Mariah and Sham

The Essence of Beauty

2012-02-12T00:07:00.000-08:00

Caution.

An occassional "deep" rambling ahead :)

We've been asked why it took us so long to delve into the event decorating busines eversince we started Mariah & Sham few years ago. We've turned down fat offers for home makeovers, and we've passed on too many requests for service and product quotations too. Close friends think we are crazy for doing that. After all, who wouldn't want business and profit, especially when it's sought?

Well, yes businesses need to profit to sustain and evolve. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a business now would it? But we believe the heart of a good business lies in the love, fervour, sincerity and belief in the product or service one is delivering.

We got into this biz out of our love and passion for beauty. And the essence of beauty, mum and dad taught us, should come from deep within, only emanating into physical existence, after one has learned its value as being honest and unforced.

Outward beauty without inner kindness and humility is fakeness. Inner beauty without outward discipline is laziness. And yet, for all the consciousness one has to partake in living beautifully, it shouldnt be forced and pursued without regard for objectivity and affordability.

Sis and I are not artists or designers by training. Sis being a counsellor, and myself being a pharmacist, we were trained in psychology and medicinal science respectively, with a next-to-zilch training in anything 'arty' for that matter. We pursued those careers, despite having in-born artistic inclinations, because we believe by helping others, we will learn to appreciate beauty in its true essence, and should we delve into an artistic business like Mariah & Sham someday, we will remain grounded with what's important and truly beautiful in life, instead of just producing beautiful things and materials, devoid of purposes and meanings. Hopefully, with that realization, we will produce works which are beautiful and honest not just in appearance, but in principle as well. This is something an official training or apprenticeship cannot offer. That is not to say that they are not necessary either. We acknowledge the importance of acquiring those skills, and we're learning more definitely, but at least we know we must keep to the true essence of beauty to produce products like such.

Our works should evoke warmth and kindness....not superficial beauty and snobbish extravagance. They should look and feel good not just in photos. They should taste as nice as they look. They should be of honest and uncompromised quality. They should be delicately thought of and not rushed through. They should look natural and unforced. They shouldn't just be 'placed' without regard for purpose and balance. They should elicit not just visual, but emotional harmony too. They should not just be themed, but conceptualized. They should be given attention to details. It's an all-or-nothing rule for us....we either do it well inside and out, or not do it at all.

Honestly speaking, this has been a tall order for us. Keeping up with our own expectations have cost us many potential clients. Because we just refuse to commit unless we know we can give the best,

and unless we know for sure, our clients can appreciate the best. We've turned down projects which entail reproducing or replicating somebody else's design, or those which entail producing something utterly substandard in appearance, probably only looking good in photos, just to fit a fixed budget.

Because we believe such works, even if they can generate faster income for us, do not sit well with our conscience and style.

Our event decorating service is hence a long time coming. Because we do not want it to be just that - an event decorating service. We're doing it couture style. It's a highly exclusive and personaslised couture styling service we're offering for serious Mariah & Sham-seeking customers. We're calling it Mariah & Sham Couture Event Styling and we're only committing a few slots every year as sis and I are still very much involved in and contributing to our professions. We're still biting only what we can chew, but we're biting a little bit more variety now... ;)

Our Maiden Venue Decor

2012-02-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

We've been steering away from major venue-decor projects for the longest time.

Everytime we had a request for one, we'd cite unreadiness as defence.

But we've finally decided to take the plunge!
Not exactly the perfect time to start something new,
what with sis handling a first trimester pregnancy
and myself sitting for my oncology exams....
but we had a great team behind us making it all possible.

We did a venue decor for a solemnization ceremony, and sis was the project manager.

I remember kissing and hugging her for her diligent and marvellous job.

Her coordination was exceptionally flawless,

and our project turned out beautiful, our inexperiences notwithstanding.

In this maiden project, we were tasked with transforming the SIA Sports Club into a garden -
suitable for Zayed's and Azean's solemnization ceremony.
They wanted a natural ambience that wasn't overly done, yet classy and substantial.
It was pretty challenging cos the infrastructure there was not as congruent to the theme
as Burkill Hall or Arts House or Hort Park would have been.
Transforming the place would require us to do more than just arranging flowers.
But we took up the challenge still....
because we could totally understand and respect their resolve
in having their guests attend their solemnization ceremony at a convenient location.

So we dreamed big on this idea of bringing Monte Carlo into the picture.
It was a monumental task, starting everything from scratch...
but we certainly hope we've delivered what we promised.

This picture didnt do much justice to our Monte Carlo paradise, I guess.
I can still remember stepping into this cool, romantic dimly lit garden,
greeted by lush greeneries, fresh flowers, the serene sound of trickling water and soft music.

The dreamy reception tables against our monte carlo backdrop, for their guests to enjoy...

Introducing another new concept by Mariah & Sham.
A solemnization isle for our groom to take his marriage vow at.

The three-dimensional backdrop we designed and created from scratch,
hopefully different from the conventional cloth-draped pelamin.

A vanity corner the bride wanted us to create at the corner of the multi-purpose room...

A natural bouquet to add that subtle touch of sweetness to our already beautiful bride.

And yes, here's the lovely couple....
Zayed & Azean.
May they be blessed with a beautiful life together forever.

Photo copyright: Simplifai studios media design and photography

Our sincere and heartfelt thanks to our wonderful crew!!!
Mum, our chief seamstress who sewed everything from
table cloths to satin floral cones to our famed canopy.
Hazrin, our chief engineer and artisan who single-handedly made our french door,
and handled the cabling works and logistics.
Fadly, our saving grace who financed some of our expenses,
and our artisan cum muscle man handling the logistics.
Hamzah and Sirajuddin, our reliable and experienced staging artists and muscle men.
Dad, our on-site surveyor.
Mint, our saviour helping us out with the bunga rampai.
Cik Wati, our helpful aunt who helped cook for us and babysit our kids.
Cik Yati, sis's mother-in-law who helped babysit her kids at the drop of a pin.
Abang Naz and sister Sha, our main financier and advisor respectively.
And of course, our kids, our source of joy, comfort and distraction :)
You guys rock!!!

The little things that matter....

2012-01-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

A beautiful wedding is one that is personal, kind, and lovingly thought of.

If you're having one yourself, do remember to surprise your friends and loved ones

with thoughtful gifts or keepsakes for them to remember your special day by.

Our bride Eliana did just that :)

And to commemorate their special day,

Eliana got herself a couple monogram keepsake...

(Monogram design by Haz Workz. Styling by Mariah & Sham)

Photography Isle by Mariah & Sham

2011-11-21T00:52:00.000-08:00

The Photography IsleTM is a rather new design concept created by Mariah & Sham,

in place of the more common in-house wedding dais / staging set ups.

This isle serves as a beautiful corner
for the bride to sit and witness the solemnization ceremony.

With an original Mariah & Sham design,

a less bulky set-up,

and an understandably more natural look,

our mostly garden-themed Isles are gaining popularity.

Here's our most recent, for lovely couple Suhailah and Iskandar...

A beautiful garden right in Suhailah's own home

And here's Mum behind-the-scene,
arranging the gorgeous flowers in our mock up isle,
right in my dining hall....

On to our next project.....

Think Monte Carlo ;)

Designer cupcake. Only by Mariah & Sham

2011-11-20T23:31:00.000-08:00

A brighter mix of colours,

a new frosting technique

and our trademark personalised cupcake wrapper

for our couple Suhailah & Iskandar

Wedding Venue Decor

2011-11-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

2012 will see us embarking on bigger and bolder projects.

Infact we've started working with four beautiful couples for their upcoming 2012 weddings.

Admittedly, these persistent couples were the ones responsible for pushing us beyond the inertia.

They came to us, insisting we undertake their wedding venue decorations,

despite us not having a prior portfolio.

And we have been having so much fun working and planning with them,

simply because they share our aspirations for beautiful fine weddings.

Information on our Wedding Decor packages will be up on our Mariah & Sham Website soon....

Mad Scientists Designer Isle for kids

2011-10-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

My first born twins wanted a dessert isle that was anything but cartoon themed,

for their 10th Birthday.

They wanted to create something less generic, somewhat related to science,

rather than just printing common cartoon characters off the web,

and pasting it on chocolate bars and favors.

So we came up with a simple yet fun Mad Scientists Designer IsleTM -
An original creation by Mariah & Sham and Haz Workz

A simple arrangement of the right props gave the kids plenty of room for fun and experimentation.

Yellow M&Ms to complement the blue-yellow- brown-white colour scheme.

A guest board for the kids to write their wishes on...

The kids went crazy over these chocolate rock candies, here displayed as 'radioactive specimen'

We all enjoyed making crystals in the school lab, didnt we?!
And what's cool is that this one's totally edible :)

And then grandma just couldnt resist baking cute cookies...

A simple and crazy cake everyone loved

The day I allowed them to throw streamers everywhere! ;)

Second twin enjoying the isle with his friend

Nadyne's first birthday party

2011-09-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Amidst all the rush, Mariah managed to plan a mini birthday gathering for baby Nadyne...
Taken off our handphones, the pics are quite blurry.
We hope you enjoy them nevertheless.

Favors made with love...

Mariah found a great baker who helped her make and pack these lovely cupcakes. :)
Finishing touches by Mariah & Sham

Goodies galore...
All cramped up on this small table - the only low one she has, for the small kids to feast their eyes and get their hands on

Snippets

2011-09-13T00:42:00.000-07:00

Just some of the many pics I have time to update with.

Now that we're busier, blog updates have been put on the back burner.

