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MOMOTEAPOTS; the online store

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this month is exciting for us here at MMTP, but also really crazily busy!
just this July alone, we are participating in two pretty large scale events! we are ecstatic to be part of both, and i really hope both goes really well (for us, especially! haha).


THE FASHION UPRISING @ ZOUK

the first upcoming event is The Fashion Uprising organised by chic kiss love, and it's coming up next Sunday (22 July) at Zouk. MMTP will be having a counter/booth space at Phuture!



not only will there be a runway show (where our lovely Sipei will be wearing our latest designs and strutting down the supposedly longest runway in singapore), our booth will have fitting rooms (3 fitting rooms just for MMTP customers who come down to shop that day) so that you can try the clothes you fancy! yes, you will not only get to see/feel our clothes, you can try them before making a decision whether or not to buy! and you will love the prices of the clothes (both new designs, and old) we will bring for this special event - rest assured we won't be marking up the prices to cover our rent or anything!

sounds really good? mark your calendars and visit our booth at Phuture next Sunday! :D we would love to meet all of you, our lovely loyal customers. we would not be where we are now if not for you, and we are really grateful. say hi if you do drop by!


P.S.: we will be giving out VIP passes for the event in our next collection! these passes will entitle you to an exclusive preview before doors are opened to the public, a free drink at Zouk on the day of event, Zouk passes, and sponsored products!
stay tuned to find out how you can get hold of these passes!




THE FASHION SHOWCASE @ SUNTEC CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

and yes, MMTP will also be taking part in the fashion showcase organised by ST Online Classifieds at suntec on the following saturday and sunday (28 & 29 July). we will have an entire counter to ourselves and we have specially arranged for a rack to be built in specially for our booth!

do also drop by for this wonderful event to shop, or just to say hi! again, we won't be marking up our prices, so you can expect awesome clothes at awesome prices at our booth!







- Matt

so, the law friends and i went to the zoo on tuesday! even though it was raining/drizzling for almost 3h, it was still realllly fun! the zoo is a good/fun place to go even for adults!
(private note to zoo: if you see this, i'm doing a free advertorial for you! want to give me a free pass?)





















anyway i think i might have said some insensitive stuff to my dear friends at the zoo, which i really feel very sad/bad about! i said something along the line of us always going to eat but nothing we ate have been really awesome. thinking back, it sounds soooo rude and ungrateful and mean! sorry guys, that's not what i really mean! was trying to be funny and half joking (not funny, i know), and just at that moment couldn't think of anything that we have eaten together that's super nice + cheap! please know i love your company, and would only hope for more food trails with you guys - please don't not invite me for nice dinners/meals in futures :( anyway i would give up good food for your company any time, trust me on that. forgive my stupid mouth/brain, please!


- Matt

LIFE OF A BLOGSHOP OWNER
every day is a working day for me. the reason why i feel like my holidays hasn't really started (when two months have already flew past so damn freaking fast since the start of the holidays!) is cos i'm still working day and night almost every single day! yes, seriously, not kidding. i have been replying emails every day - sometimes i will reply using my iPhone even when i'm playing mahjong! but as the saying goes, hard work pays, and that's what i'm banging on.

so many people have asked, what is an average day of a blogshop owner like? and i have been recycling my answers hundreds of times.
here's what i do every week:

1) choose stocks (not manufactured by MMTP) - twice or thrice a week, 3-4hours each time!
2) design new MMTP clothes - no specific day or time, but forever looking out for inspirations! we are already planning for our year end and CNY 2013 designs!
3) meet up with manufacturers to discuss MMTP's new designs
4) photoshoot for new collection launch - 3-4 hours each shoot (not including the pre-shoot preparation which includes ironing of clothes, planning the matching of clothes etc)
5) photo processing/editing - 8-15 hours depending on lighting conditions of the place of photoshoot and number of designs we are launching
6) prepare collection post (including posting preview on fb)
7) reply emails - 4-10 hours each day (yes, even on school days, which is why i don't really get to study at all! always just feel like sleeping after clearing emails each day!)
8) pack parcels - rough estimate of 20 hours each week is spent packing parcels and going to the post office to register parcels!
9) tag clothes for kissjane - once or twice a week, 4 hours each time (not including choosing of stocks for KJ)
10) tag clothes for vainpot - twice or thrice a month, 6 hours each time (not including choosing of stocks)

