We made a small but beautiful collection - an ode to our grandmother, our 'mah-mah' Lee Swee Sien and her matching pant suits.

Here, you will find some of your favourite Mrs Woo styles made in the last metres of fabrics from years past. She taught us not to waste, to keep for future use.

As we make these for you, we dream of mah-mah.

Our earliest memories of mah-mah are filled with quietness and hope. 

She was the gentle heart of our family - always present and forever resourceful. She fed and cared for all of us, her extended family and village.

We’ve only ever seen her dressed in pant suit sets. Over the years, she would visit her local tailor with small bundles of printed floral fabrics in subdued colours. Her outfits were custom-made in variations of the same style. A neat collar, press studs in a row to close. Pants with the widest waist which she overlapped and folded, held neatly in place with a special silver chain belt with a coin as the clasp.

We can still see her so clearly… we are small children playing around at the back of the village shop-house where our grandparents worked and lived. We lived 4 hours away and we couldn’t wait to visit them every school holidays.

The early morning light is soft and streaming in from gaps in timber shutters above. The grandfather clock has called again - this time, 7 deep chimes.

Mah-mah is squatting next to the old wooden cupboard - the door is ajar and for a moment we can see the stack of neatly folded fabrics which she has been collecting there for decades. However small or oddly-shaped, she kept them for the future - to make, mend, repair and repurpose. She is folding more fabric pieces, carefully creasing each fold and adding to the growing piles.

She never seemed to hurry, although she always had so much to do. She made the most of what she had - whether it was cooking ingredients, fabric scraps or old newspaper - and somehow never seemed to want for more.

She was the busiest person we knew, yet she gave us all her time and presence when we were with her.

Perhaps the deepest lesson we have learned from our dearest mah-mah is that time is fleeting. As soon as it comes, it goes. But rather than a moment to lose, these are moments to use.

In the fullness of time, our beautiful mah-mah finally passed away a few weeks ago. She lived past a century - over one hundred years of moments, one after another. Every moment, loving and generous.

While we feel completely heartbroken that she is no longer here with us in this world, we are so grateful that she left us with a strong sense of time. As certain as water flows from high to low, time passes. As fast it comes, it goes. Don’t waste it.

How will you choose to use your time?

With love, x Ange.