En Pointe

Tell us more about your favourite corner at home:
My ballet corner! I’ve always been intrigued by the strength and gracefulness of ballet dancers, but I’ve never had the chance to learn it as a kid—so I decided to pick it up as an adult. I’ve been doing classes with BalletBody, and it became a part of my routine during this Covid period when they launched their virtual classes. There was a point in time where I did a class almost every day! Ballet really kept me going during the whole circuit breaker period and I’m very thankful that I have this dedicated nook in my home to let me take a respite from my day job.

How did your passion for sewing your own clothing come about? Do you hope to turn this into a full-time career?
All I remember is that I really wanted to learn to use a sewing machine at 14, so my dad brought me to Courts and bought one for me immediately! I started sewing little pouches and craft items, and that got me wondering—what if I learnt how to make things to wear? That’s when I went for dressmaking classes, around five years ago, and have been going at it since then.

One clothing item that I always make for myself is a cheongsam, because I like how it looks on a woman’s body. I always try to funk it up with loud prints to make it a little more me and also had the pleasure of making some of my friends their first cheongsams ever!

Your dog, Wanda, is prominently featured in quite a few of your photos—tell us more about her.
She has been with me for 11 years—she came home to us when my parents went on a walk in the evening in our neighbourhood and chanced upon a newly opened pet shop. Wanda is a really chilled out dog and usually sleeps in her little basket at home most of the day, but some days she becomes extremely sticky and follows us everywhere around the house. Every day with Wanda is a great day! She still excitedly bounces up to us when we come through the door and just seeing her makes everything better.

What’s something you’ve learnt during this Circuit Breaker period?
A personal takeaway from this entire period is to really treasure every little moment that we have, because we don’t know if that would be taken away from us! Now that we’re safely past the Circuit Breaker period, just sitting down in a coffee shop and being able to sip on my teh C has been so surreal.

I’ve also learnt that I cannot sit still, and need to be doing multiple different things every day. I’m thankful that my skills were extremely relevant during this season and I was kept busy using those skills to bless the people around me. Two things that I was kept busy with—sewing masks for friends and family, and making kimchi for my side hustle!

WFH or working in office: which one do you prefer more?
If I really had to choose one then…WFH! I can wear pyjamas to work (as long as the camera is off) and I get to see my doggo more—what’s there not to love about it? Plus, I save so much time from the lack of commute, so there’s more time to sew clothes.

If you could describe yourself as a type of clothing, which one would you be?
I’d like to be a pair of track pants. I see myself as someone who is pretty relaxed, and a pair of track pants has the vibe for that. I’m also in the athleisure phase of my life where I’m just in track pants for any occasion. Trust me, the comfort level is out of this world.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Fried chicken and milk tea (no pearls, 0% sugar)! Whenever I’ve had  a bad day at work or just feeling sulky about anything in general, I’ll just get either/or, and the world would be a better place again.