fitw is going to a bazaar again :)

this will probably be the last in a long while :)

counting my blessings in Public Garden May 2012

What a lovely experience it was at the Public Garden! Like i shared with some of my loved ones, this bazaar was a time when i really experienced God's goodness in so many ways :) here are some pictures! I was too exhausted to take any but my dear PP helped to take some :) 

let me count my blessings here:

- for countless lovely people who came down to show their support: auntie, 107, XW, HL, WX, CW + J, YR, R, K, K and M, EJ and family, ZH and family, Ade + friend, V + friend, DK + CYL + EO! and of course my dear parents, brothers and sister (+ Z!) ! 

- for how these lovely people made the process so much more enjoyable and fun with their presence :) 

- for a great helping hand in my sister, who made a great deal of awesome products :) 

- for the extra muscles from my two brothers ^_^

- for the many food, bought by many people, meant to stuff me TTM!

- for wonderful weather! it was drizzling around 3pm on sat and I was kind of worried. but the weather cleared and the rain brought a cool and refreshing breeze :)

- for the lovely people who stopped at our stall and who encourage me in what i do by their smiles and encouraging words

- for safety, strength and sustenance through the entire event

- for my mother's "xue ge"

- and last of all, always, for my dear PP who supports me in this whole-heartedly and always does what he can to help me.

for all these, i thank God! God is so good :)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

  

something's brewing

FITW is taking a big step to explore something new! this month, we will be entering the arty-farty scene with the Singapore Arts Festival and the Public Garden. 

If you're free, you're encouraged to come! not only to support me, but enjoy all the other unique products from other stalls as well :) 

 

if you have never heard about public garden, do visit their blog here :) they also offer more information about how to get to the exact location and what you can expect to see. the event lasts for three weekends but i will only be there from the 25th - 26th of May :) 

as for FITW... sorry for the lack of photos but you can still expect a fresh new set-up but with the same handmade and quirky goodness in bags, pouches, photo-cards and other accessories. see u! :) 

p.s. this is a night event and because it's the first time im trying it out, i do have some fears and prayer requests. firstly, for grace and strength during the preparation and actual event, and secondly, that it will not be a complicated night scene with loud music and an ungodly atmosphere. if you're a fellow sister/brother in Christ, i covet your prayers :) thank u :)

valentine's week of bazaar, 2012

as some may know, my sister and i decided to take up a bazaar during the valentine's day week. well, after some "complications", although we planned for only 2 days, we ended up with 4 days of bazaar! 13th and 14th of feb AND 16th and 17th of feb.

being the over-ambitious me, i thought it would be a piece of cake. here's my self-rationalization:"after all, it's not the first time you're doing a bazaar...just sell what you have... don't set your expectations too high and just enjoy the process...." sigh. i always end up proving myself wrong.

perhaps it's good to walk you through the phases that one undergoes in the preparation of a bazaar.

Phase 1: Brimming with confidence. It's just a bazaar. What's the big deal?

Phase 2: Oooh... I'm starting to get excited. Better start preparing...

Phase 3: Oooh, I'm excited. Why am I not preparing?

Phase 4: I MUST PREPARE NOW!!!

Phase 5: (probably 2 days before the bazaar) preparing like mad and overcome with doubts, fears, exhaustion and grouchiness :/ constantly telling myself, " i must be crazy i must be crazy...why am i doing this to myself?!"

i must say that PP has bore the brunt of my emotional instability in Phase 5... where i bombard him with questions/statements like, "I'm sure no one is buying this. It sucks. Why are you not helping me?"

sigh. thank YOU so much PP. you are definitely my better half when you remind me of God's goodness and assure me to just commit it all to God. and indeed, God's goodness was revealed to me through the bazaar. Also, a big THANK YOU to the lovely customers and people i have met. When you look at fitw products and smile, i feel warm in the heart because that means that something in it has "spoken to you".

here's a glimpse of Phase 6:

phase 7: now that i am in phase 7, looking back and reflecting, i can only say that God is good, as He has always been. How He gives me beyond what i deserve! All canvas products have been adopted by their special owner and i hope you are liking them and they continue to bring smiles to your, and others', faces :)

there have been many enquiries of whether i sell online or not. perhaps it's good that i clarify here. i prefer not to take custom orders and my online shop: www.fitw.bigcartel.com is largely a portal for me to sell what is left-over from bazaars. hence, it is seldom updated. i prefer selling my products in bazaars because i get to put a face to the owner and interact with my customers :) moreover, as i would like to keep prices low and affordable for many, selling my products online will involve too much logistics and effort, which i don't wish to transfer to my prices. perhaps, just perhaps, i would explore focusing on the online avenue one day and that would mean that fitw has taken a new shift in focus ;)

Lord, show me thy will...

sneak peek

i've been really busy but here's a little sneak peek of round 2 of the NUS bazaar on 16th and 17th feb :)

thank God for His wonderful provision :)

vintage bicycle for rental

meet our lovely bike, 一朵.

