Last year in November, my friend suddenly said to me, "Mel, shall we do something meaningful next year?" I replied, in an almost knee-jerk manner, "Like what?" She then said, "How about organising a yoga event and inviting our friends?"

That gave birth to the idea of WellnessYogi RESET. We came up with the name RESET precisely because we both are working in jobs that require us to work late and in very high stress environment. We both needed to reset our lives and regain our balance. We also understand that we're not alone. Many women feel the same way.

Yes, we're bold and crazy but sometimes, we just want to GO BIG if not we'll go home!! We want to infect the world to spur everyone to change for the better and reach their personal goals, whatever they may be. The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

WellnessYogi RESET is our dream and we've started it. We've booked the venue (Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade), booked the licence (still many more to go...), booked our instructors and are pressing on to get more sponsors onboard so that we will not suffer financial woes because of this project. It's our project of love and pride that we're sharing with you and we hope that you'll help us finish it!

We understand that yoga isn't for everyone, which is why there are other workshops (make up anyone?) and even a picnic lunch session where we can all chillax together. Heard that there will be fireworks on the 11 July so the night yoga and after party will prove to be super fun!

Tickets are selling at $40 (early bird) and if you bring a friend, it'll only be $35/pax! We're also very excited that we're going to have a Wellness Bazaar so if you'd like a booth, please message me at melissa@passhen.com!

Tickets and bazaar booths can both be purchased at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/wellnessyogi-reset-tickets-16369626995?aff=melfann

If you need a break from the madness known as work, join us for a day of Yoga and wellness workshops to help you RESET your life and get your balance back at WellnessYogi:RESET.

Do note that the topics within the schedule are still subject to changes.

It will be a day full of activities and ALL attendees will be getting a goodie bag worth S$60! What's inside? Stay tuned! All I can say is that one item will be a really sweet and cold treat! :)

There will also be a bazaar that's open to the public, featuring stalls that will be selling a variety of health and wellness products or services!

Grab your buddy and register here. Corporate and sponsorship packages are also available. Please contact us at ing@wellnessyogi.com or passhen.sg@gmail.com for more details.

As I had posted previously, I took part in my estate's Mid Autumn Fest Bazaar on Saturday. It was sunny and the pool really beckoned but I was there with my stuff!

Not only was I there with my jewellery, I had instock Cher Bags, Chloe pouches, the Coach pouch and wristlet, Jill Stuart bag, Tsumori Chisato pouches, Tsumori Chisato bags, hand woven bags and second-hand books.

Although the bazaar was only from 11am-3pm, I thank everyone who came to my stall! Sales were a lot more brisk and I'm thankful to those who took my card and noted that I do bespoke pieces. I promise to update my website as soon as possible!! I have made quite a few new pieces but my camera's faulty so I can't take any nice shots of them to post yet. :( I went to the Sony Care this afternoon and they told me that it will cost $321 to repair the LCD. I might as well buy a new one that has more megapixels and is water resistant. Bah. Spending more money is NOT what I want to hear. Boo that.

Anyhows, my neighbouring stall was a nice Indian lady who is a full-time artist. She was doing henna painting and check out what my mum got...


And mine...


I've always wanted a Celtic Cross tattoo on my ankle so I thought I'd try out a henna rosary tattoo first. See whether I like having something on my ankle. I must say that I still like the Celtic Cross idea but I think I'll have a very small one right beside my Archilles heel. A small one. I'd probably have to scrap the Celtic design...too intricate and detailed. Mum will balk after reading this and will come in and tell me "Don't you DARE get another tattoo!!" :P She's cool with henna and washable ones though. Haha...she even liked this rosary one and even mentioned that "It looks like it's swinging". ;)

All in all, it was a good day and I'm very pleased with this bazaar. I'm definitely joining next year's bazaar and you guys are all invited to come down!

Yesterday's flea at Jazz@Southbridge was a flop. Seriously. I didn't make up my rental man.

The publicity for it was rather lousy although one cannot deny the organiser's efforts. It just wasn't smartly done.

I'm tired of complaining...was even wondering whether blogging about it would be a complete waste of my effort or not. Ah well...let me just tell you the main points that irritated me and it is mainly the way the 2 younger organisers (there were 3) handled the issue.

The crowd was minimal and were made up mostly of relatives and friends of stall holders + relatives and friends of band members. The walk-in crowd was terrible. Well, no brainer since its at Boat Quay on a Sunday afternoon.

But publicity!!! Ok...let me recount certain things to show how ridiculous the whole publicity and marketing issue was.

As the crowd was terrible, I kinda rallied some of the stall holders to hold a petition to ask the organisers to give us a discount on the rental. So...towards the end of the flea, 2 of the organisers went around to get feedback on the flea.

Irritation no. 2 (no. 1 is the lack of crowd) is that they asked us to start packing up @ 5.45pm? If you advertise that the flea is from 1-6pm, why are you asking us to pack up at 5.45pm? Its more like you want us to leave by 6pm right? Nonetheless, the lack of crowd just encouraged us to pack up immediately.

