Jean Kee

Happy Friday! As this week comes to a close, I thought it the perfect time to sit back and contemplate how far we've come, especially as the last couple of days have been quite hectic at work.

Practicing my gouache rendering every day for the past 2 weeks has really paid off, and I'm starting to learn the tips and tricks to really make the designs pop off the page. There are still some things that elude me - particularly the way the light hits and reflects back from the different gemstones - but this is something I'll figure out over time as I work with more and more precious gemstones.

My current obsession are these opal jewellery renderings that I completed last week, especially the ones with the Lightning Ridge black opal from Australia. We purchased these from one of our gemstone suppliers, Chris Price, and the blue and green fire in these opals are absolutely stunning. The way it diffracts the light and lends almost a luminescent glow... can you believe this is purely from Mother Nature herself?

I cannot wait to see these designs come to life!

This time around it was in Penang, a place that holds a lot of our fondest childhood memories. Centred around food, it's no wonder everyone thoroughly enjoyed the weekend!

It seems to be a growing trend now for me... a long weekend means another impulsive and last-minuted planned trip to another part of Southeast Asia that I hadn't explored yet. This time around, we were off to Hanoi for 4 days!

If there was one place where Paris meets Chinatown in the chaotically organised way possible, this was it. The colonial European architecture of the buildings with its terraced patios and trellis-walled foliage set the scene, only to be filled with bowls of pho, crazy traffic that only Asians are able to achieve, and humidity out the wazoo. 

We bounced back and forth between the two extremes; from brunch at the chic Sofitel-Legend Hotel Metropole Hanoi (where we were greeted with a demure "bonjour!") to Vietnamese coffee and condensed milk at a road-and-lakeside stall, from browsing a made-to-order French perfumery, to walking the grounds of the Temple of Literature. 

But my goodness... the food? I'll let the photos do the talking!

Another random evening out and about in the city of Bangkok at the chic, speakeasy-esque Maggie Choo's in Silom.

Its unique 1930's Shanghainese decor, complete with cheongsam-clad, fan-fluttering models posing on swings, and great live music, makes it the perfect place for Ladies Night... though as the evening went on, our group expanded exponentially as friends and friends-of-friends joined in. How we all managed to fit in the intimate, separated vault-turn-lounge room is beyond me!

Being able to work for such a global company is an opportunity that I'm very grateful for, especially in that it hasn't forced me to suppress my desire to constantly explore and travel. In fact, with John Hardy, I am encouraged to be inspired by new surroundings everyday. My business trips to Bali enable me to use the weekends to plan a get-together with friends for a mini-vacation, and this time around, we decided to go to Gili Air, a small island off the east coast of Bali, as none of us had been before. Gili Air is one of 3 islands that are car and motor free - the only way to get to the island is via boat, and around the island, by foot, bike or horse-drawn cart.

Last minute planning and booking ensued, and we embarked early on Saturday morning to Padang Bai to catch the highspeed boat. Amidst miscommunication, delays, confusion and general hullaballoo, we ended up actually missing our 9am boat ride to Gili, and were told the next one would be at 1pm. Disappointed and cranky, we marched over to the head office of the boat company we booked with to file a general complaint on lack of organisation and to our surprise, received a free brunch at a chic beach-side cafe as compensation.

The design team was given the amazing opportunity to organise a weekend trip to explore the east and west coast of Bali, areas that have not been overpopulated with tourists and that still maintain a large part of its heritage and culture relatively intact. 

We jam-packed as many places to go, things to see (and most importantly, food to eat!) as we could in the span of 3 days. Needless to say, we were completely exhausted by the end of the trip, but it was an experience that we would not trade for anything... except maybe to go back again!

I realise that all of my current posts so far have been of everywhere but Bangkok! Perhaps it's time I upload something every once in a blue moon of what goes on here...  ergo, the random postings of random things being out and about in the city of Bangkok. 

Yes, cue the Murray Head song!

One Night in Bangkok June 2014 - Surprise birthday dinner for Bernie (who unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it - lost her voice) at the Blue Elephant Restaurant

Because every queen bee deserves a tiara. Especially one as regal and fluffly as French feline Poddle McPoddleton, whom I first met while in Bonnieux last month.

This gouache rendering is for you... miss you, Podface!

We're already well into designing for Spring 2015, so here's a little snippet of what's to come... stay tuned!

Having one whole week off from work mid-April was the perfect time for me to embark on a crazy jetsetting adventure of meeting up with friends scattered all across Europe. It was simple, really - buy a return flight from Bangkok to London, and then use the high-speed train to get to the different cities on my list. My insane itinerary went something along the lines of:

Bangkok >> London >> Geneva >> Milan >> Paris >> Avignon >> London >> Bangkok

Words and pictures alone cannot describe how amazing this trip was... and how utterly knackered I was once I touched back down in Bangkok on Monday morning at 6am, only to have to trudge my zombie butt to work directly after!

I couldn't help but smile as I put together this little roadmovie... I am really fortunate to have such beautiful, glorious friends - my Jayarezee, Bino, Oli & Keun Woo - thank you so much for hosting me, whether it was just for a 2-hour lunch in Paris, or a night at the house of the Elliot's, ochre boots and all !