wholesaling at wiserep.com

we're now a registered seller in http://www.wiserep.com/..
will talk more about this very soon..

grapevines-journey: THE BASICS

first of all, the grape sapplings from grape-growing-state of perlis courtesy of abang musa my pasar-tani trader.. he actually chose 3 types of grapes based on their fruit-colours (green, red and black) but forgot to write clearly on each sappling container which one is which, therefore we've mixed 2 sapplings together in one pot, and now left to wonder and anticipate the future colours of the fruits of our labour..

abang musa pointed out to us that the grape trees have 2 distinct shapes of leaves, and since we didn't know which tree sapplings bearing what colour of fruits, we've chosen to put together the sapplings having the most appealing shape of leaves to face the house frontage.. should our new grape trees still bearing sour fruits, the leaves would at least make the house look much nicer, eh..

the remaining 2 sapplings have been put together in a second pot to face the inside of the house.. seen here tending to them is my in-house gardener that i occasionally sleep with.. ;)

all 4 sapplings have been planted in 2 pots partly protected from direct rain-contact.. abang musa also told us that grape trees don't grow so well with too much water, infact they'd thrive so much better in dry seasons/areas..

the view of the newly constructed horizontal steel-hanger, circling the toproof gazebo at 3 sides.. the 4th remaining side is left for other/existing potted hanging plants..

the view of the steel-hanger against the clear blue sky as i was lying down on the floor doing my yoga stretches, and imagining the future outcomes of this latest grape-journey..

here's hoping for multi-coloured grapes that would be so much sweeter..

edible-garden: grapevines

last weekend we finally got our new set of grape-trees, 'imported' all the way from perlis, yaayy..

this grapevine-plans of ours were mooted eversince we had some extra spaces to play around with, and our first set of grape-trees were planted along the side garden in-between our 2 side-verandahs approximately 3-years ago.. a total length of 12-feet steel climber-fence was purposely/vertically put-up to cater to the growth of our grape trees, not knowing that once the grape-shoots climbed up to the top of the fence, they'd hover on and grow around the top of the fence only, leaving the rest of the vertical-fence bare..

hence our vertical climber design was proven not to be perfectly suitable for grape-vines afterall, but we tried to make the best of the situation by constantly and manually guiding downwards the growth/movements of new shoots.. the colours and shapes of the grape-leaves were appealing to our eyes and the fact that the trees would start fruiting whenever we talked about getting rid of them, have made us decide to just let them be where they are and let them continue being a part of our garden-scapes..

on the upside of things, the sour grapes (above-photos) that they'd kept bearing over the past one year could actually make excellent substitutes for 'belimbing besi' in my cooking and 'masak lemak kuning' dishes, eh..?? mmm.. ;)

so 3-years passed by, and our grape-vines are still not some nice-looking vines at all.. ;(

so 3-years passed by, and another grapevine-idea was mooted a few months ago.. ahh yes, why not try again and grow another set of grape-trees on the rooftop garden instead..?? and this time around, instead of vertical climber-fencing, we should build horizontal flat-climbers all around the toproof gazebo, so that the grapevines would grow all around the gazebo-roof horizontally, looking like extensions of the roof..?? and when they'd start fruiting, the grapes would be dangling down for easy pickings as we passed by under the climbers to sit underneath the gazebo..?? mmm, that sounds really really nice...

so another set of steel-structures were commissioned and constructed within the next few weeks.. flat horizontal steel-climbers on 3-sides of our toproof gazebo would be strong enough to hold another set of grape-trees for many many years to come.. and we envisioned how beautiful the gazebo would look like with grape-shoots, vines and fruits growing wild, branching out and dangling down.. and we can grow, pick and eat our own fresh homegrown grapes!! heavenly eh..??

but how do we get grapes that would taste sweet?? do we just buy seedlings/trees from any garden-nurseries around town?? what type of soils should we use?? any special fertilisers needed?? what type of weather conditions should we observe..?? this is our second grapevine-attempt, therefore we must strive to be more prepared and informed, to get better and sweeter results..

