Since Aida Salleh, founder and owner of Things For Whenever and sister to none other than the oh-so-dreamy Reza Salleh, is such the stalkable creature of the creative kind, taking a peek into her bag was too good an opportunity to resist. With all her love for art, music, and image associations (follow her on Facebook and you will understand what I mean), this adorably petite and bubbly character sure didn’t disappoint in displaying a bagful of goodies!

1) What are the essentials that are always found in your handbag and why?

Happy Green Pouch – A gift from an old friend. I keep all little tid-bits in there from cards, to receipts and bobby pins.
Sunnies by SUPER – shades for the tropics!
Monocle – I always seem to carry a copy with me in my bag. It’s an all-rounder magazine that covers everything from current affairs, design, food and travel. I love their travel tips and usually base my holidays on their recommendations.
Body Shop wooden comb – for my frizzy hair
Muji Organic Milk Moisturizer – My skins tends to be a little bit on the dry side. So, this moisturizer is great for touch-ups throughout the day. It’s really light and doesn’t make my skin feel greasy (<— MUJI, NOTE NEW TAGLINE!)
Estee Lauder lipstick in Rich Rose, Dior compact blusher, Bisou Bonbon & Bisou Rose lip balm – I don’t wear a lot of make-up, so I pretty much carry just these in my bag.
Nivea Creme – for dry hands
Eclipse mints – for minty freshness
Great Ideas notebook – I bring my Great Ideas notebook everywhere with me. Anytime I get an idea I jot it down, because I’m forgetful haha. The notebook has a little section where you can rate your ideas from 1-10 Cute and functional. I love it.

2) If someone was new to Things For Whenever, what would be your first recommendation of purchase?

This is a tough one because i love them all! But if I really had to choose it would have to be Paper Blossoms and the Mini Goals Notepads (sorry! I can’t decide on just one). Paper Blossoms is a flower bouquet pop-up book. Everytime someone picks up the book and flips through the pages, you can see their faces light up, and you can hear the ‘ooh’s and ‘aaah’s as they flip through the beautiful pop-up bouquets. It’s a great gift for ladies, and most of my customers gift the book for all sorts of occasions including weddings, house-warming parties, birthdays, Mother’s Day, and so forth.

The other must-have gift is the Mini Goals Notepad. This is a great all-rounder gift. It’s a notepad full of quirky to-do-lists. We all know to-do-lists can sometimes be draggy but I love how light-hearted and humorous this one is. I often tear out the pages, write happy messages in the to-do-lists, and mail them to my friends as a surprise pick-me-up. I think small gestures of love and appreciation are important for the maintenance of good, healthy relationships. Receiving a surprise pick-me -up, no matter how small, always makes people happy. And happy people are healthier, perform better and are more productive. A win-win situation.

3) So what’s next for Things for Whenever? Can we expect a stand-alone store for all the pleasures of browsing great gifts?

Yes! Things For Whenever has a new home It’s called Butter Tree, located in Happy Mansion, Seksyen 17, PJ. This is a bit more of like a collaboration between Things For Whenever and Butter Tree. Things For Whenever is a gift store and Butter Tree is a bakery-cafe. Together we hope to turn the shop into your one-stop-store for birthdays. You can purchase you birthday cake, finger food, decorations and GIfts all in one place! We are really excited about this project and all the future parties we can fuel. But apart from that, Butter Tree is nestled in a cozy neighborhood, so we would love people to just drop by the store, hang out in the cafe with book or their laptop, we’ll feed you some coffee and pastries, and everyone can just relax

Butter Tree is open daily from 8.30am-7pm.
Location: BG-1, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, Seksyen 17, PJ.

You can find out more about Things For Whenever at: www.facebook.com/thingsforwhenever