Note from the editor, Diana Khoo:
POV: You are letting caffeine slowly and deliciously enter your bloodstream. Your living — or work — space comprises a beautiful hodge-podge of books, paper and plants. A half-eaten piece of toast, slathered with butter, sits on a pretty plate nearby. The sun streams through the windows and you are readying yourself for a long and fulfilling day. Life feels different now, doesn’t it? When the 24 allocated daily hours are yours to fill as you please, without restrictions and irrational fear.
We are now free — for the most part — to catch flights, stay in hotels of the non-quarantine variety, have face-to-face meetings, enjoy productive work sessions in the company of colleagues, eat delicious meals prepared by others at stunning locations and even sneak out for necessary breathers — whether it is a matcha latte or martini is entirely up to you. It is this lightness of being and sheer contentment at being able to live and work relatively normally that dictates the editorial vibe of this issue.
On the topic of work, we profile three companies which, with their inspiring aesthetics and subtle ergonomic design touches, make clocking-in all the easier and more inspiring, while our super-stylist Joanne Lim has picked out cool, new stationery supplies as well as the niftiest tuck boxes for those who like lunching in style — albeit at their desks. On the home front, Bangsar South seems to be the hottest new neighbourhood right now, judging from the good folk who have chosen to call it home. Read about the Bowles residence and Yayasan TM powerhouse Izlyn Ramli’s new eyrie on Page 24 and 40.
And seeing as we mentioned plane rides in the previous paragraph, come on a flight of fancy with us and let Paris-based Malaysian artist-photographer Diana Lui show you around her quirky, creative home and studio in the artists’ enclave of Montreuil or join us for a garden party as Stanislas Thiénot hosts us in his family home in Reims — famous for its imposing Gothic cathedral, where French kings have been crowned for more than a thousand years and, of course, its undisputed position as the capital of Champagne. It has been a delight filling the pages of this issue. We trust you find equal delight perusing them.
Haven is complimentary with every copy of The Edge Malaysia (Sept 5 issue). Get the Autumn 2022 edition at your nearest newsstands now.
