Faq Edition 1

How old are you and what are you studying right now?
I am eighteen and am in my first year of university. I think you'd call me a freshman in America? I'm studying a bachelor of commerce/bachelor of laws double degree and probably won't be out of university for at least another four years!

What nationality are you?
My parents are both from Shanghai, China, but i was born in Australia.

Are you from Melbourne?
Yep!

Is Kani your real name?
Nope, but it is pretty close to it.

What subjects did you study in school and which were your favourite?
For VCE (high school certificate equivalent) i studied english, english language, chinese 2nd language, maths methods, specialist maths, chemistry, psychology and visual communication & design. my favourite by a million miles would have to be visual communication & design, it was also surprisingly the subject i did best in and really inspired me to pursue what i love doing!

What camera & lens do you use and how do you achieve that depth of field?
Everyone has been asking about this! I just have your average dslr - the Canon eos 1000d with the twin lens kit. Though the lens i use most would have to be this prime lens a few friendlies got for me - the 50mm 1:1.8 one. Apparently this lens is really good at doing that whole background blurring thing and i love it for that. You can also try achieving a blurry background by making the aperture very, very low :) Though i am no camera pro and still learning!

Do you edit your photos?
Yep, i do. I send all my photos straight to Photoshop where i resize them and edit the colours. The background blur is not edited though!

Can you invite me to Lookbook?
Sorry, i cannot do this anymore as i've just realised that my lookbook is linked to my personal email! You can get in by just applying on their site, it doesn't take long and they normally accept you after a week-ish, that's how i did it at the start too :)

How do you put together your lookbook photos? What program do you use?
When i do my collages i normally use your good old Microsoft Paint. Photoshop does the job too, if not just a little better but sometimes i can't be bothered opening Photoshop again as my computer lags quite a bit and Photoshop always has a tendency to freeze :(

Where do you buy all your vintage items?
My vintage items come from pretty much everywhere you can possibly think of them coming from. Online stores, my mother's wardrobe, op shops, second hand/flea markets, etc! I love the things i find in my mother's wardrobe, they are always in perfect, pristine condition :) Most of the time when i bring thrifted things home, i have to hide it under my bed as my mother isn't so fond of other people's old clothes. In fact she can get really, really angry about it!

Any thrifting advice?
Yep! Go thrifting only when you are in the mood to go thrifting. There are days where I walk into a charity shop and get overwhelmed with all the racks of clothes and just cannot be bothered having a look! Also, make sure you look over every inch of the item before purchasing and look out for stains and holes and don't have a list of things you are looking for - you won't find them and will probably end up not buying other special things you saw!

Do you have a store where you sell your vintage finds?
I would absolutely love to do this one day, but for now, and probably in the near future.. i dont think it will be happening yet! However, I am obsessed with collecting vintage clothes, just like my uncle is obsessed with collecting antique jade! He showed me these dinosaur eggs he had, and this jade mirror from an emperor.

When did you start your blog?
I started this blog at the start of this year - 6th January. It was the middle of the summer holidays and i really wanted to share my closet with everyone! I'm so excited about hearing from my followers and was absolutely estactic to see 700 followers on google today! Thank you everyone!

Why did you start blogging?
Well you see, my course right now is a good five years+ long and i am completely petrified that i could end up buried in my homework until i am 23 years old. commerce was something i always wanted to study as i want to major in marketing, and law was.. i'm not sure. i thought it would be an interesting subject to study, i was interested in law and interested in learning more about it, but not so sure about being a lawyer. i ended up achieving the marks to get into law, so i thought i'd give it a shot. Has anyone read 'The Pinstripe Prison'? Someone once suggested i read it first before going into law, perhaps i should!

however, what i was, and am, really passionate is graphic design, photography, fashion, etc. i picked up a design subject in my final high school year (after dropping biology when realising science was just not my thing) i surprisingly did really well! it was truly one of the most amazing things that i have achieved, i never had ever ever expected that.

my design score actually gave me the grades needed to get into commerce/law at university (funny that) and it also really inspired me to pursue it one day.

anyway, long story short - i do not want to be stuck in a commerce/law life for 5.3 years, and really wanted to share with everyone my love for fashion & other creative things. i thought i would use it somehow as a little outlet, to keep in touch with my passion for these things whilst finishing off my degree :)

Do you have a job? Where do you work?
Yep, I do. I work in retail and have been there for over two years! I also like to volunteer to help out at local fun runs and gift wrapping during the christmas period :)

What is your dream job?
To own my own fashion label/store. To intern or work at a magazine office (I'm looking at you Frankie!) and to be a photographer or graphic designer!! Also, to work at a head office of Myer. To intern at a fashion office. To be a brand manager, to work on marketing campaigns. To work for fashion week, to do events management, to own a vintage & antiques store, to be a collector... list would go on forever. I can also say that, i am slowly being converted by the Slater & Gordon advertisements on television - i wouldn't mind being there too one day :)

What are your top 5 favourite trends right now?
Things I am loving right now are velvet, peter pan collars, platform wedges & wooden heels, boots with buckles and scallop hems!

How long it take for you to write a blog post?
A typical outfit posts takes probably up to two hours to get ready! Mainly because Photoshop lags like there is no tomorrow on my computer, as does my internet.

If you'd be reincarnated, what would you like to be?
If i was reincarnated, i'd love to be a person again!!

