Get To Know : The Face Behind The Artsy Craftsy Blog (Shia Lynn Toh, Creative Blogger)

We are sure you've seen her blog. 

She plays a big role in our creative, craft and handmade scene in Malaysia after all.

Meet Shia Lynn Toh, the face behind The Artsy Craftsy Blog.

Shia Lynn Toh, the founder of the blog - The Artsy Craftsy.

When I contacted Shia Lynn asking if she'd like to be a part of our creative project, I didn't know what to expect. However, as soon as I received a reply, we click almost instantly.

Thrilled by her humility and her passion for creativity, we wasted no time and got down to scheduling for a photoshoot & interview session at our new studio. And when the day finally arrived, I was greeted by a cheerful hello and everything else just fall into place, naturally.

We got to know each other, the Malaysia handmade & craft scene and even gotten to Shia Lynn's story, how she started and where she'd be heading towards.

Now, before I jot down about the interview itself, let me just describe to you what I feel around Shia Lynn and what do I see in this budding friendship I just build.

Prior to our session, I know of Shia Lynn & I know of her blog, The Artsy Craftsy.

I also know that she is a self-taught artist and she have a great knowledge on colors. From a quick check on our FB chat, we did talk years before we finally converse with each other in person. I remember her being a friendly and sweet lady, very kind too. 

When we met, those traits I mention earlier indeed are all apart of her, but I also got to know much more, and I got so fond of her (and her supportive boyfriend, Justin) even before we got to our interview. If there is one word for me to describe Shia Lynn, the word would be real. 

Real.

Judging by the short amount of time we got to know one another, I felt no pretense as she talks, laugh and share about herself, her background and everything else we got to chat about. She's open to all topics and she talks about the sweet stuff, but also the...well, not-so-sweet stuff.

But we'll get to that part later..

Shia Lynn and her self portrait painting.

During our shoot, I got the honor to view one of her painting, a self portrait of her outer and inner self. The outer glamorous, the inner spiritual. The colors and details are simply beautiful.

The self portrait, in my view, did reflect her as a person. 

On the outside, everyone see her as the creative blogger, the person behind the well known The Artsy Craftsy Blog, which have an active traffic of 200k plus, selected as Top 10 blog for content category at the DiGi Wwwow awards 2014. 

While those are all true, what she truly enjoy at the end of the day, is the little things in life. As we converse, she reveals her love for nature and art, to express herself through yoga, handmade creations, and discovering beauty in everyday life.

During our interview session, we talk about how she got into the creative scene in Malaysia.

 I came to know that Shia Lynn started as a self-taught designer and soon got her name around, landing herself with many clients that engage her for her drawings and painting - mostly on gowns. She was growing well as a budding artist, until one of her major client decided to tell her otherwise. 

Shia Lynn mention this major client for a couple of times throughout the session and my curiosity rise as I carefully ask if she could share the details, to which Shia Lynn smiles and shares openly. 

She talks about how she got introduced to the client, a lady who owns a boutique and engages Shia Lynn for hand paintings on gowns, and how everything went well in the beginning until a day came that the client changes attitude and start insulting and talking down of her paintings and price. (At that time, around year 2005, Shia Lynn earns about RM800 and more for each gown.)

Things start going downhill between them, and soon young Shia Lynn decided to call their work relation off, putting down everything she build up till then along with it and stop creating for a long period of time.

Shia Lynn smile after the story and then continue 'But you know what is funny? The same lady contacted me again recently. Asking me to design for her once again.' 

She never went back, because now Shia Lynn understands her own value and that no one can ever put her down.

When I ask her what she would share to the individuals that wish to start up in the creative scene and she answers without a doubt ;

 'Never sell yourself short. If there is a customer that is demotivating, it is just that one person view. Continue believing what you believe. Never stop including creativity into your life. My mentor once told me to do what you love, the money will come eventually.'

However, Shia Lynn also believe that whatever happened was meant to happen, and that is how she came around to starting the blog we are all familiar with now, The Artsy Craftsy.

 The Artsy Craftsy was born because Shia Lynn could not find a creative & art lifestyle blog in Malaysia at that time. And going through what she have went through, she was determined to become a platform that can assist creative individuals to further promote themselves and the whole craft community. 

'I've talked to many crafters and designers, and I feel what they feel when they share with me their challenges in this field. I want to be a platform for them.'

On how she got back up after she stop creating, she shares that 'I came to realize that I left art, but art never left me.' Pressing on her point, she further talk about how she believes that creativity is similar to life itself. 'Love yourself first, so people love you.'.

