Cast your fate to the wind

I wasn’t planning on posting my outfit, but I ended up really liking what I wore to Seoul today. A few weeks ago I ordered a few dresses from the US using a shipping service, this is one of them by Her Universe. I’ve not owned anything by Her Universe before as it’s kind of expensive, but I’ve been wistfully looking at all of their Studio Ghibli stuff for a while and decided to just go for it. And I’m really happy! They crease super easily which is annoying, but they’re well made, a good length, really comfy, and they have pockets.

I also recently looked through my jewellery box for the first time since coming here, and it was like looking through a little time capsule of me. I don’t know if that sounds weird, I guess I’m just really connected to my jewellery and as I’ve been feeling a bit depressed and lost the past few months it felt really special to find it again. I decided to wear my labradorite necklace along with this froggy pendant I got in Kyoto, and I’d totally forgotten about my Pandora bracelet too. It’s my travel bracelet and I like to collect charms of each place I go as a little souvenir. I promptly added one for Korea, it has a little traditionally dressed couple on it. You can spot the Shiba dog I got for Japan, the windmill I got in Amsterdam, my NYC charm, and Duffy bear from DisneySea.

I’ve been in Korea for exactly 3 months now, and in a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand I have the opportunity to go live in Japan again and I’m in love with that idea - I enjoyed Japan so much while I was there, I really vibe with Japanese culture, so many of my interests are based in Japan - Disney, Ghibli, art supplies and stationary (cheap Copic markers! Tokyu Hands! Traveler’s Company!), the street fashion, their love of hobbies in general and how easy it is to try your hand at literally anything. Can you tell I miss Japan? I’ve felt especially homesick for it since coming to Korea as there are some similarities. But I also kind of want to go home, get a cute little apartment, maybe a pet, and work on my illustration business. I can work on some of that to an extent from abroad, but I can’t travel to conventions, selling online is difficult when you’re so far away with higher shipping costs from most of your audience, and it can be difficult to engage online with such huge time differences which algorithms hate. I kind of hate how it sounds, but I also just miss my stuff. I’m a collector, and I like making my living space my own. I have a lot of hobbies, I like fashion and dressing up. It’s hard living out of a suitcase as a maximalist and there’s always the nagging thought at the back of my head that even if I settle somewhere I’ll have to get all of the new stuff I get home with me someday. I get too emotionally attached to stuff to be able to just throw everything away, and I tend to only buy things I really love - if it’s ugly and basic them I don’t want it, I’d rather save up for a cuter version. So I don’t know what to do right now! One day I’m convinced of going to Japan, then the next I prefer the simplicity of home.

I did decide to make the most of being in Korea by getting a Samsung phone. I actually used to own a Z Flip 3, but returned it before the cool down period ran out as I couldn’t get used to Android after a lifetime of iPhone iOS - anyone who says it’s easy to switch has either never only used iPhone, or is straight up lying. Everything was frustrating, nothing felt intuitive. I’m sure Android users feel the same on an iPhone, I’m not saying one is better than the other, but it’s a massive learning curve that I couldn’t cope with. Add to that everything I imported from my iPhone was horribly mangled - all of my photos were out of order and in weird folders that weren’t as easily accessible as photos taken on the Flip, my Notes were a mess, I couldn’t even find half the stuff that had been on iCloud, apps I’d always used were either different or straight up unavailable. But dammit, I loved that phone! I loved how customizable it was both inside and out, and it never stops being amazing bending your screen in half. Plus I love how some apps integrated that feature, allowing you to use the phone in a compact position. They’re quite common over here and I was getting a bad case of the “I Want”s so I gave in as they’re so much cheaper here what with Samsung being a Korean company and all (like, half off kind of cheaper). And I love it! I’m going to be keeping my iPhone this time so I won’t need to import anything and have that big headache, and now I don’t have to constantly switch out my UK and Korean SIM cards. I got the blue model, and I’m in love with it as it’s my very favorite shade of periwinkle.

"You'll never have a face of your own until you've learned to fight. Believe me."

I got the Little My set from the Moomin x Traveler's Notebook collaboration, and I'm just so happy! I've loved Moomins for most of my life and Tove Jansson's artwork has always been a huge inspiration to my own illustration. Plus they're whimsical creatures that live in the forest, they're my whole vibe. There was a Snufkin Travelers Notebook released in 2021, but I waited it out hoping for a future release with more characters when Little My was announced. I loved the cover as soon as I saw it, but I still wanted to wait to see if actual Moomin came along. But then a couple of weeks ago I began sketching in a passport insert and I’ve realized how much I love this size and wanted a cover so I can turn it into a proper sketchbook to carry around with me. And the Little My cover was the only one that would do! I’m still hoping for a Moomin cover at a later date, but I’m also convinced that it’ll be a blue cover to match his eyes and probably a standard size, and whilst that’s OK (anything for Moomin!) I really prefer the brown colorway as I love how the leather patinas. Plus I love the quotes they’ve chosen for Little My!  I’m a naturally very anxious person so Little My’s bolshie attitude isn’t something I naturally connect with, but I could learn a lot from her assertiveness and need to channel her more.

I’ve really fallen in love with Travelers Notebook the past couple of months, it’s a brand I’ve dabbled in here and there for a few years but it never really clicked for me until recently. It’s basically a leather cover with an elastic band, which you use to hold together several thin notebooks. The company celebrates analogue and puts a lot of emphasis on these items being a companion for life, for it to age naturally from daily use and to see the beauty in a well loved product, and honestly I love that. In such a throwaway world it feels so romantic to buy an item once to take everywhere with you. It’s designed to be portable and easy to carry, and I love how the modular system allows me to compartmentalize. The cover is permanent, but the inserts are inexpensive and as disposable as you need them to be so if I’ve moved on from something emotionally, I can move on from it physically too. But also it can be really satisfying seeing a shelf fill up with your used inserts, and that’s the beauty of this notebook system, it can literally be anything you need it to be.

I’ve filled it with two inserts, one of plain paper which I’ve been doing ballpoint sketches in like some kind of Inktober challenge without it being Inktober. And a sketch paper insert, as I’ve noticed the plain paper ghosts a bit with the amount of ink I use. I love that I can carry two separate books everywhere with me, so I can use one to stick to my ink drawings but I have the other if I’m inspired to draw any other way. I thought at first the size would be too small to draw in (it’s literally the size of a passport) but it’s amazing how quickly I got used to it. I’ve had art block for over a year now, and this has inspired me to draw every day so I’ll take it!