I had a great time in Phuket! Besides posing with Ronald’s Thai cousin (who looks so much like him. Hurhur!), I got to check out Patong Beach, Phuket’s Premium Outlets(!!), the Weekend Market, the Safari Tour & more!

Some quick facts, in case you are curious:

1) Flight via Airasia: S$120/pax (Return)

2) Hotel: Aspery Hotel on Patong Beach Road S$229.09 in total for a Standard Double Room for 3 nights

3) Travel Insurance: QBE $32

4) Exchange rate: S$1 -> 24.30 Thai baht

I was holidaying in Phuket with my girlfriend, Grily (whom you’ll see pictures of in a bit) and it was our first visit to Phuket!

Expecting taxi fares to be pretty steep, we jumped on the opportunity to take a minibus from the airport to our hotel (150 baht per person; S$6 instead of the usual 600-700 baht for a taxi)

It was a regrettable decision because I got squashed in the front passenger seat with a Canadian guy. Just ‘cos I’m slimmer than the other angmohs, I don’t deserve a proper seat of my own *sob* PLUS I got the “best” view when our driver hit and ran over a dog who dashed across the road!

* Our Hotel *

I don’t know why but they like making little fans with the toilet paper, towels, etc!  

The hotel’s Red Peppers Restaurant was looking really sleepy when we arrived in the late afternoon. To make matters worse, we decided to indulge in Happy Hour cocktails (at half price/100baht) …

Fly me to Lala-land with “Aspery Lover” and “Patong Sunset”

With some delish Shrimp Cakes *150 baht*

The rest of the food we ordered wasn’t as good but the short 1 hour 40 minute flight seemed to have made us ravenous!

We later made our way to Patong Beach as the sun was setting…

 Rent a jet ski at 1500 baht for 30 minutes! That’s about S$62! Still cheaper than Para-sailing!

Our second day in Phuket was our designated Shopping Day! And shop we did at Jungceylon, Central Festival, Premium Outlets and the Weekend Market!

We were told by hotel staff that Jungceylon would be open at 10am. But it opens only at 11am so we were there too early and ate at Swensons first…

“Does it taste good?!”

“Hmmm… not bad!”

* Our ice creams melt while we camwhore! *

Jungceylon’s just a 2-storey mall with a circular layout. We didn’t buy very much here; just a quick stroll around.

We then decided to head to Central Festival in a tuk tuk. Here’s where we were brought on an unsolicited “private tour” to a gems manufacturer before we were dropped off unceremoniously across the road from Central Festival mall. *The tuk tuk driver also forgot to collect the 500baht fare (S$20)!

The tuk tuk driver thrust this Tourist Information sheet into my hands and asked if I could “help” him earn a stamp (on something that looked like a loyalty card) by letting him bring us to see some gems before heading to our destination. I found it difficult to reject a request for help. *sigh*

* hands shaking ‘cos the tuk tuk was moving off already *

We were brought to a place called “Gems Gallery” which proclaims itself to be the “World’s Biggest Jewelry Store”. Don’t know how true this claim is but I got to look around the factory and saw many craftsmen working on the jewelry, like this one:

 The section where you can view the jewelry was posh indeed – no photographs allowed. Needless to say, we didn’t buy anything and just hopped back into the same tuk tuk for our ride to Central Festival.

Strangely enough, the driver DID NOT let us alight at the mall. Instead he dropped us off across the road from the mall. We panicked ‘cos the vehicles were travelling at high speeds, like on an expressway here.

The driver walked us halfway across the road, told my friend to hurry up ‘cos she was lagging behind and just left us and ran back to his tuktuk.

We then realised he had just run off without collecting the 500baht fare! And he was so happy to speed off with just a hurried “Bye bye!”.

Oh well, thanks for the ride, pal!

Lunch at MK Restaurant was most enjoyable!. I found their mascot too cute to resist! It holds tissue, a pen, toothpicks and suggestion sheets!

Chose our own ingredients for the steamboat and also ordered their signature roast duck.

*Tip: Collect one of those Welcome Bags at Phuket Airport and you’ll likely find a 10% discount voucher for use at MK Restaurant, among other vouchers.

The Central mall’s pretty big, like our Vivocity.

And then we headed to where I was yearning to go the most!

Phuket Premium Outlet!!!

It’s not very different from the Premium Outlet I visited in Malaysia.

You know how they say the greater your anticipation, the greater the disappointment? Totally true for this place.

My friend got so bored she started talking to trees…

I only bought ONE item… a Scooby Doo bag for 369 baht/ S$15. And here’s my loot from the first 2 days of our Phuket holiday…

Thankfully no customs officer opened my bag for a check or else they’ll be wondering “Singapore doesn’t have jelly beans?!”

The Weekend Market resembles Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, except that I seemed to do more shopping when I was at Chatuchak. My friend, Grily, managed to purchase some pretty trinkets as souvenirs.

Don’t know what this lady’s selling but it looks so colorful and pretty!

Come back again soon for Part Two where my friend goes para-sailing while I laze on the beach, and both of us go for an unforgettable Safari Tour!

“What’s one tip you have for me?”

For instance, when meeting a Real Estate expert, I can ask him “What’s one real estate tip you have for me?” It’s really useful! Try it!

And here’s one takeaway I got from each of the speakers:

1) Christian Chua – How to Make a Fortune Sipping Coffee:

Acquire a special skill to increase your net worth. The more you learn, the more you earn!

2) Karen Leong – Influential Networking

Be a catalyst – bring people to your party.

I especially loved this: *Wallflowers: the people who are the lonely ones at networking events; often spotted with a mobile phone in hand and looking up “every 5 seconds or so”

3) Benjamin Cheng – The Corporate World: A Jungle or A Zoo?

Don’t be provocative – even if you particularly dislike someone. The people you meet on the way up could well be the same people you meet on the way down!

4) Eric Feng – Speak to Influence, Persuade and Win

Attended seminars but haven’t actually changed your life? Just find ONE thing that you can change today, repeat it for 21 days and it becomes a habit!

5) Bob Feldman – Timeless Management

The mindful leader slows things down at times -> shapeshift in the office by shutting the office door to give yourself space for thinking, reflecting and planning. Even 10 minutes for relaxation or a nap will be more effective than an additional 2 hours of sleep before the day begins.

6) Heather Hansen – Getting Ahead with Global English

Distinguish between long and short vowels, e.g. “sit” and “seat”.

7) Deborah Torres-Patel – Voice of a Leader

Tell your audience What’s In It For Them – what can they get, be, have, etc.

8) Thaddeus Lawrence- How to be a Runaway Success

Be gentle with yourself – take smaller, lighter steps, and stay away from negative chatter.

Thaddeus blew the audience away with his sharing about ultra-endurance racing in the hottest, coldest, windiest and driest deserts on earth, including the Sahara, Gobi, Atacama and Antarctica.  He ended his presentation with a standing ovation from the audience!

He did a run through Chilean salt flats (which are, apparently, not quite flat)

Certainly, with Thaddeus and all the other speakers, Raise Your Game 2012 was nothing short of a runaway success! Congratulations to all who planned for and executed today’s program with such finesse! Kudos to Shirley Taylor and her wonderful team!

I highly recommend that YOU get a copy of APSS’s book which was launched today, titled ’88 Essential Secrets for Achieving Greater Success at Work!’ It’s out in bookstores in Singapore, and will soon be in Malaysia, Thailand, the UK and US. The e-version will be released shortly.