~ Congrats to all our lovely couples ~

New original cake design - by Mariah & Sham

~ ~ ~ ~

Designer Isle - Salwa & Ishaaq

2011-06-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

One of our June projects included a "Designer Isle - Dessert"
for a gorgeous couple Salwa & Ishaaq.

The bride wanted an isle of sorts...

namely pastries, chocs and candies, choc fondue fountain,
fruits and even traditional delicacies, for her wedding reception.

Arab families like theirs are known to be very hospitable and generous to their guests.

We're delighted to have been a part of their celebration.

We hope the guests have enjoyed our isle...as much as have we enjoyed designing it :)

Now if only this was a garden setting....
Our Designer IsleTM, designed out of our very own tentage - hand drawn by myself and sewn by mum.
(See behind-the-scenes)

The pearl-embedded raw silk table cover we used here
was just but one of the high quality and classy props we used throughout our isle.
We're big on quality and fine details :)

Fresh Flowers

Tiramisu, courteousy of Sis Linda's favourite family recipe.
Seen here in shot glasses.

Halal Macarons

Chocolate Fondue Fountain Buffet

Mini Bites - Mango Mousse and Chocolate Brownies

Mariah's peach and strawberry tartlets were so beautiful and delicious,
even the well known caterer wanted to place future orders from her! :)

Careful selection of halal Chocolate, Candies and Marshmallows

Condiments and Cutleries

And our favourite part of the job - Personalisation.
Seen here is a classy and expensive personalised golden backdrop
for the couple to keep and remember their special day by.

Butter cookies at the fondue buffet corner

For Him Hantaran Cake

Even kids couldnt resist appreciating.. :)

BEHIND THE SCENES.....

Our trusted and extremely capable Isle Steward, Siraj, seen here with my hubby and strong man, Hazrin.
Thanx guys! :)

Mum, in action....

Mariah and I would like to thank the couple and their family for this opprtunity.

Thanks also to my mother in law, Salina

and sister in law, Dr Maslinda, for sharing the tiramisu recipe.

Thanks to brother in law, Fadly, for the beautiful pine trees.

Thanks to my ever helpful and supportive husband, Hazrin.
Thanks to Dad for entertaining the kids.
Thanks to Mum for sewing our tentage and baking the wedding cake.

And last but not least, thanks to our Isle Steward, Siraj for the hardwork and proactiveness.

More updates coming up soon :)

Updates prelude

2011-06-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

Of late, I've only been able to drop hints, post previews and whatever nots...

I'm obviously doing it again today ;)

Sorry peeps, do stay tuned for our full update.

To all those kind souls who have reached us via email or facebook to compliment or shower us with words of encouragement, thank you so very much! :)

We're still working passionately towards our big break.

And to all who have tried engaging our services but haven't had the chance to enjoy one yet,

don't give up on us yea.

We're not fond of giving excuses, but we're really only biting what we can chew,

at least until we get worthy sponsors. haha.

Suffice it to say, we only want to give our best.

So stay tuned!

Sis decided to have a last minute mini gathering for Nadyne's first birthday.
A cosy celebration among family and close friends.
Non extravagant as always, but gorgeous all the same...

More Designer Isles by Mariah & Sham

Our third Martha Stewart's Dreamers' into Doer's Feature

2011-05-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yup, our work got featured again.

This time it was for a "Get Well Soon" floral bouquet we did long time ago.

Being featured as one of the best entries of the day, along with other gorgeous gorgeous entries,

third time over, can be very liberating.

This is especilally so at Martha's...because her team values creativity and originality.

Often times, they encourage members to stay creative by featuring entries that are not just

beautiful and professional, but original and different from theirs.
This, we like :)

Apart from that, being appreciated and acknowledged
by the other great vendors over at Martha's is really encouraging and motivating.
So we'll continue striving only for the better.

Go to Martha Stewart Dreamers

Preview

2011-05-19T01:10:00.000-07:00

A sneak peek into our next project...

Design is copyright of Mariah & Sham

Designer Isle - Jannah & Syah

2011-05-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

Last week, we ceremoniously took on a designer isle project that was more challenging than the ones before, because this time round, we had to work our arrangements around our client's own spread of dessert and treats.

Our client, Jannah, really wanted a Designer Isle choreographed by Mariah & Sham.
But she has got her own spread of main dishes and dessert
pre-arranged by her mum, for her engagement.
This, we thought, would be tricky and challenging, in more ways than one.
But because she's such a darling...and of course much to her fiance's convincing too :),
we decided to take up the challenge and fulfill her wish.

With no room for certitude, we designed a concept around that imaginary spread of sweet treats and main dishes, and braced ourselves for last minute changes and mismatches.
Luckily, we managed to put it all together, and we're glad Jannah loved her Designer Isle,
as much as we loved doing it for her.

So here's to Jannah - someone who comes across to us as very stylish, kind and warm.

Thanx for loving our work. Thanx for your trust and support.

And of course, a very hearty congrats to you and your fiance, Syahrizan!

Say hi to your cool mum for us, will ya?! :)

PS- Apologies though, for some blurry pics...we didn't have our cameraman with us that day ;)

Jannah was so in love with our black-white striped blind which we used for Liza's isle,

we modified our design at the eleventh hour to fix it up for her,

as opposed to our original plan of solely using the beautiful garden as the main backdrop.

Glad you have great taste, dearie! ;)

Instead of using matching treats, we made room to accommodate generic ones,
like the Ferrero Roche seen above.
How did we still manage to pull the harmonized look off? Well that's our job ;)

We designed, from scratch, the lace umbrella motif, just for them.

Jannah wanted to order her own cupcakes.
So we defined the colour and look she should strive for when placing her order.
We then designed the mini umbrella toppers to match the umbrella motif.

Sham's wall

2011-04-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

The wall in my living room is almost ready, thanks to hubby...

Paneling and colour segregation done to elicit that subtle depth and texture to our high walls.

The plan is for our home to remain spacious and simple, yet hopefully classy, chic and COSY.

We're placing a lot of emphasis on the quality of our basics and backgrounds, and that's probably why our d-i-y renovation has taken us quite a while to complete.

We get a great sense of satisfaction going d-i-y.

Every single design and decor is characteristically intimate and personal...

and every task completion simply puts us on a high, making us crave for more.

Sounds like an addiction?

Well yea maybe...but that's the beauty of building a home for our loved ones.

We lovingly build it little by little. We grow with it.

So the work continues...

Natural Beauty

2011-04-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Embracing natural beauty.

We believe it has to come from deep within and brought outwards...
cultured and then assimilated into the surroundings.
Be it in our interactions with people or nature, there has to be harmony.

We apply this principle into our design ethos.
When we work on our designer isles or backdrop projects for instance, we never just focus on our design, but rather on how we can bring out the beauty of the surroundings...

and how our designs can exist in harmony with them.

And here are some inspiring design works by great designers

who embrace the true meaning of natural beauty...

Wildflower Hall, Shimla, India

French Polynesia

Hantaran Isle

2011-03-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hantaran Isle presented by Izsra to Faizal

Due to time constraint, our pictures are not complete.

Hopefully the bride and groom can share their lovely photos with us soon ;)

Designer Backdrop

2011-03-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here's another mini backdrop by us, for the solemnization of Faizal & Izsra.

Congrats to the lovely couple!

Same photo in smaller size for phone users to view in full.

Romantic

2011-03-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last 3 months just getting the basics up for my new abode.
And because hubby and I are d-i-y-ing practically everything, we're STILL not done yet.
I've yet to finish wallpapering my master bedroom and the guest room.

But now that we're safely beyond our eighty percenth mark getting all the basics in place,

I'm now in my decorating and accessorizing elements!

I've planned for the different areas of our house to elicit different moods and characters.

So I've to really take time searching and purchasing the right furnishing and decorative pieces.

I have a habit of with holding purchases of furnitures and even chairs and tables
until I can find the "right one".
I certainly do not believe in buying just for the sake of having one...even if everyone else wants it.
I prefer taking time to get something that suits me, my family and my home well...even if it requires more waiting.
Good things are always worth the wait.

So today I did some brainstorming for our spare room.
I want it to be romantic and dreamy, yet chic and minimal...nothing too flowery.

The room has a nice small balcony that looks out into a row of other small balconies...reminding me of the quaint and romantic streets of Europe. So this room will do just that...bring us back there.

A perfect mini Europe getaway.

But while I scour the globe for the right pieces to come by, here's a look at some romantic spaces...

Image via This is Glamorous

Accessories and arrangement by Powder Blue

By This is Glamorous

Hotel Can Isabel, Spain

Interiors

2011-03-06T03:51:00.000-08:00

There's something about mirrors that intrigues me.

They imbue glamour... but in a humble sort of way.

Here are some worthy finds...

And I think a modern velvetted louis or wing chair or chaise longue will totally complement the pieces...

Her World Magazine feature

2011-02-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

We were featured in Her World, Singapore's No. 1 Women's Magazine!

Now that's a big deal! :) We're totally honoured.

We'd like to thank Zarelda Marie Goh, the feature writer, for her interest in our story.

This March issue basically highlighted the dynamics of our sisterhood, and the lessons we've learnt from each other, running our business together these last 2 years.

It's been a journey, for sure, and we're enjoying this business hobby more and more each day.

But all this wouldn't have been possible without Mum -our anchor and inspiration-,

our very hands-on husbands, our cheeky kids who bring sunshine into our lives,

our supportive dad and in-laws, and our great great fans.

It's a great recognition for us indeed, and may this be yet another stepping stone for us to continue evolving and striving.