so we asked around among friends, relatives and strangers.. and eventually the trees that i got over the weekend were courtesy of our weekend pasar-tani-trader abang-musa hailing all the way from perlis.. who bought them from some handicapped grape grower residing in grape-growing-state-of-perlis..

our current grape-journey in photos soon, in next posting..

eh, why haven't i been blogging??

wow, it's been approximately 2-weeks that i've neglected my blog..!!

i've actually been running away from an unpleasant and unresolved work issue.. i didn't want to think too much about it, hence, i went looking for other avenues to distract my mind and broaden my horizons..

i also created other things-to-do to sapp up all those negative-ions off my mind.. yeah, maybe the right time to update my contact-list?? help promote my alumni's upcoming reunion?? design new ceramic tablewares?? spring-clean my notebook files?? start my grape vineyard?? complete the will-listing?? meet up with future project-partner?? activate my facebook account??

ah yes, my blog now has my facebook-badge prominently featured on the top-right-end-corner, overshadowing all my other important business links.. and is that good or bad..?? kakteh should be able to tell me whether i've made the right move here, but i must admit that i've enjoyed facebooking the past 2-weeks.. in-between all those new things-to-do, yeah i've enjoyed facebooking a little bit too much to make me forget about blogging..

avi-spa@avillion-port-dickson

no, no, no...

i did not do these ceramic pieces for avi-spa...

or having anything to do with their interior designs and/or furnishings..

i was just there recently enjoying foot, back and overall body massages 2 times/days in a row...

whilst enjoying the sea-views, breezes, sands and life's simple pleasures...

yeah, this body needs some pampering... ;)

pretty ugly: pretty closed..?!

i'm not sure what i'm doing here, but i was trying to tell a fellow blogger that i'd like to continue being one of her silent-readers by creating a link at her blog.. but unexpectedly a blogpost appearing in MY blog, instead..?? yes pugly? i'm doing this correctly, huh?? take care sis and good luck in your new beginnings..

pretty ugly: A New Beginning.

i was just doodling & sketching..

hoorraayyy.. we're now SELLING online!!! ;))

i will not be a perfectionist today, and will gladly accept what has finally been done & ammended by my web-designer the past week.. kualalumpur-GIFTS.com can finally accept online orders of our tile giftpacks, yaaaayyyy...!!!!

it's been a long, long, loooonnngg wait, therefore i'm just soooo relieved, eventhough some minor little tweaks here and there are still needed... but as long as the website is workable to take orders and receive online payments, those tweakings can be perfected in due time within the next few days...

i'm just feeling so happy and very proud of myself for finally completing this despite of all the hiccups and heartaches, alhamdulillah...

entertaining at home

i've wanted to blog about dinner for 12 persons with 2 of my former schoolmates, their spouses and children that i hosted last friday 27th feb.. and also about my lunch with the famous radio personality of yester-years, kak-yong and her immediate family members, on the following sunday 1st march, also at my house..

entertaining friends at home has been our new passion the past 3-4 years, eversince moving to bukit beruntung for good.. mmm, maybe the extra dining & lepaking spaces around the house contributed highly to the development and nurturing of this new passion..

now that both events were already almost 2-weeks ago, i'd just instead post some of the photos i took.. not so much of my guests but of my table-settings, in the hope that some of my handmade ceramic tablewares & decorative items are 'accidentally' featured in the snapshots..!!!! ;)

sunday royal affair..

his father waited patiently and frustratedly for nearly 48 years to reclaim his birth-right.. and almost as soon as the father was pronounced the rightful ruler of his subjects, he immediately put succession plans in place to protect his children and future generation from further squabbles..

i'm not ashamed to admit that i shed a few tears and wiped my nose a few times during this simple yet beautiful ceremony..

bajukurungs & me..

i'd normally buy bajukurungs whenever hariraya comes along, but of late i've had to buy more bajukurungs whenever there is a function coming on.. and of late, not only the bajukurungs have to match my simple taste, geometric-inclinations, petite (short!?) structure and thinking-personality (haha), they'd also have to match my darling husband's attire/s and the function/s..

