Modern Day Cinderella

Hi there. How are things going for you so far?

I wanted to share with you a little bit about the 1st book on my #2016ReadingChallenge list. It is a book based on a fairy tale called "Cinder" written by Melissa Meyer. 

As you might have guessed from the title and cover design, "Cinder" is a modern day Cinderella story with a twist. The story is set sometime in the future and located in New Beijing. The main protagonist, Cinder, is not only a mechanic but also a cyborg. She finds herself in a forbidden attraction with the charming Prince Kai. Can she find her true romance and save the world's future?

This book is an easy read and quite entertaining. It won several Young Adult book awards and is also on the New York Times Best Seller list. I got my copy at a local Periplus book store (which is currently offering discount) and I totally recommend.

Oddly enough while I was browsing new movies to stream over the weekend I found this interesting new movie called "After the Ball" and surprise, surprise it was also a modern day Cinderella story!

 Here, Cinderella is known as Kate Kassel (played by Portia Doubleday) a young fashion designer trying to win the heart of Lee Kassel (played by Chris Noth aka Mr. Big in Sex & The City) the retail fashion guru who is also her father and falling in love with the charming Daniel, the shoe designer in Kassel's empire. Can Cinderella overcome her evil step mom & step sisters problems and save her father's retail fashion empire?

May all your fairy tale wishes come true.

xoxo - The Queen of JumbaJamba

New Year New Challenges

What better time to start something than right now.

Hi there, remember me? Yes, it has been a while since my last post as the Queen of JumbaJamba in this blog. It's the start of the year and I figured rather than making new resolutions perhaps I should pick up where I had left off and build on it.

One of my past resolution is to read more often. Last year I tried taking up the #2015ReadingChallenge that I found in PopSugar's website, you can check out the list here. I managed to read 8 out of 50 books suggested on their list.

This year I have decided to take on the #2016ReachingChallenge, the list can be seen in this picture below, or downloaded from here.

Now as suggested in the article I have created a Goodreads account to monitor my progress on the reading challenge. I'm not going to be super ambitious and try to read everything on this list. I'm gonna take it one book at a time, starting with a book based on a fairy tale. Any suggestions on what book I should read?

xoxo - The Queen of JumbaJamba

Happy International Labor Day!

Good morning good people.

In celebration of the International Labor Day, JumbaJamba will be offering 15% discount all products via KadoKadi, a webstore of handmade Indonesian gifts.

So what are you waiting for? Head over to KadoKadi today to make sure you take advantage of this special promo.

Happy shopping & enjoy your long weekend happy people.

xoxo - The Queen of JumbaJamba

Something Old & Something New

One night while we were in Bali, my friends and I went to a local watering hole for some laughs. While enjoying our drinks a friendly Australian woman approached us. She introduced herself and we started talking. Apparently she has been living in Bali for the last 2 years and was kind enough to have given us recommendations on what to see and where to go in Bali that was not your typical tourist hangout (it was rather peculiar because she is a foreigner living in Bali acting as a local tour guide, but at the same time it's refreshing because we get to hear about Bali from a different point of view).

One of her recommendations was to visit the Batu Bolong beach in the Canggu area. At first, I was not too keen on the idea of driving all the way there from Seminyak area (where we were staying). But she told us about this cool place called Old Man's Beer Garden and her friend's little shop that has many cute handicraft goodies sourced from all her travels around the world. You know she got me at the word "handicraft" so the next day we drove all the way to Batu Bolong beach (which turns out the be the location of Hotel Tugu Bali). 

The beach is quite lovely, definitely a surfer's beach. We saw some locals praying on the side of the beach and decided maybe we should just watch the waves from a distance. We then proceeded to the Old Man's Beer Garden, and I was in love!

 Bright, colorful murals all over the restaurant. Definitely Instagram friendly. Nice staff who informed us that we have to go to the cashier to order food and the bar for drinks. Large portion (for me anyways) for the price given makes this a good value restaurant. Free WiFi is always a plus.