So get your copies yea! :D

The upheaval part deux

2011-02-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Still reorganizing....

More bespoke wedding cakes

2011-02-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Rasyid & Halimatussa'diyah!

Their wedding gift from sister Masykura.

Their bespoke wedding cake place card

And congrats to another beautiful couple Hernani & Erffan.

More overdue pics - Hantaran

2011-02-06T01:36:00.000-08:00

Ok so now it's pretty clear that I'm back to blogging. Having been unplugged for almost 3 months, I'm clogging up the web with plenty of 'archived' photos...

These photos are dedicated to Aishah & Firdaus. Congrats on your union and may your life together be blessed with plenty of goodness :)

Aishah contacted me several times for a slot, and her persistence paid off I must say. I squeezed her in, amidst the busy house shifting, and we really worked hard on wow-ing her with her dream Hantaran. She chose our deluxe package, which saw us using the slightly more expensive peonies as opposed to the more common roses, for a simple yet grand presentation.

Here they are...

Tea for Christmas

2011-02-05T22:57:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest things about being in this family business is the opportunity to meet people like Anis, who shares our love for beautiful gift-giving.

From our brief meet, I found her to be very warm, generous and utterly full of life. She loves giving so much, even I got a beautiful gold Harrods mug and a warm hug from her when I delivered her Xmas orders last December! That was totally new for me and boy was I touched! :)

Anis wanted to give her friends our personalised tea favors for Xmas...so I suggested giving a set containing matching tea bags and swivel sticks, all nicely packaged in matching reusable tins. She loved them all and practically swooned over them non stop. I felt bad she didn't get one for herself though, and told her so....to which she replied "But the joy of giving surpasses that of receiving". How inspiring.

So Anis, this post is for you babe. Enjoy YOUR gifts :)

I customised them in different designs and colours

English Breakfast Tea and Earl Grey Tea inscribed with Anis's message

Another tin design, seen here with french floral wreath, just perfect for Xmas.
Ouh and notice the blue striped background...another Mariah & Sham hallmark.

Very long overdue pictures - Azean's Engagement

2011-02-05T21:19:00.000-08:00

Last December, Mariah bravely took on a backdrop project for the engagement of Azean & Zayed.

I was a bit skeptical about it initially...my house moving was such a fuss, and I wasn't enthusiastic about taking on a new project when all our props were still in utter mess.

But sis was confident about it...and even took the lead.

So all of us were more than happy to give her our support.

Azean needed a photography corner that was substantial and classy, yet not too overly orchestrated...

cos it was after all, only for her engagement.

So sis went on site and suggested keeping the design simple...by covering up the blemished wall with a beautiful canvas, and prepping the place up with classy and expensive props...

instead of erecting a stage, dais or a tentage for instance.

Sis then got on to outsourcing the design of our backdrop to Haz Workz,

who used the chandelier motif I had designed from scratch eons ago,

and created a canvas wallpaper out of it.
Sis and Hazrin also teamed up to create a framed up memoir bearing the couple's names,
for display...just to up the exclusive factor.

Alas, I'm glad I played along...cos our maiden mini backdrop project turned out to be so much fun,

and the couple loved the mini set-up.

Well done sis, and keep it coming! :)

The fine details

Mini 2-tiered fondant engagement cake.

An additional bouquet to spruce up their dessert table.

Our heartiest congrats to the beautiful couple!

May you be blessed with great love forever...

We're featured on Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers again

2010-12-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

Yaye! Our photo was chosen and featured on marthastewart.com again! :)

This time, it was for Ashley's Cupcake. So this one's for you, girl! Do keep this as a momento yea...our birthday present to you :)

Here are the cupcakes again...

The featured photo

More Designer Isles by Mariah & Sham

2010-12-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

When we met up with Yana, her sis and her then fiancee almost a year ago, I suggested creating something different, new and special for their wedding hantaran and wedding cake.

Instead of just doing up the cake for instance, I decided to create a Wedding Cake Designer Isle. And so with a serving size of 100 - 200pax, I suggested breaking up the servings into one cake centrepiece and the rest all pre-packed as favors, and aesthetically presented on our Isle.

Thing is, we love designing and creating favors - for which we were first known for - and we love gorgeous arrangements of anything beautiful. So we suggested this Isle idea to our many other enquirers, thinking we were doing good service...by being forthcoming and generous with new ideas during our non-obligatory discussions / consultations. Some politely declined cos they were understandably not ready for this, considering they've had budgets set aside for other wedding expenses...but some actually abandoned us and got other vendors to build up on this idea :(

It was heartbreaking...but in retrospect, we're all the wiser now. Moving on, we've taken it in our stride to accept all these as part and parcel of business, and hence to continue evolving.

Whatever it is, we're lucky to have many other great clients and fans who have kept us going

and encouraged us on to strive for the best.
In this light, we're grateful for Yana's and Akhbar's trust and loyalty.

So here's one specially decicated to you newly weds, and of course, sis Ezsra. :)

This Designer Isle featured our wedding cake centrepiece of fondant covered rich chocolate cake, with matching favors, decorative accents and bespoke monogram.

The 'two tiered' cake was actually made up of four layers of real rich chocolate cake. We had to make it this high cos our groom is one tall young man! Doing up a 4 tiered cake however would make the cake look too 'overbearing', what with the motif design and all. So yup, we made it 2 tiered but 'tall' instead :)

And then we designed the favors to match our cake. Notice the rosette design on the favors and on the TOTALLY EDIBLE rosette icing.

We didnt have any inspiration boards cos most of the time, our inspirations are conjured up in our imagination, some of it 'at last moments'. But we knew what colours we wanted to work on....so here, we married the two colours used by our newly weds. (Bride chose blue with dashes of pink for her Hantaran, and groom chose purple with gold for his Hantaran)

And for the all-important harmonized look, we placed a matching bouquet of fresh flowers to balance the whole set-up.

And now, another special dedication to the newly weds.

Presenting the totally revolutionary Wedding Hantaran Designer Isle by Mariah & Sham....

All the gifts for exchange were presented on our Designer Isle. Bride chose a blue-pink colour scheme to present her gifts to her husband. After the solemnization ceremony, the gifts from both sides of the families would be exchanged, and the groom's gifts for his bride (purple gold!), which we designed to match, will be placed on this same Isle. Lucky for us, both Yana and Akhbar have got a keen eye for colours. The gifts they bought were all of the right tones and designs, making our work way much easier :)

For Him gifts were all placed on our gorgeous slick white stands, as opposed to the more traditional 'dulangs' or trays.

Notice the backdrop rosette motif which was reproduced in their Wedding Cake and Favors previously mentioned.

Loving the fresh peony in full bloom.

We designed this bespoke monogram for them to match their get-away car signage.

For once, featuring camera-shy Mum in action!

And so now, here's a look at the groom's gifts for his bride...

They chose romantic purple for this. And so to up the glam and grand factor, I decided to match the look with champaigne gold.

The groom was a bit apprehensive about handling fresh flowers...so we used faux ones instead.

Luckily, we had a whole year to scout around for the highest quality faux flowers, and we're delighted to have had worked them well.

Mariah's gorgeous frame in action...for the customary 'mas kahwin' cheque due to be slotted in, complementing the bride's gorgeous Tiffany bracelet.

Ok so that's all for now. A very big thank you to Haz Workz for all the help rendered, and of course, I'd personally like to thank mother-in-law for helping with everything else while I got busy with projects, work and house moving. And to Mum, great great job as always! And to my four cheeky kids...Universal Studios here we come!! So now, on to our next project. Stay tuned! :)

Just Married!

2010-12-06T03:18:00.000-08:00

Here are our first two maiden 'get-away car decoration' projects!
And we're opening up more slots ;)

Props all ready, waiting for groom's arrival...

We got the requests just a day after our announcement for this new service. So I got down to design the bespoke Just Married Monogram signage, from scratch, for both our couples, and managed to get things done on time.

Here's a closer look at the waterproof signage which the couples get to keep...

Our Signage in action!

The door knob.
Congrats Fahmi and Fadzlin!

I designed a matching monogram for all the door knobs. Afterall, the bride and groom deserved all the attention :)

Front view

My idea was to keep the design safe and simple, yet totally special and romantic.

Getaway cars are not meant to be feminized with too many flowers, dangling ribbons and laces....especially when the grooms have chosen slick and sporty MPVs and SUVs to 'get-away' with their brides.

Congrats Md Akhbar and Nur Zaiyanah!

Another bespoke signage for another beautiful couple.
Seen here in mauve and blue.

Here's one without flowers.

Moving

2010-12-06T01:49:00.000-08:00

So we're finally getting our keys!
Hope to get things organized real fast.

Bridal Car Decoration by Mariah & Sham

2010-11-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

Our new service is now open for booking, subject to date availability.

Feature : Landscape paintings

2010-11-13T23:06:00.000-08:00

Introducing paintings by Jennifer Young.
Vibrant and authentic, her works normally involve landscape drawings and paintings.

Now while I love the European countrysides, I normally enjoy visiting them more than looking at them off paintings. But these 2 paintings by Jennifer really captured my attention. She managed to "feel' her surroundings and bring forth her experiences and interpretations onto her canvas. I felt almost as if I was there. Just loving the details!

Southern France

Notice how she uses her colours fearlessly, to accentuate the tracks. The strokes were deliberate, as if trying to draw attention to the "beaten path"...a sign that there is "life" and probably plenty of activities too in that seemingly remote village.

Landscape painting

Looking at this painting, I can almost feel the light breeze. Notice how everything else seemed still and quiet, save for the few lightly swaying vines which she marvelously captured, again with her deliberate strokes.

