Nothing naughty… get your mind out of the gutter 
Now that the store’s launched I can pretty much tell you about my FIRST project (other than my own house) as an interior designer!
The FIRST thing I can put in my non-existent portfolio (thank GOD for this website)!
We gave you a little teaser here.
Soon after purchasing my first bag from local young designer Sasha Rowena (wrote about her here), we became friends and she asked me to design her corner of the MIFA TWELVE concept store in Farenheit 88 (right smack in the middle of town)!
Here’s kinda how our conversation went:
SR: Hey Serena, will you design my store?
SC: WHAT?! #$%#$^%& are you serious?!
SR: Yeah I’d seen your place, I trust your taste.
SC: WHAT?! @$%@$% are you serious?! (pant pant)!
SR: Breathe Serena breathe…
SC: You know there are a lot of qualified, experienced interior designers who’d do a fantastic job for you right? %#%#$ ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
SR: (laugh)… I want you and I’m excited to work together.
(the above conversation’s not verbatim… just the gist I got out of it cuz I was cursing and panting non-stop)
From then, like they say, the rest is history!
Here’s the lot prior to any work done, it’s tiny so we had to try to make it look bigger and allow Sasha to showcase all her beautiful products without making it seem too cluttered:
(She's tiny! and the ceiling's about 12 feet up! Fun to design!)
See how high ceiling is! Sasha talking to mifa rep
I love seeing the work in progress! This was about 1am!
I found her some cool gold-tinted light bulbs. Cheap and chic!
Ahhhh the sign about to be mounted
Almost ready to be unveiled! The modular shelves looked so cool!
With Jin Ru from Three Sixty - my friends who did a fantastic job giving Sasha everything she wanted!
Almost ready for opening! We only looked so cool cuz we came from an event ;P The wayang kulit feature wall I designed for Sasha to reflect her brand essence.
Here’s Sasha Rowena’s mifa TWELVE corner completed!!! (Sorry have to grab from some of your blogs cuz I actually haven’t taken pics since completion!):
(Pic from yenniedoll.blogspot.com)
The wayang kulit motifs are meant to look like they’re “wearing” the beautiful bags.
(Pic from keehuachee.blogspot.com)
Extra chains to display more more more bags!
(Pic from klfashionscene.blogspot.com)
The modular shelves greet customers as they approach her corner.
… will get more pics asap but this pretty much is it for now I’m afraid.
I have to admit - nothing beats learning on the job!
I learned :
1. To manage the client’s (Sasha’s) expectations and budget
2. To adhere to the contractors/ suppliers limitations, and not compromise too much on my/ Sasha’s ideal vision for the area.
3. To manage each party’s time so that we finish the job before the store was due to open
4. To negotiate! My dad would be so proud! Never been good at that! Still am not!
etc etc etc
If I get to design another space (fingers crossed), you can BET the pics will be here!
Thanks for reading!