the designer-in-me have always tried to be different and creative and have always attempted over the years to design her own bajukurungs, by scouting high & low for suitable fabrics not just for the bajus but the kains and selendangs as well, not to forget the brooches, necklaces, earings etc.. while the experiences have been fun, fullfilling and resulting in satisfactorily-designed bajukurungs for my simple-tastes and subdued-styles, the time and effort involved in putting everything nicely together have been, yeah time-consuming..

therefore finding and frequenting poya@bsc have been one of life's little blessings, at least for me.. eventhough i've been a repeat customer over the past few years or maybe eversince the shop opened 5 years ago, i've never really decided that i should solely focus my bajukurung-needs on this small boutique, until last friday..

poya the shop's owner was my subang-usj9/3B's neighbour whom i never knew then until that friday, eventhough we've been exchanging background details eversince we first met for my first purchase of bajukurung from her a few years ago.. the boutique was opened 5 years ago when poya decided to accept vss-option from her employer, and hence, to venture on her own at the ripe-age of 48 after many years in banking, public relations and corporate affairs..

she's been carrying bajukurungs that suit my tastes and styles that resist heavy beadings, elaborate decorations, loud colours and flowery patterns.. and most importantly her friendly-disposition from years of handling banking customers of various backgrounds and temperaments have endeared her to her regular customers, old and young, middle or upper classes, rich or not-so, titled or otherwise, me included..

to me, she's not just the owner of my favourite bajukurung-boutique, a former neighbour and fellow entreprenuer.. last friday she has also become my bajukurung-designer, function-advisor and social-confidante.. yes, from here onwards, i'd not need to look high and low to put my bajukurung-ensembles together so that i'd look nice & comfortable, appropriately-matched and suited to darling husband and our function/s, coz poya@bsc is here to stay among my life's little blessings..

i'm disheartened, so let's get back to the basics..

my web-designer is not responding to my ammendments as fast as i hoped he would.. ebay-listing is demanding more hours in a day than i could currently put aside.. i'm not even re-looking at the 3rd online shop as yet, so that i could focus and complete the first 2.. and all these 3 issues are my current immediate priorities for the year, and it's the middle of february already.. :(



i'm very disheartened, and i worry these IT-hiccups will push me away doing other things and getting involved in other projects, and that had happened a number of times already the past one-year or so, and it could happen again very soon unless i stay put on this course.. :(



so why the heck do we need to sell online..????



REASON 1: we have 16-years of accumulated stocks to get rid off..!! design collections from yesteryears, production over-runs, wrongly-specified items, custom-made design samples, etc, etc.. all still in very good order and mint condition, looking as good as new, fresh from our ovens/kilns.. we've been getting rid of these stocks via our annual year-end factory-sales the past 4-5 years and the responds have been good but online sales could have made them better, eh..??



REASON 2: to keep my production team happy and occupied in-between projects and any lull periods.. you see, we're not even planning to have the e-shops grow so big that would require the employment of new staff/team to handle the sales or the production of more items.. i'm just expecting the e-shops to sell whatever my production team had helped me produce with love and care over the years..



REASON 3: to service and accomodate the requests of friends, family and loyal customers to keep buying our products without having to go all the way to our factory or our consignment outlets, which we've reduced over the past 5-6 years from 34 to just 4-5 outlets..


i have simple reasonings and equally simple goals..
they're my products, my staff, my friends, family and loyal customers..
these are my basics that matter now..

my children, my online partners..??

should you glance at my blog-labels now, the most blog-posts so far have been put under 'to my children' label.. mmm, why..???



i've been spending a lot more time on the net the past few years, instead of running/driving around meeting staff, suppliers, customers ie. looking harrassed and busy all the time!! i've wanted to simplify my life and business operations, and i thought putting everything online should solve my problems.. haha, please bear in mind that i really thought online operations were pieces of cakes.. all kacang one.. ;)



yeah, yeah, yeah.. i've tasted and still getting some pieces of the online cakes.. and they're really yummy and delicious and beyond my expectations.. and they really have made me say 'wow, this is great, simply wonderful!!'..