True masterpiece

2010-11-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

Lily of the Valley & Vintage Veil by cake guru Peggy Porschen....

New tentages by Mariah & Sham

2010-11-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

We have a couple of Designer Isle projects coming up in 2011, and our clients wanted the same tentage concept we used for our previous Isles.

We'd love to do just that, but as always, we get easily bored....cos a tentage, spruced up, is just that. Where's the challenge, right? And because we love designing the fine details, we've decided to design and produce our own tentage. New concepts, new designs. In fact they are being designed from scratch in-house by us, and will be sewn by our chief seamstress a.k.a Mum.
And we're thinking whether a hexagonal one would be hot in demand. What say you?

I dreamt of having a tentage like this, as opposed to the dais concept, for my wedding (and that was 10 years ago), but hey I'll be just as happy doing it for others...

Time to blow our trumpets?

2010-11-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

Of late, we've been nudged by friends and fans alike, to have our biz advertised and promoted. I so can understand the necessity, especially cos most of our works have been under recognized and under marketed.

But the thing is, our biz is really a hobby for us, in every sense of the word. Inadvertently however, we have been pulled into the playing field, and now expectations are mounting.

All this while, we have only been leveraging solely off our blog, FB and word-of-mouth for publicity, and we have been politely putting off interviews and publicity offers for fear of not being able to meet demands for our services and products. It was supposed to keep our orders under control. Despite that control however, our orders are beyond us now...

Yup so maybe we now have to consider investing in this business and actually run it like a real business?...complete with marketing strategies (that word makes me giddy) and all. That way, we can meet precious demands.

We also want to be recognized for our passion....cos many a time, we have been out-smarted by the bigger players. Our works and ideas, no matter how original and fine, have also been dwarfed and out-marketed by the bigger fanfare these other players get to enjoy, from the marketing they have done and the reputation they have subsequently gained.

Alas, we shall not dwell on this cos we believe in moving on and improving for the better, but now at least we know that talent alone is not enough...

But if and when we finally decide to spread our wings, it will do us good to remember that contentment and true beauty lie within...and so we will continue playing the game with dignity and honour.

Just a bit on Mum

2010-11-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Mariah & Sham has always been synonymous with sis and myself. Understandably so...cos apart from the obvious biz name, we sisters are the ones always updating our FBs and blogsite, keeping in touch with fans and friends alike.

It is not superfluous however, for me to introduce the real unknown talent behind our family biz. Our Mum.
She finds content in just doing things together as a family, and is possibly unbothered about recognition. Well, I can respect that wish, but once a while I think it's ok to showcase her talent just a bit, especially cos I've recently found a beautiful picture of sis in her wedding gown. Mum sewed it of course.

I loved the design. It was simple, classy and most importantly, created with TLC.

Probably just right for a naturally gorgeous bride :)

Deep Purple & Blue by Samia

2010-10-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is entirely long overdue.
We'd like to thank Samia of Deep Purple & Blue for featuring our Pink Black Dessert Isle on her journal blog.
It's an honour really ,and likewise, your blog is worthy of mention too!
Love your stories, eloquence, inspirations and dedication to all things creative and beautiful.
Do keep in touch, and stay inspired! :)

New! Wedding Car Decoration

2010-10-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ok so just before i really sign off for the week, here's just another small announcement.

We're itching to do wedding car decoration, complete with its "Just Married" signage. The ideas are floating around in our head, so you can't ask us for the catalog yet. But then again, if you trust us enough and would love to be surprised with something chic, classy and utterly gorgeous (and especially if you're getting a vintage car for your wedding!), do drop us a mail soon.

We're booked up for other projects, but we're opening up only 2 slots in between (and at promotional price too), for this new project design.

So email us today at mariahnsham@hotmail.com

A new archive

2010-10-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here're just some minor updates for our site.

Apart from the new topbar icons, our sidebar now bears our Archive of Fine Details.
Just a collection of our past works, designs, posters and even unpublished ideas.

Much time and effort have been invested into this part time family business / hobby, and we'd just love to share these works and ideas, right from their conceptualization to their production, with like-minded individuals sharing the same passion and panache for design, styling and all moments beautiful.

See ya next week (after the kids finish their exams yea!)
Meanwhile, take care and have a great week with family and friends ya all!

New designer cupcake by Mariah & Sham

2010-10-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

Last week we collaborated with Haz Workz to come up with a new designer cupcake look for our new client Ashley's 23rd birthday. (Happy Happy Birthday Ashley ~ )

Cupcake and Cupcake Wrapper by Mariah & Sham.
Cupcake Topper by Hazworkz.

We worked on the cupcake wrapper, here featuring a white chandelier silhoutte against our modified Aqua-Tiffany Blue (a shade between aqua blue and tiffany blue) background. Hazrin worked on the monogrammed topper, and we simply love his fine workmanship! (Yes, you can order generic and personalised toppers from him too)

We then designed a new label for Ashley's cupcake take-away box.

Our designer cupcakes, packed in a clear box and embellished with ribbon and crytal beads.

And then of course...because we're always quite the fickle minded lot, we decided to pack the cupcakes in a clear box as well...just for variety :)

And so like always, we would combine all our various ideas and designs...to come up with the all-important harmonized presentation.

This "harmonized variety" has apparently been said to have become one of the distinctive trademarks of Mariah & Sham. So ok we're sticking to that ;)

So anyway, that's all folks!! See ya in our next post...ouh but hey dont forget to check out our constantly updated albums too. Some pics may not find their way to our blog post, but we always put our projects up, no matter how small they may be, for all our clients to see. Just a small way of saying thank you. Thanx for trusting us :)

Collaborating with The Wedding Chateau

2010-10-13T02:23:00.000-07:00

We were honoured, albeit slightly skeptical, when my friend Najihah messaged us, at the eleventh hour, to check if we could help take on some wedding cake orders from her.

We thought we had a lot on our hands, but we're glad to have eventually taken the orders. Cos for one, we learned to be more efficient, rising up to the occassion, so to speak. And especially for myself, working with Najihah brought back fond memories of us, back in Pharmacy School, doing our experiments in the lab :)

But best of all, we actually enjoyed working with TWC. True there were some discrepancies and miscommunication here and there, but we were lucky to have been given the trust and freedom to modify and improvise. But then again maybe Najihah had no choice but to be accommodating, at least for friendship's sake! Heh.

So anyway, here are the pics...

Sorry our dearest photographer sidetracked just a little :)

So again, here are the cake pics...

We were extremely satisfied with our fondant this time round.
Our new preparation technique and top grade ingredients helped us achieve this flawless icing finish.

Mariah working on the final touches.

Striving to design a cake that would look rich and classy yet subtle and elegant, we decided, after much deliberation, to use only ivory - one of the colours included in Najihah's colour palette - throughout...

This monotoned three tiered fondant cake would then be embellished with ivory filligree motifs, lustre pearl icing, ivory ribbon trimmings and white chrysanthemums, to elicit that rich yet subtle texture. It was to our horror then, when we found out, after setting everything up, that the bride had wanted a purple cake.

Fortunately, we managed to get over the initial panic, and just like many other times when we were setting up our own dessert isles and things didnt go quite as expected, we would start modifying and improvising.
Here, we added in our purple ribbon trimming, which luckily was a matching shade to TWC's decor, and accentuated the chrysanthemums with tiny bits of purple heather blooms to harmonize and balance the whole look.

Overall, we thought the colours worked well, but much more crucial would be whether the cake had fit right in to the decor. We hope it did.

Tiffany Blue

And then Najihah needed help to make a simple blue cake to match her blue themed dessert bar. But it being a last minute request, we unfortunately could not grab hold of a one-half inch matching blue ribbon, as requested. So there we went again, modifying and improvising. We trimmed each tier with our shorter half inch ribbon instead, and added in a running layer on top, deliberately leaving a slight gap in between. This way, the trimming had an added pattern / effect to it, yet still remained simple enough to complement our simple cake and TWC's gorgeous dessert bar.

Myself, straightening out the trimmings.
Najihah and Sarah setting up their dessert bar.

Sham, Sarah, Najihah and Mariah....
of Mariah & Sham and The Wedding Chateau.
All looking rather tired here...

So thanks guys, for the opportunity and the trust. Looking forward to working together again. And perhaps, if we ever get overwhelmed with dessert isle projects, and you guys have gotten a new shop with a big kitchen, you all can help make our cakes too?! :)

We were featured in Aquila Asia

2010-10-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

"Mariah & Sham personalises everything for your events. From customised stationery and designer cakes, to decor accents, party favors and wedding packages - everything is fabulous. For Ramadhan and Eid, their dessert isle of sweet treats, halawa, dates and kueh makmur is simply perfection. You have to see it to believe it" ~ Aquila Asia

Pixelated Theory

2010-09-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

We were very honoured to have been photographed by the talented NorZamaria of Pixelated Theory, during Liza's birthday bash 2 months back.

Photography is a passion for her, I gather, and from her works, I could see why she's special. She is immersed in her surroundings, and I just love the way she captures the moments, simple as they may seem, and then translating them into something intriguing, catching one by surprise, and leaving one wondering..."Now why hadnt I noticed THAT before?!"

And just when I thought she's more of a 'moment' photographer, she surprised me with her ability to document still art works...like our dessert isle! Love the angles!

So as much as she would love to have more opportunities to document Mariah & Sham's works, we'd love to, just as much if not more, have the opportunity to be documented by her! Because we would love to have her capturing those precious moments. Cos that is what Mariah & Sham is all about...sharing the beautiful things in life.