Asking the passionate blogger what she have plan in store for us for the year 2015, her eyes lit up as she shares some of her handmade merchandise and talks about how she will be providing them in The Artsy Craftsy. Some of which includes self design tees, creative muse cards and unique handmade jewelries. Now we know what to look forward to ;)

Coming back to the craft scene, we talk about how she find Supplies Surprise! Bazaar and what the bazaar could improve on. Having visited the bazaar once herself, she recalls how excited she felt when she know a craft supplies bazaar is going to be held in Malaysia.

'I remember being very excited' she said, 

'I remember thinking to myself how it is the first craft supplies bazaar in Malaysia, it is a great idea because these are materials that we can utilize and to make our imagination come to life. When I came, the vendors are all very helpful and friendly and it is definitely a great experience to be able to touch and feels the materials and to get to know the faces behind the shops.'

When being asked to describe herself in three traits, she ponder before she laughs and mention it's a hard question because no one ask her that before.Still thinking, she decided ;

'Intuitive, Intricate & Passionate.'

Shia Lynn, a creative individual, a kind soul, a beautiful person inside out. Always holding her hands out to help, always open to people, always humble and learning.

Meet Shia Lynn Toh, someone more than just a creative blogger.

Links :

The Artsy Craftsy Blog 

The Artsy Craftsy FB Page 

Supplies Surprise! Bazaar FB Page

Supplies Surprise! Bazaar Group

Never too Early for Christmas!!!

To all of you who came to visit us at SSB8 last Saturday, we thank you for your support! Especially to our dear vendors, because without you there would be no SSB at all =) We hope that all of you had a good time as Beii and I tried to make this SSB8 as fun as possible!

So to re-cap, some pictures to help!

Setting up for the bazaar the night before. Hmm, that handsome over there is Beii's son helping me pick up random pompoms for me to glue to the mini santa hats. Haha and that bigger handsome over there in red is my husband =) helping us out with the CRAFT DATE lookbook. 

CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND!

Yes! Our Second CRAFT DATE is happening on the 8th of December 2012! We had so much fun on our first "date" that we decided to have another one =) To read about our first CRAFT DATE: Absolutely Pinwheels, go HERE!

This time our theme will be CHRISTMAS! 
Details are in the poster below.

Tomorrow will be AWESOME!!!

It's FRIDAY!!!!

 
When you come to SSB this round, be sure to be prepared for some of these special goodies provided by SSB Team!

A Variety of Surprises in a SURPRISE!!!

First of all, we would like to thank everyone who participated in our previous Supplies Surprise Bazaar 7! Thanks to all vendors and visitors alike, because without all of you, we wouldn't have a fun event!

We were very fortunate to have wonderful weather on that day. And we also had a new setup system to include more vendors. It's not the best arrangement, but we're working on it >.< Plus we had some new additions to out environment, like our specially RESERVED SEATS, 

and our Craft Date promo corner =)

 

Registration is still open, so you can read all about it here!

So what did our vendors surprise us with this time round? 

FABRICS

As usual of course we have an abundance of fabric for sale! And this time our vendors brought new prints, from Moda Fabrics, Riley Blake, Robert Kaufman! And as promised, Kelly from Fabric Fanatics gave out RM5 coupons for the first 50 visitors for buying fabric from her shop.

There were also new patterns for linens, like the "little people of the world" at the bottom left corner of the pic below. Haha that's my favorite!

New fabrics include washed cotton linen, which has a softer touch to it. Also, there was an increased variety of  new and colorful knitted jersey prints for making tees and stretchable clothing.

To my delight, a vendor brought organic fabric by Birch Fabrics for sale too! Organic fabric is very gentle and chemical free, and is the best especially for newborns and children with allergies. They come in a variety of cute and unique prints, and they do feel so soft!!!

OTHER TYPES OF FABRICS

Apart from that, we had other range of non-cotton fabrics, there was an abundance of PU and faux leather fabrics. As you can see above, vendors had corrugated, patterned and even pastel colored PU's. A highlight would be the "salvaged" leather by Coo-coo Crafts who collect leather pieces from end-of-line furniture or rejected furniture and cut them into neat pieces. Don't worry! They are all un-used so it means they are new. 

Besides, We had waterproof fabric in cute prints, quality felt fabric in a rainbow choice of colors, and also plush fabric, that felt so fluffy and soft! There was also velvet like plush fabric in a variety of light pink, white, black, brown and grey. These would be perfect for making teddies or any softies!

