mini mini mini

i have a thing for miniature things

mini macaron...

mini ballerinas....

mini boot...


Looking beyond the whole idea of "cuteness", what I like is that simply by changing the scale of something that is usually perceived as mundane suddenly catches a lot of attention. I like collecting small items mostly because of their craftsmanship and they all carry a memory with them.

The macaron is from my most recent visit to Taipei. I spotted it at a small flea market in my district. The ballerinas were added to my collection of miniatures after a trip to Venice. Known for its beautiful glass ornaments, we walked past hundreds of shops with glass vases, jewellery, figurines.. you name it. But only these little ballerinas caught my eye and I instantly knew I had to take them home with me. My background of Ballet was the primary reason for my attraction to these small items, but I was also very impressed by the minute details on them.

Finally, the miniature item which I treasure the most out of my whole collection is my little golden boot. My mum has an old friend who makes shoes. Boots, to be specific. He was an old american man my mum met on the plane possibly 30 years ago or more. He treated my mum just like he'd treat his very own daughter. When I was born, he made a miniature boot out of gold. I wore it every day as a child and still do now. Funny, I've only met this man once. But the image of him stuck with me forever. Now I'm not sure whether he's still alive or not but if he were.. I hope he knows this little golden boot is the most cherished one of my entire shoe collection.

cross-stitching isn't just for nans...

Severija Incirauskaite, a lithuanian textile artist/designer uses a clever technique of mixing two very contrasting materials: metal and thread. the marriage of these two materials actually fit together perfectly in a very feminine and delicate way. once again, i'm captivated by intricate details in her pattern work.

“Way of roses is an expression about successful life. However I read it literally, eliminating figurative positive meaning from this phrase. Embroidered cars rather tell us about dangers facing on the road which are reminded to us by silent flower wreaths often standing by the roadside. The problem is still very hot – tv and newspapers are full of „war on the road“ topics everyday. Furthermore this work is a textile version of peculiar „tuning“ as functional design. That is the way I understand means by which a woman can decorate her car. It differs from widespread, commonly projecting an aggressive image autotuning of men.”

-Severija Incirauskaite

enchanted world I

there's something so captivating and enchanting about selfridges windows. after having worked with the visual merchandising team last christmas, i came to appreciate even more the work and effort that goes into these 27 windows on oxford street.

went to check out the current selfridges windows today. i would've loved to be part of their latest windows, which celebrate the opening of selfridges' shoe gallery- the world's biggest shoe department with over 4000 shoes from 150 brands!





other selfridges windows I find really inspiring:



what i truly admire about the visual display team is their incredible attention to detail. the windows team is split into 3, so each person has about 6 or 7 windows to do- which is still an incredible amount. selfridges windows have kept their reputation as not only a platform for retail and luring people into the store, but as an attraction itself. it's not just about the shopping- it's the whole selfridges experience of an enchanted world.

a love affair with shoes

stilettos, wedges, platforms, kitten heels. what is this whole shoe obsession phenomenon with women?


As like all little girls, shoe-obsession started pretty much at the moment I learnt how to crawl. I was trying on my mum's ferragamo's and gucci's and longed for the day I could have my very own pair of high heels. My love for shoes however died down as training for Ballet meant I was wearing ballet shoes all the time anyway.... until a trip to Florence one summer and I walked into Salvatore Ferragamo's shoe museum.

Rows and rows of shoes inside glass boxes... I walked through the rooms in awe, taking in their intricate details, the stories of the women who once wore them.. wondering what I've been missing out on my whole life! Ferragamo designed shoes for numerous female celebrities including Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. He understood how a woman's feet "revealed so much about her past and her personality that he was then able to create her a shoe that was both beautiful and comfortable, close to perfection"*


The shoes he created for Marilyn "intensified her innate sensuality with pointed toes and heels 11cm high, made to the same design for more than 10 years, and which were essential to her seductive sway as she walked."*


While doing research on what shoes meant to women, I stumbled upon an interesting article. The author, a shoe-a-holic herself, stated that “Cinderella’s stepsisters were not desperate for Prince Charming, they were desperate for her glass slipper”. I found this quite amusing.. and an interesting way of depicting women's love affair with shoes.

Actually, one thing that makes me feel like some kind of freak is that I love the smell of fresh new shoes.. whether they are trainers, boots, 5-inch heels. I love the feeling of removing the lid of the box and unwrapping the shoes from the crisp white paper.. there's something about that moment in the shop that you know-even when you're having an absolutely shit day.. you see those shoes lying in the box within the wrapping and suddenly you know everything is better already. But don't get me wrong... I'm not some kind of materialistic fashion victim. In fact, the longer I own a pair of shoes, the more in love I tend to be with them.

Carrie Bradshaw once said on Sex & The City "The fact is, sometimes it's really hard to walk in a single woman's shoes. That's why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun."
The thing is, shoes are much more than just shoes in a woman's life. They are our best friends who are there with us to take on all types of adventures life has in store for us, walk us through our day to day journeys and they are the ones who carry us home at the end of all of it.

*quoted from "Salvatore Ferragmo: A love affair with shoes" 2004