mocaEssence : photo blog

i <3 special commission- part II

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:09:00 +0000

mosnter #80 on the daily monster! ^^ ::the daily monster::

[to be continued]

i <3 special commission- part I

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:19:00 +0000

i met em and wey through steve. and have been secretively admiring emmy's illustrations since i found out about their blog. xP

i was very excited when emmy asked me if i could crochet amgurumi dolls of "ninjia" and "penguin". it was very fun process trying to figure out all the little details to make them look as close as her drawing. it was also my first time crochetting without instruction! it actually made crochetting more relaxing and spontenous since i didn't feel like i was going to forget "how many stictches did i just finish?"

it was even more rewarding when i saw pictures em took of the dolls while she was on a trip in taiwan..it's alway a pleasure to know your clients are satisfied with your work. ^^

i <3 utada

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:31:00 +0000

::LAST FRIENDS/PRISONER OF LOVE::

the best japanese drama i've ever seen... amazingly well done by some these young actors/actresses.. extremely intense plot...with utada's newest single "prisoner of love"!

i must say..this one is going to top "first love" you can tell she has grown from the bittersweet puppy love to a strong love that takes in pain and tear of life

p.s. i wonder if hikki cut her hair short to match ruka's (the main actress of last friends)? =P

ruka(left):michiru(right)

i want.

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:00:00 +0000

::diana+::

when jelly meets archi.

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:48:00 +0000

::jelly competition::

for fellow jelly loving architects out there... this is perfect for us! mm...how would i want my jelly architecture to look like.. that is something to ponder ;)

::april fool::

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:36:00 +0000

::the mightycard::

i know im really behind on the april fools stuff.. but i just came across this yesterday...and thought it was "mighty" clever xD

::portry smell::

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:18:00 +0000

how do you portray smell? my mom shared with me a novel by german writer, patrick suskin, this past winter.. a horrifying yet delicately thought provoking story- "perfume" the ability to smell plays such a crucial role in our lives, but we often over look it. experiments showed that with the aroma we cannot taste.. wonder..how could one illustrate ::smell::?

meet mr. p

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:27:00 +0000

::mr. p from propaganda::

the "mr. p" collection from propaganda is one of my favorite designer's items out there.. "propaganda" is a thai design company with a great sense of humor... gotta love the look of these little men and they bareness... it's definitely one of its own kind...=) i first encounter mr. p in the headquarter of Eslite Bookstore (誠品) in Taipei and couldn't resist to smile and applaud for the designer's creativity.

now you can find some of the mr. p items selling on ::shopmodi:: in the US! and they are decently priced!

the power of laser!!

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:00:00 +0000

::engrage your book::

for those that love to carry a little black moleskine and feel super artsy... this is something that can kick your coolness up a notch!

::engraveyourbook:: is the brother company of ::engraveyourtech:: they can laser graphic precisely onto your choice of books or high tech gadgets. in comparison, i think the book idea is way more appealing for me than the tech.. i think i'm too scared to my baby ipod or mac all the way to portland... but moleskine?! of course! it's one of the necessities for any designer! and adding these cool graphics will make it an super awesome gift for yourself or anyone!

it's on the same line as screen printing moleskines..but this time you can do it on a leather moleskine!

::shoofly's etsy store:

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:38:00 +0000

::a little nightmare music::

stumbled upon this when i was surfing on youtube...and got stuck watching all the videos on their website and wanting to see them live...

who'd thought?! a korean guy with a brit..making music so hilarious that you won't think they are professional classical musicians!

now lets just pray they will come to the states with ::a little nightmare music:: !

a little sneak peek for all you curious ones~ =)

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:52:00 +0000

::gocco supplies on sale!:: i admit. i got lazy..and i felt really bad letting this wonderful tool just sit in my apartment...so i am selling it to someone else who will put it to a better use~ ^^;

China's big year

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:32:00 +0000

ELLE Jan 2008

when i saw this article in the elle magazine today, i thought 2008 is going to be a very very unforgettable year for china

during my winter trip back to home (shanghai, china) we took a trip back to beijing..visiting our previous homes/ old spots and all the new and ongoing changes of the city

one of the big items on the itinerary was visiting the olympics park i end up seeing the stadium and the aquatics center from afar (more pictures to come)

i have to say, china is trying very hard to build itself so to compete with the western world..london..nyc..berlin the architecture in china is a statement for its ambition in politics, economy..and cultural influences

i love these photographs..

the juxtapositions between high fasion and the absurd and un-refineness of these post modern architecture in an underdeveloped site seems to bring out the contrast of china's past and present.

