HOLMES & MARCHANT NEWS...

I was pleased to hear recently that not only has Simon Gore joined the Holmes & Marchant UK office, but now Greg Vallance too! Both ex-colleagues from 1HQ (or Vibrandt as it was when I first joined) it feels great to be back on the same team as two of the most inspirational characters I could have started my career off working alongside. Welcome to the team Greg! For the full article visit: http://www.designweek.co.uk

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY ION ORCHARD...

One of my favourite shopping malls here in Singapore is Ion Orchid. Recently celebrating it's two year birthday I was so excited to hear that Blue...yes, Blue, the boyband, would be there performing! I know at 28 I should maybe have grown out of this, but I'm not afraid to admit that I still love all the same "boybands" I did whilst I was in college and university!

It was great to see them perform, at such an intimate gig, all my best loved hits like "All Rise", "One Love", "Best in Me", "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" and "Guilty". Massive thanks to Victoria for standing for a while keeping us an awesome space really close to the stage so I was able to take some great shots of the boys. Looking forward to the next gig at the end of November - Elton John! 

MAKE A DIFFERENCE...

Inspired by the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (saws), "Even a smile is an act of charity we call upon everyone regardless of where you are to make a difference in any way you possibly can." Make A Difference Day is an international day of volunteerism coordinated by volunteers across the world. Victoria and I recently "made a difference" by volunteering on behalf of Barclays Capital to help teach under privileged children (from low-income and dysfunctional families) how to take photos at the Botanic Gardens here in Singapore. It was fab to be able to spend some time with great children who won't have as many opportunities as I would have had growing up and give something back to the amazing community here.

PENANG...

Apologies for not posting much over the last few weeks. No excuse really! So, what news have I got this week. Two weekends ago Victoria and I completed a Malaysian hat-trick (following on from Kuala Lumpar and Malacca) with a weekend break to Penang. An island located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. Quite simply a relaxing weekend wandering the streets and soaking up the atmosphere. I managed to catch the Welsh game whilst sat having lunch at the Traders Hotel, and the New Zealand game over a glass of wine at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. We even had time to fit in a trip to the (not so) Botanic Gardens and an amazing Thai massage before we left on Sunday. 

STEVE JOBS 1955-2011

Image designed by Jonathan Mak (Hong Kong)

So the sad news came yesterday that Steve Jobs had passed away. A small tribute to a massive influence on the design industry. Steve’s famous commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”  A true inspiration to myself and I'm sure many more in the industry. His passion has helped me as a creative genuinely love what I do!

Watch Steve's full speech here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY...

Last night Paul, myself, Vic and Jill witnessed what I can only describe as the most outlandish show I've seen in a long time (Lady Gaga comes in at a very close second!) Alice Cooper...with his "No More Mr. Nice Guy" concert at The Colosium, Hard Rock Hotel on Sentosa.


He has shaped the culture of heavy metal and made the name Alice anything but sweet and last night he wowed me completely. 63 years of age as well! Performing in Singapore for the first time we certainly got the full Alice treatment.

As if making a promise, Cooper has said: "I do know that fans usually remember it as of the best shows that they have ever seen." I certainly won't forget this one in a hurry! Very different to show Westlife put on on Monday evening that's for sure. Dodging knives. Large balloons. Frankenstein. Pythons. Electric chairs. And a guillotine! Incredible. A massive thank you to Paul for the ticket.

WESTLIFE GRAVITY TOUR...

Last night Victoria, Cara and I went to watch Westlife at the Indoor Stadium. For all of those who know me well, you will know that I am a massive fan and have been right from the start, back when I was in school studying for my "A" Levels. Nearly 13 years ago. The guys, and their four piece band put on a fantastic show. I sang my heart out from start to finish, to new songs as well as some of the oldies which I love:

Intro

When You're Looking Like That

World Of Our Own

What Makes A Man

Safe

Home

My Love

Beautiful Tonight

Viva La Vida

Only Girl (In The World)

Time Of My Life/Dirty Bit

Bad Romance

Seasons In The Sun

You Raise Me Up

I'm Already There

I Will Reach You

Flying Without Wings

What About Now

Uptown Girl

I'm also really pleased that they aren't particularly strict about cameras here, so I was able to take my SLR along as well as my long distance lens and get some great shots of the boys!

WATSONS PINK RIBBON WALK...

More than 5,000 people took to the streets on Saturday evening for the Watsons Pink Ribbon Walk, kick-starting the Breast Cancer Awareness Month here in Singapore. And we were part of it!

It was a sea of pink at this year's annual event, the largest to date with a record number of participants. They included breast cancer survivors, family and friends. The 3.8km walk started and ended at the Waterfront Promenade at downtown Marina Bay, where participants got to soak up the sights at key attractions like the Art Science Museum and Floating Platform.

The highlight of the carnival was the Pink Glove Dance. The participants set a record for the most number of people wearing pink gloves while dancing. Victoria and I got involved! Held every October, the Pink Ribbon Walk seeks to drive home the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. I look forward to taking part again next year!

MESSY PACKAGE...

Stumbled across an article that referenced my Ugly Pizza packaging today...

OWN A COLOUR AND HELP SAVE A CHILDS LIFE...

What colour are you? Dulux is selling each one of the 16.7 million colours found on a regular computer/tablet/smartphone display for a pound each to aid UINCEF. When you go online you can either type in a hex code or an RGB value, or you can simply click on a colour. Then you can name it, say why you picked it and then own it! Whilst I write this, so far, £60,159 has been raised!

I bought and named "GWRDDLAS" : I am originally Welsh and a massive turquoise fan. Gwrddlas is the welsh translation of turquoise or blue-green. Lush.

I've spread the word and a few others have bought colours too... Caroline Bland now owns Cotton Candy Fluff and Victoria bought "Rosemary Red" for her mum! If you want to join in the fun you can...follow this link http://www.ownacolour.com/