Bangkok-Day II: July 13th

BANGKOK-Day#2:Tourist day!
First stop, visiting the King’s Palace!

WOW… Gorgeous!

I can’t believe all this was built by hand…piece by piece!

You have to dress properly if you plan on visiting the King’s Palace and most temples.NO shorts and sleeveless shirts! I rented a shirt! Thank goodness I made it work with my dress =).

There are so many cool details to the buildings and statues up close!

So cool to see this in person! Isi hanging with the fellas!

Lots of gold statues around the palace!

I can only imagine living in a palace like this…wow!

The long hallways in the palace…

Artisans touching up the walls. They actually sit there and paint over the old work. So many small details!

Soldiers at the palace w/ISI!

US riding the TUK TUK!

Next stop…WAT PHO, Temple of the Reclining Buddha. He is HUGE!

I LOVE visiting the temples in Bangkok! They’re so beautiful!

I always pray at the temples when I visit Thailand. Here I am lighting my incense before I pray.

It’s important for me to pray to Buddha, thanking him for all his blessings and watching over me.

After the prayer, I give him gifts and place the gold foil on him for good luck!

Outside the temple they have fresh fruit carts and taxi guys hustling you!

Next stop, ERAWAN SHRINE to pray. Check out the traditional Thai dancers!

The four-faced Buddha, Lord Brahma-who is one of the Trinity of Hindu gods.You pray to him to seek blessings and fulfillment of dreams. I always pray to him every time I visit Bangkok. It is an absolute must on my list!

Me freeing caged birds for good luck and to prolong your life!

After an afternoon of sighting seeing, we went to Siam Paragon-my favorite food court in the world!

Oh my, YUMMY spicy seafood soup!

Last night in Bangkok we went to Sirocco for drinks. BREATHTAKING! I’ve been to many hotel rooftop bars,but this one by far blows the rest out of the water! Turns out,it’s been voted as #1 rooftop bar in the world!

This is the view from the bar looking up to the hotel! WOOOOOW!

Look at this view from the bar!

Back to my hotel…time to call it a night! Check out this cool design at my hotel, The Grand Millennium. 28th flr looking down center of the hotel.

Bangkok…you-da you-da best!

www.lebua.com
www.millenniumhotels.com

Bangkok Day I: July 12th

Bangkok-Day#1: July 12th
I LOOOOVE Thailand! One of my favorite places to visit in Asia. Besides the yummy food, the fact that our dollar goes a long way, shopping, and the beautiful temples, I really LOVE how Thai people are so sweet and spiritual!

Check out our first day there!

JULY 12th- Day#1: One of the things you must do in Bangkok is attend Chatuchak Weekend Market. It’s amaaazing! We spent an entire day there. Check it out!
This is what it looks like when you go down the aisles. Lots of vendors varying from vintage to housewares!

Isi trying on shoes. Check out the way they merchandise it…crazy!

All the little 10×8 booths look like a mini shops!

So much cool funky stuff there! I found a few pair of cheap cool vintage sunglasses!

I LOVE that the culture embraces artisans!

There’s a cool mix of everything here at the market.

Oh, so beautiful!

This guy made this cool art piece! WOW!

This looks like an art gallery! Yes, we are still at the flea market!

They even sell dogs!

Oh my….how precious!

Isi found a new buddy!

I fell in LOVE with this one!

He’s too too cute!

After all the shopping we were starving! Check out all the food stands!

I wanted to eat everything! Look how good it looks!

I LOVE watching them cook!

So many people at the market!

These guys were so cool…singing country music!

Tons of food cafes to choose from!

When you’re in Thailand, the best food are from the street vendors and local food stalls. So cheap & yummy!

I’m enjoying spicy fishball soup….so good!

We spent 8hrs at the flea market…WOW! So nice to sit down and have a great cheap meal!

This was my favorite part of the trip. Even after a full day, we didn’t even finish most of the flea market. How crazy right? Don’t miss this if you’re ever visiting Bangkok!

HONG KONG- DAY III: July 11th

July 11th-Day#3 in HK: It’s all about sourcing…sourcing…sourcing!

