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Melissa Koh

Revision as of 18:03, 7 August 2019 by Dayana Rizal (talk | contribs) (→‎Career highlights)

Melissa Koh is a Singaporean lifestyle blogger and YouTuber (YouTube channel). She is the founder of the fashion label 'Run After' (official website) and owner of the online retail store 'Some Days at Home' (official website). As of March 2019, she has more than 265,000 followers on Instagram and more than 10,000 subscribers on YouTube. As an influencer, Melissa has worked with lifestyle, beauty and fashion brands on advertorials. This includes names like Tiffany & Co, Swarovski and Singapore Airlines. In 2017, she was an ambassador for Fujifilm.[1]

Melissa Koh
Melissa Koh profile.jpg
Born
Melissa Celestine Koh

16 May 1989
EducationCHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary School, National University of Singapore (Bachelor in Business Administration)
Spouse(s)James Chen (m. 2017)
ChildrenNoah Tobias Chen (b. 2019)
Websitehttps://www.melissackoh.com/

https://somedaysathome.com/

https://runafter.love/

Background

The oldest of 4 siblings, Melissa has two younger sisters and one younger brother.[2] When Melissa was 2 years old, her father passed away. Melissa, her grandmother and mother relocated to Switzerland due to her mother’s work commitments.[3] The family came back to Singapore where Melissa enrolled into CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary School.


In the National University of Singapore, she majored in Finance and graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration in 2011.[4] After completing her studies at NUS, she worked as an equities associate at Credit Suisse for 2 years.


Melissa started blogging at about 15 years old and continued to do so throughout her time at Credit Suisse.[5] She juggled her banking career and blogging on the side for campaigns before she decided to blog full-time.[5] As of August 2019, Melissa's site consists of entries about motherhood tips based on her own experiences, home and living posts and style diaries, to name a few.

Personal life

 
Melissa and James' church wedding ceremony. Photo from Benjamin Barker.

During a university exchange programme at the University of Washington in 2011, Melissa met Jonathan Raedeke. The couple were in a long-distance relationship for about four and a half years before splitting up in July 2015.[6]


In October 2015, Melissa uploaded a YouTube video featuring her childhood friend and new boyfriend, James Chen.[7] In an interview with Her World, James revealed that he resigned as a finance analyst to be Melissa's paid photographer. At the time of the interview in 2016, James had just started in a marketing role.[8] The couple were officially engaged at Church of the Risen Christ in September 2016.[9]


Melissa and James flew to Paris, France for their engagement shoot in collaboration with The Wedding Scoop. They were photographed by Claire Morris and filmmaker Chris from Zen Film Works.[10] In 2016, the couple held a private engagement event in Bali, Indonesia.[11]

Wedding

Melissa and James were married in August 2017. Their two-day wedding comprised of a church wedding ceremony, gatecrash and dinner banquet at The Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore.[12][13][14][15] Melissa and James faced backlash for their "sponsored wedding". However, Melissa revealed that although there were sponsorships, the couple still spent a hefty amount on the wedding.[16] On 8 January 2019, Melissa publicly announced that she was pregnant.[17] She gave birth to her son, Noah, in May 2019.[18]

Career highlights

 
Melissa at her Run After Launch Party in March 2018. Photo from Melissackoh.com.

Through her brand name and her blog, Melissa has collaborated with brands such as Moët & Chandon, Hera Beauty, Revolve, Dior, Coach, Kate Spade, Tods, Carolina Herrera, Tiffany & Co, Swarovski, Singapore Airlines, The Belmond Group and also hotels and tourism boards. Over the years, Melissa has been featured in publications such as The Straits Times, The New Paper and Her World Singapore. In 2015, she was the cover girl for SHAPE magazine.

Some Days at Home (2018 - Present)

Melissa launched her home and lifestyle brand 'Some Days at Home' in 2018. Described as her passion project, Some Days at Home is a site for Melissa to curate local brands and promote their products. The project is a way for her to feature smaller brands with high-quality products that she can vouch for.[19] As of August 2019, the site features products ranging from up-cycled wood earrings to soaps made by single mothers.


Melissa revealed that the profits made from the online store will be donated to The Assisi Hospice.[20]

Run After (2015 - Present)

In 2015, Melissa launched the first collection of her fashion label 'Run After' at Digital Fashion Week Singapore.[21] Melissa partnered with ELLE for Digital Fashion Week Singapore where the 'Cruise 2016' collection walked the runway.[22] This first collection was available for purchase on Zalora and at the Buro pop-up in Scotts Square.[23]


Melissa relaunched the brand in 2018 after a one-year hiatus from the business.[24] To her, the name Run After symbolises the act of pursuit and the vision of the fashion label to inspire customers to chase their dreams.[25] The fashion label prioritises high-quality fabric and textiles for its apparel range.[26] The label features a range of tops, bottoms and dresses ranging from S$79 to S$149.