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:02:00 +0000

read one of these great little books when you were little? i did! =) saw the Mr. Men and Little Misses series at b&n today...and brought back some childhood memories... i think i read them when i was in kindergarten? they are some great little characters for little people.. or big people too!

stina persson

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:22:00 +0000

stina persson

i love watercolor. if i had to pick one medium to use to express my emotions, my thoughts, i would use watercolor.

watercolor is a very ambiguous technique. it calls for so much planning and delicacy, yet it cannot be easily mastered due to its freeform nature...you can never know how a watercolor painting will turn out when you first lay your brush on the paper...the water will flow as your emotions and thoughts spread..and the colors will blend, overlay, and vola! magic is induced.

today i came across this artist on the web, stina persson, and i was in awe. so rarely a watercolor artist can reach such a passionate yet extremely coherent presentation in watercolor..and that's what I saw in her work...image after image..they show playfulness, style, and precision all at one flow of colors.

go to her website at www.stinapersson.com and make yourself speechless.

doodling on the walls

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 15:39:00 +0000

"insomnia" at blik

GRE has totally taken over my life for the past month (or more).. but...secretively i have been procrastinating by looking at wall painting/graphics related stuff...that's been talks about picking colors for some friends' new townhouse apartment, possibility paint for a coworker's house flipping project, and doing some special projects for my parent's new home in shanghai.

perhaps it was the table top apint experience that really got me inspired and wanting to paint more and put crazy doodles on large surfaces. but i had no idea there was so much wall graphics related products out there!? man, these creative genius are way ahead of me and making me feel not creative and original at all with my ideas!

since i'm still one week away from being done with my GRE test...so i guess i could only share i have found on the web with everyone in the mean while. and hope one day, hehe, i could share with you some results of my personal projects ;)

::blik surface graphics ::

::wonderful graffiti::

::behr paint:: (affordable and easily found at home depot)

::muurwerk::

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:04:00 +0000

i have moved my shop to etsy.com about a month ago because of various reason. i wanted more people out there to get to know my craft work and personally i am a big fan of etsy, the online handmade crafts market. it is much easier to maintain than having to build all the pages myself and it will not be viewed only by my family and friends but anyone out there looking for a nice piece of handmade jewelry. for those who has gotten the shop@mocaEssence email last winter, I am starting a new line of paper goods (paper jewlery too!) on top of my original crystal+bead collection. It's a result of childhood hobby of origami making and my love for anything paper+print! oh! one more thing! the shop has officially gotten it's Chinese name! It's called :文思坊:, pronounced as :wen si fang:. It means the shop that collects the thoughts & creativity of wenny. it was a name that my mom had come up with when we talked about doing out own creative product line many years ago. so please click the image above to go to shop @ mocaEssence :文思坊: on etsy!

readings..

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:59:00 +0000

dwell magazine

i know i haven't really written an entry on design related stuff for a long time...been trying to just concentrate on studying GRE and therefore haven't got a chance to scan some of the great finds that I saw on magazines/books that I read this past month...i promise there will be a update this weekend.

but in the meanwhile, those of you who are interested in what i have been reading... other than the ever so wonderful+ green oriented + prefab & design/built enthusiastic dwell magazine, i been reading this new magazine called *blueprint*, a publication by martha stewart. this magazine is not as professional focused like all the big architectural magazines out there but it's got a wonderful diversity of different design items out there. i found my special graduation gift idea for architects from the march issue of blueprint...it's just full of great and decently priced design products! it's definitely a good leisure reading! ^__^ enjoy!

blueprint magazine

yummy-ness

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:26:00 +0000

bblueberry muffin from sweetish hill

this. makes my day ^__________^

CAKE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:33:00 +0000

raspberry wedding cake by amy's of brattleboro, vt

just wanted to share this image with all of you... i think in a part of me..i have some kind of secret obsession for wedding stuff... maybe one day i will turn into a bride-zilla...just because i have too many ideas and want it to be perfect ^^; but this! is a photo i saw on *designsponge* yesterday. i have to say...this is THE cake so far in my that life that makes me absolutely want to eat it up and not just look at! oooooh...the raspberries and mint leaves(i assume)....yummmm...

start of my art collection

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:22:00 +0000

these wonderful pottery art were my purchases from the "art of the pot" weekend during the mother's day weekend. they are the precious creation of Rebbecca Roberts, Austin based pottery artist. I love the way her colors can create a feeling of motion. For example, the sparkles on the plate are composed so it looked as if it is sand sinking towards the center. looking at pottery makes me think of all those thursday late afternoons when I used to have pottery class after school during 5th to 6th grade...it was so much fun to get my hands dirty in the clay... : )

UN's abolishment of Traditional Chinese

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:54:00 +0000

This is not a joke on the internet.. It's an actual proposal at the UN..

