Paris had been living in France for years and made frequent trips back to Singapore. The reason for crossing the skies was to take on the role of a caregiver for her ageing mother. She saw the workshop as a chance to pick up a new skill set, to create a personal holder for the water bottle that she always carries with her.

We first met Chrislyn in October last year. Well, we met Chrislyn, her mother and grandmother while Chrislyn met Elisa, the Gachapon machine behind her, and every colourful nook and cranny in the room that caught her attention.

"You like the smell of toilet, is it?" people would ask Melody, our co-designer for our recent capsule collection: Leave UV. To produce the UV collection, we had to move the working table into the toilet as it was the most convenient place to work on the prints and wash the silkscreens.

“I want pants with Pikachu at the crotch area,” was what Kay Choong (KC) said at our first meeting. Elisa was still a student at LASALLE and held focus group sessions at the Muscular Dystrophy Association Singapore (MDAS) as part of her research. KC was a participant and one whose humour left a deep impression.

Shooting for Will & Well was quite an interesting experience as the photoshoot at Botanic Gardens was my first time working with the elderly and talents who were physically challenged. 

Could a shirt be more than a shirt? A year ago, our conclusion was a resounding 'yes' when we worked with Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to create a UV reactive shirt for PM Lee. At our new studio-office space in Alexandra Hospital, we revisited the idea. Or rather, the idea paid us another visit.

In 1960s Singapore, there was a couple who met only for an hour a week. Not because an hour together was all they needed but because the time they spent together had to be kept a secret. They are my grandparents. And the elderly couple behind our latest photoshoot. This is a little glimpse of who they are and how things came to be.