It is said that some of the greatest influences that we have in life start when we are young. As a kid who grew up in multi-cultural Malaysia, I had the luck to have a fun childhood; and as a young adult living in Melbourne, the exposure to the cultural melting pot south of the planet.
I like my work but I always had this pull to explore. So, working and saving to travel became something that defined my yearly plan. I have always loved trying new cuisines and discovering new restaurants but I am not a foodie. I love travel and blogged about it for a while but I am not a blogger. This site has nothing to do with either travel and food, both great loves of mine (ok, maybe there are some travel related things).
As I journeyed through different countries, cities, communities, I enjoyed most the subtle discovery of culture and craft. Since I was young, I was always spending time in bookstores (they had them in those days) with their wall of books and shelves of stationery and pens! Besides the rainbow colours, I had my first introduction to paper with the “Paper by Weight” section in one of the local stores called Guardian Pharmacy, which was not just a pharmacy, obviously. Textures, thickness, colours and materials – these were fascinating and started a love for stationery that motivated me to create Līneae.
On each of my trips now, I purchase a book in the local language of the place that usually gives you insight into the local culture. Often, I get recommended a book by a local who comes across me browsing books in what clearly is a foreign language to me. Līneae is the culmination of a drive to bring together, from around the world, items of uniqueness, beauty and usefulness to a single marketplace accessible to all. It is especially important to us to showcase smaller studios and artists that create beautiful stationery and instruments to a wider audience.
In an age, where children aren’t taught letter writing in school and penmanship is a thing of the past, I want to bring to those aficionados a selection of some of those amazingly designed stationery that bring us a valuable part of our culture in the form of paper and pen. These brands that I have selected have a strong heritage and are also edgier brands that are driving new eco-friendly materials, design and evolving their products.
