can i feel special please? can i be a VIP?

The whole mentality of exclusivity, of feeling special, of being a VIP...

Zouk motto: in props

Zouk to my knowledge remains to be the only club in Singapore where our membership is given out on a case to case basis and at management's discretion.
So we roll out a Members' only party end of January, for the new card collection and to pamper our Members, and it's a circus indeed!

For me, what was most touching was how the team put it together. Super big love to Nat, Yasee, Rai, Jiawei, Razi and Reza. xoxo

Our Front Office boys looking so smart & in theme!

We went OTT on balloons in the Zouk tunnel!

When it comes to our set & decor, the Zouk art team is a class above the rest

Our balloon girl & her costume made by Yasee!

And with all our parties, we have to go way over the top, so we had it all:

What's a carnival without pretty cupcakes?

Our Hoolahoop game prizes: damn awful

These were the top prizes & accompanied us at our desks a week before the party

This is the worst prize to win of all- Yikes!!

The Incredible Man-Eater! LEO THE CHOW CHOW!

He was the star & highlight of the party!

Many thanks to Sulian for being so kind as to allow Leo to come hang out with us! His paws are my favourite!

And the night continued on for me, it's been many weeks since i last partied and drank, so needless to say, too many drinks for me! I also wore my Tsumori Chisato dress, absolutely LOVE it to bits! And my best friend Sam came back from Tokyo to hangout as well, good night at Zouk!

Chui Ling & me!

Sam & me

Nat, Yi Fang & me

Sam, Yang & me (Yang is a very famous photographer & he recently shot Angela Baby!!)

Steven & me

Cheryl, Melissa & me (so happy to see them & Gary!)

And all the girls came out to play! Hazel our HS model with her pals & Sophie came too! =)

What's a party without the twins, Debra & Denise, Clarissa & Lynette!

Dawn & me- super love! By this time, already drunk so there were dozens more pics...

Hazel & Sophie at Velvet Underground Lounge- my playground!

So glam, Steven, Vance & Dawn- always about shortest wins. =P

Fav pic of all time: Steven, me & Benny

Valerie, Candice & me

I LOVE MY DJs!! Hong & Adrian

Dawn, Hazel & me

Dawn & me in the office. yikes. mabok max.

Picture of the night: Hazel & my dearest brother, Errol

Till the next post!
xx

Random spurts: my iphone thoughts

  

Dedicating this post to my oh-so-amazing-and-awesome BB9900. 

I'm sure it was a matter of time before i had to do an entry about my fierce loyalty to the BB and my consistent disdain for the iphone.

I must be quite a strange character. Incredibly stubborn. But i have my reasons for my love:

I get the best of both worlds: touch screen & the qwerty keypad. i need to FEEL the buttons when i type. I just refuse to be like the billions of iphone users. I would compare it to playing vinyls and using the Serato for a DJ. It's different, ask Sven Vath- he played a full vinyl set at Zouk last week.

Don't mistake me. I have the utmost respect for a genius like Steve Jobs. I haven't started reading the auto-biography on him, but it's sitting by the side of my bed, waiting to be read and waiting for me to be inspired, which i'm very sure i would be. Just because i don't use his products, it doesn't mean that i don't respect him for what he has achieved with the brand.

In fact, when someone asked me recently, if you left Zouk, which huge retail brand would you work for, because you could really choose to work for any brand you want based on your experience. My instant reply was APPLE. We are talking innovation & keeping up with the demands of society's 'supposed' needs, creating the concept & perception of convenience meeting flawless design. Incredibly intelligent marketing paired with a more than solid sustainability plan. What knowledge, inspiration and experience i could gain!

I have often drawn similarities to how Man U supporters are like iphone users. Also known as the COMMONERS. It is quite interesting to study the human behavior, the whole concept of having the herd mentality, taken far beyond what we could possibly imagine. One product- the iphone being able to be suited to meet the needs of every possible stereotype:

1. The geek/nerd

2. The average school kid

3. The child 

4. The high flying professional (banker, lawyer, doctor, etc.)

5. The indie teen

6. The club kid 

7. The char kway teow aunty

8. The music punter (DJ, musician, band member, etc.)

9. The regular working adult

10. The ah beng working in the handphone shop

11. The ah sia kia 

And i can assure you that this list is non-exhaustive. It goes on and on and on. It's practically everyone in this goddamn world. What i have listed, is pretty much based on Singapore's society. 