SEWING ESSENTIALS

And of course, no fabric or sewing project would be complete without these essential raw materials and notions, like lace trimmings, bag handles, purse frames, eyelet punching tools, bias tapes, fusible webbing and cotton tapes. And look at those gorgeous zippers by Zincmade!

And of course, buttons!!!

JEWELRY SUPPLIES

Then we have our jewelry making supplies as you can see below, some beads and yummy handmade clay charms, notice the cute Angry Bird Charms!

PAPER CRAFTS

And new equipment and tools for paper arts such as die-cut machines, quilling tools, scrap booking and stamping supplies and tools, as well as pretty papers and handmade paper notions as embellishments or card making etc. One new tool is the "paper scorer" for easier, neater and faster card-making, brought to you by our vendor, E-dorable. And this time we also have mt tapes brought in by Finders Keepers with a very reasonable price indeed!

MISC. FINDS

Other miscellaneous and interesting finds include dolls eyes of all shapes and sizes, colors and styles, brought in by our familiar vendor, LessSugar! In my personal experience for searching for doll's eyes (in Malaysia, Singapore and even Australia!), I have NEVER seen such an extensive collection of dolls eyes as she has to offer! She has certainly "wow"ed us with so many new products this time, with her patterned PU, extra chunky yarns in corrugated colors (good for quick and fast knitting/crochet projects, or even to use as doll's hair!!!) 

Apart from that we have very cute and fancy ribbons, as well as cute patterned and colored elastic bands from Sasha and Myra! 

Square Art brought her ammo of acrylic mosaic tiles in all colors imaginable. Personally Yours had pearly textured dome flatbacks, and our new vendor 

Little Thoughts Station came with a variety of silicon moulds that were so cute and tempting! The houses stole my heart instantly!

And also joining us for the first time is Greenie Clover with her extensive collection of clover products ranging from knitting needles, crochet hooks, tatting cables, pom pom makers, patchwork templates and so much more!

DIY KITS!

A new trend this SSB7 was surprisingly DIY kits by quite a few vendors! Which is a perfect alternative for budding crafters who are attempting their first few DIY projects, or even for seasoned crafters who want to learn a new craft! The pic below shows some of the craft kits available, including DIY projects for cross stitch, felt projects, sock dolls, miniature art and doll making.

HANDMADE GOODS

Since our bazaar also includes a few vendors selling handmade goods, 

here were some of the handmade crafts that we had.

Not forgetting our two illustrators, Coffee Art from Blue2gether and 

Marker Art from Little Thought Stations!

SOME INTERESTING VENDORS

And finally, I couldn't resist but to highlight some fun and interesting things from 3 vendors in particular >.<  

Our lovely vendor from Finders Keepers who joined us for the first time brought her collection of fun, quirky and quaint items, some handmade and some collected from all over the place! 

Then we have our cute vendor from Sunday Comforts who always brings a doll as part of her display, proudly posing her doll for the camera!!! 

Not forgetting our amazing vendor Little Koh with her unbelievable collection of tiny miniatures, who sold completed handmades and also tiny items for your own miniature DIY's

Then we have our lovely bubbly Brenda who named her business after her two lovely girls, Sasha and Myra. She always brings a corner of memory lane to our bazaar every time. You can find many items and toys even, from childhood! She definitely loves old-school! And never fails to transport me back to my childhood each time I visit her booth! And because she is an awesome mommy, She has in stock all the lovely girly supplies and toys, stickers and other cute stuffs up for sale!

THANK YOU!

So, to sum up, I wish I could write so much more to include everyone of you, but I have human limitations!!! Unfortunately! And I personally thought that SSB7 was one of the SSB's that rocked! Because of new and familiar vendors and their efforts to continuously provide us with new and interesting goods! We really appreciate all your efforts and we will also do our best in making our Bazaar better and more conducive for both our vendors and customers alike!

Owh, before I sign off, 

SUPPLIES SURPRISE 8 is on the 3rd NOVEMBER 2012!
and VENDOR REGISTRATION for SSB8 is OPEN!

See you Soon!
Sungting
(SSBteam)
The Handmade Movement
~celbrating handmade~

Baby Steps

One year ago in July, was the first ever Supplies Surprise Bazaar where the idea of organising a supplies bazaar was a dream that came to reality from the creative mind of miss Beii Tan Li Voon. I met her for the first time then, and she was as bubbly and cheerful as she is now.

