Tuesday 26 May 2015

In our search for vintage inspiration, we stumbled upon an archive of our late grandfather's letters and documents. Mariah and I took some time to 'get to know' him a bit more, from the remnants we found, and we were astounded by his achievements, talents and contributions.

Ayah Tok was an accomplished man who preferred to stay below radar. We couldnt find much of him in the national archives...but from his personal letters and correspondences, we realized how well loved, highly respected and important he was, amongst the people who knew him - leaders, presidents, royalties and the many poor or underpriviledged people he helped.

Hailing from a poor family, he went on to study at Raffles and dabbled in so many things thereafter. He was wholesome - flourishing as a highly decorated administrator in the secular arena, yet well known for his religiousness, piety and integrity. He was intellectual, yet artistic. He was classy, yet non-elitist and unostentatious. He was capable and talented, yet grounded and gracious. He was generous and kind. He was awesome. Many of us, his grandchildren, still know so little about him...but I guess that's enough to inspire.

As for Mariah and I, we want Verandah East to be just like that...beautiful, authentic and wholesome. It's a journey for us. We hope to cherish the moments...and create lots of wonderful memories with family, sincere friends, clients, biz collaborators, supporters and like-minded individuals who appreciate true beauty, in all its forms. #feelingreflective

Ayah Tok's vintage invite. It couldnt get more authentic than this, for us.

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