it's a beautiful world. if you are hyperopic

i'm not claiming to be some big generous person. but it drives me absolutely insane when a person who clearly isn't on the brink of poverty, calculates every single penny she or he has or spends.

business is business, rules are rules, be it 10 cents, or $1000.
if customers are always right, are always king, and you are always at their mercy, then all businesses in this world will crumble and come to an end. it doesn't matter whether you are a small one-person operation like me, a medium sized SME or a large conglomerate; whether you are in the business of indie and handmade, or in the business of large scale mass-production. it will become a vicious cycle eventually. or maybe it's just me being more of a pessimist. which i am rarely.

i have learned to pick my battles over the years, and learn to be smarter when handling difficult people. i haven't perfected the art yet, i don't wish to perfect it either, because i deem the perfection of the art of completely pleasing testy customers to be the absolute end of my soul.

i prefer to retain that little belief and principles i am entitled to, so that i can live with myself. i do not need to sell my soul over that little money. maybe i am afraid of offending you, and that you may spread lies and rumors and tell everyone you know your very one-sided story. but maybe, i don't really give two hoots about it.

if i give in to you, it doesn't mean you have won the battle. it simply means, i can't be bothered to fight and that it was simply not worth my effort. it is, after all, just a few cents, which can't buy me anything in this world i live here. maybe a one-stop train ride. that's about it. i don't put money to heart. but i am very opinionated, and live by my beliefs and principles, and i have a ton of those.

a person who buys, will be on the selling side at some point, and a person who sells, will buy at some point. i believe in karma. i believe that one shall not do unto others what one does not want others do unto her/him.

i believe in being nice. playing nice. does that even exist anymore? i don't really care. if something doesn't go my way, i always give chances. my natural instinct is to empathize. to put myself in your shoes. when that doesn't work out, it means that your ways do not flow so well with what i believe in, then we are set on different paths, and i may choose to be confrontational or not, depending on the battle returns. likewise, when i choose to do it my way, and if you insist on veering me off-course, then... depending on the battle returns, i may fight, or i may choose not to.

i am truly amazed at how some small businesses are run. i could be jinxing myself here, but just look around and see how many so-called "small" businesses are still hanging around after a while. i am not claiming to be a know-it-all, but since this is essentially business... in the business of business, you are not suppose to do anything that loses $. maybe you are running a charitable organization, i don't know for sure. who am i to comment? i am after all, in the same company as you too, in etsy. which says just a tiny fraction about my conflicted feelings about etsy and it's demographic mix. for the sake of business, i choose to carry on. and take this as an unlucky day when a bird shat on my head.

or. maybe you are just like me, sticking to your own beliefs and principles. which is, choosing to fight tiny battles and to win them, to fight over a few cents, not relative to how much you earn, to stick to your guns about what you stand by. so maybe i should admire your guts. but i don't, not the slightest bit.

because i do not believe in living a life by being petty and calculative, and confrontational about those 2 things mentioned which you believe in. life is way too short and beautiful to be tainted like that. for every one person who is unhappy with me, there are always more who love me and what i do. not that it matters, but yes, unfortunately, i am only an ordinary human, and it actually does matter at least that tiny bit.

petty

1.	of little or no importance or consequence: petty grievances.

—Synonyms 1. nugatory, negligible, inconsiderable, slight. Petty, paltry, trifling, trivial apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. Petty implies contemptible insignificance and littleness, inferiority and small worth: petty quarrels. Paltry is applied to something that is beneath one's notice, even despicable: a paltry amount. Something that is trifling is so unimportant and inconsiderable as to be practically negligible: a trifling error. Something that is trivial is slight, insignificant, and even in incongruous contrast to something that is significant or important: a trivial remark; a trivial task. 3. small. 4. stingy, miserly.

someone up there is testing my patience, yet again. did i pass the test? does it really even matter?

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add-on!
i still need retail sales personel (details below!) urgently!
25th august - 14th sept
9.45am - 9.30pm (1 hr lunch + 1 hr dinner)
1-2 shifts / flexible schedule
$6 per hours + 5% commission
temp, full-time.
in singapore! orchard location! thanks!

thank you for being a friend...

yes, i'm so behind on everything, though mostly just email replies and blog posts... ha!



exploding brain matter.... i've been super busy, flying from one thing to another, flying from one project to another, meetings, researching, scouting, too many plans at hand, things i'm not familiar with (big kisses and thanks to b, for helping me talk through my pages of messy plans and reports), reading (i don't get people who don't read!! books are fountains of knowledge!! or read junk. which renders reading useless.) the new collection, and more tricky problems, i even had to hold off my urgent trip to the workshop to settle some matters.... so i apologise from the bottom of my heart if my email liaises with you suddenly got cut off the past couple of weeks or so. ooppss!!! sorry!!!!! today was the one and only day that my mind is partially cleared, for the past couple of weeks or so. it could just fill up by the end of sunday, again.

