THE MULTIFACETED CREATIVE WHO TURNED REJECTION INTO OPPORTUNITY

Do you like your job? Or wonder what it would be like if you'd gone against your parents' advice and pursued your dream career? Her World's Career Confessions column spotlights the professional journeys of individuals, revealing how their career path and choices impact their personal finances, psychological health, and interpersonal relationships.

- SAMANTHA DAVID

WHO: Toh Bee Suan
HIGHEST EDUCATION: BA(Hons) in Fine Arts
JOB TITLE & INDUSTRY: Graphic designer, visual artist & tattoo artist’s apprentice
WORK EXPERIENCE: Around 7-8 years
SALARY: $4,000-$5,000

Rejection is never easy. It can be painful and, at times, devastating – but for graphic designer, artist and illustrator Toh Bee Suan (who goes by the moniker Almostasthma), it was exactly what changed her life when her application to a Singapore university fell through.

“I had an interest in geography, and I applied to a local university to pursue it, with the intention of getting a job as a geography teacher in Singapore,” says the 32-year-old, who is also known as Bee.

As she was mulling her next step following the unsuccessful application, her sister encouraged her to consider applying to Lasalle College of the Arts as Bee had been drawn to creative activities since joining an arts-related CCA in primary school.

After graduating in 2014 with a degree in Fine Arts, she carved out a career as a graphic designer while trying to establish herself as an artist with various side projects, such as producing and selling her own Almostasthma merchandise at events, and creating eye catching murals.

Since then, Bee has grown to become a full-time creative whose quirky, technicolour designs have been featured on the facade of HDB blocks and shop-houses, and most recently, at the S.E.A. Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa.