Showing posts with label The Ordinary Co. Show all posts

The Ordinary Co's First Pop Up

Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2018

I've occasionally been asked throughout The Ordinary Co's inception will I ever set up a physical retail space (the answer is no, because physical retail is dying for fast fashion and also there are high costs involved in setting it up, running and maintaining it). However, I have toyed with the idea of doing pop-ups since they don't require that much commitment compared to a full blown shop.

I have been biding my time for the opportunity to do it "right", so it was a huge blessing to be part of WeWork's Creators Market last month for TOC's first ever pop up! It was help during Women's History Month and every store was run by a lady entrepreneur, which is great. The turn out was spectacular (which is a usual, for WeWork) and I did not stop working from the moment the market opened at 5pm to when it closed at 9pm! But it was a real rush meeting customers in real life, including some sweet ladies who saw I was having the pop up on Instagram and walked over to WeWork just to visit the store (how amazing is that?)

The inspiration for the layout is literally a website, in which everything was neatly displayed out in squares with the prices next to them - like online shopping... just in real life! It took about a month of planning (by which I mean lying in bed and overthinking things) and it definitely was a huge experience for me since I've never done visual merchandising in my life. Most of my creativity since young was usually in photography or graphic design which I consider 2D, if you know what I mean.

Honestly after doing this I feel more confident in how I'm going to get my house done since that is another 3D project!

Big thank you to Maya and Vivi who were in charge of planning the market, and many of the customers and even WeWork employees who came by to support my shop :'D Till the next opportunity!

Another Valentine's Day

Posted on Friday, January 12, 2018

PUPPIES x THE ORDINARY CO

Jewelry: @theordinaryco

Puppies: @chubsandlexie

Florals: @tweedtwigs

Models: @eletheowl & lee

Photography: Myself

So I literally did not have time to blog the moment December hit but hey look, I'm back! I'm actually really pleased with myself having shot both CNY and Valentine's Day lookbooks for The Ordinary Co before 2017 was even over, but it was more serendipitous in that I was thinking of reaching out to Ele about shooting her puppies and as if she read my mind, she beat me to it and asked if I wanted to collaborate with her and Guo (of Tweed Twigs!) and just nice it was in time for Valentine's day so we even got Ele's partner, Lee on board for what I now fondly like to call my first family photo shoot :'D

So yeah. Shoot day was a bit off a mess with 4 adorable but crazily energetic puppies running everywhere and tearing up all the flowers (cue many blur photos in which made me want to cry when I first opened the raws, haha) but somehow once they started getting tired and flopping around it got a lot easier to shoot! I'm really pleased with the results and the feedback I've been getting is overwhelmingly positive.

I included some little extras here but do check out the full lookbook here guys!

Behind the Scenes - TOC Turns 3

Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Just some extra behind the scenes photos from The Ordinary Co's 3rd birthday that didn't make it to the official lookbook. I think I particularly love this year's party since it went so smoothly - not to say last year's didn't, but it was my first time planning everything by myself so I definitely sweated a lot more over it then than now. Of course, a little experience and having people you can trust and collaborate with helps take a load off!

I feel like I've thanked everyone over and over but I'm super touched how everyone played a part to for a collective reason to make this event work! It is very personal because TOC is my baby and to be reminded that people believe in it to put their time and effort towards this is very touching :'D

Abigail from Oakwood who replied me so quickly after I sent the proposal because she was so excited and full of good vibes - it helped kickstart the planning way faster! She was also there all day to help with little things for the event that I forgot, like additional bottled water and the handheld fans which the girls really used (and looked like a bunch of aunties, haha! Looking at Georgi and Cinddie here).

Sara and the ladies from Plan B of course played a huge part in setting up the entire picnic which the whole party was themed on and transforming the place - dragging those palettes / tables up and down was no joke guys. There was only us 4 girls doing it, and it took 2.5hours to set up but it looked spectacular!!! I cannot tell you how many times I have saved pins on Pinterest with all these fancy picnics and this literally is a dream come true. So on point and classy, just like Sara :)

Chris and team from Medano Coffee for volunteering their live coffee station - it was such a hit with the girls and perfect for the hot weather and just added to the interactivity of the event. My favourite had gula melaka in it which was gave it extra flavour (although ahem, the Baileys that Miss Winter Chee spiked all our coffees with also gave it lots of flavour, hahaha). Oh, and it was made with fancy ass luxury water from Nakd Water which also has the prettiest packaging. Medano also sells coffee pods which are Nespresso compatible so like as a non-coffee drinker that sounds super cool + I enjoyed my ice latte so much I had... two. Heh.

