BlockShop is a company that designs crazy fantastic LEGO-inspired accessories for anyone looking to escape monotone.

Sam about the shop: “The idea of the BlockShop stems from watching pictures of Hollywood celebrities donning the heart and cigarette brooches. They caught our attention as they were little additions, with big impacts on the celebrity’s outfits. And, as such we decided that it would be great if we made this available in Singapore. Our designs are inspired by everyday characters, or things that we are all familiar with. Aside from just selling the brooches, the idea is to also sell the lifestyle and trend that is synonymous with our brooches. Wearing it should also be a fun and enjoyable everyday affair.”

ON BEING is a dialogue series by BooksActually featuring visionaries who discuss their lives, influences, and art. Moderated by Dr. Gwee Li Sui. SUCHEN CHRISTINE LIM is the inaugural recipient of the Singapore Literature Prize for her novel, Fistful of Colours (1992). Her fourth novel, A Bit of Earth (2000), and a collection of short stories, The Lies That Build A Marriage (2007), were short listed for the same prize. A co-authored play, The Amah: A Portrait in Black & White (1986) and a children’s book, The Valley of Golden Showers (1978) had also received prizes. Rice Bowl is her first novel. A Fullbright Fellow in the University of Iowa’s International Writers’ Program, Suchen has held several writing residencies overseas including International Writer-in-Residence, University of Iowa; University of Western Australia; Moniack Mhor Writer’s Centre, Scotland; and Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. Born in Malaysia, Suchen lives in Singapore but divides her time between Singapore and writing residencies abroad. Currently working on a novel, two of her books for children will be published this year.  5 February, 7.30 pm at BooksActually, No. 86 Club Street.

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Desmond Wong is a freelance concept artist and illustrator currently serving his National Service. “I’ve mainly done work for video games and animation projects,” Desmond explains. “I really like drawing and creating characters, and my passion for video games has actually convinced me to consider making it into a career.”

In 2008, Desmond and his team participated in the Microsoft Dream-Build-Play game development contest. The team received the first place prize for CarneyVale: Showtime,  an acrobatic puzzle game where players are asked to complete various circus stunts. They even built-in a circus map editor for players to create their own obstacles to overcome. “The contest invited participants to create video games for Xbox 360 using XNA Game Studio,” Desmond adds. “My team clinched the top prize and we are so grateful for that. Unfortunately, I can’t really show the game art I am working on right now, as the game is still in production.”

If you have ever dreamed of wielding a heavyweight DSLR with extra large zoom lens among the best of photographers in a concert arena, this is where you start. Learn the basics of taking good quality pictures of live-playing acts in a session with experienced shutterbug Aloysius Lim. He will take participants through the do’s and don’ts of gig photography: from recommended camera equipment to technical tips and tricks for shooting concert performances. The session will also include a segment on live music etiquette and a critique of participants own photographs (limited to five works each). Some basic knowledge of camera-work will be useful for this workshop. 6 Mar, 2pm-4pm at The Esplanade Rehearsal Studio.

Sazeli Jalal majored in Interior Design from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Self-taught, he accidentally found his photographic career when he worked for the Germany-based artists’ network Artyfakt.

Sazeli’s influence in art, architecture and photography has pushed his boundaries into other areas as well such as installation art and even collaborations with film directors. He even made several short films.

His works have been featured and reviewed by specialist magazines. Sazeli has since photographed for major publications, and has shot campaigns for fashion and accessory brands.

About his work: “The idea that a fashion photograph is just a record of a dress is no longer true. I have always believed that ideas/concepts are what define artists, not their techniques. I am a storyteller, I like to create a narrative which has a dialogue that speaks for itself. My direction is mostly very stylized right down to every single detail, from making the set design to getting the right props that fit the “dialogue”. Creating something surreal, sometimes creates an element of surprise in my works but I always like to add on a bit of reality, which is essential because I believe that it is something we could relate to rather than just a dream. In a sense its an “amplified reality”.”

Jodi Tan is a Fine Arts Painting student at Lasalle College of the Arts, graduating in May 2010.

Enticed by visuals, painting has become her method of creating images that engage. “With my palette of chromatic greys, I seek to fabricate atmospheric moods, aiming to coax the viewer into an entirely different realm of emotions,” Jodi explains. “An uncanny balance as well as the contrast of both ambiguity and familiarity formulates the presence of confusion and doubt. In recent works, I am beginning to explore more material and object-based ways of working, as well as installations, to further push the idea of the experience”

The featured works are part of a series titled Timetrip, Jodi’s view of how time and space affects the way we think, act, and remember. “Experiences such as a vacation or a hospital stay are instances of “timetrips” that one takes. When one looks back and tries to recall that experience, it seems almost unreal, surreal, when in actual fact it has indeed happened.”

Being the first Singapore female singersongwriter to be invited to the prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival, this will undoubtedly be Inch Chua‘s biggest platform to perform to date. However, the road to Austin, Texas is fraught with difficulties as she faces the uphill task of raising the funds to undertake the trip. The amount required for the trip is huge for a struggling performer. It is very heartwarming that her friends and peers in the Singapore independent rock scene have bandied around to help her cause. Bands performing genres as diverse as post-hardcore to indie rock will come together to perform a special acoustic show in support of Inch and her dream of performing at the SXSW Festival. Acts like A Vacant Affair, BQuartet, Caracal, Plainsunset and more will be taking a break from their usual boisterous rock’n'roll to showcase a gentler side of their music. 5 Feb at 15 Minutes Café, La Salle College of the Arts. Cover: By donation.

22-year-old Timothy Sim is currently doing his national service. At the same time, he is also serving as a photojournalist for Singapore’s Military publication, Pioneer Magazine.

Tim graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Mass Communication with a Journalism Major. Picking up a film camera for the first time in the last year of his school term, he fell in love with the brilliance of capturing the essence expressions and emotions of people.

To Tim, passion is the purest form of emotion that keeps him going, transforming hobby into profession. ”The subjects I shoot are more often than not people, because of life in the human soul which simply cannot be found in inanimate objects,” Tim adds. “I personally feel that passion is incredibly important. It drives people forward and fuels even more interest in a particular subject.”