So below are some of the pics taken by her.
(You can see how much nicer they are, compared to our amateurish photographs, posted earlier on :))

Ignition On!

2010-09-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

We're back! and fiercer than ever :)

Good news to all our great great great fans and clients who have done way too much to encourage us over and over again with kind words, recommendations, referrals, repeated orders and most importantly, friendship...
(No I'm not kidding! And this is not a marketing gimmick either)

We're back with more ideas for the upcoming projects we have promised to undertake, in the months ahead. Things got a bit delayed, what with all my moving and house searching. But I've FINALLY found a new place, and so things are getting back on track. Our soft launch and retail launch have also been delayed, but we'd rather have proper impactful launches than mediocre rushed ones.

It'll be early next year, and we're keeping our lips sealed -where our new ideas and concepts are concerned- cos we dont want the ideas copied and then modified BEFORE we get tired of them. Heh.

I'm still waiting for the new house keys though. Come december, we'll get some work done to spruce the house up, and only then...will we announce our soft launch. So please wait for us.

In the meantime, do enjoy our upcoming projects and blog updates....

We're featured on Martha Stewart's "Dreamers into Doers"!

2010-08-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

So this was indeed a great deal for us, cos it was beyond our expectations, at least at this point in time. I mean who are we kidding? Martha and her team are the gold standard for fine living, crafts, weddings, gardening, decorating and entertaining!

We've always loved our community of Dreamers into Doers because they all share our passion for all things beautiful...and most importantly, they believe in sharing ideas, success and motivation. They encouraged us and appreciated our strengths and capabilities. The feelings are mutual.

So when we shared our newest project with the rest of our members, we were expecting some constructive feedback from them. Little did we know, our pics had been picked up by the organisers and then one of it featured...much to our delight :)

It was a great thing for us cos the feature served as a seal of approval. Not something for us to flaunt, we feel, but something we can use as a yardstick for our standard. That is to say that our work has met their standard and quality. So at least we know for sure we're headed in the right direction...

Furthermore, seeing that we're always quite passive (infact almost inert) when it comes to marketing or advertising our biz, such an attention and endorsement mean even a lot more to us. It reaffirms our belief that if our work is good, people, mostly strangers, will notice us and come to us. This process may gain us slow popularity, but we're striving towards having a meaningful and trustworthy business.

So this is no reason to be all heady (but yup cant deny we're still screaming in delight). We will move ahead and test new waters. Push our limits. Innovate. Inspire. Make new friends.

So once again, thanx Liza for the opportunity :) We may have been strangers before, but we've surely forged a new friendship now.

And thanx to Martha and team! You'll see more of us, definitely :)

Ouh yea and so here's the link to our feature in Martha Stewart

Our newest Dessert Isle

2010-08-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

We recently had the pleasure of creating a new dessert isle for our new client Liza, who'd just had her 30th Birthday Bash last weekend.

In the short time we've known her, she came across as someone who truly enjoys treating her family and friends. Though extremely generous, she is not unnecessarily extravagant...she knows when to indulge and whom to indulge with.

So we hope our isle had been a tremendous treat and joy to her loved ones and to herself on her special day, and here's wishing Liza a Happy Birthday!

We love the idea of sharing beautiful things and beautiful food with our loved ones. And so does Liza.
So she unabashedly cosied up to our idea of an outdoor dessert isle - a garden party!

An outdoor tentage set up like this, we thought, could be very gorgeous and classy...yet inviting and pretty much laissez faire. And Liza loved the unique three-dimensional feel to it too.

Introducing our Pink Black Sassy Dessert Isle.

This isle was designed with a couple of elements in mind.

We were striving to create a pink black themed isle that is sassy and chic,

as opposed to one that is either too gothic or too sweet.

So we decided to make a black and white striped parisian blind,

and worked our whole design around that parisian chic look.

We used black-white stripes, chandelier & silhouttes, topiaries, satin, velvet, crystals and silverware.

Then everything else was harmonized in pink... though not exactly of the same pink shade,

but rather in different tones...cos we simply love harmonizing different tones of colours.

And of course because we believe that the treats should be authentic and not too overdressed with icing and colouring, we therefore mostly made do with their natural colours and worked on harmonizing them instead. It was truly challenging, but hey that's what we are here for ;)

Now comes the fun part - Dessert!

Our chocolate cupcakes were spread with delicious chocolate fudge, and spruced up with our newly designed chandelier-silhoutte cupcake wrappers.

And then we had our designer butter cookies with their thin matching chandelier icing.

Then there were the all-time favourites... marshmallows and sesame sticks.
Although the latter didn't come in pink, they blended perfectly with the chocolate cupcakes and butter cookies placed alongside...

More sweet treats - Our mini shortcakes lightly laced with pink crystals and tea roses.

Not forgetting Grandma's old recipe - Chocolate Fudge Pudding!

Our favors were designed to bear all the elements of our design. Notice the matching black white stripes, the chandelier silhoutte, the pink label, the pink meringue, the crystal clear bag and the silver stand.

When placed on the isle,

the whole favor set-up helped harmonize and balance all the elements of the isle altogether...

Our generous arrangement of fresh flowers then complemented our parisian blind,

our french white chandelier, and the pink satin.

And of course, the Birthday Cake.

What could be more appropriate and matching for this parisian chic isle, than a parisian hat-box cake?

A fondant covered chocolate cake baked with the finest ingredients...

So here are some behind the scene photos:

Creative designers - Sham and Mariah

Baking chief and seamstress- Zaiton

Stationery and props specialist - Hazrin

Distraction specialists - 6 kids in between :)

Steam ironing the velvet tablecloth for that all-important professional look.

We're big on quality control.

A quick pose

Mariah and Sham, sans Zaiton and Hazrin.

- Thank You -

Ramadhan and Eid

2010-07-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Three months ago, we embarked on a new isle concept. We wanted an isle that was real, three dimensional, and in keeping with the true meaning of sharing and gathering. And what better celebration to feature, than the marvellous Ramadhan and Eid? So now that the festive months are just around the corner, it's time for the reveal.

Set in a cozy tent with simple modern white luxurious curtains, rich Moroccan inspired cushions and lanterns, classy European accents and table ware, and simple fresh floral arrangements, RAMADHAN & EID MUBARAK by Mariah & Sham featured a dessert Isle that fuses the old with the contemporary, the east with the west, and the generous with the simple.

This fusion embodies the people celebrating the two annual holy festivities of Ramadhan and Eid - Muslims all over the world - young and old…brothers and sisters from all races and all walks of lives.

This isle featured mostly Arabian and local sweet treats like dates, apricots, halawa, kueh makmur, suji custard and such...nicely presented or delicately packed in our newly designed favors and chinese-takeaway boxes.

We also decided to feature our designer cupcakes. Packed with real flavour, we wanted to keep the taste authentic and unspoiled. So we kept the icing minimal, and dressed them up in our newly designed matching cupcake wrappers instead.

This dessert isle was also presented to resonate the meaning of its celebration – that of warm kinship, beautiful gathering, spiritual uplifting and thankfulness. The treats, though mostly placed on the guest table, were also placed at side tables to elicit a sense of casual homeliness.

Lit up lanterns were used to emanate a warm glow, creating a cozy and humble ambience. Yet the same warm glow, reflected by the beautiful glass vases and crystal water receptacles placed alongside, gave the ambience a touch of drama and sparkling luxury.

Cushions sewn out of an assortment of rich coloured fabric, earth toned fabric, and multi-textured fabric were strewn around to add depth, colour and definition to the whole set up.

A thick white sheepskin rug was used in place of a typical colourful Arabian rug to match the simple white sofa and curtains. Simple non-overbearing floral arrangements were used to slightly soften the overall rich and masculine look.

That's all from this isle....
Do look out for our upcoming pink-black sassy isle this month end, and yes, our designer cupcake wrappers are in the final stages of market reveal. Do bear with us a while more ;)

Cupcake Toppers

2010-06-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Another way of cleverly dressing up delicious cupcakes is by using toppers! And I am delighted to introduce great new toppers designed and produced by Haz Workz. His design spans all 'genres' - from cool to elegant to masculine....cos really, cupcakes dont always have to just be cute and pretty!

He is collaborating with Mariah & Sham to produce designs which are complementary to our isle themes and such...but should you visit his blog, you'll be able to place topper orders for your own cupcakes or even muffins for that matter. By the way, he is also a personalised stationery specialist...so yup you can order those too....

So anyway, you can bake your own cupcakes or muffins, spread some nutella (or icing - for the more initiated ones :)) and add some toppers (with our matching cupcake wrappers, perhaps) for a great and fuss free presentation. Just be sure to harmonize the whole "look" though. That's the fun part!

This way, you can have your delicious cakes and eat'em too...

Elegant Monogram

Cool design!

Funky and cheerful!

Looking chic in stripes and monogram.

Fairy princesses for the princess!

Of food styling, dessert isles and pedestals

2010-06-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

Great food stylists firmly believe that food should look (and of course, taste) like it's meant to be eaten...not too overly manicured, coloured, dressed or composed. That is to say, when creating a dessert isle, high tea buffet etc, the main focus should be on the food itself.

That’s why Mariah & Sham always takes the approach of working the décor around the food, and not the other way around. Beauty should always have a soul.

While some treats can be styled, we are always wary of overworking them. We believe good buffets normally have a spread of suitable and enjoyable food that are presented as they are, but complemented gorgeously with the right accessories and décor. This way, one can have a non-intimidating, visually stunning buffet and yet actually enjoy eating off it!

