A daily pursuit of perfection

I am a firm believer in living my today’s well and not saving the best for last, because who knows what tomorrow will bring.

I use my fine bone china and good silver everyday, so i get to admire and appreciate the work put in by the artisans who created them.

My current daily indulgence is a 55% cocoa chocolate truffle from Truffs that is freshly made by hand every day. The only thing that makes the little magic ball look more mouth watering is having it served on vintage fine bone china plates next to a freshly brewed espresso.

It sounds rather frivolous, but to me, its about celebrating life and living it well. I try to live every moment as best as i can and appreciate the labour of people who, like me, pursue perfection in what they are passionate about.

How do you celebrate life?

Why do we exist?

      To cast light on what surrounds us. To grow. To be aware. To learn. To question. To mould, shape, form the world around us. To make a difference. To affect. To touch. To experience and not let life spill over and be wasted.

      To ask a question, then follow with an answer. To stop learning is to be dead. To stop trying is to be buried.

      A smile is wasted if you do not catch it with your own. Laughter is smothered if it is not embraced.

      To turn away from imperfection is to live life skimming the surface.

Carrie K. Liquid Metal Bracelets, earrings & Raw Stoneage Rings

Fairies do exist

Carrie K. Fairy Necklace

Along the busy Thonglor strip in Bangkok, there is an obscure little door which is the entrance to The Iron Fairies.

If you can find it, push past the thick, red, velvet curtain behind the door and you’ll find yourself in one of the most magical little bars i have chanced upon. A small, dimly-lit, shophouse crammed with tools and seemingly antique machinery used in this iron foundary to create the little Iron Fairies peppered all over the bar.

The night my friends and i visited this magical land, there was a wonderful jazz band performing. The singer crooned, perched on the wrought iron spiral staircase whilst the base player and saxophonist were tucked in different little corners on the second floor.

It was pure magic and tops my list of gems discovered on travel.

www.theironfairies.com

I’ve always been enchanted by the idea of fairies. My favourite trilogy as a child was “The Enchanted Forest”, “The Faraway Tree” and “The Folks of the Faraway Tree” by Enid Blyton. And now that i am older, and wiser, i know that fairies do exist.

I created a sterling silver fairy necklace hung from a delicate chain of fresh water pearls for those who believe that we’re never too old to believe in fairies.

Running like a woman possessed

Carrie K. Agate Slice Earrings

                      It’s all happening.

My workshop is up and running.

My webshop www.carriekrocks.com is at the final stages of crash testing and we’re starting to “put pieces up on the shelves”.

Last Saturday was Carrie K.’s  first big public showcase at BLUEPRINT, the designer showcase that was part of the Asia Fashion Week.

I think i’ll write up my survival guide to exhibiting at BLUEPRINT next. I did everything that i should not have done so i feel qualified to share tips on what not to do. But we survived and came out of it exhausted but happy.

One of the best questions i was once asked was “If you knew you could not fail, what would you be?”

Carrie K. Forget Me Knot Ring

It’s helped met me set my sights on audacious heights. And i think that’s how i’ve lived, because you just never know. That’s probably why when the opportunity with BLUEPRINT’s Emporium day came up just two weeks before the event, i just grabbed it and ran with it like a woman possessed.

I couldn’t have done it without amazing support & help from my family — Chong, Mum, Dad, Geri, Ken & Hian Tee

The pieces featured are a selection from the BLUEPRINT showcase.

Carrie K. Lithos Collection Green Blue Agate Choker

Who says food in London sucks?

 

There are few who have eaten as well or as viraciously in London as my foodie friend Hian Tee. Here are some of his picks in London.

osteria basilico for rustic italian, wodka for polish and over a hundred different flavoured vodkas, cambio de tercio for new-spanish, the golden hind for fish & chips, the capital for great value weekend brunches, galvin bistro de luxe for veal head and tarte tartin, barrafina for superb tapas at the bar, tom’s diner for thin pancakes with icing sugar and lemon, yauatcha for delicate dimsum & coctails, 1 lombard street for coq au vin, racine for good bistro fare, andrew edmunds for good value pre theatre, arbutus for bouillabaisse, wright brothers for the grilled seabream with samphire in summer, the cow for oysters & guinness, j sheeky for every fish on the menu, saigon saigon for frog legs and the lotus root salad, la fromagerie for communal salads and goose rilletes, cafe brandisa for sustenance before battling borough market, negozio classica for great italian wines by the glass, maison bertaux for good old fashion cakes, the river cafe for expensive alfresco dining, khan’s for nasi bryani some say is the best in the world, ronnie scotts for a civilised drink and great jazz, the pot kiln for views of rolling hills & great countryside lunches (deer shot by the owner and crayfish from the nearby river), the hind’s head for affordable heston blumenthal pub grub, the george & dragon in speldhurst for great village pub food

“Dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening, and love like you’ve never been hurt”

Carrie K. Sterling silver “Live Love Laugh” Charmed Necklace. www.carriekrocks.com

Get off the beaten track for great seafood

Hua Yu Wee

462 Upper East Coast Road. Singapore Tel: +65 6241 1709

Fresh seafood/ great value/ casual/ authentic/ Singapore/ Upper East Coast

If i could move next door and have this restaurant as my kitchen, i would. This restaurant has been serving up great food since before i was born. Housed in an old colonial house along Upper East Coast Road, it’s not a place you chance upon unless you are introduced to it. I love eating outside in their backyard looking out in to the thick greenary.

Their boiled prawns served with a simple fresh cut chilli and dark sauce is my favourite. They always cook it just right. The baby squid is also a must. Although i’m not crazy about their chilli crab, their black pepper crab is pretty good. Go with a big posse so you can try lots of dishes. .