Design, Design, Design

I've just seen Brian Gothong Tan on TV today. Just so you know, i haven't been watching tv for ages but then i thought i'd better start doing something new nowadays. Okay, Brian Gothong Tan. I don't precisely know what he was doing on tv aside from having designed something for Sony (I'm not so good at remembering things of grandeur, forgive me). All i know now is that he was born in the Philippines, grew up in Singapore, and that he's gay. He's just a year older than i am but he's already "considered one of the most-exciting and prolific multimedia artists in Singapore," web says. Want to know how he got me interested in finding this out? Here's what happened.

Simple. As i was watching him being interviewed by a skinny, fine, Oriental-looking lady, i noticed not only his Singaporean-English accent, but also the impressive background where the interview was held. It looked to me as if he's in a design store that he owns. I wanted to believe i was right. Then, while the camera was showing its viewers around (of course while the interviewer and the interviewee were talikng), i spotted two tiny, almost microscopic and unrecognizable things the human eye could see - a hat and a purse. On one angle, i saw the silk-screened hat sitting on a headless mannequin, while on another, i miraculously spotted a bag-strap and a portion of a well-designed graphic purse that seemed so familiar to me. To tell exactly, both were shown for a mere split second. So how could i possibly notice things and revel in a split second spectacle? It is for the main reason that both stuffs can also be found in our shop here in the Philippines. Yes, in the shop under the company that i work for. In short, we made them. Hah! I know, how on earth did those get there? There must be something about this guy. And yeah, found out he was born here.

I have always dreamed of having my own design store, and what i saw during Tan's interview kinda gave my eyes a distinct gleam again :) This guy's (gay's) done a lot already (his works were really impressive, i give that to him), and the two miniscule spectacles that got me excited are nothing compared to his bunch of achievements. But i am always grateful that everytime i get to hear these stories, not only do i get pissed off (in a very positive sense, meaning, that this kind keeps my feet moving), but also that i get to dream more. Must admit i'd have to visit his place someday to find out how our stuff got in there. I'd better learn from this. From this day on, i will always believe that dreaming and working towards that dream REALLY offers no boundaries.