Wednesday has become one of my favourite days of the week. It sits quietly in the middle, almost unnoticed. Monday arrives full of ambition and good intentions, Tuesday flies by, and before you know it, you’re already halfway through the week. At that point, you have a choice. You can simply coast towards Friday, or you can stop, reset and begin again.

That is why I believe Wednesday is the new Monday. It is a second chance without having to wait for another week. It is the perfect moment to look at what you promised yourself on Monday, notice what has fallen away and decide that the week is not finished yet. Because if I don’t treat Wednesday like Monday, it will already be Friday.

Interestingly, the name itself has a rather remarkable history. Wednesday comes from the Old English word Wōdnesdæg, meaning “Woden’s Day.” Woden, the Anglo-Saxon counterpart of Odin, was associated with wisdom, knowledge and discovery. I rather like the idea that the middle of the week has, for centuries, been connected with curiosity and the pursuit of something greater.

Wonderful Wednesday also began for deeply personal reasons. A long time ago, the universe gave me something on a Wednesday. Whether it was coincidence, fate or simply perfect timing, I still don’t know. I only know that ever since, Wednesdays have become my weekly reminder to stay open to whatever life has planned next.

 I don’t believe every person enters our lives by accident. Some arrive to stay, while others leave us with a different way of looking at the world. Some memories deserve a quiet little place in our lives without needing to become the entire story. They remind us to stay open, to stay curious and to trust that life has a habit of placing exactly the right people, moments and lessons in our path when we least expect them.

 That is why I never think of Wednesday as the middle of the week. I think of it as a weekly reboot. A chance to breathe, take responsibility for where I am and start again. You don’t need a new year, a new month or even a new week to change direction. Sometimes all you need is a Wednesday.

 So here’s to Wonderful Wednesday. May it remind you that there is still time. Time to begin again, to change your mind, to reconnect with your purpose and to stay open to the beautiful surprises the universe has not shown you yet.

My dear friend E-lene recently handed me a copy of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini, and I have to admit, I wondered how I’d managed to miss it for so many years. It’s considered one of the most influential books ever written on consumer psychology and marketing, with more than five million copies sold and a place on the bookshelf of countless entrepreneurs, marketers and business leaders.

Robert Cialdini isn’t a marketer trying to sell a theory. He’s a psychologist who spent years researching why people say “yes.” Rather than relying on opinions, he studied the science behind decision-making and identified seven universal principles that influence how we choose, trust and buy: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity and, in this expanded edition, unity. His work has fundamentally changed the way businesses think about communication, branding and customer relationships.

For me, the timing couldn’t have been better.

Singapore has become our testing ground. It’s where we’ve had some wonderful successes, but also where we’ve made mistakes, challenged assumptions and discovered that what works in one market doesn’t necessarily work in another. Retail today feels more volatile than ever, and understanding products is no longer enough. We need to understand people.

That’s exactly why I’m reading this book.

Not because I want to persuade people to buy things they don’t need, but because I want to better understand how people make decisions, what builds trust, and how we can communicate what Nala truly stands for in a way that resonates.

I’ve always believed that beautiful design is only half the story. The other half is understanding people. If we can create something meaningful and communicate it honestly, then perhaps that’s where real influence begins.

Perhaps that’s why this book found me now, and not twenty years ago.

I’ll let you know what I learn.

Inspired by the humble plastic chair found outside kopitiams, neighbourhood cafés and homes across Malaysia, it celebrates the simple joy of slowing down, sharing stories and making time for one another. It’s an everyday icon that feels unmistakably Malaysian.

We loved it so much that we couldn’t stop at one product. So, of course, it found its way onto a canvas bag too. Practical, cheerful and designed to go wherever you do, it’s the perfect reminder to pause once in a while because there’s always time to sila duduk.

Available now at all Nala stores.

The print is inspired by traditional Chinese seals, the stamps used for centuries on paintings, scrolls, calligraphy, and family documents. We simply gave them a fresh blue twist.

One of the nicest things about designing prints is that they become little souvenirs of places we’ve loved. Every time you set the table or grab your bag, you’re reminded of a great trip. That’s much better than leaving all your holiday photos on your phone.

The collection includes a square pillow, a pouch, a reversible maxi bag, two tablecloths (a four seater and a ten seater), reversible placemats, and matching oven mitts. Every piece has a protective acrylic coating, making it water resistant and ready for everyday life.

We photographed the collection in Holland, so Seal the Deal Blue is a little bit of Taipei, a little bit of Europe, and a whole lot of fun. We can’t wait for it to arrive in our shops.

I bought Vintage Aloha Shirts Collection Guidebook in Tokyo the last time I was there with my sisters, and it has become one of those books I keep coming back to. The book was published by the same people behind SUN SURF, the Japanese brand I mentioned earlier and one of the world’s leading authorities on vintage Aloha shirts. Their passion for preserving the history of these shirts is extraordinary, and this book is a perfect example of that dedication.

It documents hundreds of vintage Aloha shirts, from the fabrics and labels to the buttons, construction techniques, and original artwork. The level of detail is incredible, and every page reminds you that great design is rarely accidental.

But the reason I wanted to share this book has very little to do with Hawaiian shirts.

I often think books are the original source of Vitamin D. Not the kind you get from the sun, but the kind that keeps your creativity healthy.

Instagram gives us quick bursts of inspiration. We scroll, we like, we move on. The algorithm keeps showing us more of what it thinks we’ll enjoy, which means we’re often looking at slight variations of the same thing.

Books ask something different of us. They ask us to slow down.

I love making a cup of coffee, pulling a book off the shelf, and simply flipping through it. Sometimes I start at the beginning. Sometimes I open it in the middle. Sometimes I go backwards. Almost every time I discover something I missed before. A colour combination, an illustration, a tiny detail, or a beautiful piece of typography that somehow escaped me the last ten times I looked.

I honestly can’t remember the last Instagram post I went back to five years later. But I constantly return to books I’ve owned for years. They seem to grow with you. As your eye develops and your interests change, you notice different things on every visit.

For me, books are one of the best investments a designer can make. They expose you to ideas outside your own algorithm and introduce you to subjects you weren’t even looking for. They slow you down, broaden your visual vocabulary, and remind you that the best ideas usually come from curiosity rather than speed.

So, if you’re ever in Tokyo and you come across this book, do yourself a favour and buy it. Not because you need to know everything about vintage Aloha shirts, but because every designer deserves a healthy dose of creative Vitamin D every once in a while.

Over the past few months, we’ve been printing some of our favourite NALA archive designs as art prints, and seeing them come to life has been incredibly rewarding. Old patterns, forgotten sketches and much loved illustrations have found a new home, not on fabric, but on paper.

Our new visual merchandiser, Hakim, has taken this idea and run with it. He has transformed our stores by treating them like little galleries, mixing fashion, homewares and art in a way that makes you realise a beautiful print can completely change a space. A wall that was empty suddenly has a story to tell.

The best part? You don’t need a major renovation or a big budget to refresh your home. One colourful print can brighten a corner, fill an awkward space or simply make you smile every time you walk past it.

Have a look the next time you’re in one of our stores. All of our archive art prints are available across our locations, and who knows, you might just find the missing piece for your home.