yup. and if you do some math, you will realise that the bulk of my awake hours goes to work! and i didn't even mention the other stuff we do, like doing accounts and stock check for our online store and for vainpot, meeting up with people for sponsorship matters/events and marketing plans for mmtp and vainpot.
and this is why, sometimes i wonder how i still manage to find time to play mahjong and go out and stuff! hmm, actually i think i'm not really a going-out person, or have become less so, since we started doing mmtp, cos i'm so occupied with work that even if i do go out, the uncleared workload will still haunt me somehow. that's me, i guess, forever pressuring myself to do what i can and to do my best for mmtp, since i have decided to do it. and i also wonder how i manage to survive semester after semester in school without studying much, even though law school can be SOOOO demanding (the readings each week can really be quite a bitch - like a few hundred pages EVERY WEEK). every time i get my results, i will thank the god/s for their grace and blessings, for allowing me to pass all the exams even with minimal effort. i just really hope i can survive and if possible, do well, for my final year in law school starting in august - i'm soooooo freaking scared i can't manage but i'm praying for the best. wish me luck.

sigh, as i type, i feel a little sad, cos i sound like my life is just all about work. or rather, i have no life at all. i should really learn to relax and give myself a break - probably start with just having one day each week for myself to relax and not touch mmtp/vainpot at all. i have been wanting to do this for the longest time, but i haven't been able to bring myself to do so! cos there's always SO MUCH WORK, never ending. BUT I'M NOT COMPLAINING. i really hope the mmtp workload increases so much cos we get more and more famous and one day we can hire a lot of people to do the work we are handling on our own now. i love mmtp and vainpot so much, i really hope we continue to improve and grow! HUAT AH!!!!
P.S.: i guess the same reason that "there's always so much work, never ending" could also be the reason for me to give myself a good break each week. i know, but i don't know.


MMTP'S LATEST LAUNCH
ANYWAY, mmtp has launched it's latest collection! once again, everything is super chio. go see it to believe it.

we spent a lot of time handpicking all the designs (and designing the MMTP-label shirt tunic), and i really hope all of you will like it as much as we do.
here are some of my favorites:




EAR CANDY

finally, i want to share a song by jason mraz that i have been addicted to recently. it's super nice - i have been playing it on repeat for a few weeks already! enjoy!




- Matt

be warned: this is gonna be a longggg post!

OUTDOOR SHOOT - LOYSEL'S TOY

we had our first outdoor shoot in 3 months on saturday - at loysel's toy and around the area! it was a really impromptu decision - lucky sipei could make it even though we informed her really last minute! we initially wanted to shoot outdoors first, but it started drizzling the moment we set up our outdoor portable changing tent, and so we had to pack everything up and move to a sheltered place. and that sheltered place was our next shooting location - loysel's toy!

it was my first time going there, even though serene has been there a couple of times with her colleagues, since it's pretty near to her workplace. we ordered a cup of hot coffee each (perfect for a rainy day), the muesli ($7), and the eggs benedict set ($12). i found it pretty affordable, and the food was quite okay - the coffee was the type i like (even though kopi-o less sugar is still top on my coffee-list) and the eggs benedict was comparable to most other brunch places! decided that it'd make a nice place to chill on a lazy sunday morning, or a weekday afternoon, to just sit around and slack, or edit photos on my laptop for mmtp. oh, and i like the place cos you can just park nearby for free. i know i sound damn super cheapo, but free parking always makes me very happy. yes, cheap thrill. yes, some simple things in life do make me really happy.








VAINPOT'S PRIVATE SALE/GSS & HAJI LANE'S AWESOMENESS

vainpot had its private sale last wednesday night, and it was great. the turnout was good, and everyone was super friendly even though most people had to wait some time for the cashier. THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE for your patience, love, kindness, and just loads of awesomeness.

anyway, the shop was cooling before our doors opened, but the place became an oven when it became full with people - we kept cursing the aircon! it was supposed to be at its lowest temperature and at full blast, but it almost felt like we did not turn on the aircons. thank goodness everyone braved through the heat with us and no one really complained - thank you once again peeps. i was sweating like a pig (not sure if pigs do sweat this way, but you get what i mean), and i heard from serene that her friends who turned up that day smsed her to ask her to come over from work quickly cos i looked like i was dying from the heat/busy-ness. haha, i was actually quite fine, even though it was a little overwhelming at the cashier with tricia. and yes, i just sweat quite a bit and quite easily (ooooh, maybe that's how i lose weight, since i don't really exercise! thank god for my sweat glands, then.).