My last day in HK I spent sourcing for more fabrics & trims in HK’s Garment District in Kowloon. This place is crazy packed all the freakin time. Take a peak…

The buildings on this side of town are much older. No modern buildings over here.

People everywhere!

This is what the Garment District looks like in HK. Everything is organized and swatches are already cut for you. This makes a HUGE difference and saves me so much time!

I wish NYC and LA Garment District looked like this! ORGANIZED!

I found some cool lace trimmings I want to incorporate into my Spring 2010 line.

LOOOVE how they make our lives so much easier! Pick the colors you like!

Found some cool beads to add to tops!

The city of HK…always traffic!

I’m starving! Thank goodness they have street food vendors!

More food vendors…

Thanks,HK, for another fabulous visit! I seriously could see myself living in HK if I could. Miss you already! Can’t wait to come back in January!

Till next time…..YUMI KIM Hearts HK!

HONG KONG-DAY II: July 10th

My 2nd day in HK was a bit more relaxed. We took the train to meet with more vendors and did some shopping!

Check out their train system! So efficient and modern!

I LOVE that the subways are so CLEAN!

Yes, it is always crowded in the trains!

HK, land of designer shops and where people are always shopping!

One of my favorite department stores in HK-Harvey Nichols! Love the merchandising!

Afternoon lunch at a local spot. Everyone is so paranoid with the Swine Flu! Check out the masks on the waiters!

Lane Crawford- my other favorite dept store in HK. LOOOOVE!

They always have cool exhibits when I’m in town!

After a long day of meetings and shopping,we went to Lan Kwai Fong to party for Isi’s bday!

The birthday boy!

Us having a blast in HK!

Awww…good times w/our HK peeps! Work hard and play harder! Lisa-YOU ROCK! THANK YOU so much for taking care of us!!!

End of the night…Isi and the ladies….awwww. Birthday boy had a BLAST!

HONG KONG-Day I: JUNE 9th

Sorry for the delay on updating the rest of the images from my Asia trip! I’m finally feeling somewhat back to normal. Jet lag hit hard this time around.

So here it goes!
After my 24hrs in Tokyo, we jetted off to HONG KONG.
Here is the HK portion of my 2weeks in Asia!

JULY 9th-DAY#1: Hong Kong to me is the an Asian version of New York. Everything is fast paced here,hustle and bustle & so modern.

HK is crowded and a busy city just like NYC!

As soon as we landed, it was all about work. I had one full day to spend at the HK Fashion sourcing show. No time to play…all work & lots of back to back meetings with my vendors!

I attend this show to source new factories and find new developments in manufacturing. I found a cool company that does digital printing on silk. I can now print images on silk…pretty cool!

I’m fascinated with this concept, just trying to figure out if the price is within my budget!

There are tons of trim vendors-buttons,tags,labels, lace, etc..

Isi working with a new vendor!

I LOVE that they have forecasts and trend books here at a huge discounted price!In the States they’re super expensive!!!

Discussing my ideas for Yumi Kim’s store shopping bags and gift boxes.

I’m really mad at myself for not buying this Pantone tool!This gadget can read color on anything and give the exact Pantone code for it.I can take this code and have my factory match the same color on silk for me!In my business,it’s all about finding the exact color you want.This tool would make my life so much easier!It’s pretty expensive-$375! Yikes!

It’s seriously all about pricing.We’re constantly negotiating all day trying to find right vendor w/the right prices!It can be draining!

BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK: Always shop around and negotiate prices!!! There are so many trim vendors and factories out there. Make sure you shop around a few places before you settle on one!

After a long full day of sourcing, we met up with my factory for dinner. Boy, it was an interesting one!

I’ve never been taught chopstick etiquette at nice Chinese restaurants!I sat down and saw 2 sets of chopsticks! I learned that the black set is for picking up food & putting it on your plate, the white is the one you actually eat with. In other words, no double dipping!I was so tired,I kept mixing the 2 up…LOL. I couldn’t enjoy my meal because I was worried about mixing the 2, which I think I did anways…ha!I hope I didn’t insult anyone at the table!

The big honchos! They’re suuuuper sweet!

