Buddha's Birthday : Jogyesa

Jogyesa (조게사) is the largest Buddhist temple in Seoul, so come Buddha's Birthday and the Lotus Lantern Festival it's a hive of colour and activity. I didn't manage to get to the temple at night, to capture all the lanterns lit up, but I did manage to be at the temple just when everyone was prepping for the big lantern parade. (If it sounds like this was planned, it wasn't at all - I just blindly, happily stumbled upon it.) 

So as well as all that gorgeous colour from the lanterns, there was also a wonderful atmosphere of muted excitement and barely organised chaos - a bit like being back stage just before the curtain goes up. 

At the entrance were queues of Korean ladies in beautiful hanboks waiting to be given their lanterns (and then later, wrestling with them as they seemed determined not to stay on their hooks). Then, just next to the temple, people with hangul lanterns in all different colours and a man with a megaphone trying to get them into some kind of order. And further on, under the white lanterns, groups of school kids in traditional dress and a monk or three getting them in a row. And a man on a cherry picker, who slowly moved up and down, placing wishes on the lanterns hanging overhead. And amongst it all people saying their blessings, going about their rituals.

Buddha's Birthday : Cheonggye Stream

Yesterday was the Buddha's Birthday holiday in Seoul, which means a three day weekend and hours of traffic for anyone crazy enough to try and leave the city. It also means that for the past few weeks parts of Seoul have been festooned with lanterns. 

The lanterns are quite simple really, nothing fancy, but en masse and in such gorgeously bright colours they have quite a magical effect. It helps that - whilst the date varies year to year - the Buddha's Birthday generally coincides with the mass of fresh green growth and colourful blooms that mark Spring in Seoul. 

Cheonggye Stream looks especially wonderful at this time of year. The stream is such a vibrant public space in all seasons, but now that the weather is warming up it's even more so. Crowds of people stroll along in the sunshine, jostling for prime photography positions (it was getting pretty dangerous on the stepping stones at one point!); office workers take a coffee break in the shade of the many bridges; kids throw off their shoes and dip their feet in the cool water as little silvery fish swim by. All in the heart of the city! File this under 'things I will miss about Korea'.

Collecting Colours : Green + Pink

So fresh, so bright, so happy! Pink and green is all about sweetness and light and happy times yes? It seems to fit perfectly with the mood in Seoul right now. I'd forgotten how breathtakingly pretty the city can be when Spring hits. 

Around every corner there's stunning bursts of green, fresh new leaves; there's purple azaleas blooming en masse, and pots full of pansies and violas in a rainbow of colours. Add to that blue skies (when it's not smoggy...sigh), a warm breeze and the festivities surrounding Buddha's Birthday and it's a pretty magical time of year. I hope these diptychs capture just a little part of that.

Number two is my favourite, which one is yours?

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Every month through 2013 I'll be 'collecting colours', and you can join in too! Just create something, anything based on the colour pair for each month. Link up below, Instagram, Tweet and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here. You can go here to get all the information you need.  

UPPERCASE : Stationery Around The World (Yay!)

Issue 17 of UPPERCASE came out recently which was rather exciting for two reasons: One, it's an entire issue dedicated to stationery (swoon!). And two, I contributed to it! I wrote a little piece on South Korean stationery for the 'around the world' feature, and took a bunch of photos of my (ever growing) stationery stash! Yay! 

UPPERCASE is one of my absolute favourite magazines. It's always full of ace things made by interesting and inspiring people, and it's beautifully produced - the paper stock (a magazine needs to feel good in your hands, don't you think?), the fonts, the layouts.  So I was kind of overjoyed to be asked to contribute something. It was also a good reminder that I should get involved more often - it really is a magazine that thrives on the input of their readers. Maybe you might want to participate too? 

I'm yet to get my hands on a copy but from all the previews I've seen it looks like a pretty amazing issue (there's a copy waiting for me when I head to Melbourne later this month, can't wait to see it!). You can read a bit more about the issue here. Oh, and if you're looking to subscribe or renew I have a code for $10 off - just get in touch and I'll pass it on.

(with thanks to Beci, aka sister of awesome aka proof reader extraordinaire!)

Death by Doxie : Hounds On The Couch (Elfi's Over It)

See that look Elfi's shooting my way? That's the look she gives me when she wants me to put the camera away. It's kind of saying 'Yeah, I'm cute. But enough's enough. Stop with the photo taking and come pat me instead'. I ignore her, of course.