We finished our afternoon there with a few scoops of salted caramel ice cream. All in all it was an afternoon well spent and I will definitely will be going back there on my next visit to Bali.

xoxo - The Queen of JumbaJamba

Old Man's Restaurant

Batu Bolong Beach, Canggu

+62 361 8469 158

Fun in the Sun at The Island of the Gods

Morning y'OwL. 

Last week we made a trip visit to Bali, the island of the Gods, for some rest and relaxation. To be honest, I have a hard time resting and relaxing when I'm there because as soon as I land at the airport I am super excited to go around and discover new places, faces and things to be inspired with.

Now, before all the lounging around, first order of business was to deliver products for Alun Alun Indonesia store in Nusa Dua. Located inside Sogo Bali Collections, it is a paradise of Indonesian handmade goods. Despite my attempt to make it an all business visit so that I can get back to my rest and relaxation part of the trip, I always end up buying colorful goodies to take home for my family and besties back at home.

Of course I squealed in delight when I saw my babies on the front window of the kid's section of the store. Not sure if you can see it but they are not only on a three level shelves but also hanging from the ceiling. I'm making a mental note on learning how to take proper pictures, I'm sure for some of you this is also already on your to-do lists, right?

An hour later we were already driving back towards Seminyak. But on the way we decided to visit Padma Resort Bali, in Legian. I made a small pitch on the brand and provided product samples. I couldn't believe my luck, as the manager loved the product and asked for product catalog for immediate delivery. Fingers crossed that as of 1st May 2015 JumbaJamba and Go Fish animal pillows will be available at Padma Resort Bali's Sarasvati Boutique. Hurray!

Image taken from Padma Resort Bali website.

To my crafter friends who are gathering the courage to make that sales pitch, my recommendation is to always have an updated product sales kit with you. The kit should contain a brochure which explains your credentials, brand and latest products. Sometimes products samples come in handy but it you can't carry around the products with you then you need to ensure high quality products photos in the sales kit. 

Make sure you know your audience, knowing about the company and their needs or problems (not enough cute Indonesian handmade goods) enables you to demonstrate the opportunity they can have (a more colorful collection of Indonesian handmade goods) and the solution you are providing through your products. Easy, right?

Well, I don't really recommend walk-ins like what I have done, because some research is needed before hand and also you need to schedule a proper meeting time with the buyer or store manager (so they don't feel that they are ambushed by an unwanted sales call). But sometimes you should just need to go for it. 

Have a wonderful Wednesday, y'OwL.

xoxo - The Queen of JumbaJamba

Another Fun Week at INACRAFT 2015

Hi y'OwL, how are you? Hope you are doing well.

It's almost three weeks late, but I wanted to share with you the fun JumbaJamba had during INACRAFT 2015. Alongside my partners, the ladies of Bugsy Delight and Loulou, we were fortunate enough to be located in the same Exhibition Hall as we did last year, which was in Cendrawasih Hall no 83 (last year it was stand no 89, right across from where we were located).

I didn't really get the chance to take photographs of the many friends and family members who came to visit, shop and adopt during the event. But I am grateful for all the love you have shown us. Also I wanted to extend my gratitude to the ladies of ASEPHI Jawa Barat for the opportunity, we couldn't have done it without their help.

For some of you who are wondering on how you, as a crafter, may join this yearly exhibition, well first of all you must become a member of ASEPHI - which stands for Asosiasi Exportir dan Produsen Handicraft Indonesia (Association of Handicraft Exporters and Producers in Indonesia). Membership depends on your residence, so if you are located in Jakarta you may apply to their office in Jl. Wijaya I no. 3A or in my case I registered as a member in the Depok branch (part of Jawa Barat chapter) because of my workshop address. 

Once you are a member, they will curate your products for the possibility of joining the exhibition. It does not happen automatically, so it is important that you introduce your brand and products to the committee. There is a long waiting list so be patient and don't give up easily. I promise you it will be an experience that is so worth the wait. Click here to visit ASEPHI's website and to read more about their vision, mission and membership information.

Hope to see you all at next year's INACRAFT exhibition. Have a good night, everyone.

xoxo - The Queen of JumbaJamba

See You at INACRAFT 2015

Come visit our booth during Inacraft 2015, 8-12 April, at Jakarta Hilton Convention Center, Cendrawasih Hall no 8.