New Year Update!

Happy New Year everyone!


New year, new update...yes, I know that to most people the new year started on January 1st, but that's so the Year of the Bunny. Plus, many people have probably forgotten, or ditched, the resolutions they made on the Gregorian 1st by now anyway, so this is as good a time as any to take stock.


Besides, I'm a girl, so my sense of direction is instinctively based on cuddly animals (go past the bunny, to get to the dragon, etc) rather than boring numbers (after 2011, comes 2012 - I flunked my first maths test aged 8, unfortunately). And, yes, I do know some cuddly dragons out there.

See? 

More to the point, it's been a pretty eventful week/end. I'd submitted an interview to UK Handmade earlier in the week that's now published on their wonder web. I find it's really helped me take stock of what I've achieved until now and make my next plans of action. So, if you want to know what my resolutions are for the Year of the Dragon, do lend that interview your 龙眼, or any other 眼! I'm not fussy. Hehe.

龙眼 ('Dragons' eyes' in Chinese), or mata kuching ('cats' eyes' in Malay) are these tasty little fruit. Named for these yummy little sclera found between their scaly brown shells and shiny black pupils. Guess there aren't many dragons in Southeast Asia though
(Credit: Pic filched from a fellow blogger)

Here's a quick update on what I've been up to (and been too slow to report on the first New Year's Day, I think I did an okay job of covering that up though, don't you? > u - Well, until now that is...)


Christmas brought me a a bit of a windfall in terms of an unprecedented demand for my Bboys, so I've come up with a new and improved version of Bboy Hollowback. He comes with his own non-slip lino and has a handgrip so strong that it's positively magnetic. This bboy never crashes his freeze!

Rock steady

Hong 10 freeze. Whooo! *jump up and down maniacally*

My work buddy had also been helping me plug my work by showing it off to friends and family. Many of you probably know that I usually make stencils and spraypaint my own packaging. Ranjit had also seen a top I painted for myself.

Rockin' that Banksy-style style at the Breakfest jam, and at work some days

Anyway, the result was a request for this T-shirt, based on my packaging design.


From my bezzie, for his cousin's prezzie! Hopefully, more of these will be trotting out of Sock 'N' Soul HQ, but I need to not spend hours cutting out each stencil from cereal boxes. There has to be a better way...

Frontside view

Backside view

While I was getting creative with stencilling, I also came up with a new packaging design for my commissions.

'Cos you get all of me when you request a commission rather than picking something up from one of my standard ranges, like Darn Stuff, or Sock 'N' Soul, or Sock 'N' Pole, or Sock 'N' Shoal...okay, I'll stop now, promise! haha...

I used those for a commission made for artist Hamish Blakely - a Christmas present from his wife. Blog report to come, but you'll see pictures of in the UK Handmade interview, and, if you haven't already, WHYYYY??? Go look now! Uh, pleeeease?


While I'm on the topic of personal goals and bboying, I just have to show you this! It's my incredibly hardworking, creative and original training buddies battling each other at King of the Bboys on Saturday, left side won, but right side got through to next battle. Go figure about judges' decisions, but anyway, I'm proud of them all.

My personal goal with breaking is to practice the moves I don't like as much as the ones I do; at least 10 times per session. I've already made huge improvements in my flares, swipes and blowup freezes using this approach. Enter the dragon! RARRRRR!


Maybe I'll upload a video of my progress sometime. Mayyybe. By the way, here's a date for your diary, Andy's organising an event which is scheduled for 28th April in The Studio at the Herbert Gallery, Coventry. So train hard, enter the battles and stand to win awesome prizes like Sock 'N' Soul Bboys and a Bboy Dynamick original.

One final thing. As of Friday, I'd been appointed online marketer at jobs.ac.uk and start today. It's going to give me a chance to learn more about social media and boost the ol' income while I take my time getting to know you, my faithful friends. And it gives me a chance to use my creativity, and academic background, and get paid to hang out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn! Cool beans.


So that goal I talked about in my interview has come to fruition *happy face* 


This dragon is one good-lookin' year...

Marley and Me - for Boomloulou

As promised, here's my continuation of the Sock 'N' Pole story. Following Ming of Acro Polates' request for my first pole doll came another from a dancer who calls herself Boomloulou and works as a trolley dolly by day... actually it should be day, and night... and day... with snatches of sleep in-between. In fact, while her doll was being made, Veronica (her real name) was flying to NYC (twice!), Nagoya, Johannesburg, Osaka, then Hong Kong to San Francisco, etc etc. I'm sure there were many more destinations, but I lose track.

