VINSTAGWAM #3

#Vinstagwam, a.k.a Viona's weekly Instagram roundup is just column which shares with you, readers who prefer to enjoy viewing images on a larger screen rather than squinting your eyes on your teeny weeny smart phones. It's an extension to behind-the-instagram stories on when, where, how, why I share my images with you. Not necessarily fashion-related, these photos can be taken from anywhere and has a special place in my heart. Starting clockwise from left, here's a sneak peek into my adventures!

1) Family roots: Grandma looking sleek and chic! (third from left, taken in China)
I recently got in touch with my uncle (my grandfather's younger brother's son) during Chinese New Year and he invited my family and I to check out his timber factory. While hanging out with him in his office, he shared with me his collection of super old photos (almost ancient!) taken when he was a kid (he was born in the Fujian province, China), before embarking on a journey to Singapore at barefly 10 years old. See the baby boy right smack in the middle? Yeah, that's him. The ultra cute baby wearing traditional shorts with holes at the front and back for easy peeing and popping. 

The lady carrying him is my great grandmother. She's da BIG SISTA yo! And to her right, the poised lady with a white Cheongsam top is my grandmother! The rest of the ladies are my aunts (my grandfather's sister-in-laws) and the dudes, my grandfather's younger bros. I've never seen my grandmother so young before (by the time I grew up, she's already in her 60s). She's 93 now. I'm a sucker for old school photos, so imagine how thrilled I was!

2) Hanging out with Kate at the ELLE office!
It was Throwback Thursday - the perfect day for me to show off my photo with Kate! This was taken two years ago in 2011 when I was interning at ELLE.com in the Big Apple. Thank God my seat was next to the fashion room which was next to Kate's office. The sight of Kate walking pass my table was always breathtaking. It's like my world pauses for a moment as I admire her, her outfit, her hair, her everything until she disappears into her office. Yes, I admit, I'm a Kate stalker (and super proud of it!). 

So this day happened when I simply when out of my head and decided to knock on Kate's door. She was at the desk and turned and looked at me. I was literally hyperventilating! So I calmed myself down and introduced myself, 'Hi! I'm an ELLE.com intern from Singapore and I was just wondering if you can take a look at my resume and give me some advice on my career path?' At that moment, I was so prepared to be turned down and never ever gonna face myself to Kate again. But Kate responded in her uber cool tone, 'Sure! Let's arrange for an appointment sometime next week,' looked at her online calendar and turned towards me, 'how about next Tuesday?' The rest was history. Wanna know what happened after?

3) What an apt setting for the arrival for (kite) Spiderman! #nofilter #latergram
Did you know that kite-flying is almost impossible in Singapore mainly due to its crazy and unpredictable weather? I've postponed reminiscing my favourite childhood pastime three days before I decided to just try my luck last Friday. It was sunny all afternoon, driving my hopes so high until the mighty dark clouds gathered at 5ish p.m. Too bad I was already at Marina Barrage flying my kite, a.k.a. Buffalo Wings, now with the fear of getting strike by lightning. But no, heaven was too kind. Clouds began to clear, giving way to an opening of amazing, jaw-dropping light rays. Imagine the arrival of a Goddess or an Angel from the sky. You know the natural (first world) reaction: I have to instagram this! But this shot with Spiderman isn't accidental. The cutest, tongue-in-cheek superhero kite I've seen so far has Spidey holding on to the thread while flying. 

4) How did illustrator Mikito Ozeki manage to create this mega huge cutout?! #dope
By the time you read this, (I'm sorry) the art exhibition showcasing nine street artists from Japan, Tokyo Street has ended. But you can still check it out, in a form of press release at the organiser, Ikkan Art International's website. This particular artwork is by the renown cutout artist Mikito Ozeki. He basically uses his penknife and cuts out all kinds of shapes and sizes on a plain piece of paper (this one of an urban robot is especially huge. It's at least 5m long!). Note: he does it without any prior planning. WTF?! Yeah, that was my first reaction too. It's too f**king cool not to share with you! I seriously hope he collaborates with a fashion designer soon!


Till next week! In the meantime, follow #Vinstagwam here. 

VINSTAGWAM #2

Pardon my absence for past few days. Was occupied (still am actually. My cousins are playing mahjong in the living room at this moment right now) with one of my favourite events of the year, Chinese New Year (#cny). Schedule was packed with spring cleaning, relatives visiting, mahjong playing and finally ang bao ($$$ gift which the younger ones receive from their seniors) collecting. Now you know why it's one of my favourite events of the year. 

If you've been following me on #Vinstagwam (otherwise, you should!), you would have seen some of my black and white street shots (taken when I was in New York two years ago) prior to the first day of New York Fashion Week. I had a BLAST attending the fashion shows and I have so many more fashion and non-fashion related photos to share with you. But before that, allow me to take you a trip down memory lane last week (starting clockwise from top left). 

