weaving between cultures ...

in design work, i admire the successful fusion of the old meets new, east meets west approach. whilst many gravitate to the rigid and precision that are modern design pieces, there seems to be a large following too for those reviving our 'traditional' pieces, designs filed under (i'd imagine)conservation and/or heritage.

ikat is one such art form.

Ikat, or Ikkat, is a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp

or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design.

Ikat means "to tie" or "to bind" in the Malay language.

:: taken from Wikipedia ::

seen today are many product designs originating from the ikat process. what is even better, to me, is that the Westerners seem to be loving this art form so much that they're producing ikat-designed home and fashion items and commercialising them. true, there's the desire to keep things within yourselves (culturally), but when it comes to art, i think a fusion between the East and West is always a good thing. just give due credit to origins of design. ;-)

:: Pottery Barn cushions, image via Apartment Therapy ::

:: Anthropologie cushions, image via Design Sponge ::

:: chair by Oregon-based designer Jen West, image by Design Sponge ::

:: image via Patricia Gray ::

:: image via Design-59 ::

bowled over ...

these pretty patterns on these adorably moulded bowls. moulded bowls ... has a cute ring to it, don't you think? :-)

:: bowls beautifully made by Aida Dirse, image via OhJoy! ::

.... but back to these bowls, grouped together, i think they make quite a display on a special lil corner in your home. love them!

if i could only dream for a moment ...

... i'd LOVE to buy me some Chris Kenny art.

:: Map Circle (16 Typhoons) ::

:: Red Map ::

:: Compass 2008 ::

how clever are these? extra credit should be given not just for the brilliant concept of the artwork, but so too for the meticulous effort and precision that are the pieces (of art). pure genius, i say!

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i'd love to have the Compass 2008 up in Big Z's room. it, to me, sums up the whole travel theme. the icing on the cake though is how it's a take on polka-dots, which i not-so-secretly-anymore kinda have a fetish for. ;-)

if in the luckiest of luck, i ever get to own the Map Circle (16 Typhoons) piece, i'd most definitely have it in the playroom-cum-family room. aptyly titled 'typhoon', i think little is left to one's imagination. playroom equals daily typhoons! and the colours; how happy are they? love love love!

the Red Map piece is brilliant for Baby Z's room, for obvious reasons. and again, this one too shouts happiness to me.

:: all images from EnglandGallery.com ::

tickled beauty envied ...

haha ... for lack of a better title (for thiss entry)!



onto the paintings then ...


this one's called "stripteased". sounds naughty, yes? lol. it's a play of words really. amidst the otherwise calm and plain background that is the stone colour, a strip has been teased with a different colour in each of the canvas panel. the pink one's "stripteased: tickled pink", the black "stripteased: black beauty" and the green is "stripteased: green with envy".



inspired by the everyday me, if you like, this next series is aptly titled "moodswings".

the first is "moodswings: tickled pink" to reflect my chirpiest and most playful self.





then there's "moodswings: black beauty", when i'm my most reserved and supposedly sophisicated.

and the last is "moodswings: green with envy", when i'm mostly inspired by pretty, crafty art pieces; both in objects and in one's inner (and outer) beauty.

sophisticated + whimsical

For every piece of printed project I work on, I always start of by thinking up and deciding on the colour(s) that I'll use in the design. While others have prettily-layered inspiration boards gracing their shelves or desk in their workspace, I choose the easier (read: less resourceful ;-)) option. I create a simple barcode of coloured stripes and play around with some few combinations until I find the one I'm most happy with for the current project in hand.


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This is the current project I'm working on and this below, are the colours I'll be using throughout the design process of the project. While this time last year I was busying myself designing things for Big Z's pyjama party (4th birthday), this time round, it's someone else's birthday party I'm planning and designing for. More on the party details nearing the date. Meanwhile, here's a sneak-peek of it through these colours then.

3 colours #1 : for the men in our lives

3 colours. Every Wednesday (since to some, Wednesday is the 3rd day in any given week), I will post a combination of 3 colours from which design ideas can evolve. It may be design ideas for party themes (if you know me well enough, you'd know that's something I absolutely love doing - thinking up party themes), for a home's interior space and look, for one's dressing style or simply as a simple piece of art - as it is - 3 colours on a piece of card or canvas. In any case, I hope to inspire some of you along the way and if nothing else, it keeps my mind (the creative part) more active, whilst building up a record and portfolio of these various design ideas.


By 3 colours, I'll be suggesting 3 colours in addition to WHITE, just because I always feel white ties in the other colours well. :-)


Here's the 1st of these 3 colours then to inspire you this week (and further, if you so let it be ;-)).
In honour of Father's Day being just around the corner, PLUS it also 'just happens' to be The Husband's birthday this coming Monday ;-) , I'm posting a more 'masculine' set of 3 colours here.

Colours : teal, olive, chocolate, white

Ideal for :

1. Father's Day - think gardening kit, gifts for golfers, or good 'ol dependable shirts/t-shirts

2. golf themed (birthday) party - keeping it pretty sophisticated and refined, fit for a quiet-ish type of golfer

3. football themed (birthday) party - think roughing it out in your garden or keeping it loud indoors watching a live game; either way, i see peanuts and hotdogs being served at the party :-)

4. dinner party with a 'gentlemen's club' theme - perfect for a bachelor's/stag night party, a modern twist to old-fashioned gentlemen's club

Do write in (via the comments section or even an email) and share with me your thoughts on these, and especially so if you so decide to use the suggested 3 colours in your coming events and/or revamping of your homes. Would LOVE to see how far my 3 colours can stretch each time. Till then, happy creating and happy sharing! :-)

retro grid

it's been a rather dry season here over at the Mika 'studio'. lack of creative juice, i'd say. haha. been meaning to paint a bit, design/make something ... but alas, the most i've managed are the following patterns, designed at random (read: for fun). so far, they've appeared on some itty-bitty gift cards, packed in some mini drawstring bags. and that's about it really.

for our lil ones ...

:: for the one who's turning 5 this year, our too-honest-it-hurts lil boy ::

:: for the one who's turning 5-days old tomorrow, our newborn girl ::

primary nursery

yet another personalized framed art ...



this time for a boy who recently turned one.


"primary nursery" to somewhat represent the primary, early years he'll have in his nursery/bedroom ... went for primary colours (blue, red and yellow), but of the more 'rustic' tones of each. why? just because ... :-)


(photo courtesy of birthday boy's mom)