I can relate to Audrey. My idea of a good evening is sitting in a corner, watching my water fountain, reading my biographies of Democrats and watching Smallville.
Rasyid is a dreamy, colourful crafter and designer, someone who feels his surroundings keenly.
(I fell so much in love with his robot heads that I consigned him to make a special piece for me – pics soon!) His sense of wonderment and his love for his work reminds me to never let my inner art fairy die. I took some time to ask him what makes his world goes round, and he is unsurprisingly charming with his responses.
GD : I hear you’re an aspiring interior designer : how did your journey into design begin?
Rasyid Bastamam (RB) : My journey started when my mother and I kept renovating my room. We rearranged the furniture many times, until I got the positions I wanted. And I’ve always decorated my room with the stuff I make, choosing my own bedsheets, revamping my info/inspiration board from its boring white foam background to a striped-blue pattern using Manila card. I even painted my Sea Blue feature wall myself!
RB (cot’d) : So I always knew that I wanted to do something artistic and creative. I didn’t register for P.Seni (art) for SPM so my interview for Fine Art in UITM didn’t go to well. But I’m glad, because after the interview, I started taking art classes and found out that I love to draw furnitures and spaces. That’s how I discovered my path to Interior Design.
I would say I started crafting when I found out that I could sew! So I crafted some Owl & Moustaches pins out of felt for a few friends of mine until they told me to start selling them for the Doodle Box Lah.
GD : How do you feel this sense of “not rushing” and pausing affects the way you produce your crafts?
RB : Being in a rush is not comfortable to me. When you’re in a rush everything will go mental. Crafting is one of those things where you need to have some patience. You will feel the work more when you are more collected. Everytime I finish crafting something, I will keep it for a few days before I put it out because you never know what you can do to improve your work.
I’m very Pattern and Texture based. Texture just speaks to me. It just screams “feel it”. All I wanna do is touch it and think of how it could work in other spaces or objects besides the place that I stumbled upon it. To me, texture is what grips you.
GD : How would you describe your style? RB : Geometric shapes always open my eyes. Geometry brings excitement to me, but I’m not that into smooth edges. I like textures, I need “grip”. I love the sharp irregularity that you can achieve with a platonic solid. I prefer angles that are not too controlled, unlike a 90 degree angle.
GD : What’s an ideal Sunday morning to you? RB : Perfect hues of blue coming into my room, very breezy, me looking at the trees outside my window and having the classic Scrambled Eggs w/ Baked Beans and Toast for breakfast! I’m so happy that there are still some rainforest trees around my area to look at. They are PERDY.
GD : Who is your design hero? RB : Architecture-wise, Tadao Ando (a Japanese autodidact architect) would be my hero, I love how he emphasizes and embraces ‘haiku’ (I would say ’emptyness’) in a space, where most spaces now are piled up with everything. I would love to see his buildings up close.
Varvara Stepanova would be my heroine! She’s a Constructivist Russian artist. I love her textile patterns and designs! And all her work could really work in a lot of spaces. If I could reupholster my mum’s old sofa with her designs, it would be AMAZING.
GD : What gear do you use? RB : I’m using film cameras. I have 3 cameras from Lomography. People might think that I’m just a collector but I’m not. My Fisheye 1 and Supersampler have scars and dents all over them. So, it shows that I bring them out and use them everyday, those are The Golden Rules of Lomography. I just love the “”surprise”” effect that you can get with film.
RB (cot’d) : Now I’m using my Sprocket Rocket and a 41-year old SLR camera, the Olympus Trip 35. Its inherited from Ayah (my dad). he gave it to me on my 21st birthday. It was the highlight of my life when I touched the camera and tested the lens for the first time.
I use my Canon 550D to capture my stuff and college work. As for lighting, I’m really fortunate to have my room facing the afternoon sun, so my room is bright as could be. If it’s dark, I use my study lamp from IKEA.
I’m not good at editing photos on my PC so I don’t have any gear on that. For Instagram, I use the amazing Phonto or Typic apps.
GD : What materials inspire you the mostest? RB : I am really into wood. I’m now working a lot with MDF blocks and some kind of softwood cubes. I would love to work with tree bark… flatten it up and maybe do something with it. And once I get my electric hand saw, I will try working with plywood to make more functional, sturdy crafts!
GD : What social media platform are you most comfortable sharing on? RB :Instagram for sure! When I was using my BB (Blackberry), I didn’t feel the hype of Insta, and I found it weird that my friends were taking so much time to edit a tiny square photo. But as soon as I got my iPad, it was the first app that I downloaded. haha! and now I know why.
Click on the pic to go to The Doodle Box Lah’s FB page!
RB (cot’d) : Tumblr is one of my space to get inspiration. I do share a lot of stuff there if you look at the previous posts. some of the posts are pictures on how I made my crafts. I would love to have my own official page soon. That still needs some work.
GD : Where did the seriousness begin? What’s your earliest memory of you taking aesthetics seriously? RB : I think my first time being very articulate about aesthetics was when I decided to change the style of my room, asking Mama to bring me to home department stores to pick out more maturely-patterned bedsheets. Solid patterns and colours, making sure everything works together and such.