So... the question is, does Veronica go to A LOT of different countries for work, or do Sock 'N' Poles take a long time to make? Hmm, both, I'd say, especially when they're customised! Got to get it just right. Right?

Although Veron laments that she only gets to practice her beloved pole a few times a month, one perk of her job is that she gets to meet lots of fellow dancers while she's globetrotting. Her Youtube tagline is 'Boomloulou will be gatecrashing pole studios around the world!'.

Yup, studio owners BEWARE! You have no choice in the matter. Haha!

.

Boomloulou with Anastasia Skukhtorova, World Pole Dance Championship 2010/2011 finalist, amongst others. I should also mention that BLL is the Fit Pole Winner of Sg Polestars 2010, so she's no slouch either!

Good job she's really fine company then! Veron and I haven't actually met, but she's a real giggle. It's always wonderful and inspiring to meet someone with a real passion for what they do. And, yes, so passionate that they want to celebrate it with a commission made by meeee. That's awesome! *punches air*

Veron's specifications were specific but simple. A pole dancing doll in light baby pink crop top and shorts with a ponytail and cat with her. 

She also mentioned this pink cherry blossom background from her Youtube page and 'boomloulou' on her outfit.

So here's what I did with it...

Cherry blossom base just like the one above

Cute li'l pink outfit based on what BLL's wearing in the photo above.

Cute li'l grey cat like in the other pic above!

As always, Sock 'N' Pole has its own version of mighty grip so it can hold a whole range of different poses, just like you! (If you pole, that is...). See?

Superwoman

Handstand? This looks like something I'd do.

Double bat!

Double pole-sit?

BLL also took some very atmospheric shots to post online, and was more than happy to share them with me.

What a star!

She was thrilled that I gave her boobs! Well, why not? Poledance can be quite titillating, no?

Attempting a chinese pole move,oooooooo!
(uh, is that a move with dual-nationality? heehee - Editor)

Mighty grip in action!

Pole-sit again (with Marley gazing uh, lecherously up...naughty cat - Ed.) 

Check out those 6 inch mini 'Pleasers' shoes!

Floorwork (but DAAAYMN, mini-B looks like she's having a lot of fun *Arrrrr* - Ed.)

Just chilling after all that exert...EXERCISE! I mean exercise!

I'll be back soon after a short break!

Speaking of breaking, Anastasia seems to enjoy working with bboys, I found this clip earlier.


Okay. Over and out! (No, no no, that's not a move, so don't try it at home, dear readers!). 
I mean, THE END *ugh!* *breaaaaaaathe*

See you next time! xxx

Sg Pole Challenge 2011

I've got a little treat for you today. PICTURES! Lots and lots of pictures! Of lots of darn hot stuff and darn hot people too!

I first got to know Ming aka Suzie Wong when she asked me to make her a mini-Ming on a pole about 2 years ago. We toyed with so many different ideas at the time, before coming up with this super special Sock 'N' Pole.

Mini-Ming!

With not-so-mini Ming! (Big-Ming would be misleading, plus it's insulting to call any lady 'big' anyway!)

Mini-Ming has spawned other Sock 'N' Poles too! Here's an exclusive piece I made for another Singapore-based poledancer who calls herself Boomloulou. There's a whole 'nuther story behind this one,  so I'd better save it for another post! Here's a piccie or two in the meantime, or you could watch some of her videos now on youtube.

Mini-Boomloulou's cross ankle release gaining admiration from her cat, Marley.

Marley keeping well out of the way of Mini-Boomloulou's iguana

The technique for achieving mighty grip with Sock 'N' Pole has spawned a whole line of custom-made dolls that can hold hands, things, hug, unhug, etc etc. I don't think I'd have come up with all that if not for Ming's request for a pole dancer, so I'm pretty grateful for the inspiration.

Mighty grip. My poledancers have it too!

    Then one day, my inbox popped up with a cheerful 'allo, my studio organising a comp 11 June....instead of getting the judges usual plagues or momentoes, is there anything i can get from you?'

    HELL YEAH! Wait. Did I just sound a wee bit too excited back there? Maybe slightly freaky in a sitting-by-the-phone, waiting to pounce sorta way? *phew* Thank goodness webchat delays allow me to think of a sensible response instead of blurting out the first (read: wildly impractical, OMG-why-did-I-dream-of-suggesting-this) doll design that comes to my head. I mean, I was so excited that I didn't notice she'd asked me to plague her judges with momentoes...sounds like the moment I fell down the stairs the other day and landed my full body weight on my little toe. Ouch. No no, I definitely don't want to plague your judges, but Ming, you're so damn cute sometimes!