Our use of cupcake wrappers and toppers is just one simple testimony to our belief. We try keeping the cupcakes uncomplicated so they’ll be much easier and nicer to eat…and we dress them up with gorgeous wrappers and toppers or place them on gorgeous stands or pack them up nicely, in order to blend them into any particular themes.

We also love using stands and decorative accents. Which is why, I’m totally in love with the vintage inspired handmade dessert pedestals created by the very talented Linda Smith from Burlap + Blue

She creates and sells the most unique and gorgeous pedestals! I've looked around for awhile, and I inexorably find hers to be very tastefully done! I was therefore delighted when she agreed to ship them to me all the way from the States. Thanx again Linda!!

I love the way she matches the pedestal colors with that of the plates, and the way she harmonizes the form, shape and texture of the plates with the complementing pedestals.

Anyone can fix a pedestal to a plate, but hey it takes a very keen eye for design to come up with tasteful ones. Her pedestals are simple yet stunning, and will make any treats look great.

Every piece of work seems very well thought of…and I know, after our enjoyable long chat on FB, why this is so…Her all-or-nothing attitude leaves no room for compromise. She gives her best to turn her vintage crafts into the best that they possibly can be – detailed, balanced and perfectly crafted - yet still exuding the warm genuine worn look that gives vintage its character. Great job Linda!!

Her dessert pedestals will be made available at Mariah & Sham Living’s soft launch, together with some other decorative elements and accents. So yes, if you share our passion for entertaining – and therefore sharing with family and friends - you will soon be able to own these lovelies and other décor pieces (cake stands, glass jars etc) to set up your own buffet table with!

Our cupcake wrappers will also be made available to shoppers (hint: not just online) really soon. So do look out for our announcement ;)

Meanwhile, here are some of Linda’s gorgeous works….

Linda's right! Who doesn't love polka dots?!

Love the colour!

Old English with a modern twist.

I love the blue-brown patterns on the plate - matched with the blue pedestal - which if you notice, is round and therefore harmonizes with the blue spirals. It just looks right and balanced!

Notice how she matches her glass plate with a glass pedestal?

Very mod indeed. A curved simple white plate on a sleek black pedestal.

Baby shower by Lollipop Events & Design

2010-06-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

Check out the baby shower by Lollipop Events & Design. Loving their eclectic use of colour, design and concept.

The original french window and old brick wall backdrop gave the table design a worn and unpretentious vintage look. Then spruced up with chandeliers, silver candle holders and crystals, the set-up exuded class and luxury. Black stripes and french inspired sketches were integrated to elicit a modern and french feel. Yet all the drama, exuberance and rustiness were cleverly softened by the non-overbearing pink cream tones of the fresh floral arrangements and laced umbrellas. A lavish and dreamy french inspired soiree, I can agree no less...

11th June 2010

2010-06-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

It was a significant date. We handed over our keys to the new home owners. It was an emotional experience I must say, and I surely didn't expect the kids to cry...but they did. Too many fond memories we had there, in our small and humble but cosy and fun white castle.

"We're moving into a bigger and more comfortable home" I explained to them.

"But I love this home....." Fazli retorted wailingly.

"I love this home too. But this is a happy home because we love and cherish one another. So no matter where we go, even if it's a mud hut, we'll always be happy as long as we share and care for one another k....we'll remember what we had here, but move on and make new fond memories together" I promised the kids.

It was quite painful, but their innocence gave me comfort...cos maybe we've brought them up right after all...

So anyway, we're currently recuperating from all the house moving hassle and rush, and despite the lack of updates, we're still doing business as usual.

We had the pleasure of preparing the wedding hantaran for a beautiful couple - Norhafizah and Khairul Anwar on 12th June.

It was understandably rushed, what with all the moving and birthing happening at Mariah & Sham, but Mum was admirably well-composed as always. And we're glad we took Fiza's order in too, cos she's just warm, nice, happy and gorgeous like that.

So here, with a For Him hantaran, we did a more masculine design. No doubt, our clients love our fresh floral arrangements, but used inappropriately, the type and colour of the flowers may negate the mood and purpose of the presentation. So after meeting up with them and understanding their preferences, I suggested using only dashes of purplish light pink and white hydrangea instead of having the whole hantaran in white and purple ...since most of the items come in black, brown and maroon anyway. Then to add in more dashes of purple to the design, we added in personalised tags in that shade...amidst the maroon velvet ribbon, champaigne velvet covers, black roman vases and green masculine pine leaves. We've never seen hantarans with personalised tags before, but the idea was welcomed by Fiza. So we're glad for that. Let's see if our idea catches on.

Wishing Khairul Anwar & Norhafizah a blessed life together.

Style & Decor

2010-05-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

Yes we've been busy, and we're still only giving glimpses...

Here's something else we have in the pipeline.
We'll announce our MARIAH & SHAM LIVING soft launch in due time, along with some other surprises :)

And to all parties who have contacted us for our Isles, thank you for your interests and kind words.
We're trying our best to accommodate everyone, but with probably a couple more slots left, we're booked right up till end 2011. But hey of course you can still try for a slot...just be sure to mention your event date :)

Six In Between

2010-05-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes one needs to bring the house down in order to dig the treasure hidden beneath and build a better house.We're at this stage of upheavel, rediscovering and upgrading now. Hence our silence these last couple of weeks. But hey, silence equates not to apathy and inactivity. Infact, the reverse is true. We've been extremely busy!

My house moving and searching, for one, have been riddled with plenty of challenges...maybe some things are finally falling into place, but I can vouch the journey is still quite long ahead.

Plenty of business plans and improvements are also being worked on...but we're keeping the publicity and marketing on hold until we're truly ready.

For now, we're just glad to announce that Mariah will be delivering her little princess really soon. Do pray for her and her baby's safe delivery. And so come June, there'll be 6 kids in between us. Naturally we're overjoyed, and we've psyched ourselves to remain positive and passionate about our families, biz and profession. But we know more than well the importance of being realistic...of knowing our priorities, strengths, limitations and contingencies...

Admittedly, Mariah & Sham is not just a business adventure for us. It's a passion. We started off this biz on our salaried incomes, and we saw things through with our own blood, sweat and tears...just the 3 of us - sis, myself and mum - with some spousal support perhaps, kids in tow (who can pretty much be our stress inducers as well as relievers!), full time jobs and plenty of courage, I hope. Case in point, we're taking matters seriously. Do not let our silence make you think otherwise cos even with six in between, we're still very much a Martha Stewart at heart.

Take care and best wishes...

Design feature : Streets of Europe

2010-05-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

Definition of Streetscape :
The visual elements - namely the buildings, roads, pavements, styles, trees, spaces etc - that combine to form the street's character and identity.

Featured here today are some of the charming and quaint streets of Europe...

Mykonos, Greece

Sant Antoni and Cadaques

Norwich

Stockholm

Paris

Switzerland

Les-Baux-de-Provence, France

Dublin

Mykonos, Greece

Hora, Greece

Rothenburg

Monaco

Mykonos, Greece

Props and such...

2010-04-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

Some of the props which may be entering Mariah & Sham's Isle inventory soon...

Beverage Dispenser

Petite stands

Silver stand

Backdrop decor

AKAN DATANG

Mariah & Sham's newly designed favor boxes and chinese-takeaway boxes with their matching cupcake wrappers.

Retailing soon at stores near you? Well, we're woking on it! So stay tuned...

Events Feature : Amy Atlas

2010-04-21T03:34:00.000-07:00

Extremely inspired! That's how I've been feeling, stumbling upon one great blog after another.

Today, I found Amy Atlas...apparently a very established events planner, whose many great works can make young businesses like ours blush in embarrasment...yet hopeful of the possibilities.

Afterall, how can we not know Amy Atlas? Her works are so well established, inspirational and relevant to us. And so many other event planners have in fact adopted her style and presented their Amy Atlas-inspired dessert bars time and time again, consciously or otherwise.

We're jumping on the bandwagon...and we're set to be inspired, by not just her creativity, but her fervour as well. She's a lawyer turned entrepeneur...one of those inspiring stories about people following their hearts and doing what they love best.

We can learn from her... yet we aspire to be original and mostly create our own spread - which we have all along named the 'Isle'. After all, while it's nice to be inspired, it's much nicer and satisfying to be original. Hopefully, Amy Atlas gets a wind of our existence and invites us over for a feature...hehe ok we're dreaming again...

So really, our next action plan will be to source out for more stands, jars, plates, props and maybe even platforms (I'm envisioning a 3-tiered isle)

But for now, here's presenting Amy Atlas....

Events Feature: Ice Cream Buffet

2010-04-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, I stumbled upon a gorgeous post by Amy Moss. It featured her Ice-Cream buffet, and this was just the sort of stuff Sis and I would always dream and talk about.

Thing is, we've always had plenty of ideas (quite similar to amy's too, I dare say) on how to set up a party isle chock-full of candies, chocolates and ice-cream. And when we get into our dreamy mode, we'll start rattling off fanciful ideas, and get all excited wistfully planning for our next possible Isle or Buffet project.

But until then, let us entice you with Amy Moss's brilliant set-up. Hopefully you can be convinced that a designer party isle can be a worthwhile rare indulgence...and hopefully you know where to find us in case you're interested in one ;)

So enjoy.....

Lifestyle Feature : Arabian

2010-04-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here's introducing our first "Be Inspired" feature post. Look out for more e-mag postings and links to all things beautiful, spanning topics like Lifestyle, Events, Hobbies, Design & Architecture, Art, Food & Drinks, Favors & Gifts and many more.....