having an internet-presence since september 2004 have given my ceramic design & manufacturing business a boost and exposure to more and different customers, and infact my first customer that i got via the website gave me a total value of project that covered my monthly overheads for the next 2-years after we completed and delivered.. very nice, huh..?? and i didn't even have to meet them in person and do any further marketing and promotions because everything was laid bare on the net for them to see, view, judge and decide.. simply wonderful, huh..??



therefore i don't need plenty of projects in one year to sustain this accidental business.. 2 or 3 are already sufficient to keep my production team occupied.. and me, happy and contented not having to rush here & there and chase plenty of people all the time.. yes, i've wanted to reduce my stress, and the headaches and body aches that came with it.. yes, i've wanted only some small pieces of the online cakes and EAT them too.. ;)



therefore my simplification attempts have worked very well, right..?? but, but.. i still have stocks lying around.. old design collections, production over-runs, wrongly-specified items, product samples, etc.. the main reasons for the need to have my online shops which are still ding-dong-ding-donging in their completion the past one year or so, and which i'd not elaborate further here..



my simplification attempts have worked very well not only in reducing my stress-levels, but it has also meant that my kids now are always seeing me at home as though i no longer have a business to run, haha.. they must be thinking in their little heads that running your own business is really a blast, just look at mama.. ;)



sometime last year, my eldest asked me this question: do you still have your business?? i was quiet for awhile and then smiled to her & myself.. and that was how i started labelling some of my blog-posts under 'to my children' category.. sort of to teach them that everything was not beds of roses all the time the past 16-years in business, and to have come to this stage where i don't look like really working anymore, have actually required some plenty of hard work and perseverance..



i also have some ulterior motives in coming up with this blog-label.. to let my 2-girls know what else i'm trying and struggling to do online, so that they could see for themselves in what way they could contribute in the future.. it never crossed my mind to have my ceramic design & manufacturing business to be handed down to my children, no no no, but i hope they'd learn something good from watching first-hand how their mother (try to) manage her life, family and household by pursuing her dream and business from the comforts of home..



i wish for them to have greater options and easier access to the ways they could reach their future goals and desires.. i could see their individual and different characters developing now and i'd like to show them just how they can capitalise on their strengths and improve on their weaknesses, starting from a much earlier age, from the very comforts of their home.. plenty of things can be done and earned from the net, ah yes, our children are just so lucky to be part of this web-generation..



so ika and mel will be mama's online partners soon, okay...?? abah has just provided both of you the greater means but of course with greater terms & regulations, and yes, greater responsibilities..

explore all the possibilities and good luck in finding your niche in life..

happy 17th birthday, my dear..

today 10th february is my eldest-child's birthday and she's celebrating it at school with her mrsm-friends during the school's activity-week..

i'd need days and rolls of papers, eh hours on the net typing till my fingers & knuckles develop joint-abnormalities to talk about my challenges and experiences raising this teenage-daughter of mine.. ;)

we can be so much alike yet so much different from each other at the same time.. but we persevere and take time to understand each other's complexities, and over the past 17-years, we've come to accept and respect our differences, and enjoy & celebrate our similarities..

but, that is just me the mother talking.. ;)

she was barely 1-year old when i started my journey into my accidental business, therefore has been privy to almost all my ups and downs, my jubilations and frustrations, my successes and failures, my compassions and tantrums.. and through it all, as much as she'd try to deny it once she reads this blog-post, she's becoming more and more like her mother.. ;))))

it's okay what.. i'm not such a bad person right..??

so my dear ika.. i'd not write much about our mother-daughter journey here, so as not to take a lot of net-space and also to avoid embarassing you among your friends who'd sometimes take a peek here in my blog.. ;)

happy 17th birthday..
may you grow stronger & wiser..
the honeymoon year is over, ooppss..
time to focus on your studies..
yes, i've noted your 2009-resolution no. 13.. ;)))))))