    'There're just a couple of tiny details', Ming added, as we chatted along, 'my budget is rather pathetic and I know it's pretty last min...' Actually, there was just over a month to go before the event, but considering that Sg Pole Challenge was to be held in, uh, Singapore, and I was taking notes from Ming in my studio here on another not-so-small island, plus the quirkiness of Royal Mail, meant we just had enough time.

We worked to those constraints, budgeting and keeping the weight down so we didn't feel sick at the cost of the dolls' longhaul flight from the UK to Singapore (Poling is such a physically demanding and expensive sport! hehe), add to that some snooping around on Acro Polates' FB page and, voila! Here are the ideas I had:

I didn't have enough time to make poledancers like Mini-Ming and Boomloulou, but what about poledancing mascots? Y'know like Marley...

Acro Polates Studio even has its own resident meow who wanders in and dozes by the shoes during practices.

Meet Oliver. The luckiest boy in the world.

Or how about the stray pup Ming adopted, whom she calls Ah Boy?

Hm. Maybe make that 2nd luckiest boy in the world!

Also, a dog who sometimes behaves like a cat! Aww...

The hardest part was trying to decide which pet to choose as the mascot, at which point, Ming cunningly handed all artistic license over to me. I'm not too hot at making decisions either, so I made them both!

Ta-daaaaaah! Well, I bet you'd never seen poling-double cats and dogs...

And because I did a very thorough spying on Ming's promotional stuff for Acro Polates, I knew she'd flown Suzie Q over from Sydney last year and was having both her and partner, Toby J, over this time. Suzie is thrice Miss Pole Dance NSW, a Miss Pole Dance Australia finalist, was runner up in the "Women's Freestyle" division of the Asia Pacific Pole Dance Championships 2010 and won the "Open Pairs" division of that competition with Toby...*INHALE*. But accolades aside, I've seen videos of this awesome pair and MAAAAAN, they're totally amazing and really cute together and and aand seem incredibly lovely. 

See? And any couple who can get comfy napping together on a swing deserve respect, I think.

I'd also seen from pictures of Suzie's visit last year that she'd brought a little friend to play with Mini-Ming. 

Suzie Q loves Skunkers

Look, Skunkers! No hands!

It was a pressie from Toby...isn't it sweet when a girl carries a stuffed skunk around to remind her of her boyfriend? I know....aaaawwwwww.....hehe. So anyway, I decided it'd be awesome if they had one each! 

(Disclaimer: All you boys out there, if you decide to carry around a stuffed skunk to remind you of your girlfriend, she may get upset and refuse to return your calls, or smack you, or say you smell, or other horrible names. Don't say I didn't warn you, ok?)

Well, I bet you've never seen pole doubles with a pair of smooching skunkers *beam* 

Check me with my name dropping today! Judging from the pics, it looks like the Sg Pole Challenge mascots received some pretty good reviews.

Judge Ania Przeplasko, founder of the International Pole Dance Association, with Ah Boy, whose cup runneth over (and who's dropped his sash with excitement. No no, he doesn't really have boobies - that would be very confusing, no? Heehee)

'Suzie said it was the best present ever!' - Ming

YAY! And Toby and Suzie even featured Skunkers on Part 1 of their video series, The Adventures of Suzie Q and Toby J. It's so funny and sweet (especially if you've ever had the joy of experiencing the Singaporean obsession with food!)

I don't think it'll work here for copyright reasons, but click on the vid and it'll link you to their channel on Youtube.

Hmm, maybe I should consider a post about Gong gong (watch the video to see what I mean). I have a sock version! Kinda...but I won't go as far as pig's intestines...urk.

Oh hang on. Next post: Boomloulou and Marley! Maybe Gong gong later.

Thanks for holding on tight while I got through all the news and photos for this post! If you wanna see more darn hot stuff, stay tuned for my next post, if you wanna see more darn hot people, subscribe to Acro Polates and Suzie Q's channels. 

If you wanna be darn hot, join their pole studios! xxx

Bless 'er cotton socks, she tries!

Will Kate knot be going away after all? Well, I like them, even if no one else does...

Back from a slew of bank holidays, wedding party (not mine, of course), and a barbeque! Unfortunately Will & Kate didn't get a bid, but, hey! This means I get to keep them as a wonderful showpiece. The Red Cross will get their donation regardless, so it's still win-win all round.