Michelle, Sadie & Angela! These ladies run my production in Asia. I work with these ladies every night after midnight due to the time difference…even when I’m out, I’m on my BlackBerry discussing production! I LOVE these girls!THEY ROCK!

My first full day in HK was so hectic! I was so exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel at 11pm. This is what you call a 15hr workday! The work never ends!

YUMI KIM PRE-SAMPLE SALE COCKTAIL PARTY!

YUMI KIM’s SAMPLE SALE officially starts July 23rd!!!This is gonna be HUUUUUUUGE ladies! I’m not kidding…we are doing MAJOR mark-downs on our Spring ‘09 goodies.
TOPS: $50-$75 DRESSES: $55-$105

Tomorrow night we are hosting a special VIP Pre-Sample Sale Cocktail Party!
We are inviting all our loyal customers a day ahead to enjoy cocktails, & yummy treats while you shop. Not only will you get 1st dibs on the SALE GOODIES….you will also get an additional 20% OFF on top of the sale price!!! Yup, no joke! I take care of my loyal customers .

Hope to see you tomorrow night!
YUMI KIM PRE-SAMPLE SALE COCKTAIL PARTY!!!
JULY 22nd 6-9PM @ YUMI KIM FLAGSHIP STORE: 105 Stanton Street (corner of Ludlow)

Review the Spring ‘09 collection online here:
www.yumikimshop.com

24 Hrs in TOKYO!

Right after Maui, Isi and I jetted off to Tokyo for a day before Hong Kong. We figured, why not? We’re in Asia already, right?! You live life once! WORK HARD…PLAY HARD!

July 7th & 8th
Check out our 24 hrs in Tokyo!

Arrived in Tokyo and it was a full moon! Pic of Narita Airport as we wait for our bus to the city.

We dropped off our bags right away and rushed out to grab dinner & check out downtown Shibuya. It reminds me of Times Square, NYC!

Love all the cool vending machines in the streets!

11pm and it’s still so packed outside! Look at all the people in the city!

So many options of ramen! It was a bit overwhelming!

Finally decided on sushi! Hey, I’m in Tokyo…gotta eat sushi, right?

The chefs were so sweet!

It’s all about the cutesy girlie look in Tokyo! Big trend-leggings and knee-high socks! I noticed the girls were big on dressing and looking like cartoon characters. So cute!

So many buttons….so confusing!

We grabbed drinks a Le Beron de Paris. Such a cool spot! LOOOVE the vibe!Check out the local pop singers!

Left the club at 4:30am….look how much light is out! It’s a ghost town! WOW!

Oh my, look who we bump into…it’s Miss BEYONCE!

We decided to go to the fish market since it was so early.Arrived and learned that it’s closed on Wednesdays. Urghhh! Thank goodness some of the restaurants were open anyway.

Talk about fresh fish….so yummy!

Us chowing down on sushi at 5am! First time for everything =)!

Heading back to the hotel. Are we there yet?

View of Tokyo from my hotel room.

I took a 2hr mini nap! No time for sleep! We only have one day in Tokyo! Time to go do some shopping in Harajuku!

Thank goodness Tokyo is pretty easy to get around!

I LOVE that the culture loves to eat! So many options of yummy crepes to choose from!

Found Yumi a cute Kimono. Yup, this is her Halloween outfit-my little geisha!

Oh my, the monster is taking over JAPAN too! Look at the line outside!

Lots of cute shops and fashionable girls in Harajuku!

Wow, so many people here!

Met up with my friend Shin while we were there.He moved back to Tokyo 2yrs ago. He is Mr. FABULOUS! LOVE this guy…so crazy!

Shin is now the art director to a new accessories line called NY Candy. Everything is NY Hip Hop inspired! Can’t wait to see it Shin! LOVE his belt! You’re too, too much luv!

Shin took us to a local spot to eat Japanese fried chicken!Oh my, how did you know I LOVE fried chicken? LOL!

We walked around Shibuya afterwards to do some shopping and people watching!

YUMI KIM HEARTs JAPAN! Japanese girls are too adorable!

Shin teaching me how to be a true geisha!

So pretty! Looks like a print I made for next spring…even the same color-ways!

Downtown Shibuya during the day. Crazy!!!

