Oh no, how cute are these socket covers?!

Available in the Angers shop for 1,523 Yen (SGD 22/USD 15).

Have a lovely weekend!

These charming note cards and postcards are totally inspired by vintage designs, and they are the works of Kirsten Sparenborg, who lives in Savannah, Georgia. I’m loving her choice of colours. So gentle and calm.
Please visit Kirsten’s shop Turn-Of-The-Centuries.

Having had the experience of answering nature’s calls on 3 different non-flushable ‘bowls’, my memories of each of those occasion have not faded but has ‘nurtured’ an affection for portable toilet designs. :-)
(If you think you can go on, I’m telling my experiences right at the end.)

Once upon a time…
…on Mt Ophir in Johor in Malaysia, where toilet was just a hole dug out from the ground. But we had a tent for privacy.

…on Pulau Ubin island in Singapore, where toilet for us campers was a rectangular container with all its contents submerged in a yellowish fluid. You have to squat along the side of the container.

…during a toilet break along a road on the outskirts of Seoul in South Korea, the restroom looked just like any regular restroom until you look down (and you will!) to see that everything is resting in a bucket below.

Composting is what I hope will be widely promoted and strongly supported here in Singapore. Locally there’s GreenBack, a company that sells Can-O-Worms and there’s another small company called Etam Holdings that has created the Eco-Pot, which is perfect for apartment dwellers who have no gardens, no balconies and are squeamish about worms.

Something new has recently arrived at one of the largest malls on our island; an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Break glass for the key that unlocks the cabinet door to the defibrillator.

Hub says the glass isn’t difficult to break…one can use shoes or just bare hands, during an emergency.

The Dust mug by Ideaco is but a dustbin. It’s almost 34cm wide. I like how the mug colours are named: mango (above), green tea, soy milk and mocha.

I’ll be talking *rubbish* next week so see you then.

Have a relaxing weekend everyone!

One the things I will do when I’m overseas, particularly in Japan, is to collect free brochures (pamphlets or leaflets) and free catalogues (or even product packages) with chic and beautiful illustrations. And in the case of Japan, these printed materials can be found in many places. (Perhaps someday I should show you my little collection.) The main JR (Japan Rail) train stations in the cities are a good place to start collecting because they display different brochures such as those for holiday getaways to other parts of the country reachable by their JR trains, of course.

Here you will see a few of the latest brochure covers for Autumn/Fall, from different regions. They can be viewed online, see links at the bottom.

If you have noticed, the first 3 are targeted at ladies only.

[Images from JR West (http://www.jr-odekake.net/tabi-supli/), JR East (http://jreast.eki-net.com/), JR Kyushu (http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/ryoko/index.jsp), JR Hokkaido (http://www.jrhokkaido.co.jp/travel/domestic/index.html) -- links are intentionally left inactive]

*Can’t find the name of the illustrator.

These 2 knots are identical, both are tassel knots. I gave the one on the right an explosive hairdo by snipping apart the loops and spreading out the hemp fibres…turning it into a weed of some sort!

Pretty huh, the weeds? :-)

The inspiration for this mailroom theme came from the Y-mail bag by Yves Saint Laurent I saw in a magazine. I must say that I’m pleased with myself for putting up this *etc* gallery! I don’t know why.