Back then, on the very first Supplies Surprise Bazaar, there was just a handful of us joining the bazaar. It was a first in its kind, specifically focused on selling supplies that were difficult to find. I must say it  was quite a brave step to venture in. But with the growing support of vendors and increased interest in handmade and DIY, Supplies Surprise Bazaar 6 celebrated its 1st Birthday on 7th of July with 32 vendors!

We wouldn’t have made it so far without all your support, vendors and customers alike! As a gesture of gratitude, SSB organized a Giveaway Contest of RM50 vouchers to 2 lucky winners. (You can see the details of the contests and the winners here). Congratulations to Liew Suk Ching and Serena Chew ! And thanks to all who participated!

At about 11.00am, vendors started diligently setting up their booths to make it look fantastic. Reason being that the most attractive and favorited booth will be rewarded with a complimentary booths for the next 3 consecutive bazaars to come! This contest is still open for voting and you can show your support by visiting our SSB6 Vendor Contest Album here.

There were many interesting and delightful setups as the vendors put their creativity into play. Each booth was unique in its own way. At about 11.30am, visitors started entering the premises and making their way around the bazaar, leisurely feasting their eyes on the wide spread of craft and DIY supplies.

This is how it looked like at around lunchtime!

It was pretty packed! 

 

 

So what did SSB6 have to offer this time round?

Fabrics of all kinds, including cotton, linen, fabric with plastic dots (anti slip), t-shirt fabric, corduroy, designer fabrics from Japan and US, beautiful laminated fabric (waterproof) with fantastic print designs, felt, PU / faux leather and even chalkboard fabric! 

There were irresistible ribbons and trimmings and plenty of beautiful lace and cute printed cotton tapes, cotton bias tapes made of pretty fabrics buttons of all sorts and shapes, quality imported zips of all lengths and colors, bag clasps as well as bag making thread, purse-frames and chains. Other small goodies include crocheted flowers and felt embellishments and felting wool.

Apart from that, we had a good variety of paper craft supplies as well. There was a complete array of quilling supplies, including quilling tools, papers and brand new laser cutting machine for precision paper cutting crafts with a hands on demo by Aifel Crafts. Scrapbooking equipments like rubber stamps, stamp carving equipments, stamp pads, mod podge and beautiful scrapbooking papers and embellishments of all sorts including pretty punched paper motifs, paper flowers, brads and paper doilies. 

There were also Japanese Zakka and Korean style stickers and adhesives, that allow for personalization, which seem to be a trend that is picking up among youngsters. All of these items are imported.    

There were also a good spread of jewelry findings such as necklace link chains, faux leather straps, base settings, glass domes, earring posts/hooks, and many more. There were also beads and semi precious stones apart from the very popular detailed and unique antique gold charms. These antique gold charms are especially popular as custom made gifts. Just select your favourite charms and the lovely lady with put them together onto a chain bracelet for you for a small fee.

A few vendors also sold books teaching you how to make handmade bags, sewing projects, quilling and stamp carving. There were also some wooden embellishments and light air drying clay for your own DIY as well as cute wind up toy bases! DIY kits for cross stitch and doll-making were also for sale.

We had some vendors selling handmade products/finished goods too. Among the many are handmade beaded bookmarks, ribbon bookmarks, handmade dolls, cabochon pendants and earrings, button themed jewelry and other unique jewelry creations. Handmade totes, fabric book-covers, and clutches were also for sale. 

Also, we have our very own handmade body care and aromatherapy vendors. Namely Bubblesland and Lullabelle handmade soap. One focusing on using essential oil glycerin soaps and therapeutic massage oils of her own concoctions as well as a wide variety of essential oils for aromatherapy oil burners. Lullabelle Handmade soaps on the other hand focuses on body care soap bar shampoos for body, hair and face. She makes lip balms, nail ointments and sugar scrubs! Both their products are all handmade with love, and uses all natural ingredients that are gentle to your skin and beneficial to your wellbeing.

 
Then we have Tiny Pinc, a crafter who makes miniature goodies using polymer clay. Her creations consists of an array of yummy cakes and biscuits, waffles and eggs on toasts, french pastries and also happy things like rainbows, cameras, lips! and kitties. All these are incorporated into charms for a necklace or bracelet, Hp straps and rings. Her latest creation being her cute and adorable kitty pluggies!

  A fairly new craft was introduced by Square Art, using arcrylic tiles in a few square sizes available in many beautiful colors, pearlescent, shiny and matte. These tiles are then used to customize wooden items such as picture frames, coasters, and mirrors etc. It reminded me of mosaic art, but at a more affordable price!