It isn't just one component that has made the iphone what it is today, i shall be so kind as to indulge:

1. Excellent branding and positioning, made for the masses yet seemingly having some kind of "class". APPLE as a brand of course has established itself over the years. Re-branding, innovation, highly sophisticated creatives and up-to-date technology advancements. 

2. "Easy to use" - a hype that is being created and successfully pulled off that IT IS EASY TO USE. Suddenly, the BB buttons are the hardest to use, or the HTC Android phones just appear to be "hard to use". 

3. Consistent upgrades of existing models: creating a "want" amongst people that eventually has become a "need" to have the latest iphone 4S or 5 or whatever not it is so called labelled.

4. Creating bi-products and a whole array of accessories from the growing of APPS to COVERS, etc. Variety is key to engage the consumer interest level. Suddenly there becomes the need to have 10 different colours of covers or 100 APPS.

5. Catering of specific APPS for specific needs. APPS like Taxi booking, Restaurant Guides, Maps, etc. Suddenly, if one doesn't have the iphone, it becomes a handicap. TO BE HONEST, the BB APP world also has such APPS, just never hyped to the level the iphone has achieved.

I could go on and on, but there really isn't a need to. The extreme herd mentality coupled with HYPE and fucking amazing marketing, and not forgetting-- tremendous luck and APPLE's got it all covered.

If i may be so blatantly honest, as to compare it with music choice, since it is a constant debate:

iphone users- pop music, radio hits VS. BB users- minimal techno, progressive house
Or to put it more clearly let's drop some names here, David Guetta VS. Marco Carola

So, with all that being said, with full understanding and acceptance of the iphone's advantages. And yes, how can i forget the amazement of Instagram on the iphone, which the BB camera or any app can never achieve, i honestly don't care. I like not being a MAN U supporter. No offense to any MAN U supporters at all. Don't take it the wrong way.

It is a personal choice. I just can't seem to have the respect for people who only switch to the iphone "because all my friends are on it". No mind of your own?

Why don't we all conform to what commercialism has been serving to us? So cleverly masked over what is seemingly "being different"? All the talk on differentiation, customization, isn't it essentially still the same product beneath? But just a facade for consumer buy-in and lifelong loyalty?

Welcome to our superficial world.

My world. My BBM, BB camera, and qwerty key pad make me happy.

It

CNY and much more

It feels like ages since i last blogged, though it's only been a week.
I realise that alot of things can happen in a week, hearts can change, minds can go insane, chlldren grow up, old folks get dementia...

Anyhows, it's still Chinese New Year. 15 days. Of being invited to eat, of inviting people to eat, of tubs of pineapple tarts everywhere you turn and screaming people waiting to strike 21 on the gambling table.

"LOH HEI" it's my favourite part of CNY, i could eat this everyday- It's a mixture of shredded vegetables and tossed by everyone for good luck.

Mum, Grandma and me

New baby to the family! Ming Ming (my cousin) and his wife and baby!

See what i mean, pineapple tarts all over the shop

It was one of the worse CNYs for me anyway. Too much on my mind and feeling physically not up to it. Possibly the most happening thing was having ALL the channels on TV to choose from. So i had my fill of Star Chinese Movies. (It's awesome to get to see Louis Khoo, Edison Chen, Daniel Wu consecutively on screen for a few days in a row)

CNY Outfit: Crop red top (BKK), Vintage Red Belt (Granny's Day Out), Miss Selfridges Red Lace Cardigan, Hungover Sundays Caryna Pencil Skirt- Black & Madilyn Oversized Leopard Fur Clutch www.hungoversundays.com

I also finally started Lookbook (www.lookbook.nu) but i had to learn how to collage my photos, edit them, etc. i'm terrible at it. It's like asking me to go do accounting. Disaster waiting to happen. But above one of my attempts. At least i'm trying!

