite a challenge and I’ll be working on this over the weekend. I’ve been looking at cameras for some time already and always said to myself that the one I currently use is fine but if this is going to be a success it won’t take much to convince myself to upgrade to a better camera… Just the thought of all this is extremely uplifting and the fact that people seem to appreciate my images on a professional level is the best compliment I could ever get! I’m eager to take the next step! *hehe*

M. at work *hehe*

Repetition

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