RB (cot’d) : I’d like to think that all this attention to detail comes from my genes. The DIY skills come from my father’s side of family, meanwhile the creativity, fine art and sewing skills come from my mother’s side.
GD : What would your superpower be if you could choose one? RB : Ouh! I did a project on this! The outcome wasn’t great though. Y’know, I was RUSHING. So I would be an Artist wearing a stereotypical French beret and my powers would be able to make my doodles come to life in a short amount of time. I could paint the air, sky, clouds, you name it! But all my creations would only last a few hours. Trust me, no one could be that powerful.
GD : What do you collect? RB : I used to collect key-chains from around the world, given to me by my parents, friends, and neighbours from their travels. But the craze has already subsided. Now I collect photos, antique quirky objects that I stumble upon in my house. Mostly stuff that was brought here by my parents from the UK. And they tell me stories when I show them these objects, just so I can collect all the wonderful stories of their past.
Rasyid found this triangle from a discard pile and strung it up beautifully.
RB (cot’d) : I love collecting stories. I wish there simpler ways to document them. If Albus Dumbledore’s Pensieve existed, my life would be so much easier. hahaha xD
[GD: Rasyid’s one of the biggest Potterheads I know, bless him!]
GD : What movie would your friends be surprised that you like? RB : It’s funny to say this, [Editor’s Note: that’s the point, hehe] but I like (not love okay…)the last Twilight movie, HAHAHA. People should give it a break, its not that bad. I’m just annoyed that the “last big fight” didn’t really happen. 😛
GD : What are your favorite sort of pens to write with? RB : Pencils are my doodlings’ best friends. But I normally use Artline drawing pens, since I’m in a drawing-based course in university. I use YOKEN art markers.
GD : Coffee or Tea? RB : A lil’ bit of both. I have been immune to coffee since my very first sip, so I do not have a problem with coffee. I love Mocha! But I do prefer tea ! I’m currently obsessed with black tea! I have it everyday! Either with a teaspoon of honey or a slice of lemon!
GD : If you had to have pie every day, what pie would you choose? RB : I can have my Mama’s apple pie any time! In fact, I’m having some now! *nom noms* But I really do miss my Mama’s chicken pot pie. Mmhmmm, Yummy!
GD : Mac or PC? RB : PC! But I’m sure I will try Mac here and there, soon!
Click on this photo to go to Rasyid’s lush Instagram!
GD : Which person in the media (thesedays or in the past) would you never ever invite to dinner at your place? RB : I’m not sure, the only person I can think of is Joan Rivers just because I just can’t tolerate that much sarcasm. And it (sarcasm) is embraced by so many people. I just don’t think it’s funny.
GD : What are you listening to right now? RB : Live Your Life by Yuna is stuck in my head in a good way. Love that song! Been singing it in my car all day! And I stumbled upon PrinceYeti @Justin Speed. He makes some really good electro-pop music that you can use in videos. My favourites would be Triangles and Coco.
GD : If you could tell the 9 year old Rasyid something he didn’t know then, what would you say? RB : I would tell mini-me to grow out his curly wurly hair and to not keep the ‘2 centimetre gondol look’ till Form 3 (age 15). And I would say to him, “Just be patient about those bullies”.
Bullies? Well, if they saw you now, they would see how you’ve grown into someone we’re proud of despite their nonsense. Thanks, Rasyid, so very much for sharing so much with me. You’re a doll!
I’ve had to change Foughtful Fridays to Meander Mondays. I’m busy with my new art gallery project (more soon), and also because I like being with you throughout the week. You and me can forget about the world awhile on the weekends, which is what weekends are for, I’da thought!
What is Neighbour Day, you ask? Well. Welcome to a place where you can sign up to be nice to your fellow human beings. I’m not being sarky. I like this. It oozes Maria Von Trapp.
It’s finally the weekend, a Foughtful (Thoughful) Friday – and it is my pleasure to talk Paulie Aulie with you today. Ann Ni, who founded Paulie Aulie, is a sweet, sweet girl with one of the best ‘eyes’ for colour and lines that I’ve seen in Klang Valley craft circles. Here she is, in all her petite glory:
I knew I absolutely had to write about her when I saw the image of an owl she put on a tote.
I’m not going to go into her admirable skills in geometry, line density, anthropormorphism and how she can be trusted to do simple, yet beautiful things – but I will show you some of her work, and share an interview with Anni, which I truly enjoyed working on.
Imagine my glee when I found out she’s a mean hand-letterer. Here goes!
Glowdown (GD) : Was Paulie Aulie named after anyone? Ann Ni (AN) : Polly, was a screen name I registered online for chat rooms and games when I was a kid, it has stuck with me for 10 years now. So when I was trying to brand my products, “”Polly”” naturally popped into my head. I decided to give it a twist, by combining my father’s name, Paul with Polly, making it: Paulie. And the initial of my name is A, for Anni. So I wanted to come up with a word that starts with an A to go after Paulie, and Aulie just came by so naturally. Making it Paulie Aulie!