Here’s my copy of the book – can’t wait to read it! The book was put together by 22 Professional Speakers and Trainers from APSS and edited by their President, Shirley Taylor. I want to extend a big THANK YOU to Andrew Chow, who invited me to this event. It was both a pleasure and an honor to be in the company of such distinguished speakers and trainers.

*To find out more about the Asia Professional Speakers – Singapore, or to join the APSS, click here.

*To find out more about the individual speakers, just click on their names above and you’ll be directed to their websites. Also, come back again soon as I’ll be interviewing them individually.

You started a blog but feel stuck, bored, or uninspired?

Join me for personalized one-to-one coaching about blogging! Among other things, I’ll share about how I got started, mistakes I committed as a blogging newbie and tips and tricks I picked up along the way. Also, each session is tailored to your level of blogging experience and subject of choice.

Just last week, I conducted 3 such Coaching Sessions and was privileged to meet 3 people who are blogging about Property, Diving and Finance, respectively.

Here’s Arthur, a property agent with PropNex. He sells luxurious property worth millions of dollars each.

* Pardon the poor lighting in this photo taken with my iPhone XD *

Arthur said: “I thought my blog should be very corporate-like; such that I found it boring myself. Grace showed me how to make my blog content come alive with structured steps, insights and tips on better postings. I now know how to get traffic, advertisers and even sponsors. I would recommend Grace’s Coaching Sessions – she helped me identify what to focus on and what I really want to achieve with blogging. And she opened up new perspectives about the possibilities for my blog.”

Now, meet Xiu Li. She’s an accountant and has various interesting hobbies like judo and diving. She’s starting a new blog on diving and I gave her tips on how to avoid situations such as slacking off for weeks without new posts.

Xiu Li said: “I was given concrete get-started tips and shown examples of good postings. Though I’ve been blogging sporadically since 2005, I wasn’t familiar with various widgets. Grace gave clear step-by-step tips on the usage of widgets and their purposes. Due to work, I’m unable to blog frequently so Grace showed me how to generate and manage consistent postings. “

Finally, there’s Sean who is an Author, Master Trainer, and Expert at trading options. I was shocked to find out that when he was in his 20s, he was training fund managers twice his age!

*Photo courtesy of Sean Seah*

Sean said: “Two really great things about the session with Grace is, firstly, she gave me a structured step-by-step approach on how to improve on my blog. Secondly, she provided me with valuable tips that can’t be found in books or on websites. It was a valuable and fun session working with Grace.”

Screenshot of the email Sean sent me a little later:

If YOU would like to:

1) Meet me for a one-to-one Coaching Session about Blogging, OR

2) Join me and 4 other participants for a Blogging Workshop,

Email me at gracewwg@gmail.com and insert subject title “Coaching Session” OR “Blogging Workshop”.

Whether you already own a blog or not, always remember to have FUN while blogging! Cheers! – Grace

Alfred Wong

Managing Director, Noel Gifts International Ltd

(All the following photos are courtesy of Hearted Moments Photography)

1) Why did you choose to start Noel Gifts and what do you love most about this business?

In 1973, I joined my family’s construction business and back then, it was an annual routine for most companies to send hampers to business associates on special occasions such as Chinese New Year.

But the feedback from sending hampers was that some hampers had rusty cans inside and some other products that were not so desirable. So, with this feedback, we decided to pack the hampers ourselves because we firmly believed that gifts bear good wishes and therefore they must be of high quality to carry the sincerity and goodwill of the sender.

The response was heartening and many of our recipients called to ask if we can assist them by packing the hampers so that they can present them to their business associates in turn. This hamper project became our small seasonal side-venture. But when my father’s construction business failed, we decided to go full time into the gifting business.

This business of ‘gifting’ is extremely satisfying when you know that you have helped people improve their relationships in one way or another, be it with business associates, friends, family, or loved ones. To see the smiles on the recipients’ or senders’ faces proves that you did a job well done.

2) How have gifting trends evolved over the years and what are some of the most memorable gifts that Noel has put together for customers?

As years go by, besides the ever popular flowers and chocolates, gifting trends have shifted from the basic gifting to concept gifting. Customers are more discerning and attracted to gifts that have a story and strong idea.

Hence, we make effort to innovate and keep up with trends. We have introduced 800 new product ideas each year and even introduced organic products and also some experiential gifts vouchers to cater to the younger customers.

There are many examples of memorable gifts, as giving gifts come from the heart and we often see extraordinary gifting moments. Physically, there were big and expensive gifts such as a more than 2 metres tall chinese new year hamper; a 999 stalks of rose bouquet that is as big as a small round tasle; and a $3000 congratulatory flower display.

Emotionally, there were simple bright sun flower bouquets that were presented to hospice patients to brighten their day; a special hamper packed with hand-picked items by a terminally-ill individual to thank her doctor.

3) Perhaps lesser known would be Noel’s property investments. How have these investments complemented Noel’s gift business and what are the prerequisites for any business which would like to also venture into property investments?

In line with our gifting business, these investments’ focus is with view of bringing people closer.

The prerequisites are basically, interest, sufficient capital, and industry knowledge.

4) Please share about the most important lessons you have learnt about branding, especially in establishing Noel as a trusted and reliable brand. 

I believe that having a strong brand is essential to secure a dominant brand share and achieve market leadership locally and enabling it to grow regionally. And to sustain a strong brand, it is important to have continuous product innovation and creative designs.

Sample of a fresh rose frozen in time via a ‘freeze-drying’ process

As such, Noel’s product development and design team travels extensively to source for items to refresh its selection of gifts, flowers and hampers. To better understand customers and identify gifting trends, the company undertakes market research and conducts training for its customer service teams. It also taps on resources beyond itself to introduce new management capabilities and strategies.

5) Which are the best gifts you have ever received?

1.      God

2.      My Family

3.      Gifts from Noel

Grace Says: I had the opportunity of learning from a Floral Stylist at Noel Gifts, and together, we put together a red rose hand bouquet they call ‘Burning Love’. (*Will be uploading the video soon; enjoy the pictures for now)

The Workstation:

I learnt a lot about roses along the way…

Was taught how to remove the unwanted petals and thorns and how to trim the stems, etc

And after almost 25 minutes or so… *tadah*

Very pretty bouquet, right?

Was tempted to run home with the bouquet in their award-winning tote bag

*No more awkwardness when carrying bouquets!*

I used to think bouquets are just pretty and little did I know about how much work went into the presentation! Did you know that this particular bouquet required FIVE sheets of that beautiful red and pink wrapping?! To the uninitiated, it looks like it took just two.

Plus, you can’t leave the half-wrapped bouquet lying on the table while you go look for the ribbon/decorative leaves/wrapping/etc (*A mistake I committed*). The roses always have to be propped up by their stems so the petals won’t touch the tabletop and start turning black or wilt.

Besides learning about how to wrap a hand bouquet, it was certainly a lot of fun meeting the happy people at Noel.

I hope the bouquet I co-made will make a special lady really happy this Valentine’s Day.

Noel’s Valentine’s Day 2012 flowers and gifts are available for order until Feb 14, 2012. For more information and/or to order, call 6299 1155 or visit lovechapter.com

With special thanks to all at Noel Gifts who made this possible

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love,

Grace

p/s: If you’re still wondering where to take your date on V-Day, check out my previous blogpost here.