Make up tutorial?
Are you sure you want to learn from me!? Most of the time i don't really know what i'm doing :P

Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott?
Haha! To be honest, i'm not really a fan of either of them. I didn't think it was very nice of the labour party to turn their backs against Rudd - i mean what sort of team does that? it's like backstabbing yourself.

Meatarian or vegetarian?
For some reason, lately, i feel sick looking at large slabs of meat or generally any piece of meat that closely resembles an animal - like steak. Mince meat looks fine to me but when i eat steak or something, i feel absolutely horrible for having the animal murdered for me to eat! I don't really enjoy eating that haha, though i do love my seafood. Oysters, prawns, crab (though sometimes i feel like i'm eating a spider), salmon and just about any other shellfish - i love. However, i am not a fan of fish. When i was younger, i choked on a fishbone and had to go to hospital to have it removed. I felt like i was going to die and yeah, have always had a bit of a fish-phobia ever since :)

I am travelling to Australia soon, can you give me some tips on where to shop and things to do?
Well, yes if you are coming to Melbourne! If you're coming here you should check out the Flinders Street sunday market - it's on sunday mornings and is full of handicraft stalls. Also fun to do is to head down to Mornington and check out the Arthur's Seat maze - great fun and also the beaches. My favourite beaches are Rosebud and Chelsea, but don't be blown away - they are no where near as squeaky clean and beautiful as the ones in Queensland. Head down to the Brunswick/Fitzroy area for some a lovely experience in the vintage department - I don't go there often, if ever but i heard there are many vintage shops there!

Also thought i should use this opportunity to complete some tagged questions. I was tagged by Vincent earlier to answer these questions :)

1. How did you come to your blog URL?

Kani is just a nickname and well, kani.blogspot.com was taken, so i just went with the next best thing..!

2. Have you seen Inception?

Actually, i haven't! I am probably the only person on this world that hasn't seen it yet. It's not like i don't wannnt to see it, it's more that i just don't have the time to see it/can't be bothered seeing it/not so fussed if i didn't see it or probably just because i don't want to pay almost 20 bucks to see it in Vmax!! My local cinema offers it in Vmax only (apparently the screen is bigger...) and charges extra and i think they are just doing it on purpose cause people would go anyway and hence they rake in the monies. hahaha.

3. If yes,
Is Leaornardo De Caprio still in limbo or reality?
If no, don't highlight Q3.

4. What day do you hate? And why?

Well not really Mondays, i don't really care that much! Though i do hate the days that are gloomy, cold and rainy - my mood always seems to reflect the weather and i really ceebs doing anything right now!

5. Currently listening to:

Miserable at best - Mayday Parade :):)

6. What are you craving?

Cherries! Did you know that they cost 16 c each if they are $15 per kg? Yesterday we got 14 for $2.25.

7. Day or night?
Night, for some reason I am more focused under artificial light rather than daylight - weird right? Daylight just makes me want to go out and play!

8. Jocelyn Wildenstein. Opinion?
I have no idea who she is? haha

PJ from Cool By Association tagged me with this little challenge:
List 6 positive things about myself and share a picture I like of myself.

Well, i think i've procrastinated this long enough, i (probably like most people) find it somewhat awkward to talk about myself like this haha, so here goes!

1. I like to think i'm quite friendly :)
2. I am pretty organised with my time.
3. I try to be eco-friendly. I have a fear of throwing things in the bin if i can recycle them and do something else with it. I like to go thrifting (haha) as i like to save things from going to landfill if they have plenty of life left in them.
4. I like to dream about the future and i hope that one day i can reach my dreams!
5. I am not a shopoholic... I promise! I watched Confessions of a Shopoholic a couple of months ago and it made me realise - I am no where near! I don't think i'd ever buy something on my credit card if i was going to struggle paying it off later. And once i let my friend know of my grand plan of not buying a house until i could pay it upfront in cash. HAHA I know that one will probably never happen, but what i generally wanted to say was that i don't like debt and try not to be around it :)
6. I am hardworking. I know i say i'm lazy a lot, but i promise most of the time, especially when things matter - like at work, doing homework, meeting deadlines, i normally concentrate pretty hard!

And to finish it all up, here are the pics of my latest purchases :)

Migoreng, Tan brogues: Urban Outfitters, Parrot brooch: Thrifted, Frankie Photo Album and 'Great Expectations'
And lastly, some recent news: I am in a great mood right now :):). I have pretty much everything i need to get my store up and going, which is something i've been waiting and waiting to do, for way too long! I am so excited to begin this little venture as it is something i have always wanted to do - it's sort of like a dream come true :)! In the next couple of weeks i will be working on the finishing touches and photographing everything to get ready for listing. I am so excited and really cannot wait to share with you my little creations :) I will let you know of the official opening day of my store very soon and give you a little write up of my mission statement, information and promotions coming up. Be sure to be a follower of my blog or on facebook to be the first to hear about everything! I am sososo excited, i could have the energy to run 20kms, but i unfortunately, my marketing tute questions await me!

Also, I'd like to end this FAQ with a question for my readers: Tell me about where your from and whether or not you recommend travelling there! I have caught the biggest travel bug lately - mainly from reading blogs from overseas people and would love to know any recommendations so that one day (hopefully soon) i can save up for an around the world trip :):) Thankyou!

Hope you enjoyed this post :)