Seoul Walking : Hoehyundong (Under Ground)

Like many big cities with extreme seasons, Seoul has all kinds of tunnels and underground shopping centres dotted about the place. They provide a haven in Winter when it's -16°C and icy out, or in Summer when it's stinking hot and pouring with rain. And - being filled with all kinds of quirky and surprising shops - they're also just a fun place to explore. This is Hoehyundong, my neighbourhood, under ground. 

I love the Hoehyundong Underground Shopping Centre. From a purely practical perspective, it means I can leave my apartment and do the grocery shopping, go out for lunch - five dollar soup noodles with tofu and kim chi; or perhaps sushi, bibimbap or my favourite 만두 (dumplings) - and post a package or two without ever stepping outside. 

Each underground shopping centre seems to have it's own specialities, and ours seems to be perfectly matched to the things I love. There are fun little clothing stores (granted, I can't fit in to most of it but they're cute to look at); tiny coffee shops and restaurants; hand crafted shoe stores; more vinyl than you could possibly imagine (and  a wonderfully crazy mix too!); wool emporiums with little groups of knitters and hookers working away; vintage cameras and books and stamps (I hunt out the ones with dachshunds on them, of course); and more camera accessories than a happy snapper could possibly ask for (like this camera bag). 

Basically - we live on top of an underground shopping centre devoted to vintage, photography and craft. A perfect piece of serendipity, yes?

This quote is from another of my favourite authors (who was also introduced to me by my Mum - great taste must be in the genes, right?). It's from Jeanette Winterson's autobiographical novel Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (excellent title, yes?), which I am currently devouring. 

I adore this quote. There's something about it that just rings true. Play it safe when you're thinking about lunch (a grilled chicken salad, perhaps) but when you're choosing who to love, how to live, fling yourself over that edge. Indeed. 

The font is a lovely skinny hand drawn one from Cindy Kinash. It's called 'Hello I Like You' (excellent name, yes?), and it's only US $20 which I reckon is pretty great value for such a useful font. 

The watercolour bits and bobs are some photoshop brushes by Mindful Pixels, you can get them here, from Creative Market (my new favourite graphic design-y resource-y place). I have downloaded a lot of brushes over the past few months and this set is by far my absolute favourite, and it's only US $5! 

In other news, I have realised photoshop is not a creative tool at all. It is actually a giant black vortex that sucks up masses and masses of time and the next thing you know it's hours past eating-o-clock, your arse is numb, and all you've got to show for it is a squiggle or two. Which you've test viewed in at least 37 different colours. Or is that just me?

Death by Doxie : Hounds On The Couch (Ferdi Looks Sad)

I'm not sure what Ferdi's so sad about. Perhaps not having opposable thumbs? (It's pretty difficult to open the fridge with paws...) Or maybe just the general absurdity of life? Either way, lying on the couch and looking sad is what Ferdi does best. (Followed closely by lying on the bed and looking sad and regal. Quite a skill.)

Seoul Walking : Hoehyundong (Above Ground)

Hoehyundong (회현동) is where I live, it's my neighbourhood. It's a tiny little nothing place, more than a bit seedy in parts. But I love it. I love it because it's right in the heart of Seoul, new and old. It sits bang in the middle of a trifecta of awesome - with Namsan, Namdaemun and Myeongdong all a few minutes walk in one direction or another. There's also the Hoehyundong underground shopping centre, but more on that later...

Hoehyundong itself is pretty scrappy and worn out. But there's colour and life everywhere you look; people working hard to make a (small) living. There's hairdressers and wholesalers and cafes full of Konglish. There's more convenience stores than you think any one suburb could possibly need, chicken and beer joints, and some "hotels" that I'm pretty sure charge by the hour. There's cooks doing their dinner prep on the street; sellers with loud hailers, plying baskets of fruit from the back of their ute; and delivery guys on over laden motorbikes. And come Spring there's pot plants on every road side, on every concrete path and step, filled with tenderly cared for chilli seedlings and all kinds of lettuce. 

The area is earmarked for development. Our shiny new apartment building was the start, and since we've been here a few more towers have shot up. In ten years time I think the place will be unrecognisable, for good and for bad.