Several other good things came out of this too, I received invitations from Yahoo! UK Media Relations and CNN iReport to upload my photos to their album and website respectively. They're both open forums, and anyone can post, still it was jolly nice to get a personal message from their representatives. I'd also had interest from a news agency (the kind that sells photos and stories to newspapers, not the kind that sells newpapers and convenience food) about the possibility of working on a longer term project, so it's been an exciting and busy time for me.

But I've wondered recently if it's generally uncool to admit that you're excited about the royal wedding, 'cos the only people I could find to watch it with were an old-school Briton and Canadian who liked a good ol' reminisce about Royal Britannia, which helps to kindle your excitement a bit.

Someone I know just said 'Who gives a s**t about the royal wedding!' Yup, it's a '!', no '?' The bomb drops and obliterates all conversation. Recent history has taught us never to interfere with extremists and their views on anything, no matter how well-founded the roots of those views might be, and how well-intentioned the interference. Right? That's until a brave soul tries to pick up the pieces and practically whispers...so, uh, anyone up for nipping down the pub later? Ah yes, when in doubt, let's turn to a good old-fashioned pint! It numbs the blow, and prevents you having to grasp at straws when the barman throws a lemon in your gin & tonic.

Here's a little thought on the side: Isn't it an awfully strange coincidence the news that Osama has bin laden to rest comes immediately after the Dude and Duchess of Cambridge request privacy, having helicoptered off to their lives as normal people yadda yadda, and media interest dies down? I just hope that the rest of us will also enjoy peace after this.

One of the things I cherish most about living in Britain is that it's taught me the value of agreeing to disagree. I welcome all perspectives and hope I've been successful in keeping an open mind generally. Therefore, it irked me to be told that no one (myself included, presumably) gives a s**t about national events that happen once every few decades. Cynics are entitled to their view, of course, but I sometimes can't help but feel that the Malvolios out there claim a certain moral and intellectual high ground by objecting to all this. We're not so easily manipulated, stop spending all our money on this nonsense, you can't make us forget job cuts by throwing one feel-good party...what do you take us for, idiots? seem to resonate amongst RW protesters.

Personally, if what I've seen on evenings out at the weekends is anything to go by, folks have little trouble spending their own money anyway. Plenty of funds are spent on security at public events *ahem football matches*, emergency services for accidents *drunks cough cough* and healthcare for everyone (yes, whether you smoke like a chimney, drink like a fish or are a careerwoman who's discovered, aged 40, that you can't conceive naturally).

I was heartened to discover afterwards that many people I know had been curled up in front of the telly on the 29th, even if they chose to reserve comment on it. See, cynics, how you have driven the rest of us to obscurity? Actually I thought the RW was a splendid occasion, and rather excellent value, considering we just had to pick up the tab for public safety. It's all about personal choice, at the end of the day...which is what my adopted country is all about. So I'm really glad I decided to reject all the cynicism and enjoy the royal wedding.

What can I say?

I like G&T, I always ask for lemon in it, I also like girls in dresses, men in uniform AND I'd rather feel good than be left out of the party.

Some things just have to be done.

Will & Kate too, preferred to watch the wedding in private.

Congratulations Will & Kate, thanks for letting us in on your wedding and I wish you a happy life together!

I like russty spooons...

Anyone heard of Salad Fingers? Nope, me neither...until a few weeks ago. Apparently he ruled the youtube cyberwaves in 2005, so how I missed such a sensation, I wouldn't know...

Anyway...

Probably the creepiest, most perverse character I've ever made, unless any of you out there fancies a challenge and think you can find someone stranger? Let's up the stakes a bit with a little video...

A local film-maker requested him as a commission, saying that it's 'for my girlfriend's birthday, she's a huge fan of the cartoon character, Salad Fingers'. I think it's such a meaningful gesture, and shows he's gave it loads of thought, to commission a gift specially for his bosom buddy *But no, Andy... I wouldn't like you to commission a sock doll for my birthday, 'cos I can make these myself...What? 'That means I can make my own pressie', do I hear you say?...Erm. No. 'Cos that would just be a bit rubbish.* Personally, I might have been a bit worried that she was so keen on Salad Fingers, and Bri did mention at least once that he might also have to book her in for some therapy *meh* *orrrrh...* *HirK*

Maybe this will help...

He was left playing with his spoons in a corner till someone came to pick him up.