Arabian domestic architecture and decor encompass many different syles and influences ranging from persian to moorish.

They normally feature breezy and open garden-like spaces, stylized decorative patterns (arabesque), domes and fountains. Colours can range from pale sandstones to bright tones.

Featured here are the more contemporary designs. They still bear the common abovementioned elements, but are integrated into a more streamlined and minimalistic decor style.

Most of these more modern styles can be found in Dubai, following the architectural boom of the arab world there.

A seating hall like this is common in Arabian-style interiors.

Baths and gardens are also common in arabian architecture. This one's been cleverly designed with a modern pool (howz) amidst an indoor garden courtyard (sahn) .

This store is an epitome of modern arab-european integration. Notice all the dome shaped lamps and damask cushions amidst the crystal chandeliers & tableware, against a contemporary gothic-style black & white striped feature wall.

Our Departments

2010-04-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

When asked what our biz is all about, we're always at a lost for words.

Truth is, we do not have a single label defining us. Not that we are fickle, unfocused or anything. We are just open to possibilities. We are about All Things Beautiful.

In any case, we've decided to organize our services into the following departments. Let's see how this goes. If need be, we'll just add on more departments ;)

A glimpse

2010-04-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we decided to try a new set up right in Mariah's own dining room. It was just a mini set up....perhaps a glimpse into something bigger which we'll definitely embark on, once we're done with all the packing, moving and unpacking.

Great Getaways

2010-03-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Striking Images from the pages of ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

Flowers

2010-03-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

A very clever floral arrangement by Saskia Havekes

Featuring an assortment of pink flowers, in different tones, arranged in 3 different matching beautiful glass containers...

And here's paying homage to some gorgeous wild flowers we've seen around, courteousy of nature enthusiasts in and around the blogosphere...
Definition of wild flowers : Flowers that are capable of growing, reproducing and becoming established without actual cultivation.

Of Friends and Inspiration

2010-03-20T04:33:00.000-07:00

They say there's a lot you can tell about someone by looking at his / her friends. Well, cliched or not, I can agree no less.

I've got friends who've influenced me to study (yes this lazybone had to be influenced indeed!) , friends who've taught me to laugh at myself, and friends who've inspired me to follow my dreams...

Eversince young, my sis and I have had the penchant for all things beautiful. Mom was our biggest influence. She would sew everything from clothes to curtains....and her cooking and baking have never been just ordinary. So at the risk of sounding pertinent, I would safely admit that our mum is one very capable and multi-talented woman :) But then again, maybe we're just being good daughters (so excuse us)....

We'd like to think we've picked up some of her creative talents....but whether we're just being heady or otherwise, one thing's for sure...we can't shake off that creative passion.

So with that kind of passion, growing up in Singapore during our times (which I hope was not too long ago), was a bit confusing and conflicting cos while our hearts were always leaning towards all things creative and artistic, we chose to let our heads be 'brain washed' to go the non-creative route, academic wise.

Don't get me wrong. Personally, I've never regretted being a science and maths geek cos I found those subjects intriguing...more so the out-of-textbook kind. And Mariah too, I believe, enjoyed doing psychology. But the problem was, with an education system that was very structured and rigid back then, there was not much room for creative pursuits unless you take the 'arts' route or if your parents are rich enough to send you for 'fine art' lessons.

As such, for sis and I, our artistic escapades were probably only revisited occassionally during birthdays, baby showers and family gatherings. Those were the times when we would put on our martha stewart hats and indulge in creative undertakings. It was purely hobby, nothing more...

But things changed after Sis's wedding.

I contacted my good friend Najihah to do up Sis's wedding decor. Back then, she and her family had just started up their now well known company - The Wedding Chateau. I've always appreciated her taste, and I was glad Sis trusted me cos the wedding was gorgeous.

Najihah partaking in this creative business, I thought, although not unlikely - given her obvious flair for artistry - was rather surprising because she had spent precious years studying pharmacy, and has the intelligence to do extremely well in this profession, but chose to immerse herself in this business instead. On top of that, being married to Faizal, her involvement in healthcare would have been a given convenience seeing that Faizal, as a doctor, would also be in the same field.

But she chose do something totally unrelated. She followed her dreams. She didn't simply bask in convenience. She took that leap of faith to immerse in something that was closer to her heart, and did it well. She's still practising though...but I'd think she's more 'The Wedding Chateau' than 'Pharmacy'.

Even back in Uni, she was always brimming with creative ideas...breaking the stigma that all science students are boring nerds, with not a creative bone in them, doomed to be behind-the-scenes brain-picked workers. And so, seeing her and her very-talented family succeed, my sis, mom and I were encouraged and inspired to dip our hands into this creative business...awakening those creative tendencies we've suppressed for ever so long.

In 2007, 'Mariah & Sham' was registered as a business hobby. We've gotten in too deep in our respective careers to go full time, business wise. But no less important, we strive to handle all our biz projects with utmost attention, putting in plenty of thoughts and care into all our works.

Two years on, we're finally gaining momentum and support...although we've still got a lot more to learn. We're still in our infant stage.

Along the way, we've made new friends too. Ayu from Simply Cupcakes is one such new friend who has been unselfishly encouraging. Very talented, and having produced plenty of gorgeous works herself, she's refreshingly sincere in her appreciation of our works, hence spurring us to do better. Rati, another talented friend who bakes the best-in-the-world Kueh Lapis, is yet another highly regarded biz acquaintance who has taught us a thing or two about great baking. We've also gotten to know the very dynamic Elvira from Made With Love, and many other great friends who've influenced and inspired us in one way or another.

These friends have helped us grow, and hopefully we've helped them too. Sometimes we share experiences and resources. Sometimes, our ideas overlap. Sometimes, we compete. Sometimes we collaborate. But at the end of the day, we all have our own unique strengths, and we're all just trying our best to do what we love...and with such common interests, the pie can only get bigger.

And then of course, it would be a great injustice not to mention our own good friends and cuzzens like Lina, Kak Tan, Tina, Raudhah, Shikin, Min, Syak, Falah, Mel, Nur, Lin, Hana and many others who've cheered us on right from the start. They believed in us even when everything was so uncertain back then. Kak Tan for one, even planned on going up Mount Dandenong to get us a new cake stand when she found out how sad we were to have had a customer lose our unique and beautiful $200 cake stand!

At the end of the day, wherever this biz takes us, we're just lucky to have been surrounded by great friends...and just as much, we're lucky to have been inspired.

Outdoor Dessert Isle

2010-03-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Our outdoor dessert isle, though very rushed, was caught on camera this time round.

So here's a pastel set-up of sweet treats, catered for a lighthearted family gathering...

Nature was the backdrop on that perfectly cloudy day.
Fondant covered Chocolate Cupcakes

A careful selection of halal candies, chocolates and such

An array of designer cupcakes, cookies and such
Almond cookies with lemon and orange flavoured icing

Local snacks like kuaci, a favourite for children AND adults

Fruits Jelly Cocktail

Mini fondant raspberry sponge cakes.

Next change: French chic set up on a circular isle. Any takers?

CYCLE OF HOPE

2010-03-06T22:56:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of updates lately...will resume after this post...

I decided to take some time off to join the charity ride - Cycle of Hope - during the OCBC Cycle Singapore 2010 event recently.

This cycling event was in support of cancer research funding for the cancer centre I'm working at.

What began as a ride for fun and exercise turned out to be much more meaningful than I ever expected.

We had students from MGS, fellow colleagues, our own spouses and friends joining in to support...but the most heartwarming support came from our own cancer survivors who joined in the ride, and were led by the highly inspirational Dr William Tan - a neuroscientist and a wheelchair ultramarathon champion best known for his fund raising efforts the world over.

Staff and students of National Cancer Centre Singapore seen here with Dr William Tan.

From left -Dr Tao, Dr Toh, students Sin Keong and Siauhui, Olive, myself and Dr Koong.

Rizal and hubby joined in the ride.

At the end of it all, I came out of the ride with a new resolve...and that is to help spread the word...that cancer research and funding are imperative in the development of new drugs and treatment modalities, which suffice it to say, require years of research and clinical trials, and are therefore very expensive.

We can all try to contribute, in whatever way we can, to fund such studies, and hopefully with every new drug or treatment being developed, a new hope is born and many more lives and families can be touched....

Gift baskets

2010-03-06T22:25:00.001-08:00

Assortment

2010-02-22T02:29:00.000-08:00

We love assortments!

We came up with a couple of label designs for our client and - like always - couldnt decide which one to use.
So we used all, like always....

End product: 4 different labels on our white take-away boxes, then adorned with black and white ribbons. Pics will follow soon, seeing that I'm a little bit under the weather lately.

In the meantime, here are the 4 designs.....

Gorgeous Cakes

2010-02-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous cakes have a way of making any special occassions well...special.

There's no one single style attributable to making a gorgeous cake, but one thing's for sure...it has to have that harmony, balance and all the elements of quality and finesse...so we've learned.

Whatever look one desires, be it Traditional, Glamorous, Parisian, Chic, Stylish, Bright, Monotoned or even Unconventional...these guiding principles, if observed well, will always produce works that are beautiful yet unpretentious.

Drawing inspiration and lessons from some of our favorite caketiers, we're constantly learning to master new techniques and take on new projects.

But until then, let us delight you with some masterpieces by the Gurus of Gorgeous Cakes - Peggy Porschen, Zoe Clark, Maki, Wendy Kromer and Martha Stewart - just to name a few...