 

are you interested in renting it? total fees include transportation. contact me at esther_lin22@hotmail.com if you are interested :) subject to availability~

 

 

ouch

i went for a wisdom tooth operation this afternoon and OUCHIE :( it hurts hurts hurts! still, it's a good time (blessing) to rest a little and recuperate. if i post a picture of my teeth, will it gross you out? :) so much has happened, including the birth of my fiesty nephew who can REALLY resound :) i know, because he wakes me up every morning :) but don't get the wrong idea, im not complaining! i can't wait to recover from my flu so i can carry him again!

pictures of the bazaar have finally been edited so ill post some up here. looking at them make me reminisce the wonderful time i had :)
 

the closure of the bazaar has made me ponder on what i really want to achieve for fitw, hence affecting the decisions that i make regarding it. just taking it all one step at a step. thank God for His care and providence in each step i take. its a comfort that each step i take, my Saviour goes before me..

shoppe update!

the shoppe has been updated with products left over from the bazaar at nus :) by God's grace, there isn't much left (ok i know this sounds weird), but the bags are still available and waiting for THE owner:)

as PP said, every work simply needs that very special one owner, to purchase it and be happy using it.

here are some of the stuff left, and im offering a special few at a discount.

this is priced really cheap because the the label appliqued in front is frayed and loose. it still looks nice though!

i remember this pair of really cute girlfriends chuckling at this bag (which is on sale too!)

i decided to put this on sale too :)

im going to post more images because the images in the shoppe are unfortunately, rather small. note: if you would like a better view of the products, just email a request!

i love this bag to bits!!apparently, so does ahjijan haha :) please, someone buy it because im so tempted to keep it for myself!

this is one of my favourites too :)

the stuff are available only for a few weeks so do act fast~ :)

bazaar!

today was such a busy busy day and bazaars are such exciting stuff but im so pooped. to the lovely people i met today, hello! pictures will come soon, and stuff not sold will be posted on the fitw shoppe. but, thank God, a fair amount of things are sold! wow!

i remember mum saying in her prayer, asking that i would taste the goodness of God through this bazaar. indeed, He gives beyond what we ask or think. blessed :)

giveaway results!

so today was the end of the giveaway...and im sorry im a few hours late!

the sweet people who gave brilliant suggestions..like joan's: to put measurements (why did i ever not tink of tt? mayb i was lazy :P )

so, i got the best salesman of FITW to do the picking. he's handsome, great, charasmatic and does not drink enuf water. he's my..... brother!

here's what he picked..

congratulations johanna! thank u for ur feedback abt how some of the drawings appeared "blurr" because i used a different kind of marker. thank u also for ur sweet works of encouragement! i will keep working hard :) a mail is on the way to ur mailbox, to ask for ur address ;)

pleasant surprise revealed!

 

a promise made and a promise kept, here's the pleasant surprise... a giveaway! as a gesture of thanks and appreciation to those who came down to support FITW for the bazaar:)

description of this lovely xiaodingdangbag can be found here.

to join this giveaway, simply leave a comment with ur name, email, and ONE (or more!) constructive comment/feedback abt FITW products. to start u thinking, it can be abt what ud like to see more, what u really liked abt FITW, or how u tink FITW can improve (since it is just starting out and there's much room for growth). be kind, ok?

a name will be randomly picked on 8th March 2009, 9pm.. which ill announce on this blog and email you (if ure picked) for ur address :)

y am i so excited..?

Report - Bazaar Day 2 (3rd March)

today was a most lovely day! it din start off too well, but it ended sweetly and i thank God.

PP and i reached about 9.30am in the morning and planned to slowly set up and have breakfast before officially opening. however, before we had time to fill our tummies, we were pleasantly surprised by 2 sweet girls (amelia and margaret i tink?) who made the first purchases of the day!

while we were very happy and thankful, thing took a slight downturn when the clouds came and it started pouring so heavily..so much so that we had to "close shop" and keep all the stuff under a big green curtain (doesn't tt sound yucky?) so they wld not get wet :(

the clouds..

u cld tell the sun was still shining and know somehow tt the rain wld stop..but for that good half hour, i was so worried and sad.

what cld God be trying to tell us?

Be patient, my child..

the rain soon stopped and upon reflecting, it was such a blessing because we cld enjoy the whole day in lovely natural air-conditioning!

thereafter, throughout the day, many sweeeeet people came by, buying random things and also showing so much love for my lovely friend esther's shoes! some pple that i rembr meeting: tiffany (who bought the laptop bag which i tink is one of the NICEST!), hidayah, faiz (?) - these three were really cute and funny :) than there's so many more but i can't rembr their names. then the highlight of the day: PP's mummy and brother came down... =...)

only 4 pairs of her shoes left! (not including the funky strawberry ones). i just can't put in words how much i enjoy doing this :)

note to self: i did not realise that the school uniform earrings would be such a hit! since u guys have been so pleasantly surprised by it, ill make more, and sell them cheap still..(profits are not my primary concern). leave a comment if u'd like ur school uniform made and if possible, provide advice on the little details that i might miss out:)

packing up and going home...