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Jia Hern
Weird fusion - January 2021
In the process of making and thinking about the idea of Catto, there always one question that I keep on asking myself - Will this be offensive to someone out there ? Until now I still don't have a clear and straight answer.
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Somehow in my mind, I feel there is always that wrong idea of having to combine animals and foods together like having a cat wrap inside a sushi roll. Will people think that this is cute or get the wrong message like oh so this sushi is made from cats' meat.
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A designer always designs things that mostly for others to see and enjoy so there will be some chance to be too caught up in the idea that meaning becomes too vague.
Happy New Year - Bye 2020 & Hello 2021
Let's said the year 2020 was supposed to be the best year where flying Myvi cars and motorcycles roam the sky of Malaysia but end up Wawasan 2020 becoming Wawasan 2050. I going to be freaking 50 Years old by then so it better be surprising to the point that hovercar and holiday on Mars is a real thing.
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So the year 2021, I actually have a lot of new things I wanted to try out, now just waiting for the free time. I hope this year would be a great year for me and many others like me. I hope Malaysia would be better and stable as for me Malaysia is just a place you can't find anywhere, how the different cultures live together and the people, all the kind and loving people you can meet anywhere in the city or small town. I love how we all call each other as relatives like "Aunty, Uncle, Kak, Abang" or "Boss". Yeah, hope this year goes better.
Handmade Stuff - December 2020
Nowadays more and more design processes are digitalized as it is more convenient but I feel that it does not have the self-expression of the traditional practices. It doesn’t feel as satisfying just doing things on-screen anymore cause I actually quite enjoy the long process of making work physically.
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People can say that handmade works have more imperfections than digital works and it's ok. I feel that the imperfections are what makes it more stand out, you can never make the same things twice.
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LOSS OF CONTROL
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Letting the material make some of the decisions; leaving things to chance, and improvising in the final stages of production: these aspects of working by hand often make designers uncomfortable but can yield the most interesting results. For me, it’s easy to make things look perfect on-screen, so when things look handmade it intrigues people.
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