Tokyo, I had a blast in 24hrs! So much to see and do!
It’s been amaaazing! I can’t wait to go back and see everything else on my looooong list!
Till next time….

Now it’s off to HONG KONG to work!

Maui….Oh, so inspiring!

Every year my family gets together for a mini reunion. I look forward to this trip, because it’s the only time I get to see my entire family together, spend time with my silly nephews and niece, and of course, eat my mommy’s yummy Vietnamese home cooking!

This year we decided on going to Maui! I LOVE the beach & sunshine! It was so nice to get a few days off to just get away and relax before my big Asia trip.

Check out my first trip to Maui!
July 2nd-July 7th:

I’m all about sunshine and beaches!Maui was so beautiful and peaceful!

I took this picture and LOVED how it turned out! Oh, so GORGEOUS!

I was so inspired during this entire trip! I LOVE that everyone in Maui rocks beautiful floral clothing!

Checking out art galleries in Maui. Surprisingly, lots of great work!

Front Street 4th of July. It was pretty packed!

My nephews watching the fireworks show!

LOOOVE the BOLD printed floral sarongs! Great inspiration for me!

Last evening in Maui. I took this photograph of my nephews. So adorable! Makes me go, awwwww!

Me at peace. So nice to just stare out in the sunset and think about life and how blessed I am to be here!

How cute is this?

My favorite meal in Maui…Coconut Shrimp and FRENCH FRIES! It was…Oh, so Yummmmy!

At the beach hanging with my nephews….it’s the littlest things that makes them happy=).

Some more beautiful inspiration! Flowers gives off a positive energy. I LOVE using BOLD florals in my prints because it makes people feel HAPPY when they wear it!

Awww, I’m all about laying on the beach and just relaxing!

Hanging with my bro, Michael & his girlfriend, Angie!

Picking mangos for the first time. Wow, mango trees are so HUGE and everywhere in Maui!

At ABC w/ISI! Isi came along too! He’s practically family now..ha
ABC by far, is my favorite store in Hawaii! I have to admit, I’m addicted! Everything is so cheap!!!

Yes, me and my ABC goodies. Look how happy I look! YK HEART’s ABC stores!!!

Me at my temporary office at the airport. LOL
I always make myself comfortable on the floor and set up shop!

Maui was so beautiful! I desperately needed this getaway, but enough with the relaxing, time to get back to work! Next stop, TOKYO!

Cocktails & Crack-Ups with Allan!

Wednesday was such a stressful day for me! I had a hectic schedule with moving old inventory out of my old storage, shooting new pix for YK online shop’s July delivery, and preparing for my Asia trip. I was pretty much drained by the end of the day.

As crazy as my day was, there was one meeting I did not want to miss out on. It was dinner with Allan, my silk vendor-pretty much the man that taught me everything I know today about silk, & how to create prints.

A few weeks ago Allan told me he was retiring =(. I was soooo bummed, but totally understood that it was time for him to stop working and to go enjoy life! The man has been in the industry for 50 yrs! WOW!

JUNE 1, 2009
I met up with him on Wednesday before I left town to catch up and tell him personally how thankful and grateful I was for all his help the past few yrs.
Check out our dinner @ Lure Fishbar in Soho!

Before we had dinner, my lil munchkin stopped by to give him a BIG KISS before the send off…

WOW!Lure Fishbar - killer happy hour! $1 oysters, tons of cheap yummy appetizers & $7 martinis!

Oh my, I am the biggest sucker for fried foods! Shrimp Tempura & Fried Calamari…

Their classy version of hot wings!

Allan has been there for me since the 1st day we met @the textile show in New York 5 years ago!

I am blessed to have met Allan, and honestly would not be where I am today without him. He held my hand from day one, and I am forever grateful to him for coming into my life.

Allan,

You’re such a silly billy!
It’s always fun times hanging out with you!
Thank you for all the great business and creative advice!

Enjoy your long vacation and go live like the rock star that you are!
THANK YOU…THANK YOU…THANK YOU!

My best always,
KIM

Lure Fishbar
142 Mercer Street
New York City
T:212.431.7676
www.lurefishbar.com