16 May 2014

Moodboard 1 - Spring pastels ♥


Moodboard inspired by the pastel hues of spring (: 

Clockwise from top right :
Kikki.K Greeting card: Case and bird dreaming 
Livework Cherry blossom notebook (past season) 
Typo Today is going to be a great day canvas print

Background:
Livework Piyo pencils: spring


15 May 2014

Around Seoul - Green Spaces


Love how the koreans have incorporated green spaces into their city. With a wide variety ranging from green roof sky parks,  riverside parks and even a canal transformed into a beautiful stream, these places provide respite from the city, places to exercise as well as places to meet up and perhaps enjoy a leisurely spring/summer picnic (:


here are some of the green spaces...

Cheonggyecheon stream
a canal transformed into a stream within the city 






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Sky parks 


Lotte department store






Shinsegae department store



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Parks 


Namsan  
 A scenic route up Namsan starting from hangangjin station + Namsan park





  



Hangang (Han river) park







Seonyudo ecological park 






 Yeouido park



04 May 2014

♥6 W.e.

W.e. (Seoul. Samcheongdong)

 A stand-alone cafe in a quieter part of the Samcheongdong area, W.e. has a laid back, organic vibe.
  
 Their speciality - A western version of the traditional korean snack, hoddeok.
(Which explains the cafe's name W.e. - west 'n' east)







 A glass-panelled corridor linking the front and back portion of the cafe brings the outdoors in. Visiting at dusk, the light from the setting sun added warmth and a sense of calmness as I enjoyed my food




  

 
Wooden beams and a "grassy" nook add to the organic vibe

 

 

21 April 2014

Around Seoul - Stationery

Around Seoul Korea - Stationery ♥



Always on my to-get list : nice stationery
 Korea is definitely a haven for stationery lovers

Here are some places to consider if you are looking for some nice stationery


Kyobo (Times Square outlet) 

A well-known bookstore chain in Seoul, with its main branch at Gwanghwamun and another at Gangnam. Known for its large range of korean books and magazines, they also have a fairly extensive stationery section, with many korean brands of stationery stocked there.


Lovely designed pencils:  Left two from Kyobo (From brand LIVEWORK)
 Right two from Artbox (own line)


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Artbox (Sinchon outlet)
Unlike the other shops featured here which are mostly multibrand shops, Artbox features its own line of stationery and lifestyle goods. Quite a good range of stationary as well. 




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Penpia (Sinchon) 
Was really lucky to have stumbled upon this shop. Located at a basement of a discrete building along Sinchon, i decided to take a look after seeing the banner and was I glad to have found it!
Something similar to Artfriend in Singapore, this shop seems to cater to art students studying in the nearby universities with its wide range of art supplies. The shop also has a very extensive range of stationery.






Small notecards: at ₩1000 won for 10, thought these were a steal. Great for writing small notes of encouragement (: 

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Maki (Garosu-gil) 
A multibrand lifestyle store. Stationery selection is a bit smaller here and items are on the slightly pricier side.




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 Daiso (Various outlets, quite a big outlet can be found at Ewha Women's university station) 
 
Lots of hidden finds at this "dollar-shop" selling everything from kitchenware, stationery, accessories,  food.
Unlike Singapore, where everything is $2, the products in Korea's Daiso come in prices of ₩500, ₩1000, ₩1500, ₩2000. 

 Letter set from daiso. 



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And some random finds outside of Seoul...




Good ol' neighbourhood stationery store (Suncheon)

So glad to have passed by this shop while walking round the neighbourhood. 
Reminded me of my childhood and the good ol' days when 'mom and pop' stationery shops could be found at almost every HDB estate. Over the years, these treasure troves of surprises and knick-knacks have slowly been replaced by Popular, Artfriend and other 'branded' stationery shops. :(

This store was a lovely throwback to the past (: Spent quite a long time trawling the aisles and searching the hidden nooks and crannies to see what cheap and good finds they had.  (:

 

Bright and colourful pencil cases which were a steal at ₩3500-5000.



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Another stationery shop, found alongside a supermarket (Jeju) 

Dropped by a stand-alone supermarket to get some fruits and was delighted to find an old-school stationery store within the same building. (: 
Lots of stationery and games, reminding me of school bookshops.