My childhood dream was to own an ice-cream truck business like the Jolly-Olly Man in Hey Arnold. Judging from the many food truck businesses in Klang Valley; there may not be any ice-cream truck businesses yet because maybe I was destined to turn my dream into a reality instead of waiting around for someone to fulfill it. HA.
With the presence of gung-ho entrepreneurs, the startup scene in Malaysia is growing rapidly with business ideas/services that are wonderfully innovative.
Last week, Joyce told me about Wrapla as she met its founder, Dinesh Karunamuti, at a Bespoke buka puasa dinner. Having majored in Business Management and holding a certificate in Animation and Multimedia Production, Dinesh aspired to be an entrepreneur as soon as he graduated but he knew he needed some work experience before venturing out on his own. The middle child of an engineer and homemaker worked as an employee for 12 years before leaving his most recent position as Vice President of E-commerce for Astro Go Shop… to work full time on Wrapla.
Wrapla is a new service in Malaysia that allows drivers to earn while making their daily commutes. I got in touch with Dinesh find out more about him and the story behind Wrapla.
KBF: So what is the story behind Wrapla?
DK: A bunch of us caught up over coffee and this module was brought up. I went home, did my research and realized this would work perfectly with our current state of economy, thus I decided to give it a shot and Wrapla was born.
KBF: How did you come about the name of Wrapla?
DK: Friends were clowning around helping me pick a name and when one of them kept ending his sentence with “Lah” it rang well to my ears, thus I decided on Wrapla.
KBF: How does Wrapla work?
DK: Wrapla is a crowd-sourced advertising platform that connects brands looking for more targeted and effective outdoor advertising with people looking to generate income from their weekly commute. Brands get to tailor their campaigns by area and gain greater flexibility, higher impressions and quicker turnarounds compared to conventional outdoor advertising, and drivers get to choose which campaigns they want to participate in, and their degree of participation.
Once you’re on board as a driver, you are required to drive 900km per month (roughly 30km per day), for 30 days to qualify for payment. Drivers will get paid at the end of every 30 days. Those that don’t hit the 900km mark earn a pro-rated rate based on their mileage.
KBF: Would the drivers be able to choose the type of advertisement they prefer to advertise on their cars?
DK: Absolutely. While we do source for specific driver profiles for our clients’ campaigns, the decision to participate is ultimately in the hands of drivers. We want our drivers to be comfortable with the brands and campaigns they have on their cars.
Our national icon, the Malayan Tiger is now classified as Critically Endangered. Soon enough, it will be extinct from the wild. Illegal hunting and trade, driven by demand for wildlife from within and outside Malaysia, remains the most devastating threat to tigers and other endangered species.
The Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) is running a #NoMoreDeadTigers Campaign to save Malayan Tigers from extinction. MYCAT is calling for 100,000 signatures to seek justice for the Malayan tiger by Global Tiger Day on July 29th 2016.
The petition calls for:
? Maximum sentences to be handed out to criminals convicted of killing or trading in tigers and other endangered species.
? Civil society to be allowed to support the investigation and prosecution process of wildlife crimes, and alternative penalties be used against wildlife criminals.
? Sustainable forestry certification to be re-evaluated for forests where tigers are killed.
? Highest priority to be given to maintain tiger habitats under natural forest cover and to halt further forest fragmentation within the Central Forest Spine landscape.
The time to save the tigers is now or never! You can protect the iconic Malayan Tigers by taking 30 seconds to sign the petition *HERE*
Korean cosmetic products are my go-to in the past 2 years because they produce top-notch quality that suits Asian skin. It felt like a whole new realm just opened up when I was introduced to all things Korean! What I’ve noticed about most Korean cosmetics is their scent; it’s more pleasant and it doesn’t smell like the typical scent of make-up. Compared to American/European cosmetic brands, I find Korean brands to be less heavy and harsh on the skin. Okay, you can obviously tell there’s favouritism going on here.