In the midst of packing, Mel Li asked one of the younger organisers (let's call her A) whether we could sit down and talk to them after the packing's done. Irritation no. 3 happens soon....once I was done packing (small pieces of jewellery can be a pain sometimes), A and the other young organiser (let's call her G) came to us and A went, "Ya, what is it?" in a super roll-eyes-I'm-not-happy tone. That's sooo freaking rude!

Major irritation starts henceforth. Best to put it in a conversation method. Note that not everything is verbatim. This is to the best of my memory.

A: We've participated in a lot of other fleas/ bazaars and we never asked the organisers for refunds.

G: Ya. Big Splash - raining, we didn't ask for any refunds!

Me (thinks): Uh...that's really your problem for not being proactive and demanding the organisers for a partial refund right? We're not even asking for a full refund AND who the hell cares about your past experience? I'm talking about THIS present issue and problem. Why are your hands folded and you girls giving us such aggressive tone and body language? Coming guns ablazing? SUPER unprofessional ladies.

We prodded them about their marketing and publicity and A rattled on about how they advertised on all the forums and emall.sg etc. Plus they had a banner outside the event space and they walked to Funan Centre and Central to hand out pamphlets to tell them about the flea.

Ladies - online forums are used mainly by stall holders. What's shocking is that there wasn't any in house marketing with Jazz@Southbridge for a whole week! Jazz@Southbridge is one of the most reputable Jazz bars in Singapore and they've got such a steady clientele, which could be tapped into! IS Mag? Catalog mag? Shops around the vicinity?? Shocking.

What continued was a back and forth that really sounded like something from a "How NOT to negotiate" video. I'm too tired to type it in full. However, in a nutshell - there was no resolution. They had made a loss on this flea so they can't refund any amt of $ and it was only after further prodding that the older organiser said that what she can assure is a privilege for current stall holders for the next flea.

Uh huh. -_- If the next bazaar @ Hereen is like this, I'm sooo gonna negotiate till those little boys pee in their pants.

Haha...yesterday made me realise that I've lost a lot of my aggressiveness that was developed while working. I've mellowed down. A lot. That being said, I still don't take shit from people but I also remember all my negotiation skills. Ok...I shall stop. There's more. However, not worth me typing.

The good thing about this flea was that I met three lovely teens - Kelly, Kim and Desiree! Thanks for making yesterday a lot more bearable. :)

Happy Easter folks!!

No...its not about bunnies and eggs *rolls eyes*. It's about triumph over death, God's sacrifice for us wee humans and that our debt has been paid. Okies, I shall not be preachy.

Yest, Mel Li and I made an appointment to check out the flea at Mt. Sophia. Met her at 3.30pm but we ended up waiting for the shuttle for a good hour. My feet still ache.....Turns out that the shuttle was picking/dropping people off at Atrium@Orchard instead of Plaza Singapura. Note to organisers: Hello...SIGNS??!! Please inform people properly as well or at least have someone stationed at Plaza Singapura to tell people that the pick-up point has changed to Atrium. Moreover, they need to rethink their wet weather plan. It ALWAYS rains on Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Ah well....we HAD to go to the flea because one of Mel Li's customer was a stall owner and she HAD to have the Marc Jacobs Tote that day. How was the flea? Crowded and warm. The rain didn't really add the mood either. Every stall seemed like a repeat of each other. Not to mention, all stalls cramped a lot of stuff onto their tables + hangers + luggage + clothes racks. Felt like organised chaos. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything. Oh...we met Ms-I'll-undercut-you-with-my-cheap-low-grade-semi-precious-stones as well. I think she's a flea/bazaar regular. =P I sincerely hope that she doesn't turn up for the Jazz@Southbridge bazaar. =P

Just a side note about Mt. Sophia. It really reminds me of Hong Kong's mid-levels where the neighbourhood's slightly posh but not in the I-can-smell-the-cash-from-afar kind of grand way. Rather, its more like an old neighbourhood on top of a hill that simply became more expensive with time. Very nice place that feels homely and quiet despite it being so near Orchard Rd. Good leg trainers too!! Walk up and down the hill...oh wait, I already do that everyday since my block IS on a hill as well.

Haha...ok, I need to celerbate good tidings though. I have my first stranger who signed up for my Oct 1983 mailing list!! I know, I know, it sounds like a cheap thrill...BUT it is a huge deal to me because she (I'm assuming its a she) is my 1st client who signed up for my newsletter. *Huge grin*

Another thing to be happy about is that my revamped website for Oct 1983 is finally up and running!! Kindly click 'here' to view! I slept at 5.30am this morning doing up this website ok...please appreciate my effort. If you think it sucks - just shut up. Haha...

Cheers.

It is confirmed! Oct 1983 will be having a stall together with Japan PS at next Sunday's bazaar. Details as follows -

Date: Sun, 19 Apr
Time: 1-6pm
Venue: Jazz@southbridge, 82B Boat Quay

It is air-conditioned so you can shop in comfort!

Do come and support us or just take a look at the products. There will also be bands performing live!