Vickii from Vickii Studio for the most amazing food! I randomly had the idea to have a DIY smoothie bowl making session while planning the party and the thought of all the logistics and moving parts made me wonder if it was too crazy - but after talking to Vickii and agreeing on all the ingredients, she just got it done - and even exceeded expectations because she styled it perfectly on top as well. Yes, I could have gotten a normal caterer, but it's way more important to support a fellow Girl Boss right? Especially one who is also a friend :)

Jocelyn from Clinique for upping the swag of our goodie boxes with the perfect complementary pastel pink and green Moisture Surge tubs - she came early, unboxed and packed every single one in because I was running around like a headless chicken making sure everything was fine, so, THANKS BABE.

Amanda from Coco Max who gave me wayyy more coconut water than I asked for, I love how quickly she responded and was like yep, sure. The confidence that people have in this party is just mindblowing sometimes!

ALL THE GIRLS for taking the time to come down - the ones that have been around since the start but show their support every year; the new ones with open minds to come down meet and get to know the other girls - and everyone just being so excited and posting so enthusiastically about the event / the goodie bags they got! And those who wanted to come but couldn't + those that I may have forgotten to invite (hahaha SORRY I underestimated the space we had once again)

The hardworking men not seen in the photos: Chris and Jian Liang, my super dedicated photographer and videographer who HAHA I regret telling them to come in black, but they were so sweaty and so hardworking in the background while we girls had our chi chi party :'D

And of course le boyfriend / now fiance Justin, my mystery ops guy who handled everything in the background like a) dragging our icebox down b) getting the drinks and ice all packed and chilled for the event c) packing all the goodie boxes d) settling all the small little things I couldn't do because I was busy managing everything

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So yep, till another year! The Ordinary Co has 20% off birthday discount this week (as usual), so do quote TOCTURNS3 (Min Spend $20.00) when checking out! We rarely have a flat discount off - usually the next time is Christmas, so make use of it hor.

Photography by Christopher Wong, Editing by Myself

CLINIQUE x THE ORDINARY CO

Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2017

CLINIQUE x THE ORDINARY CO

Models: Krystle, Kit and Klaire Ng

Make-Up: Clinique Singapore

Clothes: Fayth Label

Photography / Creative Direction: Myself

Behind the Scenes Video: Foxes Den (see here!)

Some of my favourite shots from the CLINIQUE x THE ORDINARY CO campaign - super pleased with the results and how everything came together on the day. It's not often I have to manage so big a team (8 pairs of eyes staring at me at one point for instruction) but glad everything in my head came out exactly as planned! Sometimes you have all these ideas in your head that can't be fully expressed completely through a moodboard or words, so I can't stress how much easier it is to do a good job when you have the trust from your collaborating partners, in this case Jocelyn and the Clinique team and likewise can trust them back to organise everything on their end. Also, the extra pair of hands from Debra and Tim of Foxes Den was really a blessing on the day itself (steaming 3 sets of outfits for 3 girls was no joke, haha). Already planning for the next launch, but in the meantime...

Shop the Clinique x The Ordinary Co collection this month and get a Free Makeover + $10 voucher from Clinique!

Two

Posted on Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Just threw a party for The Ordinary Co last week, which everyone has been super kind to congratulate me about since most companies don't make it past the first year (and woah TOC is two!) but I guess to me it's gone past so quickly I'm not even sure how it happened - but it just did. Haha, ok I kid. A lot of work has gone in to starting and maintaining this business - and sometimes it feels like a long term relationship how at the start every thing is all exciting and growing, and now settling in past the "honeymoon" phase... what's next?

Anyway, this is the first proper event I've had to plan for TOC and honestly, it gave me so much headache but I was super glad when it was over and that the day went smoothly. From the bottom of my heart I am extra grateful to first of all, Justin, for supporting and dealing with my constant anxiety and stress throughout the month from all the planning because it did get pretty bad for a while. I know events always look all pretty and fun, and I have my fair share of attending them, but seriously - props to people who do this full time. I have my sisters for being solid walls to lean on when I needed help to come early to help set up everything and being my minions; and Kenneth of course for really going beyond what I expected of him - this guy is a seriously good friend whom I am glad to have made :)

Also, not forgetting every single damn special person who put the time aside on a Sunday afternoon to just show up, reschedule their flights / their own birthday plans to attend + bring extra gifts when they didn't have to and make one poor girl's month of anxious planning worth it. I seriously wish I could have invited all my sweetest customers down too who have taken any leap of faith to purchase from TOC and basically let this machine run, but honestly I felt so overwhelmed I couldn't deal with it on top of everything. I feel like every year I add on and level up, so... please give me until next year and thank you all for your support!! :'D

Also, special kudos to Classified Cafe for graciously taking the chance on TOC and hosting our event - the service staff were tip top, the canape menu and mini cheesecakes adorable (all halal!), and I love the extra details that went into making everything - if you're hosting a birthday party / event, I really, really would recommend this place.

The Ordinary Co started out as an distant dream, and every little person along the way has made it a reality. I always love my big brands and corporations, but I really appreciate those who support local because every little thing makes an even greater impact to the company (or just me, haha) so yeah. Another year over, another year ahead. I'm just taking things as they come.