References / Citations

  1. ↑ Koh, Melissa. "FUJIFILM INSTAX SQ10". Melissa C. Koh. May 12, 2017. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.melissackoh.com/fujifilm-instax-sq10/
  2. ↑ Melissa Celestine Koh. “Old Wives’ Tale & Pregnancy Myths | Melissackoh”. March 6, 2019. Accessed on 11 March 2019. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5X3_ywwxtE&t=321s
  3. ↑ melissackoh. “Day 43”. DAYRE. February 12, 2014. Accessed on 11 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://dayre.me/melissackoh/xXvP5kuFDu
  4. ↑ "Melissa Celestine Koh". Linkedin. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-celestine-koh-79190531/
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Er, Carrie. "Top Blog: Getting to Know Melissa Koh from Melissackoh.com". ALVINOLOGY.COM. April 12, 2017. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://alvinology.com/2017/04/12/top-blog-getting-know-melissa-koh-melissackoh-com/
  6. ↑ melissackoh. “Day 320”. DAYRE. November 16, 2015. Accessed on 11 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://dayre.me/melissackoh/HKR9Sq96ye
  7. ↑ Melissa Celestine Koh. “Couple Q&A: You asked, we answered”. February 10, 2017. Accessed on 11 March 2019. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBIuT1gJ8lA
  8. ↑ Loh, Aretha. “WANT TO BE AN INSTA-STAR? YOU NEED AN INSTA-BOYFRIEND!”. Her World. September 28, 2016. Accessed on 11 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.herworld.com/celebs-men-sex/mensex/want-be-insta-star-you-need-insta-boyfriend
  9. ↑ Melissa Celestine Koh. “THE PROPOSAL: I SAID YES!”. October 9, 2016. Accessed on 11 March 2019. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CyrDvl-9p0
  10. ↑ “PARIS PRE-WEDDING PHOTO-SHOOT COLLABORATION WITH THE WEDDING SCOOP”. Claire Morris Photography. December 5, 2016. Accessed on 11 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://clairemorrisphotography.com/paris-pre-wedding-photo-shoot-collaboration-with-the-wedding-scoop/
  11. ↑ “MELISSA C. KOH AND JAMES CHEN'S ENGAGEMENT PARTY IN BALI”. Bride Story. May 2, 2017. Accessed on 11 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.bridestory.com/blog/melissa-c-koh-and-james-chens-engagement-party-in-bali
  12. ↑ Leviani, Karina. “MELISSA C. KOH AND JAMES CHEN’S MAGICAL WEDDING IN SINGAPORE”. Bridestory. August 15, 2017. Accessed on 11 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.bridestory.com/blog/melissa-c-koh-and-james-chens-magical-wedding-in-singapore
  13. ↑ Melissa Celestine Koh. “Our Wedding Day | ..of 14 years in the making”. August 16, 2017. Accessed on 11 March 2019. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR_sg0xLZok
  14. ↑ Melissa Celestine Koh. “GATECRASH HIGHLIGHTS | Officially Married to The LOVE of My Life”. August 19, 2017. Accessed on 11 March 2019. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGGUTS8dfjw
  15. ↑ Melissa Celestine Koh. “Our Wedding | A Celebration of Our Union”. October 6, 2017. Accessed on 11 March 2019. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbEzC2rOT_E
  16. ↑ Singh, Bryna. "Sponsored weddings are on the rise but should guests still pay the hongbao price?". The Straits Times. September 7, 2017. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/anger-over-influencers-sponsored-wedding
  17. ↑ Koh, Melissa. "SOMETHING’S BAKING! 🎊". Melissa C. Koh. January 8, 2019. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.melissackoh.com/we-are-pregnant-%F0%9F%8E%8A/
  18. ↑ Koh, Melissa. "BABY NOAH’S BIRTH STORY". Melissa C. Koh. June 27, 2019. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.melissackoh.com/my-birth-story/
  19. ↑ Koh, Melissa. "THE BIG REVEAL: MY VERY OWN HOME AND LIFESTYLE BRAND – SOME DAYS AT HOME". December 21, 2018. Accessed on 7 August 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.melissackoh.com/the-big-reveal-some-days-at-home/
  20. ↑ Koh, Melissa. "THE BIG REVEAL: MY VERY OWN HOME AND LIFESTYLE BRAND – SOME DAYS AT HOME". December 21, 2018. Accessed on 7 August 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.melissackoh.com/the-big-reveal-some-days-at-home/
  21. ↑ Bruce, Niki. "MELISSA CELESTINE KOH IS LAUNCHING HER VERY OWN FASHION LABEL". HER WORLD. October 22, 2015. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.herworld.com/shopping/melissa-celestine-koh-launching-her-very-own-fashion-label
  22. ↑ Digital Fashion Week. "Run After by Melissa Koh presented by ELLE | #DigitalFashionWeek Singapore 2015 (HD)". YouTube. January 26, 2016. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZO1JRbBXg
  23. ↑ Sim, Andrea. "Buro pop-up x Run After: Discover the collection and meet founder Melissa C. Koh". BURO. November 6, 2015. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.buro247.sg/fashion/insiders/buro-pop-up-meet-melissa-c-koh-run-after-cruise-20.html
  24. ↑ Koh, Melissa. "RUN AFTER LAUNCH PARTY". Melissa C. Koh. March 4, 2018. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.melissackoh.com/run-launch-party/
  25. ↑ Leong, Ashleey. "Interview With Melissa Koh: The Launch of Run After". ALVINOLOGY.COM. December 2, 2015. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://alvinology.com/2015/12/02/interview-with-melissa-koh-the-launch-of-run-after/
  26. ↑ Bruce, Niki. "MELISSA CELESTINE KOH IS LAUNCHING HER VERY OWN FASHION LABEL". HER WORLD. October 22, 2015. Accessed on 7 August 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.herworld.com/shopping/melissa-celestine-koh-launching-her-very-own-fashion-label
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