Ivan Teo

Director, Arteastiq Tea Lounge & Art Jam 

(All photos courtesy of Hearted Moments Photography)

Ever thought you could start a successful business by accident? What about a business which pairs high tea with acrylic painting?! Arteastiq is one such business which came about as a blessing in disguise!

Ivan used to run a furniture store at this venue in Mandarin Gallery but it was a loss-making venture. However, customers liked the concept of enjoying their tea in this luxurious environment. Hence, with a revamp, the business took off again.

The special tea flavors were created by Ivan’s Tea Consultant friend and the tea is brewed individually for 3-5 minutes till the flavors get infused. Ivan revealed that not all kinds of oolong tea goes well with lychee, for example, hence the special attention paid to the brew. Also, Arteastiq does not use flavored teabags so don’t expect teabags to be sold here.

“Making tea is an art – not just throwing in a teabag.” – Ivan

Currently, Arteastiq serves 11 kinds of tea with a range of sides. I especially loved the lychee tea and almond biscuits which were surprisingly delicious, and I was told the Japanese mochi is not to be missed too!

When you’re done enjoying the tea, proceed for a 3-hour Art Jam session where everything is provided for you – aprons, paint, brushes, canvas, etc.

There’s reference material available if you need it too. And the friendly staff will make a color copy of any design you like so you can stick it next to your canvas and paint accordingly.

You may even spot a couple of unfinished artwork which customers will be coming back to work on. You only have to pay $5/hr for each additional hour you require. Or else, it’s $48 for the 3 hours of painting on the regular 50 x 50cm canvas, or top up an additional $10 for the bigger one.

Ivan revealed that he was surprised at how willing Singaporeans were to participate in Art Jam. Art Jam started in the UK more than 10 years ago and essentially is not a school. People just got curious when they spotted other people painting.

In fact, local celebrities like Stefanie Sun, Zoe Tay and Michelle Chia have popped by Arteastiq with their friends and family. Check out their photos here.

I suppose even celebrities take to painting as a way to release stress and also bond with their friends and loved ones.

As for me, I haven’t painted since my Secondary School days, which seems like decades ago now. So here it is… the painter is pretty *ahem* but the painting, not so much…

My photographer friend, Jiahe, did a better job though he was taking photos most of the time. *sob* Talent: either you have it, or you don’t.

And have no worries about smudging the wet paint ‘cos the canvas will be packed in a special carrier for you:

And to reward yourself for the marvellous job at painting, just head out to the tea lounge/restaurant for a bite…

[above] I tried the Tender Mafia (Italian herbs with beef ribeye). I found it well-flavored and just a tad too salty.

*The main dishes are cooked using the Sous vide ultra-slow cooking method which seals in the meat’s juiciness and retains its tenderness. This means slow-cooking for TWO hours. I’m impressed.*

Jiahe tried the Saucy Housewife (Jumbo chicken leg in green apple cinnamon). I love the presentation!

One item on their menu that caught me by surprise was this mushroom soup. Served in a petite mug, it’s full of yummy goodness:

*Must Try*

Unsurprisingly, Arteastiq is a hit with the ladies. Make a reservation before coming by, even on a weekday!

I’ll certainly be going back to Arteastiq again, it’s such a great place for tea and chilling out with friends. And perhaps, with enough practice, I can start painting decently well.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Arteastiq:

Morning session: 11am-2pm/Afternoon session: 2.30pm-5.30pm

$88 per couple (you get everything you need to paint plus 2 snacks & beverages)

Or

$214 per couple for a 5-course Dinner with red/white wine and 1.5hrs of Painting. RSVP by today! Check Arteastiq’s Facebook Page for more details.

Arteastiq is located at:

Mandarin Gallery #04-14/15

333A Orchard Road S(238867)

http://www.arteastiq.com/

For more Valentine’s Day gift and dating ideas, visit this blog again this weekend

If you’re new to this blog, submit your email address in the column on your right (at the top) to get all updates sent FREE to your email account. See you around!~

]]> http://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/interview-with-ivan-teo-from-arteastiq/feed/ 1 workingwithgrace Me and Ivan seating painting tea apron canvas reference copy artwork painter1 painter2 carrier slurp1 slurp2 Tender Mafia Saucy Housewife mushroom soup other customers Arteastiq http://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/the-gold-standard-in-blogging/ http://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/the-gold-standard-in-blogging/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:58:07 +0000 workingwithgrace http://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/?p=1632 Continue reading →]]> I’ve been given a number of ‘titles’: Blogger, Full-time Blogger, Star Blogger, Stomp Blogger, Celebrity Blogger, etc. I’ve FINALLY become thick-skinned enough to call myself a ‘Professional Blogger’.

It all started when I saw someone‘s Facebook photo – he printed some metal business cards for himself and stated that he’s a ‘Professional Blogger’ (I got a shock when I found out his blog’s barely one month old).

I joked with Welson (CEO of Expressprint and blogger at welsonang.com) that I can consider getting the title of ‘Very Professional Blogger’ in future!

Chio or not?! Welson actually printed some namecards for me! They are printed on aluminium and have such a ‘wow’ factor. I was given some gold, silver and bronze-like ones.

I’ll be giving out these cards according to how much I like a person. You get the gold one if you mean the world to me and I truly cherish our friendship/relationship. Want to know how much you mean to me? Ask me for a card. LOL.

I think what really blew me away was this card case…

“It has my photo on it!!!”

It’s just too amazing.

Welson redefined for me what it means to be a “Professional Blogger” by his example. It doesn’t mean you have to be top in ranking, have a million people visit your blog daily, etc. Often, bloggers at that level have become complacent, blog infrequently and start sounding a teeny weeny bit arrogant (I’m sure you know what I mean).

Now I think being “Professional” is about exceeding people’s expectations and being totally in love with what you do (in this case, it’s blogging).

Think about what namecard printing means to you.

Printing namecards for people as a gift isn’t about stuffing poor-quality cards in lousy plastic boxes (as people have come to expect). It is about blowing them away with the thought and care you put into designing everything – from the case to the cards.

I really do look forward to the surprises Welson has in store at his blog WelsonAng.com. It’s certainly a blog I’ll be watching as Welson blogs about his very ‘colorful’ life; recalling events that happened from the time he was a teenager. So check it out and give my fellow ‘Professional Blogger’ your comments.

Honestly, I do sometimes feel tired of blogging because I like novelty and experimenting with new ideas, etc. But people like Welson remind me of how important it is to be professional and deserving of the title “Professional Blogger”.

And if YOU have been inspired to start your own blog or improve on your existing one, do get in touch with me at gracewwg@gmail.com. I have a couple of Blogging Workshops and Coaching sessions which just may be of interest to you.

Remember to keep striving towards the Gold Standard in whatever you’re doing! Whether you are a Professional Chef, a Professional Doctor, a Professional Homemaker, whatever! Cheers!

Here I am with Alex and Amanda (my vegan friend) …

(No, the burgers are not as big as the one on the wall! )

*In a nutshell: Vegan food doesn’t have any dairy product in it – no milk, cheese, eggs – and no other animal products too. Even stricter than vegetarian diets*

Apparently, Alex came up with the idea of the Buy 1 Get 2 Free promo because he likes doing “extraordinary, crazy things” and wanted to let people try the burgers – the more, the merrier.