5th february 2009

it was my birthday yesterday 5th february, and the birthdate of my accidental business.. yes, my accidental business has turned 16-years old!!! and in another few more days ie. 10th february, my eldest girl/child will turn 17-years old..

how time flies.. but let's not focus on the word OLDER, eh..?? i'd like to think that i'm getting much much much WISER.. ;)

and being wiser, ehem.. i didn't expect any gifts or fanfares from darling husband & 2-younger children (eldest child is now in boarding-school).. it's the simple thoughtfulness-es that always count in my book.. okay, okay he's buying me something but guess what?? i'm supposed to go buy it for myself and pay it via his supplementary card..!! and i said, haven't i been doing that, regardless of the times of the year anyway, darling..?? therefore where is the sense of wonderment in getting my present..?? ;)

so on my 45th-birthday yesterday, wiser-me ran away instead to wified-delifrance for the whole afternoon between 2-7pm.. to re-focus on her ebay-listings..!!! yes, it's a somewhat monumental decision to make on the anniversary of my 16-years in this ceramic designing & manufacturing business, therefore my birthday-present should just wait, huh??

i was hoping that it was gonna be 'monumental' therefore very memorable.. especially having an ebay-presence has been in my head since sept-2004, and i've made several unsuccessful attempts eversince, and i've recently decided with the encouragements of my ebay-tutors that i should still go ahead with it, and even if i'm still half-prepared, i should just JUMP into it..!!

so i JUMPED, again..

2-7pm saw me finalising a number of online-processes which i'd not write for now.. some of these processes i had gone through a few times already.. even the item-listing process & forms already looked familiar..

what i'd like to note down here is this: 5-hours fully-focusing on re-getting my first feet into ebay-world is still not enough to even successfully listing one item.. i need more hours in a day, mmm..

focus rosmah, FOCUS..
i'm supposedly WISER now, therefore should have much more PATIENCE and PERSERVERANCE, mmm..

time to take a break and go buy that birthday present, huh..??

kualalumpur-gifts.com

,

there're still some final touch-ups to be done, most of which needing the assistance of my web-designer who became overly occupied with his expanding web-networking-business, hence delegated the work to his pregnant staff, who recently took maternity leave, who resumed work again and had technical problems resolving my paypal connection, blah, blah, blah..

i'm not blaming anybody here.. infact, i'm blaming myself the most for getting myself immersed in other matters & projects thus allowing this issue to drag on and on for one year already.. so should my web-designer chance upon my blog today, may i thank you for being very patient with me..?? and remember.. i've put aside the whole of january to ding-dong-ding-dong solving any remaining issues together, and it's now the beginning of february, mmm..

IT-hiccups, my IT-illiteracies and co-dependencies on others have never failed to frustrate me yet again.. but i'm really hoping that now i'd have more patience to sail through these final steps, inshaallah..

focus rosmah, FOCUS.....
one store finally completing, two more to go....

on the positive-side of things: i'm now reading on how to become your own web-designer, mmm...

february already??

i haven't been blogging the past two weeks so that i can focus on completing my 3 online stores, the completion of which have been trailing behind me for a few years already..

i've said and blogged about this before, i know i know.. :(

but this time, i've really kept my focus on one store after another.. other work-issues and personal, family and household matters have been kept away from my bird's-eye views so as to minimise distractions.. yeah, the 'hazards' of working from the comforts of home, you say..?? but aren't those the 'advantages' of home-based businesses..?? mmm..

over the years, i've had to 'run away' to cosy and wifi-cafes to get myself fully-focused to complete my tasks.. i've also made the habit of 'tagging' behind darling husband to his office/s should i have some procastinated issues to be resolved..

so running-away and tagging-hubby have been my activities the past 2-weeks.. ;)

it's my 45th birthday tomorrow, and my accidental business is turning 16-years old the same time.. and i have self-imposed expectations to fulfill, and the 3 online stores are my current immediate priorities..

oh yes, despite being fully-focused, these are always easier said than done.. but alhamdulillah, my first online store is now almost ready to be launched, yaayyy...