The New Stormhoek Back Label

Being a wine lover, I can’t help but falling in love with the new Stormhoek wine series.

It so happened when I browsed the net today, I found out from gapingvoid that the Stormhoek wine series have developed new label designs for their wines.  It is so obvious that the back label has caught my eyes and my attention, with the following inspiring tags:

Be Passionate
Love
Dream Big
Be Spontaneous
Celebrate
Change the World or Go Home (tag line for “microsoft”)

The tags immediately take me over, for they all align with my own believes and values, as well as the core values of a newly set up company of me and shine (for a glance of our new company, please read my business partner, shine’s another article: a possible dream). 

The Stormhoek is a South African winery and since mid 2006, this winery has engaged Hugh MacLeod: the professional blogger, cartoonist and author of gapingvoid for marketing (through web 2.0) and design matters and the “sales have gone up fivefold since then”.

The new design of the front label of the wine is also stylish and eye catching.

Here is another bottle design created by Hugh for the 2008 Valentine special, lovely and pretty!  I would really love to buy some as our company gifts to our most valuable business partners and clients.

To gapingvoid: really thanks for your creative work!   I love it so much!

To shine: you should know what I am thinking of!  Haha!

(wine photos and comic adopted from gapingvoid  and stormhoek)

relaxing sunday - the power of the Tibetan music: Sa Ding Ding

Apart from my beloved hip hop music, here in relaxing Sunday I have introduced quite a number of different songs and music: pop R & B singer in Taiwan, bossa nova band from France, fado from Portugual, the chanteuse from France, famous love song from Spain, etc. 

And now, here comes the power of music from the Tibetan: Sa Ding Ding (薩頂頂). 

Sa Ding Ding is a singer, musician, composer, performer and choreographer from China.  This song is named “Alive” (萬物生) in Chinese and this version is in “sanskrit (梵文)”.   

Sa Ding Ding’s new album, “Alive”, has attracted international attention.  Her sound is unique and her music is distinctive: representing an original creative passion affected by ethnic diversity and shaped by a modern China.

The song “Alive” is a show piece from Tibetan style, with the first part of the song (male singing) in Pure Tibetan music. The lyrics is in sanskrit and the music video shows very pretty scenes in Tibet.

After appreciating this song and the music video, do let me know how you feel about this new style from the East.

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sophie’s gallery

(sunset in Krabi, Thailand, April 2006)

Dream Hotel Bangkok

We talked about Dreams for Ourselves earlier on, and this week, let me introduce a “dream comes true” real life experience to you.

Oh, don’t take me wrong, what I am going to share about is not another billionaire story or another “make a million in one month” example.  Relax, what I am going to introduce to you, is a new and hip hotel in Bangkok, calling the “Dream Hotel“.

A really fancy name, right?  You will be even more fascinated when you have read their self introduction:

Float upstairs to Dream’s 100 guest rooms. From the moment the elevator door opens you’re in a world dedicated to dreams…indigo blue corridors of soft washed lights that leads you to your room. Ethereal lighting seeps from the under the bed…the illusion like you are floating on a cloud.

Sweet Dreams. It’s what we’re about.

Woo, what a good script and nice tag line!

This dreamingly stylish hotel is located about 5 minutes walk from the Asoke Skytrain and Sukhumvit Subway Stations.  Since its opening in late 2006, this cozzy and stylish boutique hotel has set up a new trend of hip design hotel in Bangkok.  The Hotel is not large in size and thus offers its clients friendly and personal services. 

From now on until March next year would be the best time to visit Bangkok, with the overall temperature lower than the peak summer season.  Wanna have dreams and live in dreams?   A trip to this dreaming hotel maybe a dream comes true.

Dream is actually not far away, only that we have to find the right way. 

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Dream Hotel Bangkok

Location
10 Sukhumvit Soi 15
Klongtoey Nua, Wattana,
Bangkok

Phone
66(0) 2 254-8500

relaxing sunday - Kogepan (the burnt bread)

This Sunday, I would like to introduce to you one of my favourite Japan comic characters, the Kogepan (meaning “the burnt breand”).

In contrary to the “pretty bread”, the Kogepan is burnt and could not be sold.  It is an outcast from the bakery shop and it is not welcome by the customers. 

The Kogepan, due to it’s outcast position, it is a bit sad, lazy, not active, don’t care, self-pity…..  Yet, it is able to make fun of its own situation and it always make fun on the “pretty bread”. 

When everybody is focusing on successful and self-improvement, let’s see how this “natural born failure” faces its life.  Very funny and interesting piece of work indeed, which makes us think a lot. 

sophie’s gallery

cat in North Poing, Hong Kong
Oct, 2007

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Halloween Night in Hong Kong

 
(me in the pumpkin mask)

The Halloween Night in Hong Kong is really a hot and enjoyable event for everybody, even for a local like me.

This is actually my annual event: every year during the Halloween night, no matter it is a weekday or a weekend, I usually hold a party in the Lan Kwai Fong with my friends.   

The Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong, apart from its fame of night life, bars and discos, becomes the ultimate playground of all ghosts and monsters during the Halloween night.  So, it is highly popular and extremely crowded.   If you would like to get a nice table inside one of the bars overseeing the street outside,  making early reservation is a must.  And, if you wish to get into the Lan Kwai Fong to participate into the event, do arrive there well before 8:00pm, afterwards, there will be crowd control measures imposed by the Police and you would need to spend a long time walking round and round before you could find your friends or settle down.

The peak time of the event is always around 11:00pm to 1:00am.  People playing around are obsessed with the imaginary world: one would find all sorts of ghosts, monsters and characters in the famous story books easily.   Werewolves, sexy angles, Batman, Spiderman,  horror film characters, Chinese dolls, etc., are walking around the streets and attempting to scare other people.  I love taking pictures with all these characters. 

 Next time when you are planning for a trip to Hong Kong, coming by during the Halloween would be a good idea!   

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relaxing sunday - Nouvelle Vague

Nouvelle Vague is a French band with the source of their songs from new wave and punk music and the use of ’60s Bossa nova-style arrangements (bossa nova meaning “new wave” or “new beat” in Portuguese) .

I love listening to their songs, especially in a relaxing Sunday afternoon. 

Would like to have a taste of their style and song?  Watch the following video:

If you want to know more about this band, do visit the following website:

sophie’s gallery

A cat in Graham Street, Hong Kong, April 2007

A Fancy Dreamland: “Asteria Land” by Alice Chan

Alice Chan, a modern, chic and fancy Hong Kong illustrator. 

You may find her work quite familiar since her creations have been adopted by many big brands like Levis, Anna Sui, MTV, Sportmax, etc.  Her work could also be seen in lots of trendy fashion magazines and  many window decorations.

Alice’s drawings are very decorative and stylish.  Those pretty girls are with big eyes, pretty faces, modern outfits and accessories.  The colours she used are always fancy and cheerful.  No wonder she is a favourite of so many fashion brands.

You can’t imagine how gorgeous and interesting Alice’s website could be.  Do wander around Alice’s website and have fun.  There are some comics drawn by Alice and I am sure you would like them.

And here is Alice’s blog, for those who are obssessed with Alice’s pretty creations, you would certainly like reading her blog and know more about her.

One more thing I wish to mention about Alice is that she herself is a very pretty girl, just like the character she has created.  Let’s see a photo of her under her Levi’s project:

 (Alice, on the right.)

Alice is now having an exhibition in the Stitch Tokyo of Shibuya, Japan, from 5 Oct 07  to 10 Nov 07.  If you are getting around in Tokyo, do not miss her exhibition.