Before I share with you anything else, here’s what I thought of the food at VeganBurg:

Their Seasonal Special Tom Yum Burger:

You can see it has real pineapple bits spilling out when you cut the burger in half!

It’s spicy, salty Tom Yum goodness which I’ll rate 4/5. Eat this blindfolded and I am sure you won’t even realise it’s a vegan burger.

Price-wise, it’s a bit steep at $8.85 for the burger, and $12.85 for the set which includes seaweed fries and juice. But it’s only around for a limited period of time so you must try this!

I also tried the Char-Grilled Satay burger. $6.85 solo and $10.85 for the set.

Burger sliced in half so you can see what it looks like inside No… satay’s not served on a stick.

By the way, it’s a MUSHROOM patty with the satay sauce. I’ll rate it 3/5 as I found the patty pretty hard. Didn’t dig the Spinach Wheatgrass juice either as it tasted like really sweet apple juice.

In any case, if you love potatoes like I do, ABSOLUTELY order the Crispy Potato & Spinach Pops ($3.80)

They are incredibly yummy! This is a 5/5 as it’s healthy (has spinach bits inside ok!), yummy and freshly HANDMADE from scratch in-house! I don’t advise sharing this one. Tell your friend to buy his/her own!

Some people also like the vegan sausage franks (made from tofu) but I’m neutral on those.

Sounds like I ate a lot that day but the best thing about eating vegan food, I’ve found, is that it is very light on your stomach. You don’t get the bloated, uneasy feeling that comes with eating a full meal.

In fact, Alex became a vegetarian and a vegan later on because of health reasons – he suffered from stomach bloatedness as he used to eat a lot of ‘junk’. A plant-based diet restored his health and this is what he wants to share with us all.

He conceptualised VeganBurg in Feb 2010 and on 10.10.10, it was launched! He was previously someone who did product design for a particular company and had never cooked in a kitchen before!

He then faced challenges such as in inventing burger buns and patties which do not have egg or milk in them. His R&D paid off and hence we have these vegan burgers in Singapore. I would say it’s a mini revolution in the fastfood industry.

Right now, VeganBurg has 3 outlets ; 2 are currently open, 1′s opening soon. Alex’s plan is to have 5 outlets this year!

He says that there is “…no work more meaningful than this; to create a revolution for the fast-food industry. If I Succeed… it’s promising now… If I fail, at least I know I have made a contribution.”

It IS extremely tough for me to adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. But I certainly don’t mind having a vegan meal once a week, like Alex recommends. I believe it’ll do wonders for my health

So go on and check out VeganBurg’s menu and outlets. And tell me if you like the Tom Yum burger or not; then I know what else I should recommend on this blog.

If you like this post, go ahead and submit your email address in the column on the right; I’ll send more interviews and freebies your way. Eat healthy and stay healthy!

Angelina Pradana

Managing Director, The Studio Cocktail Bar

(All beautiful photos courtesy of Jiahe from Hearted Moments Photography)

Grace: Earlier this month, I got an invite to attend The Studio’s media launch and after that, post-hangover (just kidding!), I got to interview the 23-year-old(!) lady boss.

1) Why did you decide to start a cocktail bar and what do you love most about the work you do?

I wanted to do something fun on my own and I always wanted to go into the F&B industry. Opening a bar seems to be the most fun of all. What I love most is enjoying my drinks with great people. The feeling of being part of every party, meeting different people everyday, making new friends and getting some drunk for the first time! That’s something that makes them remember The Studio as a fun place to hang out and that just makes my day all the time.

Bartender & Photographer forced to drink:

2) What sort of challenges did you face being a female and also being very young, in starting this business? How did you overcome them?

People did not respect me at the start, especially during the renovation phase. Having to sort out the renovation details with contractors was no easy task. To them, I was just a small girl trying something for the fun of it and eventually fail.

It was difficult having to meet people who put you down. I also had staff walking out on me initially due to the lack of respect and that taught me a very important lesson of not trusting people too easily and always watch your back.

3) Who are the people you are thankful for? (Those who have given you business tips, invested in your business, or who have inspired you?)

My parents. Without them, all these will never come true, both monetarily and mentally. They have been my advisers whenever I faced any problems. My boyfriend, Wilfred who have been of great help in running the place. My sister, Jessica who has helped me with all the design work. My mixologist, Sam, without him, there will not be the wonderful cocktails on the menu and he is also such a fun person to work with.

Sam:

My friend, Joash who has always been there when I needed IT advice and help like my website! Lastly all my friends who have dropped by to show their support and have helped me in any other way.

4) What are your plans for The Studio?

To stabilize this outlet and eventually turn the Studio into a chain of concept bars. Hopefully, you can see my second outlet in about 2 years. Haha..

5) What advice do you have for young people like you, who may be studying right now but have dreams of becoming entrepreneurs?

Go for your dreams. Many people told me that I won’t make it. Some thought that I should be working for companies before jumping into starting my own business. Don’t be discouraged by them! When you have the passion to do something, you should strive for it while you still have the drive and energy. Starting your own business is never easy, so you really need to be passionate about it to keep you going!

Grace says: I had a lot of fun with the DIY cocktail segment. Bigger pics so you catch all the action…

Bloggers galore:

Some Blogger-volunteers mixed their own Cosmopolitan:

I made my own Whiskey Sour:

Shake up all the ingredients and don’t forget to SMILE:

Pour your drink out:

And ENJOY!

All these would not have been possible without these 2 gentlemen:

My new friend Smith

and Jiahe from Hearted Moments Photography

Cheers and Happy Chinese New Year! Get Drunk! <- The Studio’s tagline

I loved the place! The intimate setting makes The Studio a great place for parties and chill-out sessions with friends.

Check out their menu and promotions.

The Studio Cocktail Bar is located at:

778 North Bridge Road

Directions and Opening Hours here

My manicurist, Junying, has a home-based nail salon called Thistlebelle Nail Boutique. She’s 23, studied Real Estate Management but realised working for others meant she was often too tired to pursue her passions, such as dancing. Hence, she has become an entrepreneur, has control over her time, and also indulges in her love of nail art too!

I knew she’s a talented young lady from viewing some of her past nail art creations so I threw her a challenge by telling her what I wanted only when we met and frankly, she nailed the job (pun fully intended).

First, allow me to introduce you to the 2 goldfish on my thumbs:

When I attended the Meet The Entrepreneurs Charity Concert on Monday, one Facebook friend came up to me and said she could not recognize me from my Facebook profile photo but she recognized the 2 goldfish! LOL!

And the rest of the nail art on my fingers:

On the middle finger is a silver sticker with “年年有余” and on my pinky is “福”. Very auspicious, no?

Honestly, I would have preferred to have goldfish on all 10 fingernails but that would have taken up too much time. The acrylic extensions plus the 2 goldfish and some bling took a total of 3 hours already, and Junying’s next client was already on her way over.

And speaking of acrylic nails, it was my first time getting them!

My nails were trimmed and acrylic powder was used to make the extensions:

Then, with some colored powders and the photo of a goldfish keychain, Junying made the goldfish right before my eyes:

If you’re wondering whether the goldfish were created separately and then glued onto my nails, the answer’s no. They were created right before my eyes from scratch – moulded on my nail, shaped and colored. As far as I know, I’m the ONLY one in Singapore (or the whole world, for that matter) with these pink and red goldfish nails. This gives me lots of bragging rights. Ha! *update: Junying later gave another client gold-colored goldfish nails. I still maintain that my pink and red ones are cuter. XD*

Junying told me the nail art would last 3 weeks to a month. I could have bet that the crystals would have fallen out by the 3rd day at least, but surprise surprise, they are all still firmly stuck to my nails!

