"Daytime" is taken from a verse in the bible:

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. (Romans 13:12-14)

The word jumped right out of the page at me when I read it sometime ago in 1999. By then I was really tired of living in ‘night time’. I became aware that the intention and inspiration behind all that I do was very much fueled by bitterness, cynicism and self pity. I was tired of being angry all the time, blaming the ‘system’ or my upbringing about everything. You see, I rebelled pretty hard. I will relate my story more in my blog http://funisevil.com/, which I am starting soon.

I formally incorporated Daytime as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP!) in 2006 with my darling wife Ai Ling. That was the same year our precious daughter Sophie was born. We decided to operate the business out of our home. Just around the time when she was born (Sept) job opportunities started pouring in. Thinking back, it was really tough but we did pretty well looking out for each other and our clients. This is very much what Daytime culture is about – a modern day ‘family business’, an attempt to assimiliate the great public/private divide, redefining traditonally accepted ideas of work and the home. (I intend to teach Sophie Photoshop/html/css once she starts to talk, to let her have a part in our business from a young age ;)) We invite our many talented friends and loved ones home to discuss ideas and collaborate on projects over a good meal. This is how we would want things to be around here. The Daytime agenda is to rediscover and practice ‘traditional’ family values over the prevalent self indulgent culture of gratuitous excesses as a source inspiration for our designs. It is also about a commitment to a lifestyle of ‘living rightly’, making ‘good’ choices moment by moment, consciously and deliberately. I will elaborate more about this in the next few posts. Maybe you can tell us if our said inspired designs really make a difference between night and day :)

Incorporating Daytime is also a commitment to take my ‘talent’ seriously. Although never formally art/design trained, I have always sketched (especially during classes or lectures) and designed stuff for friends as far as I can remember. Friends all knew me as ‘the artist’, which was an identity I have never fully embraced seriously until recently. Someday I would love to study art and design in a good school formally.