and yes, littleoddforest didn't win! so don't be too hot and bothered about it, if you still are :p {{ poke }} i love you all and you have been kick-ass friends. the awesome customer emails i've been getting! thank you all so very much!! :D but i'll have you know that i went ahead with whatever big plans i had and had already gotten the new machine way before the results were announced. but a resounding yes, still! because one of my favorites whom i was rooting for (besides myself), won!!! congrats to i'm your present for being nbt 2008's final winner!! :D i'm so getting one of her cute outfits for myself as soon as she has restocked!

and the main point that got me logging in to type out a post, is because the world has lost sophia (estelle getty) .... :( i grew up with the golden girls, yes, i grew up watching funny frisky feisty old women, as a little kiddo. every sunday night, i think? can't remember. the golden girls rawk. layne, meredith, and i, used to have a golden girls bedtime party back in college in chicago, in my apt, i was the only one with cable, and on the lifetime channel, they showed like, 24 freaking hours of golden girls episodes. back to back. they didn't even have that many ads. i mean, in the first place, it would be pretty hard to sell ad spaces on that kind of tv channel...lol. at first no one wanted to admit they loved the golden girls, until we discovered each other's mutual closet (no longer closet i guess) love for them, and so the party was set! with chinese food delivery (round the corner from my apt was THE BEST zhi-char ever!! way better than the sub-standard ones we have now in singapore food-courts) and other junk stuff of course. and when the wine started kicking in, we started singing along...

yes, go ahead and judge us. ha!
and then it escalated to include law & order repeats, which was also shown on that channel, when casey found out about our secret party. he was a weird one, he loved quoting stuff he learnt from that tv show in our political thought class, which was a pretty darn serious debate class. and he liked to end off his little thing with "oh, i learnt that from observing xxxxx from watching law & order..." yikes!!!! hahahaha

there were so many things i wanted to share with you, but as i type this sentence out, my mind is starting to fill in by itself again. so soon. it's like automated land-reclamation... i've just thought of something to include in my plans. gotta go write it out now.. ciao for now, cute peeps. it's the weekend!!! go outside! laugh, play, and be merry! muacks!


p.s.!!!
i've edited the job posting below! it's still open!! thanks for the ton of "hire me please!" emails so far!!

p.p.s.s.!!!
i managed to slip in a couple of new bags in the shoppe a couple of days ago! i know many items are sold out now, but fret not!! the shoppe will be restocked very soon!!!

we are hiring!

2nd edit!
both sales promoter and administrative assistant positions are currently closed!
thank you all so very much for your job applications!

we are looking to hire at least 1 intern to help with daily runnings here @ littleoddforest, at our humble home-office this coming year-end, so please drop us an email with your detailed information - subject heading - I WANNA INTERN!!!
prerequisites are the same as before, except for the "selling" part. and very importantly, you must be able to find joy in mundane tasks like filing invoices!
xoxo!

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edit!
i need someone (details below!) urgently between 25th august - 14th sept!
9.45am - 9.30pm (1 hr lunch + 1 hr dinner)
1-2 shifts / flexible schedule
$6 per hours + 5% commission
temp, full-time.
in singapore! orchard location! thanks!

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part-time/freelance littleoddforest retail sales personel
on project/event basis
2 days - 1 month contract
hours between 10am - 9pm (1-2 shifts) or ad-hoc bazaar times
flexi schedule
per hour wage + 5% commission
central/town locations

you must LOVE LOVE LOVE littleoddforest to apply for this position!
eagerness to learn, gain new experiences, chalk up work points on your resume, paid internship, etc. etc... however you want to see it as!

criteria~
super motivated, self-initiated, and responsible
big friendly smile, cheerful pleasant disposition
neat freak with great organizational abilities
detail oriented
creativity, chattiness, and hipness is a bonus
must be able to speak proper english!!

previous experience not required but a plus point!

email to info [at] forestprints.com with subject heading - HIRE ME PLEASE!

i will get in touch with you shortly if you have been picked for a meet-up
please forgive me if you don't hear back from me at all, i have only 1 head and 1 pair of hands, and everything else that your mum gave you as well. and i'm juggling like an acrobatic act from china. not good for my small petite frame and oversized head. thank you for your super kind understanding and patience!!! xoxo!

july shoppe updates!

my small bid in facebook

hello cute peeps! ( ^_______^ )

first of all, thanks for being in littleoddforest's facebook group!
{{{ big group hugs }}}

littleoddforest is 1 of 27 designers/artists/crafters in the running for fredflare.com's NEXT BIG THING 2008! This is our 2nd time winning (1st time was in 2006!), but our 1st to have the part whereby 1 ultimate winner gets $1000!

the competition is always tough, not only because there are so many other awesome stuff out there, but also because, as the fredflare peeps said it, "I guarantee the $1000 WINNER of this contest is the designer that did the most campaigning..."

woah! i'm not good at that AT ALL (ahem, i'm trying now though! ha!). But it would be totally lame to lose and then say you hadn't tried to put in any effort to win at all... yeah.

So, the $1000 is not the main point, really. Although it would definitely come in handy in helping me pay a bit for the new embroidery machine I've been aiming for. Our main aim is international fame and ultimately, big fortune. Haha! Totally Kiddin'! The embroidery machine is for real though.