One drawback, I suppose, is that I have difficulty removing my retainers every morning (if you have worn braces before, you’ll know what those are).

Tips for acrylic nail extensions and 3D nail art:

1) I learnt this from a celebrity manicurist, Lisa Logan (she does Beyonce’s nails) -> Apply sunblock onto your hands to protect them before sticking them into the UV light machine used to solidify the extensions and 3D artwork.

2) If you’re someone who usually keeps your nails short, grow them out for 2 weeks or more before you get your extensions. This is to ensure you are used to the nail length and don’t get into accidents (like stabbing yourself in the eye when removing contact lenses) if your nails suddenly become extra long.

3) Ask Junying for tips on how to remove contact lenses with these super long nails. She has a method of squeezing the eyelids to get the lenses out, but I didn’t bother to learn ‘cos I have perfect eyesight after Lasik!

Lastly, be prepared to get lots of compliments and answer questions like “Is it difficult to work with these nails on?”, “Can I touch the goldfish?” and the ultimate “You don’t do any housework, do you?” *chuckles*

Do your homework before meeting Junying. You can check out her artwork at http://thistlebellenail.blogspot.com. I sure did my own homework on the way to her home-based nail salon, and here are some of my favs from her blog:

1) Hello Kitty nails!

2) Ribbon nails:

3) Special request Holland-theme nails:

See? I am not kidding you when I say this girl is REALLY talented. Go on and throw her a challenge. I believe you’ll be amazed, just as I was. And getting compliments from strangers every day has led me to the conclusion that getting beautiful nails is definitely worth the time and money!

Junying’s appointment slots are fully booked for CNY but there’s Valentines’ Day coming up, so book early to avoid disappointment. (Psst, she’s really good at bridal nails too!) SMS Junying at 90261583 and check out Thistlebelle Nail’s Facebook page here.

*For all pricing mattes: leave Junying a comment on Facebook or SMS her.

Thanks to Junying, I’m celebrating CNY in style! Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!~

(Photo Credit: MTE on Facebook)

This week is proving to be a soul-stirring one. What with the Meet The Entrepreneurs (MTE) Charity Concert on Monday and my visit today to Dignity Kitchen.

What an interesting coincidence too that while reading Robin Sharma’s book ‘The Secret Letters Of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ this morning, I chanced upon this passage:

“With every person we engage, in everything we do, we must be kinder than expected, more generous than anticipated, more positive than we thought possible. Every moment in front of another human being is an opportunity to express our highest values and to influence someone with our humanity. We can make the world better, one person at a time.”

The passage encapsulates neatly the message that both the charity concert and my visit to Dignity Kitchen gave me.

Thanks to Andrew Chow from Ideamart, I got my first media invite to a charity concert.

The charity concert was organised by local entrepreneurs and spearheaded by Roger Koh, CEO of Chen Fu Ji International F&B Group. It warmed my heart as it showed me that there are many entrepreneurs who (in Roger’s words) care about “love, giving and sharing”.  Funds were raised for Club Rainbow which helps children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and their families, and Dignity Kitchen, a hawker training school for the disabled and the disadvantaged.

One of the highlights for the evening was definitely Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s performance.

I particularly liked too, the Talkshow by Patrick Liew (CEO of HSR). While the Talkshow was hilarious and most enjoyable, the inspiring message that Patrick left us with was “If you have to talk, speak words of life. Inspire, motivate people and make them greater than before they met you”.

Upon the invitation of another of the MTE committee members, Ashley Ella Choo from One HR Concierge, I visited Dignity Kitchen today.

The 14,000sft foodcourt had stalls mainly manned by students of Dignity Kitchen and can be recognised by the logo:

I also got to meet Alson, who works at the noodle stall. He suffers from cerebral palsy and has difficulty cooking the noodles. Can you guess how Dignity Kitchen assists him?

 Second from left: Alson

They put together a special noodle machine with pre-set timers and which will lift the cooked noodles up automatically:

I think it’s an amazing invention! The bonus is that there’s quality control and the noodles always taste good!

Other innovations include the talking calculator and the cash registers affixed with Braille stickers to aid the visually impaired. I applaud all at Dignity Kitchen for going all out to assist the disadvantaged and helping them live fulfilling lives with dignity.

For one, Dignity Kitchen provides its students with $30 training allowance for each day of the 6-8 weeks training course that they attend. They do this to help solve the financial woes of the students first. Also, classes are conducted between 10am and 4pm so students can avoid the peak hours when taking public transport!

Their hard work has clearly paid off with the 100% passing rate for the NEA’s Food Hygiene Basic Test!

Here’s what our President, Dr Tony Tan, had to say about Dignity Kitchen:

Instead of donations, Dignity Kitchen prefers sponsorships for the elderly from old folks’ homes to lunch at Dignity Kitchen. I think that’s really awesome as every dollar goes toward meals for the elderly and also rewards the disabled and disadvantaged for their hard work in preparing and serving the food!

Dear friends, come on down to Dignity Kitchen at 1 Kaki Bukit View, #01-01 Techview Building (opposite Bedok North Secondary School). I loved the experience – the food not only filled my belly, the students’ warmth and friendliness (and innocence too!) lifted my spirits!

You and I can make a difference in the life of at least one person this year and we can “make the world better, one person at a time”.

*Phew*

Check out my first week of Stomp posts here.

And now… It’s been 13 weeks of blogging for Stomp! *Yay* It’s been a lot of fun. I can’t tell you that I’ve made many new friends ‘cos honestly, I have not met my two fellow Stomp bloggers, much less spoken with them. Ha!

A blogger’s life can get lonely sometimes so I’m glad YOU, my dear blog reader, are joining me on this journey!

This post is to remember some of the highlights along the way and share with you some of the tips I learnt about blogging with Stomp.

Here are my favorite posts so far *click on the pics to read the blogposts*:

1) This one showed me that people really are concerned about $$

2) This one told me my readers are either (a) concerned about me *thank you thank you* or (b) very ‘kaypoh’/inquisitive

3) This third one revealed the importance of having a catchy blogpost title. Hehe!

4) And this one… I really can’t quite figure out why people like reading it *shrugs*:

My honest opinion about blogging for Stomp is that it inculcates discipline. I get the topics on Fridays and MUST submit them by latest Monday morning. There was one particular Monday morning when I had to wake up at 7am to complete my blogposts, send them to the editor and go back to bed. (>_<)

People probably mistake this as all glamorous only but as the editor said on the 2nd day we met, there is a responsibility to the readers of Stomp.

The second thing I learnt is that I must be objective and really answer the question.

For this topic, I had initially written a blogpost that stated that I think sexy is overrated and shared about my cryolipolysis treatment that was supposed to give me sexy abs but went all wrong.

The editor told me on Monday morning that it would not do, and I had to name my top 10 sexy people. *Panic*

In about an hour, I rushed out a blogpost for him that did not fare too badly where views are concerned AND got me a compliment from a reader:

And I suppose you have guessed. The third thing I learnt is that people on Stomp don’t mince their words and don’t pull any punches. Like the editor had warned me earlier, some readers are really gonna whack the blogger when they see something they don’t agree with. Haters, flamers, you name it. Hence, it is necessary to have ‘thick skin‘.