GD : What’s the first item you ever made for Paulie Aulie? AN : It was a card holder made from felt fabric.
Felt, needles and thread. That’s where I started.
GD : Your tagline’s Bohemian Handmade Accessories: What drew you to ‘boho’? AN : I really had no idea, it just came naturally when I didn’t know I was doing it.
I designed the logo, a white feather inside a green triangle, not knowing these were boho/hipster elements. But I went on with this art direction I was feeling which also showed in my products.
AN (cot’d) : I didn’t have a brand identity when I started. I just wanted a medium to sell my stuff. It wasn’t till my customers and friends told me that they thought my products were very “boho”, as they would say, that I realised the connection.
Maybe I wanted to create that kind of look because I’m a true beach girl at heart. I love wavy, messy mermaid hair with maxi dresses paired with sandals, a tote bag and exotic-but-organic looking accessories. It says “comfortable, chic and on a holiday by the beach”.
GD : You’ve chosen turqoise/teal as Paulie Aulie’s colour. Why? AN : Turquoise is my favorite color. It was a personal preference. Because it describes the Aquarian in me perfectly. Never more blue than green, never more green than blue: Which is it?
GD : We hear you’re a graphic designer : how did your journey into design begin? AN :*hahahhahaha*
I started when I was 14, when I took a 3-month course on Adobe Photoshop in high school. I mostly played around with it to edit my profile pictures *chuckles in embarrassment*, where I did tons of experimenting with tools and filters, which I find amusing because my familiarity with the tools come from this. I also did some graphics for my high school’s year books and event program books.
As soon as I graduated from high school, I worked as a graphic designer at an event company for 3 months. That’s where I learned to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop more professionally. I really learned a lot from the staff there.
GD : What gear do you use? AN : I use a Coda, my Nikon 5000d. Adobe Photoshop, all the time!
As for lighting, I like shooting it by the window where the sunlight comes in, or sometimes, I’ll use a table lamp to shoot objects.
GD : What social media platform are you most comfortable sharing on? AN : That would be Instagram, because I’m a very visual person.
AN (cot’d) : Yes, my website is a Tumblr site. I’m not a very Tumblr person, I just enjoy the convenience, simplicity of their post-upload generator and their sleek and nice layouts.
GD : Do you do giveaways? AN : Oh yes, I am working on that. But that will come later on, after I have settled with the new website layout and new collection of tote bags and zipper cases.
GD : You have such precise control! Where did your steady hands come from? AN : Aww, why thank you. They come from lots practice, a little bit of Chinese Calligraphy, piano playing, cooking and tons of doodling.
GD : What would your superpower be if you could choose one? AN : To be invisible! So I can travel over boundaries, all over the world without needing to suffer the consequences of paying for air tickets or being robbed or kidnapped.GD
GD : What do you collect? AN : Photographs of lock paddles, door knobs/handles and light switches.
And conceptual thoughts or interesting knowledge that I come across, which I jot down in a notebook.
GD : What movie would your friends be surprised that you like? AN :Shrek. *hahhahahah* I love how the (fairytale) fantasy world is story-told in Shrek.
GD : What are your favorite sort of pens to write with? AN :Ball Liners, because it makes calligraphic handwritting look “messily nice”.
GD : Coffee or Tea? AN : Tea. I drink green tea a lot at home in my Japanese mug.
GD : Mac or PC? AN : PC *haha*
GD : What are you listening to right now? AN : Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”.
GD : I hear you’re an Optimist. Why aren’t you a Pessimist? AN : I’m a night person! A lot of my ideas come to me just when I’m about to sleep at like, 11pm – 2pm. And then I get so hyped up that I get out of bed, to my notebooks and start jotting down ideas. The best part, everyone and everything is silently asleep, so my attention is not needed elsewhere.
Yes, I am an optimist. Optimism to me, means to be positive, to be hopeful, strong and to persevere through challenging times. It’s to believe that things will work out and you working towards that vision.
Pessimism is *sooo* boring and flat. It is so unadventurous. The feeling of being upset is not something I enjoy. Allowing yourself to have negative thoughts is very dangerous. Not only will it not push you forward, but it will keep you in a loop filled with negative emotions.
So being a visual person, I love the hype where I am constantly on the search for new inspiration/experiences, to keep moving forward, towards optimism 🙂
As for my totes, they’re a new product and I’m really having fun painting on them. I painted 16 bags over two days, I was so engrossed in painting. Hahahaha. The things I paint on the totes are things that I like, which I would like to inspire other people with. So even if some designs are complicated and take up more time, I still do it, because then the bag will be a more inspiring object, and that’s what I want my products to represent.
(GD: love this about your dedication to detail!)
GD : It’s rad that Paulie Aulie has a proper birthdate. What would you tell yourself on November 29, 2011 if you could go back in time? AN : Oh really? I put it there to remind myself how far I’ve gone. This is only my second year. If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to just have fun and take the most from this learning experience.
GD: Thank you, Anni, for being so game to talk to us. We’ve loved chatting with you!
Everyone, here are her totes:
Do yourselves a favour, dolls. Go have a look at the collection. It’s peppy, with a twist.
GLOWDOWN 