Korean beauty brand CLIO (whose beauty ambassadors include Sandara Park (산다라박) from girl group 2NE1, and Lee Hyori (이효리); engaged KBF to invite a selected handful of bloggers/influencers to their event in the new SaSa @ IOI City Mall last Thursday. It was mainly to have a make up tip sharing and demo by their Chief Make-Up Instructor, Ms Song Yeon-bi (송연비), who was flown in from Korea just for the occasion.
In the middle is Chief Make-Up Instructor, Ms Song Yeon-bi (송연비). She’s such a cutie! A graduate from Chung Ang University with an MA in Cosmetic and Beauty, she’s also had experience at the Christian CHAUVEAU Artistic Make Up School (Paris) and Jean Pierre Fleurimon Make Up (Paris).
Clockwise from top right:
brow:palette (RM 128);
brow;sword (RM 145) – Japanese naginata sword shape design is for precise control, creating a natural shape;
Sheer colour balm (RM 88) – vivid melting balm stick reacts with your lip’s PH and moisture condition to create a unique glow and wearable sheer finish.
Joyce: This sheer colour balm doesn’t leave my handbag. Rachel had to request it from me twice (to my reluctance) to take pix of it for this post. It’s a balmy pink that glides on easily without being overpowering or drying. I mentally place it in between a lip balm and a lipstick, so if i just want some colour (so i don’t look so dead) but not something too showy, i grab this. All the time.
Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil – Anti/Oxi is a cleansing oil with enhanced power to remove micro impurities and stubborn make-up with no residue. Shu Uemura’s latest anti-pollution breakthrough, Anti/Oxi with moringa and green tea extracts are combined for better make-up removal.
Joyce: This is the only cleanser i use whenever i wear any make up (from light application, to heavy shoot work). I’ve been using it for the past 10 years and it’s my bathroom staple.
Eyelash Curler (RM70) – The iconic Shu Uemura eyelash curler is exclusively designed to suit all eye shapes.
Calligraph:ink liquid eyeliner (RM 70) – A modern make-up tribute to Asia’s traditional art of calligraphy. The eyeliner was inspired by the Japanese calligraphy brush, drawing fine to bold lines with precision. You can read about the product launch which we attended a couple of months back *HERE*
Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte (RM 88) – The new rouge unlimited is available in an array of inspiring colors and formulated for long lasting supreme moisture, comfort and matte finish.
The Lightbulb Fluid Foundation (RM 180) – The lightbulb foundation provides paradoxical benefits of high coverage and glow, yet giving you a long-lasting moisturizing skin.
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This is not a beauty product (obviously) but we just wanted to say thanks to Cassey Gan who sent us a box of cute items: (Clockwise from left) Coconut & Lime hand poured soy candle by Sanctuary, Sandwich pouch, Notebooks.
I attended Khoon Hooi‘s Autumn Winter ’16 Preview at APW Bangsar recently. It was a breakfast event with a nice setting of pastries and coffee/tea.
I attended the event in a rush due to bad morning traffic and work was piling up back at the office so I didn’t stay for breakfast 🙁 Andrew was supposed to come along with me too but he had too much going on at his workstation as well.
A few days prior to the preview, Andrew told me a little about Khoon Hooi and how beautiful and exquisite all his previous collections are.
Khoon Hooi graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Art before launching his own label in 1999, and taking the Malaysian fashion scene by storm. His achievements include the Harper’s Bazaar Style Award, Malaysia International Fashion Award, Mercedes-Benz Stylo Fashion Forward Award and a prestigious International Recognition at Bangkok International Fashion Week.
The Autumn Winter ’16 pieces in his collection were stunning. A modern take on Victorian luxury and lingerie, expect a lot of satin and lace detailing in every piece. His creations are elaborate yet not over-the-top, which makes it very wearable for events/parties.
I showed Joyce the pictures from Khoon Hooi’s collection for her to pick out but she said there were too many nice ones so we’ll just feature them all here >
