More than just a beautiful home

It’s great to decorate and restyle our homes but in the end, it is the quality of life within the household that matter the most.

As the saying goes ‘beauty is skin deep;’ Just looking good may not be good enough.

With many of us still working from home - some have been doing so for the past one year - we would want our homes to be also happy and harmonious places.

Looking after the young and elderly in the family, as well as our health and fitness especially in a homebound environment, has become important.

Scholarships

At The Artisans Haven, there are scholarships for students to pursue their dreams for higher education, elderly and patient care, fitness training in the convenience of our own homes, massages for relaxation from stress as well as printing and other office-related services for the WFH office, topped up with value-added graphic design services.

For the first quarter intake of 2021, scholarships2u via its online scholarships portal www.scholarships2u.com, has helped 60 students in terms of university placements, including 20 with scholarships.

While the bulk of its scholarships is from universities and colleges, scholarships2u is working with banks and corporates to roll out scholarships and part-education loans, and also to see how else they can support students.

“Those who are interested, please contact me,’’ said Matthew Gan, founder of scholarships2u. “Let’s chat!”

“More so than ever, in current challenging times, families need to be supported and any chance of getting scholarships will definitely help in their finances. Private education is expensive,’’ said Matthew.

At scholarships2u, the idea is to allow anyone and everyone who is eligible for scholarships to apply online, and the MCO has actually helped its cause of promoting scholarships online.

Education is a basic need for all families; scholarships2u provides expert counselling advice, assists students to get scholarships, and in some cases, prep them with interview tips to help them obtain these lucrative scholarships.

As a full-service education agency, scholarships2u also provides placement services and career advice as well as assists in documentation, obtaining visas and arrangements for accommodation for overseas studies.

With the current Covid-19 situation, most of its placements and scholarships are to local colleges and universities.

Recently, scholarships2u collaborated with The Artisans Haven, which sponsored three top aspiring actors and performers to study performing arts at performing arts training center Enfiniti Academy.

Testimonials from students show the good work done by scholarships2u.

“Scholarships2u had matched me to a scholarship in a short period of time,’’ said Naava Low of Dwi Emas International School, Malaysia. “The team at scholarships2u also taught me how to think out of the box on how to prepare to be a scholar.

“It is my wish that more families will come to know of scholarships2u and have their chance for a brighter future,’’ added Naava.

“Scholarships2u has paved a pathway for me that sets me for success in my life, as I head off to a world-class university from here onwards,’’ said Kimberly Ong of Ellsmore College, UK.

“The team at scholarships2u explained the scholarship application process really well and helped me decide which education institution was best for me.

“They went out of the way to help me balance my choices based on my academic performance, leadership qualities, sporting and social activities as well as aspects related to mental well-being,’’ added Kimberly.

Home Healthcare

At Home Healthcare, there is an expanding range of services from nursing, palliative and wound care, doctors’ visits to physiotherapy.

It draws upon a pool of doctors and nurses to provide services including minor procedures while testing for Covid-19 is done at offices and homes.

“We were able to carry out thousands of tests for companies and homes during the Covid-19 pandemic,’’ said founder Vinodh Menon.

As Home Healthcare makes its name out there, it had received a lot of nursing requests, which was when it decided to set up physiotherapy services.

Looking forward, it plans to build a stable base of clientele, bring in healthy cashflow, build up its brand and employ quality nurses by working with universities.

“We have to work carefully,’’ said Vinodh. “Requirements from clients are different, for example, in terms of procedures and the kind of attention required.’’

Home Healthcare can be contacted on its Facebook page @homehealthcaremy

Harizon's e-fitness center

The work and stay at home norm has also brought about a new lifestyle of exercising at home gyms.

At Harizon’s e-fitness center, the various programs offered are aimed at general fitness, weight loss, muscle building, training for the elderly, post-natal care and body building.

Clients will be assessed prior to starting their fitness training; for general fitness, exercises include squats, push-ups and abdominal crunches.

For weight loss, adopting healthy eating habits and food choices are crucial while workouts tend to be of the high intensity types that burn calories in a short amount of time.

This includes interval training where the exercise involves going hard for a set interval, followed by a rest period, and then resuming the hard workout.

Indoor cycling is a popular form of high intensity interval training.

Weight training, the ‘mother of all weight loss programs,’ helps build muscle and burn fat; it helps to increase our resting metabolic rate, which means our bodies burn more calories even when we are not working out.

Regular strengthening exercises help to prevent osteoporosis in seniors while key strength training helps to ward off age-related muscle loss, improve mobility, prevent a decrease in bone loss and even depression, and cognitive decline.

Squats keep the legs and trunk strong; as people age, they lose strength in their legs and back, and have difficulty getting around.

Push-up moves are vital, as it trains seniors to have strength in their arms and upper body.

Muscle building strategy requires a plan for training and nutritional habits, that meets the person’s goals and requirements.

The moves for muscle building would include squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and bench presses, which will stimulate multiple muscle groups at the same time.

For home workouts, we can invest in basic equipment like dumb bells, kettle bells, bicycle, bench press and to take the home gym to the next level, a power rack for weight lifting and strength training.

With MCO 2.0 relaxed, and the start of the new year, why not drop by Camei Foot Reflexology for a soothing massage for the foot, body as well as head and shoulders?

Sitting for long hours while working from home, especially for those catering to different time zones, can be exhausting.

Camei Reflexology & Traditional Massage

Camei has a Tibetan fire therapy treatment that tones up the body via the reduction of water retention in the limbs, removal of bodily toxins while improving blood circulation.

Among the new massages at Camei, moxibustion, a type of traditional Chinese medicine, helps to stimulate the body’s meridians and acupuncture points, thus improving the flow of ‘qi’ or energy in the body.

Fire cupping, also known as cupping therapy, helps to relieve pain and enhances circulation.

Recently, Camei introduced the lymphatic detox massage, a soothing and relaxing massage that helps to reduce swelling in the eye, and neck areas as well as the face.

Another new massage, the ovary care massage, is a multi-faceted massage that improves circulation and helps to clear congestion in this vital part of the reproductive system.

Hotprint Station

Under the WFH norm, many people have set up an ‘office’ in their homes; as such, they would normally view related services provided by Hot Print Station as handy.

But Hot Print is not your ordinary print shop; it offers graphic design services for clients who require some original artworks.

A graphic designer herself, founder Tan Guat Sim customises graphic designs for logos, name tags, button badges, souvenirs, T-shirts, mugs, posters and birthday cards.

“Some clients want their artworks done and not all print shops offer graphic design services,’’ said Guat Sim who personally creates the designs that clients find are worth waiting for.

Besides corporate clients, international schools also come to Hot Print for designs on mugs and greeting cards to be given to teachers.

For students, seniors and housewives, the graphic design services are extended free of charge.

Stationed at The Curve, Hot Print’s popular services range from printing of business cards, banners and buntings; many clients also order product, student and party stickers.

Prior to setting up Hot Print, Guat Sim had worked in an advertising firm; she had studied at the Saito University College that offers a range of courses in graphic, multimedia and fashion design as well as other courses.

Hot Print also does laser printing for documents which clients may pick up personally or have them delivered.

“We focus on good quality and convenience,’’ said Guat Sim, adding that printing of forms and resumes are also requested for on good quality paper.

Over the last ten years, Guat Sim has built a niche and a regular client base; focused on developing her business, she has come up with a range of services that cater to a broad segment of clients.

Her patience and creativity is certainly something we should support!