And do check out my other outfits at lookbook.com/sofiechandra

I'll keep the post short, if not i'll keep rambling on and on...

I'll post up about the Zouk Members' Party soon! xx

birthdays and blue pompom cupcakes

We met up for Jenn's belated birthday at Wild Honey (Scotts) for supposed brunch. 11am on a Saturday, and of course no one was on time except Cinddie. Jenn arrived if i remember correctly 2 hours late? But i guess she's the birthday girl, so all's forgiven.

I still recall with fond memories on how i had first started SMU's cheerleading team in my 2nd year of university. It remains to be one of those things in my life that i would consider monumental, for the lack of a better word.

Cheerleading with the Sapphires taught me many lessons, including teamwork, friendship, trust, commitment, leadership, motivation and inspiration amongst many other things. I have also made the closest friends that have been by my side for the past 9 years.

Wild Honey's Norwegian Breakfast (Asparagus, Avocado, Eggs, Salmon & a whole lot of yums)

Some Mandarin Strawberry drink (next time i have to pay more attention to the menu)

Eileen, Cheryl & Cinddie

Cheryl bought cupcakes for Jenn, all cheerleading related & colours of our uniform

Once the cupcakes were out, cameras came out in an instance

Pompom cupcake. It's damn cute. Seriously.

Jaslene, Eileen & Cheryl

Jenn & her cupcake

Jaslene & her cupcake

Jenn, Cinddie & me

I love this shot! HAHA

Self portrait

It was really nice catching up, and since we couldn't get someone to take a picture of all of us, we had to do it in the toilet. -_-

This year we will also be looking at a few weddings amongst us. I'm really happy for them, and of course the conversations included in laws, having kids and how much life would change. (the usual) 

Some friendships are meant to last a lifetime. These are. For sure.

xx

cheerleading, january blues & my world is upside down

I would like to be the first to admit how difficult it is to be committed to blogging. I tell myself that there are tonnes of things i want to blog about, and it's all swimming around in my head somewhere. Then, suddenly a week has passed, and i haven't put a single thought down and i have a bunch of pictures that seem outdated.

Hong Kong seems so long ago, though it's been hardly a week. And all it took was one message to turn my world upside down.

If i could, i would very much like to share it all here, every single word, every single passing moment and every single emotion or tear drop that has happened since i heard. Completely shrouded in pain, my heart continues to break and shatter everyday.


I shall not then go into depth or go into emo psycho mode, but i will keep it, and grow from it.

Some updates that interest me and i hope interests you. My family bought a new coffee machine. Amidst raging feedback from the brothers on how it SHOULD have been a Nespresso machine, it is an ILLY. My arguement is that ILLY has proven to be more than decent coffee, so this machine's got to be good. I personally haven't tried it but my dad seems to express much content.

Our new ILLY coffee machine

Hungover Sundays: Maelyn Jewel Pendant Leaf Necklace www.hungoversundays.com

 

 

I pray for strength and maturity, for wisdow and forgiveness. I need to get through this period.

 xx
Till the next time...

Hungover Sundays 5th Launch!

It's really been 4 months since we started Hungover Sundays. And, it truly has been a journey. We love it, love how it is developing and slowly but surely, we hope to see it continue to grow.

Really proud of Daph for doing such good work with the photos. If someone asked me to take up a camera and shoot like that, it'll never happen, and we probably won't have any pictures up at all!

I actually personally love the new collection, big love to Hazel & Maki for being our models and pulling off everything perfectly. I love all the dresses for this collection, especially the Dyanne Shift-style bodycon dress in black and white.

here's a glimpse to some of the apparel!

Hungover Sundays Leighna Birds of a Feather Sling bag- Brown

Hungover Sundays: L to R- Benita Polka Dot Maxi Dress in Red & Blue, Dyanne Shift-Style Bodycon Dress in Red & Black and Darielle Braided Strap Ribbon Blouse- Cream

For more updates and new arrivals, check out: www.hungoversundays.com <3 <3 <3