Leenie’s Bakery were baking yummy and delicious smelling soft choc-chip cookies filling the room with “free smells” haha. They had a few of they’re custom made fondant cake models, which they make on custom order. They even make cakes for doggies!

Another interesting vendor sold hand drawn and hand painted coffee art, which she paints on the spot. Wondering what coffee art is? Well, its simply painting using a brush and replacing watercolor for coffee! And it smells good too! Each of her creations are unique and one of a kind.

Also with us was Sasha and Myra, a shop by Brenda Ang, named after her two lovely daughters. At her booth, you will find yourself going back in time to your childhood days, with her collection of paperdolls, old card games, vintage style coloring books, cute bags and other sweet playthings. 

At the end of the bazaar, needless to say, everyone was really tired but we all had a great time as you can see in the “family picture”! 

 

So we’d like to say thank you once again to everyone who came, vendors and visitors for joining us on our very 1st Birthday! It is a very meaningful milestone for us, and thank you being around to see us through our first year. We are 1 now, and we have more surprises in store, coming soon. Do continue to give us your precious love and support, and let us together make a handmade revolution! haha...not so soon not so soon. But big things do come from big dreams right?

That’s all for now, continue dreaming big, and we wish you all the very best in your handmade journeys. Long Live Handmade!

Love,
Beii & Sungting
SSB team

• For those of you who missed SSB6, I hope my article made you wish you came? (just kidding, I’m wicked like that >.< ) Don’t miss the next one, and come join the fun, and stock up on yummy and difficult to find treasures, all at Supplies Surprise Bazaar! See you soon! - sungting

* For vendor listings please visit our SSB6 album on FaceBook

Supplies Surprise! Bazaar is on Facebook!

April is coming in no time, remember to drop by at our Supplies Surprise! Bazaar on 2nd April 2011,12pm-7pm just opposite Sunway Pyramid! (check our full address and map here!)

If you haven't know about this event, we are catering for all those handmade lover to join us in this CRAFT SUPPLIES BAZAAR ONLY! 

So if you love crafting and DIY, come and grab the supplies that will be sold on the very day!

We are now in Facebook, feel free to spread the handmade love and join us at our

Event Page : http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714807710#!/event.php?eid=164502366935003

Fan Page : http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714807710#!/pages/Supplies-Surprise-Bazaar/193513177349983?sk=wall

Thank you for tuning in!

Supplies Surprise! Bazaar - Vendors Please Take A Look! :D

Hi all!

I've been receiving quite a good response from vendors that are looking forward to join us!

Currently there are 4 paid vendors and quite alot who haven't manage to book their booth but whom are very interested in joining us!

I thank you for taking interest in joining us and making this bazaar big!

There are also quite a few of handmade vendors who'd mistaken this bazaar for Handmade items too.

It's my bad for not being able to convey the message correctly! To make things easier, here's a list of items that you can sell, if your items not listed here please inquire to make sure because I might miss things out!

You Can Sell :

1. Fabric & Felt - Scrap Fabric Bundles, Imported Fabric, Felt, etc...
2. Tools - boxes, cutter, machines, punchers, stamps, etc...
3. Embellishments - buttons, brads, lace, eyelets, stickers, ribbons, etc...
4. Assorted Papers & Plastic - foam sheets, wrapping papers, scrapbooks, packaging etc...
5. Plain Frames & Boards - plain frames, box, basket, etc...
6. Metal Findings - clips, ring base, brooch base, etc...
7. Craft Books - books with topic related to craft/ handmade/ zakka
8. D.I.Y Kits - Kits with instructions and pattern pieces for crafters to make their own end product.
9. Raw Material - Soap making material, clay, paint, etc...
10. Email me if you can't find your material here!

Calling out for Craft Supplies Vendors!

Supplies Surprise! Bazaar will be on 2 April 2011 and we are now open for Craft Supplies vendors to register and book your spot!

As it is our first time organizing the bazaar, we are having a First 15 Vendors promotion at RM30 rental for the whole full day!

Anyone after the 15 vendors will be rate at RM50 per vendor/space for full day.

(We will be updating the vendor list time to time in this blog)

If you are interested in selling your supplies at our bazaar, please email us at lvbeii1604@gmail.com with the form below

Full Name :

Contact Number :

Business Name :

Website/ Shop Address :

Type of Products :

Please include 3 photos of items that you are selling on the bazaar day for us to promote the event!