TRADITIONAL , INNOCENT

UNCONVENTIONAL

CHEERFUL

DAMASK, CALLIGRAPHY

INTRICATE, PARISIAN

STYLISH, LACY

VINTAGE, CHIC

SWEET, FEMININE

International Orders

2010-02-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

Looks like our favors have gone offshore....and we sort of figured it's got a lot to do with the world getting smaller, what with the advent of IT and modern transportation and all.

International selling is a norm...but opening our doors to the international market wasn't in the cards, back when we first started anyway.

However, our business, like many online businesses, invited international enquiries and ordering requests -which we pretty much turned down.

Until we started deliberating...

Barring any warped sense of security, we may soon lose our international fans, should we not venture out of our own imaginary comfort zones, to reciprocate their enthusiasm. Afterall, they had communicated their appreciation for our work, and sent in repeated requests to order our favors.

Encouraged, we took on the orders and learned a thing or two, from our global biz escapades. And now, we're looking forward to more...

Ode White Castle

2010-01-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks had been extraordinarily busy. We had local and overseas orders to meet. And like many times before, we couldn't find enough time to take pictures of those projects and creations to add into our portfolio.

It was even more inopportune these last few weeks cos we'd been busy opening up our white castle for viewing. The encroachment of our privacy, the prospect of losing something dear to us, the hope of getting a reasonable offer, and the excitement of realizing our dreams took us on a roller coaster ride.

Alas, our white castle has been sold...

While we were excited to change for the better, we were also totally unprepared for the emotional impact the sale actually had upon us. After all, we've shared many wonderful memories growing up here, together.

Thankfully though, we're finally moving on with a light heart. We'll just have to continue focusing on the tasks at hand, and go on ahead as planned. We're looking for a bigger place to stay....and hopefully with that, a bigger space to do our projects too.

Do pray for us.

We'll miss our white castle for sure, but it was home only because we made it so. We'll build a new home soon, but not before saying goodbye...

Exquisite Floral Gifts

2010-01-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Consultation

2010-01-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Favors

Choose from a variety of non-generic Favors and Doorgifts suitable for weddings, parties and occassions.

Personalization available.

Dessert Isle

Enjoy a stand alone decorated Mariah & Sham dessert isle suitable for home gatherings, or for weddings and events.

Choose from a spread of Pastries, Dessert, Fruits, Chocolates & Sweet treats, Fondue, Snacks, Local Kuehs etc.

High Tea

Enjoy a beautiful buffet spread of Light food and Refreshments for adult / children tea parties.

Package includes Invites and Favors.

Gift packaging and delivery

-Newborn hampers

-Food hampers

-Floral bouquets

Floral Arrangements

- Wedding / Events centrepieces

- Wedding Bouquets

- Corsages and Boutonnieres

Designer Cakes & Cupcakes

Choose from a variety of customised Cakes and/or Cupcakes for gifts, parties, events and occassions.

Wedding Cake Centrepiece

Commission us to create a stand alone wedding cake Table Set-up, decorated to match your wedding cake.

Stationeries

Order your Invites, Placecards, Thank-you notes, Labels, Tags, Personalized Notebooks, Personalized / Customised Canvas Prints.

Events Decor

Props and Decorative Items Rental

Rent our Chairs (coming soon...), Cake stands, Glassware, Silverware, Centrepieces, Columns etc.

Subject to date availability. Terms and Conditions apply.

Louis Chairs

2010-01-08T20:09:00.001-08:00

We think Louis chairs are perfect for weddings...Always definitive, they fit into any decor styles.

They used to come in Classics, but their designs have been modernized and modified to fit into any wedding styles of this modern day.

Dreamt of having them for my wedding, but there were no companies here renting out these lovelies for events and weddings, back then.

In fact even now, while Louises are gaining popularity in American weddings, their use here is still quite limited to decorating dining rooms and hotel ballrooms.

We're seriously thinking of investing in them, but our search for good quality louis chairs suitable for banquets, is just beginning. And we're not even sure if we'll strike a good deal...

But here's a take on what we've seen around, and the potential that Louis Chairs can elicit on the decor mood of not just homes, but events as well...

Seen above is the evergreen Classic design....

Here's the classic again, placed amidst an ASSORTMENT of white garden chairs, for a french garden wedding.

Intricate and colourful, it breaks the white monotony, yet blends very harmoniously with the garden surrounding ...Utterly gorgeous!

And here's the modern Ghost Louis, seen in Martha.

The Ghost Louis again, enhancing the elegant and modern splendour of the setting above.

And the Ghost Louis yet again, used in a classic setting. Call it fusion if I may, but who's to say classic set ups must be complimented only with classic chairs?

The Ghost Louis, obviously gaining more popularity. Adopted here in a romantic european set up.

And here's one which I've fallen in love with....The Folding Louis.

It's elegant, classy, modern and most importantly - practical.

Imagine how gorgeous Folding Louis will look if we were to incorporate it into the inspiration board seen at SMP below

Loving Louis!

Out of the closet

2010-01-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

Since we first started our biz 2 years ago, we've been slowly and quietly collecting props and decorative pieces from many parts of the world.

But many of these pieces have been stashed aside, unused and forgotten, only because we were not prepared to take on big projects back then.

They're out of the closet now, and we're getting them sorted out for new projects. One of the pieces we like, and which we decided to take a picture of, is our mini column.

Apart from being just a column, it makes for a beautiful centrepiece on our Dessert Isle...

Beautiful even on its own, I can only imagine how beautiful this dessert isle will look, all dressed up with beautiful treats, fresh flora, gorgeous tableware and matching favors.

More props are finally coming out of the closet, but we can't be displaying all of them here...lest it takes away all the elements of surprise :)

Nevertheless, we're just too excited to not display our new gorgeous 5-tier silver plated cake stand which we just bought a couple of days ago!

Tagged with a hefty price, we don't mind investing in it because we know we are paying for outstanding quality - very finely made, tasteful and the sort that will wear well through the years.

This kind of stand will make any cupcakes look good, say if we were to use it as a Wedding Cupcake Centrepiece, for example. We believe that delicious cupcakes shouldn't be 'overworked' with too much icing and such, cos sometimes all it needs is a good presentation.

These are just random ideas, and photos of which were taken just as randomly, in between the 'excavating' breaks.

So well, that's enough imagining and fooling around for now...plenty more excavating to be done...

New winds

2010-01-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

The process has begun...

We're making changes...and though scary, it's the only way forward. We have solid plans for 2010, but execution wise, well let's just say they're being worked on :)

But somewhere along the line, we're looking into having a new space to meet our clients. Nope, not our very much dreamt of Rodeo Drive Boutique Shop, but something else...

I like the hexagonal white one, but it's to be determined by concensus...so more meetings.

Stay tuned and follow us on this journey.

Xmas

2009-12-29T07:53:00.000-08:00

This year, Hazrin decided to give personalized presents to his maternal nieces and nephews for Xmas...

He's always been very involved in our projects, but he's never really designed anything for us thus far. This time round however, probably inspired to chart his own name, he decided to design a new line of personalized stationeries.

With the resources available, he painstakingly worked on his project...and in the process, helped increase our pool of resources too.

I must admit, I've never fully realized this potential of his before, and am pleasantly surprised by what I discovered....

We now have a new designer on board, and that can be nothing but advantageous for Mariah & Sham :)

So, here's introducing his excellent work...

He even prepared the packaging box for the personalized notebook and pencil...

For the young adult cousins, he gave them something chic...

For the aunts, uncles and married cousins, he gave them the newly designed Mariah & Sham favors...

And finally, for the newest member of the clan - Baby Deborah, a Mariah & Sham gift set....

Hope they love the gifts!

New year resolution

2009-12-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

We've been asked a couple of times, to do up decor and banquet for weddings, but we're still toying with that idea. We'd love to do just that, and we do have our resources...but up till now, we've just been taking orders for favors, gifts, cakes, high teas and floral arrangements.

Running a business, while being a mother of four and working as a full time pharmacist can be quite tricky sometimes. Mariah - my sis and biz partner, who is also a mother herself, and a full time social worker, can testify to this...and so can mum - our biz director and our biggest inspiration and mentor.

So far it's been manageable cos we've been lucky to be able to pursue this biz, which is our passion, with proper time management and good family support.

But all this while, to ensure quality in every single piece of work, we've been concentrating our resources and confining our orders to the likes of favors, gifts, cakes etc. Perhaps it's high time that we unfold more surprises. Many of our fans and friends have been encouraging us to go bigger scale...and so with that kind of support and confidence, we're treading into newer territories, come 2010.

Wishing all a blessed and fruitful 2010! May your dreams and prayers come true....

To our better halves, loving children and dad...thanx for all the help, support and encouragement.
To our big brother Nazif - on whose quiet trust and kind token, this biz was first built and made possible, thank you :)
To our sister-in-law Shabana...thanx for your moral support and appreciation.

And especially to all our fans and clients, thank you so very much for all the support, trust and encouragement. Keep in touch, and God bless.....

Love,
Mariah & Sham

Rush Hour

2009-12-13T01:06:00.000-08:00

The December rush is not showing any signs of abating...

We promised not to take in any new orders...only to break that very promise again this week :)

We took over an order for a wedding cake from a friend. She came down with a bad flu and couldn't meet her order...so we decided to take in just this ONE more order...

Here's Pretty in Pink, dedicated to our dear friend....may you stay in the pink of health always.

And of course, a special thank you to our newfound client Zyla, for her trust and appreciation. Here's also to you and friends....

Design meets taste

2009-12-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

Introducing our....