club med finolhu, maldives

Truth to be told, it's hard to put into words exactly about my experience when staying at the new Finolhu Villas by Club Med in Maldives.  For me, the mere mention of the beach conjures up just the sort of staycation haven I dream about escaping to everyday.

I have a particular weird habit of waking up early every time I travel and especially in Maldives. Imagine waking up to the soothing sounds of waves crashing on the white sand beach and the beautiful warm sun beaming through the light-filled room, one can easily find solace, rejuvenation and warmth here at Finolhu.

My assigned G.O. (Gentil Organisateur/ host/ butler), Jean-Michel was wonderful and accommodating, yet allowing total privacy.

There were 21 of us Instagrammers from across South East Asia. Many of whom I have never met before. The island was a mere half an hour boat ride, upon which gave us time to be acquainted. I was pleasantly surprised at how diverse the talents were on this trip - from photographers to actresses, and social media entrepreneurs.

After stepping out of the boat and through the solar powered bridge, my heart sank, not in disappointment, but because I only have five days. For me Club Med Finolhu was absolute hotel nirvana. Beach culture, nightlife at Finolhu's counterpart - Club Med Kani, bottomless beers, yoga and meditation by the beach, spa and massage... the entire experience was pure bliss.                                      
       
Wanderlust. How I wish I could rewind time!

Big thanks to Club Med for the generous sponsor and the superb team at Vibes Comm PR!

T.

singapore x roomorama

How quickly time flies and down went my 9th class with Bloesem in Singapore last week! It has always been a pleasure working with the team and getting myself acquainted will all of my already-talented students, come young or old. 

The new bloesem studio is every photographer's dream canvas. I even had a commenter on Instagram noting on how nostalgic the exterior of the place is, and I couldn't agree more.

More often than not on my trips to Singapore, I will visit my relatives' somewhere around the north west part of the city and it will usually cost me half an hour to an hour to get to the main district. As I look for an alternative place to stay, Roomorama could not have come at a better timing. Roomorama, the largest platform for professionally-managed, vacation rentals worldwide, solved my indecisive nut of a brain by offering me a place to stay at one of their coolest properties.

Situated in a quiet neighbourhood just 15 minutes away from Singapore's shopping Orchard road district, the house I was offered to was an architectural feast for the eyes. The whole structure looked like a retreat somewhere off the beaten path.

It was truly an intimate and relaxing getaway given the vibes (tall, ample trees and greenery, a large swimming pool I wish I knew how to use and swim, a spacious living hall and communal kitchen area) ties the string of the entire house with austere simplicity. Not to mention, the room I was treated to screamed beautiful - all decked with white washed walls, high ceiling and tall windows, overlooking the swimming pool, punny artworks fashioned empty spaces, and a TV set I could use... finally I was able to watch Comedy Central without having to surf on an unauthorised website!

The stay perfectly represented my idea of a dream staycation.

Enjoy USD50 off your next booking with them when you key in 'trishates' at the checkout page. For more room listings, I highly recommend checking out www.roomorama.com.

T.

workshop alert

Photography for The Kitchen Table

What an amazing way to begin 2015!

I am so stoked and honoured and deeply humbled to be hosting my first workshop with Bloesem Blogs! If you haven't heard of Irene Hoofs, whom I've been a secret fan of for many years, it's time you get to know her. Author of the inspiring blog and founder of the brick and mortar shop based in Singapore, Irene has an eye for beautiful design and simply beautiful everyday things.

For over a year, Irene and her talented team have hosted a myriad of classes at the Bloesem creative studio, with guest hosts from across the globe. From learning how to make candles to rope vessels, there's something for everyone. 

I definitely lucked out this time.

Photography for THIRDWAVE Cafe

WHAT

Designed for food bloggers, foodie instagramers or enthusiastic cooks who enjoy taking photographs of their food, this workshop will cover some mobile photography basics and go in-depth into the art of food styling. The Bloesem Team will teach you technical skills to capturing a perfect food shot — from technical concepts, best lighting and angles, framing and composition to using the best apps to edit your photos. After which, Trisha will delve into the basic techniques of food styling, using food styling tools, choosing appropriate backgrounds and props as well as learning how to craft a food story through images that are believable, intimate and meaningful. For those who are exploring a new career in food photography, The Bloesem Team and Trisha will also share their tips and tricks to creating a personality through your visuals on Instagram and the importance of community building to create a thriving food photography business. And of course, since it's a food styling and photography class, you will get a chance to try your hands at styling and Instagram it!

WHEN

Wednesday 4 February 2015, 10.00 am to 1.30 pm

Thursday 5 February 2015, 10.00 am to 1.30 pm

Friday 6 February 2015, 10.00 am to 1.30 pm

Saturday 7 February 2015, 12.00 pm to 3.30 pm

WHERE

Bloesem Creative Space in Singapore
77 Seng Poh Road #01-81 Singapore 161077

(Information c/o Bloesem.co)

Read more about it here, and follow our instagrams for more updates! See you there! :-)

T.

the weave co. collaboration

A couple of months ago were some really exciting months. Getting approached by a Singaporean-based fabric stationery shop in particular almost topped the cake for me. Fact: I feast on delectable designs and hoard on products that catches my eye from time to time. This took me no more than a second to fall in love.

The Weave Co. offers a diverse collection of notebooks and cards. Not just any notebooks and cards, they are created from recycled materials (mostly fabric) sourced from around the world. Design with sustainability in mind, I'm sold. 

eat your words, a collaboration | part three

We have reached the third and final part of the 'Eat Your Words' project with über talented Koyuki Inagaki. It was definitely a fun project that got us hooked immediately but sadly, time got away from us as we try to balance work and my leaving the country. That said, the series does not end here. Take our short hiatus like the long tv commercials, always interrupting the best parts of our favourite dubbed soap operas. 

'Eat Your Words' is our ode to the food we love to eat combined with our adoration for typography. This series include a variation of 3 'Types'. Accompanying each post is a short and simple recipe of the 'chosen type' so we can all Eat our Words. :-)

For the last (but not least) part of this series, we made Loaf! We wish we were skilled enough to bake one for ourselves but we unfortunately aren't capable just yet. And so, we would like to honour this to all bakers who made it possible for us to have breads and smear them with our favourite confections at home. Miguel once said, ''All sorrows are less with bread.", and we couldn't agree more!

Loaf of 

favourites

1. Tartine Country Bread 

2. Five-Minute Artisan Bread

3. 'Literally the Best Bread Recipe Ever'

---

Food Lettering: Koyuki Inagaki

Food Styling & Photography: Trisha Toh

T.

photos for the kitchen table restaurant & bakery

There's something about working with people who share the same values with you. It makes work effortless and so much fun!

Photography by Trisha Toh | Models: The Kitchen Table Family

T.

coffee for days

Pinterest is such a beautiful and inspiring visual discovery tool. I have seen many pictures of coffee but it seems that there is a growing appreciation for a certain marbling effect a dose of milk does to black coffee. Thankfully it was the exam season at this time of discovery and so I decided to try for myself. The result, as taken with my iPhone above, was as true as it looks on Pinterest.

T.

photos for thirdwave coffee

Photography and styling by Trisha Toh.

For more, follow @mydearkl on instagram. A 'let us feed you' project by the folks of THIRDWAVE Coffee. 'twas a fun, fun, fun shoot!

T.