Xinnie (34) & Letting Time
This article was written in collaboration with Don’t Mind If (DMI) to document and archive creative journeys of those who labour within Singapore’s Communication Design industry and community. This is a preview of the entry.
Xinnie at her desk
“I wish I were better at documenting,” is what I thought after parting ways with a friend at a crossing in Katong one night. I wanted to remember the exuberance we felt from our 3 hour-long conversation about all these possibilities(!), and how we smelled like Korean barbecue while waiting on the light to change. This idea has taken up real estate in my head of late- so much so I acquired a book titled ‘기록의 쓸모’ which translates literally to ‘The Usefulness of Recording’.
Someone I know who documents like second-nature, almost a disposition, is Xinnie. Ten-eighty by nineteen-twenty, are stories on Instagram - but hers let you in on a joy much larger and sizeable than that. I finally had the opportunity to catch the recent Uniqlo collaborator(!) for a coffee the other week and was thoroughly moved by her trust in the seasons and penchant for letting time do its job. And perhaps this is what allows her her cheerful approach to work, the leeway to truly play in creation.
“While I design at a full-time job in the tech industry, I run X Spots the Mark where I take on illustration projects and Everyday Canoe, a woodcarving passion project I started right after my first job as a way to carve out my own identity as well as creative exploration outside corporate work. It’s all still a balancing act now, with the arrival of my baby daughter and spending quality time with my husband and dog but I’m slowly getting back to ideas that have been on the back burner.”
Uniqlo Summer in Japan Collection
“I’ve always had an inkling that I’d be in the creative field but it’s been quite an unexpected journey to this point. Even now, I do find that I need to take some more courageous steps in order to answer to my future self. I ask myself this a lot, “will I look back at this and wish I took the other option? What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail?”
Through Everyday Canoe, Xinnie has worked with brands like Fleurette and Our Second Nature.