So far, it’s been mostly good. Except one time when one of my near-5000 friends on Facebook shared my blogpost link on his own Facebook wall and said he didn’t think the advice in one of my Stomp blogposts was good advice. I deleted him from my Friends list and admitted one more admiring fan instead.

Also, I received a compliment today that absolutely made my day – from the founder of Eighteen Chefs, the one-and-only Chef Benny:

*Yay* Happiness.

If you like what I’ve shared so far, you’ll LOVE the tips and tricks I’ll be sharing at my upcoming Blogging Workshop (4th Batch!) on 11th Feb (Sat) 10am-12noon. We’ll have a Stomping good time! Simply email me at gracewwg@gmail.com with subject “Blogging Workshop” and I’ll send you more details. See ya!~

Olivia Lim

Founder, My Lovebites 

www.mylovebites.com

Photo Credit: Hearted Moments Photography

One of the Christmas gifts I received was a pack of Chocolate Chip cookies from a local company with a blush-inducing name ‘My Lovebites’!

So I looked for this entrepreneur to find out what makes her cookie business so successful (and also figure out the story behind the name. Ha!).

Check out the best-selling Salted Caramel cookie:

Looks cute, doesn’t it? It reminds me of an egg with a yummy yolk in the middle.

The best part about visiting the store is the consultative tasting session, with all the available flavors placed before you so you can try every single one before deciding which to buy!

I found my fave:

It’s the Earl Grey Tea & Almond!

Here’s the selection:

And what has the awesome baker been doing before starting this store? Turns out she was in a consultancy business with her hubby, Sant:

According to Olivia, she will bake every time she’s stressed. And previously, when she was studying overseas, she would even bake using soup bowls and anything else she could find or borrow. She has proven that she can make do with little and still create something awesome.

Her cookies were later baked as Christmas gifts for corporate customers and orders grew with each festive season. And now her dream has come true with this shop.

Guess who came up with the name ‘My Lovebites’?

Olivia

Or Sant?

*chuckles*

Sant. He came up with the name as the goodies and cookies Olivia bakes are all about “sharing the passion and love”. The name is also “interesting and a little naughty, besides being unique and personal”.

What about the secret to making the cookies so yummy?

Olivia shares that she uses an original recipe for each unique flavor. For the Tangy Lime cookies, for instance, she uses fresh lime juice. And her cookies have no artificial flavoring or preservatives.

What impressed me most about Olivia is that she has a dream of growing this business into a chain of cookie stores. For someone who has just started a store, her ambition is most inspiring!

So watch these 2 in the lovely red tees. They’ll be making waves in the cookie world:

The cookies are indeed too yummy to resist. Go on, have a bite:

You’ll find all the yummy cookies right here:

412 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427637

Photos: Hearted Moments Photography www.heartedmoments.com

I was fortunate to have the company of these 4 cool peeps (clockwise) -> Amanda, Ash, Arasi, and Leela.

Here’s what they said about the workshop:

Amanda (soon-to-be PhD candidate and Lush advocate) – “Thank you for the most awesome workshop today. I really love the personal advice and help in setting up our blogs successfully, with the long-term goal of maintaining them. Really useful workshop I would recommend to all who are interested in blogging, whether for personal interest or to make passive income!”

Leela (works in the NEA) – “The course is short and sweet. Grace shared a lot of good tips on blogging and I hope to benefit from them soon! “

Arasi (Accountant) – “Grace is personable and very knowledgeable. She is selfless in sharing her secrets of success.”

Ash (Sales in the printing consumables line & part-time property agent) – “Grace is attentive and answered all questions that I asked. Impressive & Interesting Blog Workshop. Would recommend to my friends.“

I went to meet friends for Prawning after the workshop and one of them asked me “Grace, aren’t you tired after working the whole morning?”

Me: *puzzled look* No, it was all fun!

Yes peeps, don’t ask me why this is so. Sharing about blogging is fun for me. Even early on a Sunday morning!

Check out my previous Blogging Workshops here and here.

Join me for the next one on 11 Feb, 10am to 12 noon. Simply email me at gracewwg@gmail.com with subject title “Blogging Workshop” and I’ll send you more details.

Have a fabulous week ahead! ~Grace

Jared Fogle

Spokesman for Subway Restaurants

http://jaredfoundation.org/

1) What was it like physically and emotionally to be “an obese child, an obese teenager and an obese adult”? How did obesity begin in your childhood? And what did your parents do?

For me, each stage of development being obese was harder and harder.  There is never a good time in one’s life to be heavy but as a child, it was especially tough.  I dealt with it by withdrawing more and more from my family and friends.  I could always seem to find solace in food.

It became harder for me to do everyday things like fit into my school desks, go to a movie theatre, sit in the back seat of a car, and took much more effort to walk even a block down the street.

My unhealthy lifestyle started when I was 8 years old when my dream of getting my own video game system became a reality.  I quickly stopped exercising and became very sedentary.

My parents were very concerned but the more they approached me about changing myself, I would push away from them and continue eating and not being active.

This continued getting worse each year until I was 20 years old and weighed over 425 pounds*.

*425 pounds = 193kg

2) What exactly prompted you to embark on your weight loss plan that allowed you to shed 245 pounds (111kg)? How did you suddenly find the motivation to shed so much weight? 

I finally had enough when I was 20 years old and over 425 pounds.  I had developed a severe case of sleep apnea and was always exhausted because of it.  I would wake up throughout the night gasping for air, which was a very scary situation.  At that point, I had had enough I think.

3) Many people have difficulty keeping to a weight-loss plan. What do you think is the reason they are unable to lose weight like you have? 

I tried many different ways to lose weight but struggled to find a way for me to do it.  I finally happened upon the idea to eat Subway sandwiches from their low-fat menu.  I ate Subway twice a day everyday and also started walking everyday.  It started to click and I continued with it under the supervision of a physician to make sure I was doing everything in a healthy way.

As long as I stuck to that plan, I continued to drop weight and it took me just under a year to lose 245 pounds!

I looked at losing the weight as phase one and keeping it off is a continual struggle that I will fight my entire life!

Now I practice eating in moderation and staying active.  I still eat Subway several times a week but learned to eat most things, just not as much as I used to.
4) How has life changed since you became Subway’s spokesman?

It changed in every way.  I’m recognized a lot these days and it’s great to be a positive role model for others who fight with obesity.  It makes me feel great to give hope to others who are in a similar situation I was in.

 5) What’s a day in your life like? 

I travel almost 200 days a year for Subway and also doing work for my foundation to fight childhood obesity, called The Jared Foundation.

When I’m on the road, I’m usually up early doing interviews for radio and TV then on to some school visits to encourage children not to go down the same road I went down and ever wind up weighing 425 pounds.  I try to empower kids with education to take the healthy road to life!

Grace says: You may have set a New Year’s Resolution to lose some weight so take heart, it IS possible to shed those extra pounds and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. For the sake of your own health and happiness, and for your loved ones, make those lifestyle changes and choose to eat in moderation and stay active, like Jared advises.

You can read the story behind ‘The Subway Guy’ here.

Also, visit The Jared Foundation’s website and make a donation so the Foundation can reach out to more kids and help them lead healthier, happier lives.