As a Chinese, who has lived in both Taiwan and mainland China, I can say I understand the stand points of both sides. The simplified Chinese is there to allow people to understand and learn Chinese at a greater ease. It was a solution to the large illiterate population in China. However, I believe, and many other Chinese believe, that Traditional Chinese is crucial and precious part of the Chinese culture. Can you imagine how that language has evolved over the past 5000+ years of history? How can we, whether you are Chinese or not, agree to throw away/erase such a important product of human cooperation/effort just like that?!

Each Chinese character holds so much value in meaning and artistry. It should not be abolished. Please, if you agree, go the link below and sign the petition. Thank you.

Online petition - Say NO to United Nations' abolishment of Traditional Chinese in 2008

Talent

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:38:00 +0000

design is what i love to do and think

...but i think "music" is the brain food that allow me to go through each day, mentally and emotionally.

recently, i have been addicted to watching videos of singing contest shows (kinda of like american idol) on youtube. something just always gets me when i see talented people. one of the show is called 超級星光大道 [super red carpet]. let's just say it's the taiwanese version of american idol. james lin[林宥嘉], is one of the final 7 contestants of the show..and i'm always amazed by the singing talent of this guy..

now..a little joke[or more like a funny thought] posted by james on his blog because i had to share it =P [probably funnier if you can read chinese]:

"我想來想去 [ so the more i thinkg about it...}

烤土司機還是只能用來烤土司 [you can only use the toaster to toast a bread...] Right?

烤土司機是為了吐司而生 [the toaster was born for the bread]

烤先生總是在等吐小姐 [mr. toaster is always waiting for miss bread]

天啊![gosh!]

真浪漫! [too romantic!]

以後我會多吃ㄧ點 [from now on, i shall eat more toasts!]

看你們約會快樂 [seeing the two of you having a great date]

我也很開心呀 [i feel happy too!] " - james lin [林宥嘉] wretch

i like talented people..hehe ^______^

gift idea: graduation for architects

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 24 May 2007 02:10:00 +0000

so last weekend my friends, who I had classes with and saw everyday during my college life, graduated from the school of architecture here at UT austin. since I knew all of them and so many of them are good friends of mine, I knew I had to prepare early to select a gift that is unique to individuals but will suit all of them. the resultant are these linkable notebooks by E and tina at littlefury.com called "start here" notebooks.these notebooks are absolutely wonderful: not only it uses recycled paper, it comes in three different formats (blank, lined and grid), it's even got a waterproof cover! for architects or anyone who can get clumsy and spill their coffee over their sketchbooks, this is a great feature! And most importantly, it's linkable! just tuck the back cover of the first notebook behind the second one's front cover, vola~ you got one new "thinker" notebook! and you can just image the possibility goes on with that! now, i'm hoping all my happy graduates of the classes of 2007 are happy with their little presents from me...and hoping some of you out there will head over to starthereny.com and check out their awesome invention!

gocco

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Thu, 17 May 2007 19:59:00 +0000

mizna wada

"for over 25 years, the print gocco screen-printing system has been used in japan. the small plastic device was marketed at families for making greeting cards and sold in toy and hobby stores. since it’s peak during the 1980’s, gocco’s sales have declined in the japanese market with the advent of home computers and printers. outside japan, however, appreciation for the gocco system has only just begun. for artists who cannot afford to own or don’t have the space for a traditional screen-printing set-up, gocco has offered a way to mass produce everything from postcards to wedding invitations to mini-comics to limited edition art prints as you see here. each print in this show is limited to 50 numbered pieces. in december 2005, gocco’s parent company, riso, announced they are discontinuing manufacturing the print gocco system due to low sales in japan. savegocco.com was created in december with hopes that it may not be late too work together to find a new home for gocco outside of japan. for more information on the history of gocco and to find out how you can help, please visit savegocco.com"-- Save Gocco i personally just got a gocco PG-5 set this week (from ebay) and did my first set of prints tonight. it worked like magic!!!! it was so easy to operate and the image came out crispy clear and still got the unique look similar to that of silk-screen prints! it's a little pricey but everything so well invented that i bet it will last for a looong loooong time! it would be great for one would need to mass produce print work! those who are looking for cheap/easy/nice & personal looking invitations (wedding, graduation, party, or anything you can think of), i am open for challenge!!! ^____^

Links to some websites that showcase gocco art!:

"flicker link" "wurst gallery"

random interesting videos for your entertainment!

noreply@blogger.com (mocaEssence) — Wed, 16 May 2007 17:07:00 +0000