1) 'Konnichiwa to my virgin art collection - 'Whisper' by SG painter Zaya'
This painting, the first to kick start V's art collection, was a gift from my guy. He received it when he met the Singaporean artist Zaya and knowing me best, he decided to give it to me. Thou it ain't the actual painting (digital print), I can still admire its details, especially the kimonos worn by the traditional Japanese ladies (possibly geishas). If you take a closer look, the lady on the left wears a tiger design while the other a dragon. I love it so much I went to buy a frame immediately and now it holds a special place in my room where I get to see it every day. 

2) 'Neon lights are back in action!'
With so many LED lights, I thought I would have never seen neon signs (except for names of old night clubs) ever again. But when I went to Haji Lane last week, this clothing store caught my eye from far and I just couldn't take my eyes off it. O-Mighty is a known for their vintage clothing and tongue-in-cheek ol' school interior. They have tonnes of clothes and accessories for sale, you need one full day to sift through their racks of quirky designs. They have an online shop too! 

3) 'I have never considered used paper cups as an inspiration but why not?'
I photographed this girl in recycled paper cups while I was camping outside Calvin Klein's SS'12 show. She suddenly appeared out of nowhere, obviously seeking for some attention from the paparazzi and obviously got her point across - Recycled products for fashion? Or paper cups can be an inspiration! You decide.

4) 'And the feasting begins... #cantresist'
Well.. who can? These ain't sugar-coated cocktail sausages (as perceived by my guy), they are the mega-awesome PINEAPPLE TARTS! Available all year round with the perfect balance of pineapple filling and crust, given its calories content unfortunately, my family decided to eat it once a year so imagine when I had the honour to peel the scotch tape around it and reveal its greatness. I had to capture the moment. Fancy a try of my childhood most wanted #cny snack worth every calorie count? Two words: Bengawan Solo. 

Till next week! In the meantime, follow #Vinstagwam here. 

VINSTAGWAM #1

Yes, it's my version of Instagram, hence, allow me to introduce the #Vinstagwam! Instagram is part of our lives now, after the explosion of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, gosh, when does the list stop? Everyone's a sucker for beautiful photos right? Based on a recent research, #1 Instagram hashtag goes to #love and #2 to #instagood (er.. I'm not sure exactly how this hashtag catagorises photos so it's not counted) and #3 goes to #me.

Who doesn't love #love? I do. But sadly, I don't post photos about it unless it's V day or something heart shaped? Of course, Instagram is a perfect medium for all the narcissists in the world to share with the world photos of themselves. Let's not go there. So what I am doing with #Vinstagwam is to share with you a weekly roundup of four of my favourite or most popular photos on my Instagram. It ain't easy to think of a good caption all the time when you're on the move and sometimes these captions don't explain the entire story behind the photo. Sharing them on Twitter with a 140 characters limit ain't gonna get the story across either. So here goes my virgin #Vinstagwam (starting chronologically, clockwise from top left):

1) 'Still can't (get) enough of Gotye and Kimbra live last night!'
This is one music event in Singapore I'll never miss for the world - Laneway Festival. Danced in the rain at its launch in 2011, enjoyed the perfect spot (standing in the middle of the stages and the slope at Fort Canning for an eye-level view) when they first introduced two stages in 2012 and this time round, I screamed my hearts out for Alt-J, Of Monsters And Men, Tame Impala and then lost my voice when Kimbra joined Gotye on stage for the all-time favourite, Somebody I Used To Know. I was so close, just four rows away. Imagine the epic-ness.

2) 'I dreamed a dream, that the beauty of nature will set me free.'
I usually share my travel photos and non-fashion or street style related photos on Instagram. This particular shot was taken two years go on a beach in Mornington, Australia. My family and I were on our way back when I spotted this lady out there, as though searching for something. I'm not sure what she was looking for but I love the idea that sometimes, a landscape photo of nature looks a lot better when a human being was captured in the shot. In a way, we can't do without nature and nature can't do without us.


3) 'It's a floral pump party at Robe Raiders! Nicholas Kirkwood's awesomeness.'
We don't get to see Nicholas Kirkwood's shoes up close here in Singapore so I was blown away when I found a pair at Robe Raiders' latest showroom sale. Too bad it's size 37.5 (too small). I would love to afford it secondhand but it's still way out of my budget. Love how Nicholas Kirkwood paired floral prints with bold black lines and made it look so pretty.


4) 'Mosaic Sky'
ION Orchard has been around for a few years now. If I remember correctly, it used to be an amusement park where loads of Filipinos were hanging out. It's inevitable that another shopping mall popped up at Orchard Road but ION Orchard made itself a landmark in our shopping district with its amazing architecture and retail space. I took this shot while I was waiting for a friend.

Follow #Vinstagwam here.