This National Day, we’re taking the time to appreciate Singapore’s vibrant artistic landscape and to celebrate our thriving art community that’s full of underrated and emerging talent. The local art scene is constantly evolving, with more and more platforms being developed to encourage artistic expression.
As a Singaporean brand backed by a team of designers and creatives, we recognise the value in providing that platform, and the significance of shining a spotlight on other local artists and their works. It’s why we decided to launch We Carry Art, a collection featuring 3 Singaporean artists: Melina K, Sarah Lai, and Eunice. Each of them brings to the collaboration a different style that stays true to their individual design aesthetics, highlighting just how diverse Singapore’s art scene truly is.
“It's incredibly fulfilling to have the chance to authentically express myself and pour my creativity into the project, and to have an incredible amount of creative freedom for it… it's not often that brands take such bold initiatives, and I'm grateful for the chance to be a part of it.” - Melina K
Better known by her Instagram handle @epi.to.me, Melina K describes herself as someone navigating the ongoing journey of self-healing and is deeply sentimental by nature, often encapsulating her emotions and insights in a dreamy ambience. Much of her personal creations centre around the theme of personal growth, and she uses the word optimistic to represent her current self: “Growing up, I was quite a pessimistic person. But now that I'm older, I’m more appreciative of this life and my journey and I just want to honour that by keeping my chin up and focusing on the bright side of things.”
Feeling most rejuvenated in nature, she finds inspiration in “the intricate details of a budding flower, the ecosystem of fauna, the vibrant colours, and, most importantly, the sense of peace and wonder in a naturally crafted environment.” Her favourite park in Singapore? The Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Melina’s design style is often vintage-inspired to spark a sense of nostalgia and wistfulness. Take a closer look at her bag design and you’ll find she’s incorporated this aesthetic in the bag’s interior lining through meaningful graphics which reflect her profound belief in the transformative power of manifestation. It’s a stylish surprise that also aligns with the idea of looking inward and focusing on the inner self.
When it came to the bag’s exterior, she decided to infuse a hint of boldness through the bag’s black hue and its statement-making studs; a stylish representation of those who dare to step out of their comfort zone and who possess unwavering confidence. The contrasting heart-shaped bag charm adds the final touch to the overall aesthetic—it includes a quote that unreservedly calls forth all that one desires.
Like Melina, Sarah Lai, the founder of Playhood, takes artistic inspiration from nature—particularly flowers. As an illustrator, Sarah combines her personal botanical design style with her love for storytelling to create meaningful flower illustrations that convey positive emotions, experiences or significant events in life. Her creative process involves gathering what she or her client feels at the moment, researching the flower that most represents that experience, and then sketching it out.
Sarah often gets inspired on her travels, especially in her favourite place, Japan. She says "it's a place that’s deeply relaxing and peaceful, and filled with cherry blossoms, [her] signature flower.”
Although Sarah didn’t pursue a career in illustration, she always managed to combine her art with other projects, such as fashion or illustrating for Playhood. So for this collection, she wanted to showcase her illustrator roots and put her business owner title aside. This led her to choose the sakura flower, as it symbolises rebirth and new beginnings: “I was inspired by my personal journey of becoming an illustrator again and not just Sarah, Playhood’s founder. I wanted to do something that’s different from what I’m known for.”
Sarah’s intricately-drawn sakura is showcased on the top handle’s front flap, accentuating the bag’s minimalist and sleek silhouette. Paired with a cream hue, her floral design is the definition of dreamy.
Complementing the bag is a classy butterfly bag charm, also drawn by Sarah. It adds a dainty flair and is symbolic too: butterflies are often associated with positive notions and feelings, including the theme of metamorphosis—an idea that sums up her artistic journey perfectly.
Our third designer is an illustrator whose corporate-focused works you may recognise. Meet Eunice, or yezziyezzi. She strives to create illustrations that are warm and inviting, finding joy in capturing the essence of everyday life and infusing them with a touch of playfulness.
“Everything starts with research for me. Whether it's diving into my client's mission, target audience, or the products themselves, it helps me map out a plan for the design concept and direction. It's like getting a feel for the story I want to tell, and how it will fit my own design language. From there, I'll start working on drafts where I'm constantly refining and adjusting my ideas. It's a back-and-forth process ensuring the design aligns perfectly with my client's goals or my own creative vision.”
For Eunice, inspiration comes in the form of everyday stuff, as she finds that there's always something new to observe around her. Her art is also strongly influenced by comics, mangas, and picture books—it's the reason she loves spending time in bookstores, even when she's abroad!
Bookstores with extensive picture collections are especially her favourite, as she tends to take reference from visual-heavy books and the way the artists use panels, compositions, and negative space to build narratives and capture emotion. She finds that "even if [she] can't understand the words, the pictures in those books tell stories all on their own.”
Inspired by our brand’s ethos of “you’re free to go about being you”, Eunice wanted to introduce a collection designed for those who crave a playful way to express themselves. Her Out of Office (OOO) collection “celebrates our authentic selves, no matter how you choose to unwind—whether you're connecting with friends, chilling at home, or venturing out away from your desks & keyboards.”
Her collection features our best-selling Mobile Phone Bag, a functional travel companion, rendered in Eunice’s colourful and eye-catching beach print. To better capture the spirit of boldness and adventure, the bag's resort-like design incorporates a mix of textures and colours—palm leaf patches are stitched onto the illustration to create a cheeky ‘3D’ effect, while the loud hues of her design mirror the lively and cheerful aura we experience when stepping away from the daily grind. Eunice has even designed her bag charm to resemble a hotel key, so you can fully immerse yourself in the OOO mood.