Building Blocks

The last time we saw Michelle (here), she was decked in a striking floral jacket, all ready to herald in the start of a new year. Her style of late has been a bit less feminine, though. “I wish it were totally acceptable to wear a uniform to work! It would make getting ready in the morning so much easier.” Her look of choice would revolve around a sack dress and statement necklaces, items which she says have already kind of become her signature look. “I have at least six sack-like dresses, and have even bought two of the exact same dresses to wear to work. They are so comfortable, can still be flattering, and are so easy to wear. Also, I feel that once you’ve curated a range of interesting necklaces that’s the only thing people remember from your outfit anyway. And once you get to the office you can just take off whatever chunky necklace you have on and work in complete comfort.” This idea of comfort extends to Michelle’s ideal work space as well; ideally, she says, it would be facing out a window, towards greenery, and surrounded by plants and pictures of her favourite people and places. “It would also be completely acceptable for my workspace to be a mess — not dirty, but just messy,” she says. “Also, my workspace should have a lazy dog or an affectionate cat.” When it comes to the working atmosphere, however, Michelle says that her current work place comes close to perfect. “My colleagues are a lot of fun to be around but also know how to buckle down when there’s work to be done,” she says. “The environment is also quite flat in terms of hierarchy, and we are empowered with quite a lot of responsibility and leeway to manage ourselves and our time.” That being said, she wishes she had more time to watch movies. “On weekdays it’s so difficult to find the time to watch a 2-hour-long movie, so I just end up watching short TV shows like Modern Family or Fresh Off The Boat,” she says. “I wish I had time to tackle the long list of movies and documentaries I have on my list and am really interested to watch.”