Enough shameless plugging. Thank YOU ALL so very much for all the support and encouragement you've given to littleoddforest and me! In every way you have and possibly could. For the past 3++ years!! Time flies!

Now, please go vote away!
Vote for littleoddforest if you love us and what we do!
http://www.fredflare.com/customer/nextbigthing_vote2.php
If you vote for us, I will give you a really Big Hug if I get to see you! Just ask if I forget to ;)


p.s. Forestprints Design, which is my main registered business, will be turning 4 in August 8/ and our website will be 4 this October 28! We'll be having some "specials" to celebrate the event, so look out for that too!

XOXOXOXO!

time to vote!!!! :D

click here to vote now!

it would be utterly shameless to ask everyone to vote for litteoddforest
NEXT BIG THING 2008: LITTLE ODD FOREST
so here goes,
if you love littleoddforest and think we deserve to win, please vote for us!!!

and if i know you, and meet you in person, i'll give you a huge thank you hug!! if not, a virtual one will have to suffice for now i guess!

otherwise, please vote only who you like best and deserves to win most of course! (duh)
and not because she is your cousin's best friend's girlfriend, or something like that. that would be too lame.

although, the exact same words from the fredflare peeps were
"I guarantee the $1000 WINNER of this contest is the designer that did the most campaigning..."

funny! ha!

anyways... these are my favorites!!! if you're not voting for me, how about them?

NEXT BIG THING 2008: I’M YOUR PRESENT
i'd totally wear this!!! :D

NEXT BIG THING 2008: MIMIPONG
another singaporean rawking it!!! weee!!!! and a plush maker at that!

NEXT BIG THING 2008: MOLEBABY BUTTONS
like i said very early before, i totally love these buttons, the googly eyes, and the packaging!

full list of 27 winners here!
and only 1 ultimate winner who gets $1000!


such a busy frantic week and it's only wednesday!!! i'm going totally bonkers!
xoxoxoxo!

too eventful

even for hyper people like us. these couple of months.

- i had 3 different groups of friends who flew into singapore and i played tour guide 3x. fun the first time, okay the second time, just whatever for the third time.

if you're getting this book for your visiting friends, be warned. it will fall apart. i think i definitely did a way much better hand-binding job at school... sheesh

- we had to rush and fly off to our respective "work country" to fix some problems :S and i most probably have to go again very soon....

- we got our car! and still busy furnishing it! cleaning it! washing it! crazy.
first casualty is the wheel rim. got seriously scratched when we drove into leanne's condo carpark... who the fuck puts a 2" tall metal bar in the middle that is at the blind spot!???! partly the security guards's fault too for the distraction. what's up with all the mean condo security guards! i was so hot-headed last week that i actually quarreled with the one at my mum's. crazy people. mr. b couldn't get over his de-valued precious wheel rim for 1 whole day. he used his bare fingernails to scrap off the paint from that stupid metal bar that has gotten onto his new shiny rim, and spoilt his own nails. silly poor thing. but latest highlight is that we just got the not very chio (pretty) chrome part on the front painted black! just last night! so mr. b is more or less happier than before. a fierce looking car for a young man, he says. is better. no comment. ha!

- we both had family problems to deal with and resolve

- elsie is leaving lof soon :( and we are rushing to find and train someone new, hopefully 2 peeps. sigh.

- got a new assistant, nori, for belle, who is my main assistant in the philippines. a help for a help. awesome.

- i had (still having) major customs problems with a certain region

- another separate customs-related problem, one of lof's largest buyer/stockist is major pissed with her country's customs and may not want to order from us again, so now i'm pissed at her customs too!!!!

- a new bulk custom order that has been dragging the longest time, is dragging even longer than before, and driving me nuts, especially since i had specially hired a part-time sewer here to help out with this order and now she is generally pissed. singaporeans are generally all about $, efficiency, being quick, and bloody impatient. so if you're going to drag.... sigh. being generally pissed is not good, because she is now basically like a machine gun, no fixed target, just sweep and shoot at sight. that includes shooting at me. le sigh.

- many many events and places to go see and to visit, also since i had to bring people around


- many gifts and pressies for dada! :D my absolute new favorite thing now is my atsuko matano hankie. lovely lovely! personally bought from japan! you should check out her illustration works in her lovely website!


- and many other things.... that my over-crowded mind can't think of right now. so this brings us to the end, which is this:


if you work way too hard, don't have a life, don't have weekends off, don't go out with friends, don't go to places enough, have nothing else to talk about other than work and your family, and more of such things, this book is guaranteed to make you feel like an absolute loser with a capital L. it was such a crazy fun read!!!!! so crazy that someone has borrowed it from me, scanned and printed 2 pages to pin on his colleagues' board, as a huge hint. more like a wake-up smack i think. mister meany. tsk. but you should go get it though! it's entertaining, sarcastic, fun-poking humor. life is too short to be so serious all the time. we should all learn to laugh at ourselves more often. and chill!

xoxoxo!

pssssttt... new goodies in the shop and more on the way! almost done with another order! :D