So I'm a Dr....

My husband got this for me. Wrong type of Dr but still cute. ^^

A couple of weeks ago I got my Doctorate. I am really happy, of course but I've more or less kept it quiet. Not because I wanted to, but as I was submitting my thesis for archival, I was down with the most awful cold. :P Imagine running around the uni to get signatures with dripping nose, sneezing and coughing. So I never got around to announcing it. But despite the cold, I still managed to come up with a thesis archival outfit. ^^

My dress is from Miss Patina London.

My shoes are from Gorman.

I finally told people that I got my letter and all after many people kept asking me how my PhD is going. I guess the reality that it was all done hit me when I packed up my desk at my uni and vacated it. It just felt pretty final. But I guess this is just the beginning, right? ;;^^

As I conclude my PhD journey, I would like to share this quote by Ursula K. Le Guin which summed up the whole PhD journey for me.

Love,

from me to u.

Kept busy

This is just a quick note to say that I've been kept busy. 

I'm focusing on the last data collection for my PhD.

Then it is all about the thesis. >.<

Anyway, hope you are having a lovely day!

Love,

from me to u.

A little something from me to u.

This is one of my latest pieces that was done for a specific client's request featuring a handknitted piece with original laser cut bike motif, finished off with a mini spanner.

I haven't done many me.u pieces this year due to my studies. As much as I would like to churn out pieces at a more efficient rate, the best pieces are usually the ones where I take my time to think about how every elements come together. So until my PhD commitment is done, chances are you'll see less and less of me.u pieces. I will only take commission work for now. But don't worry. There are still plenty of creativity from me.u. During this time, I'll concentrate instead on me.u textile which are available for purchase via Spoonflower. It's wonderful to be able to go back to my design roots as a textile designer during this time.

And, I'll keep blogging. ^^

Love,
From me to u.

PS. If you would like to know more about the "other" side of my life, you can read a little about my PhD origin account here at From Tweet to Thesis.

Just a photo a day

Taken at Gero Onsen, Japan - 14th April 2011

Camera: Nikon D60

Unfortunately, study and real life takes precedence for now. I think I may have to resort to blogging with a single photo for a while (borrowing ideas from the August Daybreak that Anna and Blisschic took part in ^^)

I think I may have over-committed myself... but normal blogging will resume when things have settled down. 

Love,

from me to u.

On competing priorities....

Sigh~!

Silence for now....

Love,

from me to u.

Flower arrangement

Back to knitting

Finally got back to knitting after the summer season. Although, it wasn't much of a summer, it did take me a while to get back to knitting. Having friends who want to get back into it is certainly encouraging to finish old projects and start new ones. I had a blast inviting the girls over for a knitting morning tea. Above are images of my new green scarf (remember my green obsession?) knitted in diagonal checks. Will share the pattern when the scarf is complete.

Meanwhile, if you want to see more lovely images of the knitting session through Miss Anna's lenses, head over to Much Love. ^^

It's 2011!

It's time for new beginnings, new resolutions. Happy New Year to everyone, may 2011 brings you more joy, happiness and success!

Photography above by Ivanho Harlim

It's new year's eve!

And it is definitely time to do a recap of what has been happening this year!

More Hana brooch produced this year, one of me.u's bestsellers. Available as a custom-made piece, a variety of Hana was created in 2010. It still remained one of my favourite collection to make, where extreme creativity can be used to achieve a match between the design of each piece and the new owner.

My favourite piece for the year was Little Frog. The best pieces are created when I do take a longer time to finish. Why? There are some ideas that I needed to sit on or even source materials for. This piece was only completed when I acquired the vintage button seen in this piece. Oh, and did I mention this piece is modular? That's why I have to sit on my ideas for a while to work out how things can be pushed further.

 me.u had a debut at the Fitzroy Market this year. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disaster with the Melbourne weather. The other session to make it up didn't turn out well either. For these reasons, markets for me.u plans will be shelved until further consideration.

The colour of the year for me was definitely mustard yellow. I fell in love with anything mustard yellow. Two major scarves were knitted. My yellow mustard scarf and my pink scarf.

2010 was the beginning of freebies from me.u. The first ever me.u give-away started for Christmas. Two sets of necklace from Animals of the Forest were given away with a special me.u original Christmas bauble. Also me.u original free gift tags template was made available this Christmas. Look out for more freebies in 2011! 

 This year was certainly an interesting year for me as there were definite highs and lows. 2010 started with a major personal low when I had to go through a trying time. However, due to that personal experience, I became more philosophical about life in general. Life indeed do go on...:)

 Photography by Jave Lee 

This was also a year of weddings! I attended many weddings this year. First and foremost, the wedding of one of my best friends early in the year. Then followed by another two weddings and finally it was my own wedding! We had a weekend wedding on the 2nd and 3rd of October. It was a wedding 1 year in the planning from engagement shots, colours to the invites. Next year, read more about how I put my wedding together. Although, when the whole thing was done it was kind of bittersweet...ah well...there is always honeymoon planning next year. :)

All in all 2010 was an interesting year for me.u and for me personally. I do hope 2011 will bring more exciting things. Happy New Year everyone and all the best for 2011!!! ^^

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful new year ahead!!!

me.u online store while still accessible, will be closed until the end of January.

Thank you for all the support and the patience as I get my personal life into order this year...please continue to support me.u as hopefully 2011 will bring even more exciting things from me.u! ^^

All scattered about...

Scattered - Copyright 2006 - jmh (me.u)

... would be how I described my path in my career. I started off being a textile designer but with serendipity at play, I'm now doing my post-grad in a completely different field. Obviously though the passion for pretty designs is still in my life, hence the inception of me.u (and all that other shopping obsessions). 

Going back to my roots as a textile designer (that 4 year degree should be worth something!), I'm happy to announce that I will be launching my own textile collection...yay~!

Once everything comes into place, I'll update you again. Meanwhile do stay tune! ^^

PS. The me.u facebook page has reached 100 likes... a give-away is coming soon to commemorate this exciting event. Again, keep a look out for it! ^^

The reason for the month's hiatus...

... I got married.

me.u will resume soon as life needs to settle down. ^^ Over the coming weeks I'll posting some bits and pieces about my wedding...the planning etc. ^^

A point of view...

The weather worked against us on the day that we opened our stall at Fitzroy Market. While it was a miserable day overall, Shanwen (from Pretty Peonies) and I at least had an interesting experience.

Lesson learned? The weather forecast is indeed important when opening an outdoor stall. 

Ah well, better luck next time!

*Photo was taken during my Sydney trip early this year. I found Rollip via Anna's blog, Much Love, Anna. How exciting! Something to play with to give that lovely vintage look!!! ^^

Been busy preparing for this...

Words...

They were once alphabets, random letters scattered across my work table. Then they became words. These pieces from the 'Words' collection will be part of the things that I'll be bringing to the market. What market? Stay tune as more details will be revealed closer to the date! ^^