Stay healthy, stay happy!

Come back again soon for the next exciting interview!~

2nd day of the New Year and I head over to JB for some prawning/fishing.

Visited KSL City for food first and made some interesting discoveries…

Shilin Oyster Mee Sua RM6.50 (~S$2.70) *Cheaper than in SG!

You know Shilin Taiwan Street Snacks? There are a number of outlets in Singapore. And in JB too. This one at KSL City (L2-127) in JB serves stunningly big oysters.

Initially, I was apprehensive. Would the oysters smell funny or have those grains of sand inside (like some oysters do) ? But these were yummy. Certainly the BEST bowl of Shilin meesua I have ever tasted!

I usually don’t order the XXL Crispy Chicken in SG ‘cos they are usually dry, salty and cut up into unappetizing bits.

But in KSL City…

Shilin XXL Crispy Chicken RM6.50 too!

You get the entire piece (2 pieces in fact). And it’s nicely flavored – not too salty or spicy. *yumz*

*I got my fringe cut at Plaza Pelangi for RM$5 (~S$2) Muahaha. Eyebags from a late night on New Year’s Day *sigh*

And elsewhere in KSL City, I find, to my absolute delight…

Makes me think of… “Best in Singapore, JB and some say…” (Not sure if it’s in Batam!)

Honestly, I think 51 is better than Lao Ban in terms of level of sweetness. 51 has got it just right while Lao Ban is too sweet for my liking. And mind you, I have many ‘sweet teeth’.

So proud of our SG brands spreading their wings overseas. Even if it’s just across the Causeway!

Random pic with cute alien-thing outside a store:

And there’s supposedly a shortage of prawns for Prawning in JB ‘cos of some recent flooding. So I tried some fishing there (which wasn’t fruitful).

Go to Taman Daya then Jalan Pinang 23 and you’ll find this place for Prawning and Fishing. (*Note: Absolute must to go to Taman Daya first ‘cos there are many Jalan Pinangs all over the place and it’s extremely easy to get lost in JB!)

One drawback is that there is NO SCENERY at all. You stare at the water, walls or your fellow Prawning/Fishing buddies.

This is my view while I was Fishing (didn’t catch anything though)

I was supposed to catch some of these, but it’s crazily difficult:

The rates were okay though:

Bait and rods are all provided. The catch is not fantastic but it’s a good practice ground ‘cos the rates are better than in SG.

*Note: The place is usually only open for business from 4pm onwards. So don’t arrive there too early.

If you spot me in JB, do say Hi! And let me know if you have any place to recommend for food/prawning/fishing in JB. Comment here or email me at gracewwg@gmail.com. Thanks in advance!

For the prawns I like steaming them with some soy sauce and ‘hua tiao chiew’ or Chinese cooking wine:

For the patin, I’ll slice some red chilli, spring onions, ginger (very important when cooking fish!) and tomatoes:

Then add some soy sauce (about a teaspoon or so) and the ‘hua tiao chiew’ (about 2 tablespoonfuls depending on the size of the fish), and proceed to steam the fish.

The Patin is easy to prepare as it, strangely enough, doesn’t have scales. And few bones too. Steaming it is recommended if you are only eating it once in a long while. If you’re eating it a bit more frequently (like I sometimes do), then I suggest you cook it in a curry sauce with additional ingredients like brinjal, lady’s finger, etc. The spicy curry will mean you don’t get sick of eating this fish so often.

If you have any recipes to share, please email me at gracewwg@gmail.com or comment here!

Dennis Soh

Owner, Tagline Prawning 

Follow me on Facebook and you’ll realise I’m a huge fan of Prawning! For today’s blogpost, I catch up with the boss of a Prawning place I frequent. Here’s a video with awesome Prawning tips for a start:

Video & Photo Credit: Jiahe

After watching the video, you may be thinking “How small should the bait be?” Answer:

Expect to catch:

Prawns of all sizes (blogger not included!)

Pregnant prawns

Prawns with color tags – this one has a green tag (near its ‘feelers’) worth $5!

*Blue Tag = $10, Green Tag = $5, Orange Tag = $2 and valid only on Fri, Sat and Sun! Exchange the tag for CASH!

Is the bait and rod provided?

Yup! Take your pick:

And this is the ULTIMATE secret weapon:

Simply coat the bits of chicken with the powder (it’s simply called ‘xia fen’ in Mandarin -> loosely translated into “prawn powder”) My catch rate increased a lot after coating the bait with this stinky powder

Or you can just get the earthworms instead at $2 a box:

Cutting up wriggly worms isn’t something I fancy! (>_<)

The prawning rates:

Tagline Prawning is open daily 24/7. If you prefer, you can come by at night:

How about Prawning for FREE? Just come by on your birthday with a friend. For each hour your friend pays for, you get the same number of hours FREE.

The current school holiday promotion which ends tomorrow (31st Dec) -> Pay for 3 rods (same number of hours) and get the 4th rod free. Essentially that works out to $22.50 each for 4 friends Prawning for 3 hours.

If Prawning’s not really your thang, and you want to try something more exciting, go patin fishing (like I did in the video above) – $5 per rod.

You’ll have to battle it out with the fish… it’s lots of fun! Haul it out when it’s tired out (hopefully before YOU are!)

Want to visit Tagline Prawning?

It’s at Lot 35, 5 Pasir Ris Farmway 2, Singapore 519324.

Find Tagline Prawning on Facebook here.

*Ask if Grace is around when you visit. If I am, I’ll give you a free crash course, just ‘cos you’re my blog reader!

*Say Hi to Dennis too – he’s arguably the youngest boss of a prawning place in Singapore!

Come back tomorrow for my suggestions on how to cook the prawns & fish.

You may also like: 5 Life Lessons I Learned From Prawning

*Update* On 1 Jan 2012, when I visited Tagline Prawning, I found that the Birthday Promotion is no longer available. BUT, the buy 3 rods and get the 4th free promo has been extended indefinitely.

Dyan Chang

Founder & CEO, RosaBlu Coterie Pte Ltd

You must have seen my very pretty bag from Camomilla.

For this interview, I met up with the lady who brought Camomilla from Italy to Singapore! There were some things which really surprised me. Read on…

1) What were you working as before starting this boutique?

I co-own a design agency with my husband. I am also a Graphic Designer. I’m from the pioneer batch of the Graphic Design course in Temasek Poly!

Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a Hello Kitty fan [Grace: *gasp!*] but there’s a market for it so you see many Hello Kitty items in my boutique.

From handbag…

To sling…

I like strategic planning and used to work 18 hours a day. Also, because of the time difference, I can be communicating with the Italians via email at 12 or 1am.

Every year, I will go on one long and one short trip… After my MBA, I went to Rome. I saw Camomilla and fell in love. I can’t buy everything in the store… So I decided to bring the whole shop back! :D

2) Why did you decide to bring Camomilla Milano to Singapore?

I like roses. But I’m not a pink person [Grace: !!!] I love blue roses. Blue roses are unique, hence my company name is RosaBlu. What I want to bring into the market must be something unique.

I’m hoping to start a RosaBlu cafe.

3) I see posts on the Camomilla Milano Facebook page that announce the birthday of your customers. What else is the company doing to endear itself to its customers?

We know our regular customers by name and we call them on their birthdays.

4) What has your entrepreneurship journey been like?