also, i feel like i should say a little about our lovely salesgirls - Yvonne and Vivian - who have been great help! they worked really hard for the sale and we all had a good time preparing for the sale together. really glad that we have such a great team at vainpot, and all of us are really doing our best for the boutique :D and you might have realised, they are probably the most friendly and helpful salesgirls along Haji Lane - and we are super proud of that. so, thank you yvonne and vivian for being such awesome staffs, and thank you tricia for being the most fabulous partner!





anyway, i was just thinking about how haji lane has evolved over the years. haji lane used to be a dark place which was supposed to be "cool", full of graffiti on the walls, and people sitting along the lane smoking shisha (btw, smoking shisha is more harmful than smoking cigarettes! see this). but i like how it has evolved. it has became a place for everyone, i've gotta say! the "cool" people can still hang around their tattoo/streetwear shops (i'm being stereotypical just for simplicity sake, please dont fault me for it. and cool is in inverted commas cos i know everyone defines cool differently blahblahblah), and everyone else can just come by for a nice meal or to shop - there are so many shops here along haji lane now, definitely something for everyone! so, if you havent been to haji lane, its about time you drop by and check it out, and be sure to visit our boutique (42 Haji Lane). you will love our stuff and the super duper freaking good 25% storewide discount now.


SHANGHAI RENJIA

went to shanghai renjia with the law peeps for dinner last night! heard about it for the first time from jeremy and we all decided to go give it a try since it has awesome reviews online (most notably: ieatishootipost). and because it's apparently quite popular and they only have like, 7 tables, we decided to go really early. went there at 5.30pm only to find out that they open only at 6.30, and so we all sat down at a nearby coffeeshop for drinks! and when we went back at 6.10, there were already 3 families ahead of us in the queue! by the time the restaurant opened, all 7 tables were full and the boss had to tell the next person in line that the waiting time is 1h. that's insane, i feel, and i think this place is not worth waiting 1h for. so, the secret is to go at 6.10 or to play safe, 6.05pm!

anyway, before you decide to head there just cos it is a place with a queue, here's my reviews of some of their popular items:





anyway, we also tried a few other dishes (but i forgot to take photos, oops). the jiu jiang cai (yellow chives) omelette was really good, but the two noodles they had were quite sucky (it's not even average, or so-so, but i thought it was really not good. it tasted like something i can cook myself - but the thing is, i don't even know how to cook.) the noodles deserve a 1/5 rating.


- Matt

the past week has been crazzzyyyy. feel so drained from doing the work for mmtp and vainpot. have been replying emails and comments and packing parcels all week, then had a one-day ultra super duper exhausting sourcing trip with tricia, and saturday and sunday night were spent at vainpot preparing for the upcoming sale! MADNESS. oh, and my family was hosting our housewarming parties on both saturday and sunday as well.

anyway, i know/hope the vainpot's upcoming sale will be freaking awesome cos of the effort we have put in to prepare for the sale! and the discounts this time are damn good as well.
for our private sale on 30may, apart from the 25% storewide discount, our mailing listees and VP's facebook fans will also get to enjoy $10 off their purchases if the total bill exceeds $60! and from 31may to 29july, everyone will still enjoy the 25% storewide discount!


25% discount might not sound massive, but it makes all the clothes/shoes/bags we are selling AWESOME BARGAINS, cos our prices are low to begin with, as compared to most other shops along Haji Lane and retail shops in singapore in general!
say, you buy three $34.90 dresses. that will be ($34.90+$34.90+$34.90) x 75% - $10 = $68.50. that's like, $22.80 for each dress??!! AWESOME RIGHT?

oh, and we are not only putting the older designs on sale, we have imported 60 new designs (not including the different colours we may have for each design) specially for the sale, to be released only on 30 may 7pm onwards. and we will be topping up new designs every week and these new arrivals will also be on sale!

here are some of my favs among the new arrivals we imported:



seriously, you have to come for the sale at Vainpot! it'll be awesome and you'll be spoilt for choice! i'm so excited for it, can't wait for tmr! :D
see you guys there!

- Matt