Framing

If you are a photographer, you might just understand this concept. Every time before you capture an intentional moment, you try to frame it. You decide the subject, what sits in the foreground, what goes in the background.

Now apply this same concept to a living room.

Your main sofa becomes the subject that anchors the entire frame. The foreground are smaller elements like accent chairs and a coffee table that visually sits lower than your sofa. The background are the pieces that you don’t really focus on but somehow, are equally important in giving the whole frame a certain vibe and completeness. We are talking about plants, a standing lamp, maybe a rug that peeks into the shot without stealing the spotlight.

In both contexts, the subject remains the point of focus, where in spite of how much colour or texture surrounds it, the eyes are naturally drawn back to the main piece. The foreground elements get your attention too, but more gently. They add interest without competing, often being smaller in scale. And the background? That’s where the room gains depth and emotional warmth with pieces that you don’t consciously stare at, but complete the frame, giving your space that sense of cohesion and intention.

As a photography hobbyist and a designer, I find it fascinating how these two worlds parallel each other. Framing a room or an image is, in many ways, like framing a story - and in them are simply places where that story lives.

I hope this perspective has been an interesting one.

What I would tell my younger self…

I was speaking to a man who seemed to be in his 20s. A very ambitious young man who would have preferred if he had found his footing in his career earlier. I told him he is exactly where he needs to be, in this very moment. Had he done what he’s doing now a few years ago, he might have done it wrong, and found himself starting over anyway, where he stands today.

Perhaps I’m wrong about his path. But I spoke with the certainty I have about my own.

People often ask what would we tell our younger selves. Most would give some inspirational advice they believe would have changed everything. However I always thought that I would say absolutely nothing. Simply because the younger version of me would not have had the mindset, the interest or the capacity to truly understand it. No amount of advice would have pulled me out of the experiences I needed to live, and the mistakes I would have to make.

I may have started late, in clarity, in direction and in career, but I know I am exactly where I am meant to be, at the right time. There is a quiet alignment in that.

It may not be true for everyone. But when someone speaks with a hint of regret, sometimes the most sensible thing we can offer is perspective.

You are exactly where you need to be, at the right exact time.

I can never look at this sofa the same way again

There is this one sofa that I can never look at the same way again. All because of one client.

Recently I had a walk-in customer who was looking to get a sofa for her apartment. After getting a feel on a couple of it, she took a fondness to this one we had - The Maya sofa. She loved it for its versatility and comfort. We spent some time there with her cozying up while understanding the design better. Towards the end, she got up and said she will have to go see a couple of other stores but she has her mind pretty set on this one. And then she left.

Within an hour, she was back and she tried on the sofa again and eventually made up her mind that this was going to be the one. She took a final peek at the sofa description and realised its name.

While the order was being processed, she asked why did I name the sofa "Maya". I told her the silly truth that because this sofa opens up like the petals of a flower and it reminded me of this cartoon that my son ocassionally watches, where the main character was a cheerful bee who loves flowers, and her name was Maya.

She thought it was wonderful, and then she smiled and said it is also her mother's name. I was amused at the lovely coincidence, and since we were having a casual chat, I asked if her mother came along with her to Singapore (she wasn't local), she said no, her mother isn't around anymore. I instinctively felt bad about mentioning her late mother but she was graceful about it and she said something that felt so beautiful. She said maybe this was fate, and that having this sofa makes her feel like her mother is with her.

I have to admit that was the most emotional transaction I have ever made in my 20 years in this industry. And I mean it in a good way. I promised her I would be there on the day of delivery to make sure all was good.

The day came and when I went, all her siblings were there too. They flew 12 hours just to be here for their sister while she moves in to a new place. And Maya was there too. It felt like a reunion, no, it was a reunion. The apartment felt nice and cozy, not only because of the furnishings and designs, but also mostly because of the warmth of the close knitted family as they gathered for a simple but precious occassion, and I was just honoured to witness this special moment.

She asked if i would like to take pictures of the sofa, I thanked her for allowing it. I ended up also taking a couple of pictures of her entire family on the sofa. Again this was the first time I got to do this in my career. Quite frankly, this was not what I signed up for. I didn't expect my career to be filled with this much depth - to have something more beyond just selling a sofa, and I have her to thank, for giving this sofa, and this job so much meaning.

Before I left, she gave me a hug, one that will be felt everytime i sit on our own set of Maya Sofa when I got back.

People talk about the "why" in a business. This is my "why"

What is yours?

I changed my name

Celine was not the name I was given at birth.
It’s the name I gave myself to become the woman I aspire to be.

It might sound strange to leave behind an entire identity. To erase a past so thick it almost feels like it never existed.

I’ve had friends who stood by me through the darkest times, and I will always be grateful to them. But when the darkness itself keeps clouding your world, sometimes the only way out is to leave your old self in the ruins and start over.

So I did.
I left her in the rubbles and walked away.
I was not going to take her along for her to drag me down with self pity.

That's when Celine was born.

I don’t know my past anymore. I only know the future, and I’m never going to stop building it, with a light that I leave on for the friendship that helped a lost soul during the darkness.

Not every version of you deserves to come along for the journey. Some are meant to stay in the ashes.

I gave myself a new name simply to remind myself that I’m not the same person anymore. I shouldn't be.
The girl I was had to end for the woman I was meant to be to exist.

With that being said, you don’t have to rename yourself to be reborn. You just have to recognise when your old self is refusing to grow, and choose to begin again.

If you’ve ever outgrown your old self and dared to start again, you’ll understand that reinvention isn’t running away. It’s finding clarity in becoming who you were meant to be.