I am someone who loves studying. I did a Higher Diploma in Business, a Masters in Design and an MBA.

When I was in Design services, I only needed my clients. But in Retail, I now need people. I need to manage staff, suppliers, logistics, etc. And I need many, many customers.

Managing customers can be a challenge. They will ask questions such as “There’s no discount for my birthday month?!”, “Can I reserve this item till the end of the month?” We thus have to handle these enquiries on a case-by-case basis.

5) What is your staff selection process like? How did you decide to hire male staff for a store essentially female-oriented?

In Italy, the sales agents are male. They usually wear a big flower on the chest. When I incorporated this into our store in Singapore, my male store manager was thought to be gay by the people he met when visiting the washroom! So we did away with that.

You may not know this… We don’t attract the very young customers. Our customers are between 30 and 60 years old! Some even tell us that the Hello Kitty “face” on the merchandise is not obvious enough.

Grace says: Here are some gift ideas for you…

For the Hello Kitty-loving friend of yours (read: Grace Tan)

For the PINK lover (again, read: Grace Tan), here’s a cute clutch that doubles up as a lunchbox carrier (or just put a present inside!) …

For the mother who would love something both pretty and dignified at the same time:

Business hours have been extended till 11pm today and tomorrow. And there’s also a 10% discount!

Camomilla Milano Singapore has a Christmas Wish List where 5 winners get to choose their favourite item from the store and take it home free (Yes, even the highest priced item!) All you need to do is to make a purchase of $150 and above to stand a chance to win in the Lucky Draw!

FYI: The brand was even featured on the popular “HDB Taitai” programme hosted by Kym Ng & Chen Liping, on 2nd Dec!

Here’s one other thing you may not know about the boss of this store with many Hello Kitty items: Dyan is into Muay Thai boxing – she even has a Personal Trainer! Very ‘fierce’!

Visit the flagship Vivocity store if you can ‘cos they have a REAL tree cut from the Milan forest. They even flew in 7 Italians to design the store!

Spot the tree:

Camomilla stores are at:

1) Vivocity #01-119

2) Ion B3-41

I visited the Ion store on its opening day… ‘People Mountain People Sea’. Thankfully I had a media invite!

Dyan with the lovely cakepops given out that day:

Camomilla Facebook Page where all the newest items can be found (often snapped up before they reach the retail stores!) -> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Camomilla-Milano-Singapore/215377281833910

Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas!

With lots of love,
Grace

Thank you so much for an amazing 2011! As the year comes to a close, I just want you to know how grateful I am for your continued support for me & this blog!

As actions speak louder than words, here are some presents I have in store for you this Christmas:

1) Camomilla-Hello Kitty lockets (worth S$20.50 each). *Not sponsored*

2) Camomilla-Hello Kitty brooch with pretty pink crystals! *sponsored*

3) 5 copies of ‘What Your School Never Taught You About Money’ by Bestselling Author and Multi-Millionaire Dennis Ng *sponsored*

4) $10 worth of Saybons vouchers (3 winners) *sponsored*

I love the Seafood Bisque and Wild Mushroom Soups *yumz*

5) $10 Camomilla voucher (5 winners) *sponsored*

I bought this pretty pink Camomilla bag! My fave!

How to win one of these lovely prizes?

Head over to http://www.facebook.com/ConversationsWithGrace and tag yourself in any of the photos showing the prizes YOU want for Christmas!

*I’ll be uploading the prizes as fast as I can tonight. So watch the page.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas!

~ Grace

With Special Thanks To:

Camomilla - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Camomilla-Milano-Singapore/215377281833910

Dennis Ng - http://www.masteryourfinance.com/

Saybons - http://www.saybons.com/

Seah

Co-Founder, LOBS Harvest

*This blog post will be photojournalism-style since I took close to 200 pictures, some of which I’ve selected to be published here!

The meeting point was near Changi Point Ferry Terminal. Look, can you believe this IS in Singapore?

Yup, Changi Point it is:

I thought we were gonna get a ride on one of these:

Some random pictures taken while waiting for Seah (yes, he prefers to be called Seah) …

A heart-shaped leaf…. & my Mickey Mouse shoes:

Blissfully unaware of the danger that lay ahead

Then I found, to my horror(!), that we had to climb down a ladder AND cross some other boats before reaching the one that’d take us to the lobster farm! Here’s a woman heading down the ladder first…

I have a fear of heights and I really can’t swim very well so yes, scary moment there. But safely on the boat in a while:

Along the way, we pass a boat from the ECG (real estate group’s) farm, and Seah also pointed out a farm which belongs to Meidi-ya (the supermarket at Liang Court).

About 1o minutes of enjoying the sea breeze, we reach the blue farm, where the lobsters are!

It’s made up of these floating cubes, which you can join together like LEGO bricks and customize the layout of your farm. More eco-friendly than the usual chemical barrel kinda floats!

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, we get TWO overenthusiastic dogs come check out the boat before we could even get out:

The black one’s Onyx, and the white one is Oyster (how apt!) Seah later tells me that Oyster was actually adopted from SPCA while Onyx was a gift from a neighbour!

Lobsters!

Lobsters moult to grow. And here’s the outer covering one left behind:

The colors actually remind me of spiders. Look at its legs:

Bet you’ve never seen a baby lobster before:

Here we see a male lobster:

The parts I’ve circled in pink show you that it’s male. It uses these parts to latch onto the females to impregnate them! And here’s a heavily pregnant one:

Bet you didn’t know lobsters look so colorful!

And if you’re lucky, you may find a crab:

I’ve done prawning and fishing before. This is new to me – lobster fishing:  *See the lobster trying to get at the fish?*

Because I didn’t catch a lobster, here’s Oyster sticking its tongue out at me!

And then Oyster gets fascinated by the crab on my palm. Onyx later chases the crab till it hides in a lil corner somewhere:

Group Picture! The farm manager from Burma, Seah, Me (pardon the messy hair) and two very distracted dogs:

Then Seah takes us to a seabass farm still under construction, and run by his friend Raymond. Raymond actually started the farm because his wife was concerned about the problem of over-fishing and they want to play a part in giving us a sustainable source of food.

Seah throws some floating pellet feed to the seabass and the feeding frenzy starts:

It was quite crazy. The fish were splashing the water everywhere! And Seah tells me “Grace, write on your blog – He (Raymond) is farming piranha!”

And we’re going off now:

A view of the setting sun:

And here Seah’s going “Eh Grace! We have to climb the tyres to get back onto land. Ok for you hor?”

Did You Know?

1) Lobsters grow less quickly when the weather is cold, like during this rainy season!

2) Lobster farming has its risks: Seah’s first batch of 1500 lobsters was almost totally wiped out – 95% died! It’s not easy to farm lobsters as not many papers are written about lobsters, unlike seabass which is more of a staple food.

3) Sushi Tei is LOBS Harvest’s biggest customer!

4) While seabass takes 6 months to grow big enough for the market, lobsters take 1 year!

5) The best way to savor lobster is to eat it sashimi-style!

The lobsters cost only S$60/kg (which will have 2 to 3 lobsters). So what are you waiting for? Head over to http://www.lobstergot.com/ and place your order now!

*Would you like to join me when I go on these interviews with celebrities, millionaires & entrepreneurs?* Drop me an email at gracewwg@gmail.com with subject title “Join Grace For Interviews”, include your name + mobile number and I’ll send you more details!