Bangkok Trip Post #1: Celebrating Thai Designers

Flying off tom for another trip. Thought I’d blog about my Bangkok trip. Playing catch up.

Bangkok was a little too “City” for me – hustle, bustle, hot, packed. Plus I’m not really the shopping kind. I like shopping but not all the time, and often it is the last on my priorities on trips. Don’t think I’ll want to visit in another 10 years at least. Heh.

Saving grace for the trip was the local Thai design – Suan Lum Night Market + 2nd level on Siam Center. Wonderful. Suan Lum Night Market was like a Haji lane enclave – just that it was outdoors. People dressed the same. There were self designed clothes, interior decor items (retro!) and the highlight for me: jewellery. My fingers are so thin and can’t find rings in Singapore (costume jewelery) that fit me. Happy to find them in BKK + also funky ones too! Was inspiring just to walk down that lane – and enjoy the creativity of the Thais. My fussy brother finally bought something at ANR @ Siam Center. That floor housed more upmarket and established local Thai designers – nice, very nice. Nearly succumbed to buying an expensive pair of orange shorts. Tried on a short dress made of Satin-Silk – Gorgeous feel; too bad it did not fit

Check my ring out:

ANR

Nearly bought this…

New Kid on the Block

This is such an overdue post.

my designerish brother highlighted to me this new cafe – “Hairloom and Caramel”. Ooh, from the blog the place looks like a cafe in Sydney. The fabric on each chair is totally different, the plates are vintage & mixed and matched. Lovely. What was interesting was that it was BOTH a cafe and a hairdressing salon.

Popped by with some friends – the concept is really cool – loved the VitaPlum drink (Vitagen + plum smoothie). The pasta and sandwiches were ok. Love the colours in the place. One of the founders Kuanth – does good design + illustrations. Singapore got talent.

Warmth.

Talk about helping the homeless. Providing warmth in a practical way.

Snurk (Dutch bedding designers) recently partnered with foundation for homeless youth SZN to create a line of Le Clochard sheets and pillows that look like cardboard. They say that a portion of the proceeds go directly to SZN, who will use the money to build housing (as reported by Lost @ E Minor). Nice Touch.

All In One

Thanks Simin for buying this for me from Tokyo

My mom looked at it and went ‘huh’? What is this? Sometimes I chuckle the fact that my mom still does not get this ‘artistic’ side of me.

I totally loved this ‘gadget’! Packaged together, the sponge accessories can be separated to a bangle and also a ring… and if you want more variety, you can remove the black bits too. Ingenious! Love these things… think I’ll be super hyper in Tokyo… Pei Pei has already warned me……….

Realised the designer Masako Ban designs really spiffy bags too…

Possibilities

Anything is possible. Even branding on a banana . Smart design.

(From the Great Eastern Run 2008)

The Bund – Shanghai to Singapore

Love the decor @ “One on the Bund” - Clifford Pier turned modern swanky chinese restaurant in Singapore.

My memory of Clifford Pier was a run down, dodgy pier – a thing of the past. As I walked into the work of art by Hong Kong restaurateur Calvin Yeung, I was bowed over.

I loved the selection of the red lamps, reminding me of traditional red lanterns, but with a modern twist. I was surprised by the inclusion of video art – carps swimming in a ’simulated pond’ via television sets. Clever. The wood carved menu gave it a rustic feel. The dangling trinkets (Chinese words for ‘The Bund’) from the chopsticks made me want to pluck them out and turn them into earrings!

A lot of thought was definitely put into the creation of this restaurant (Calvin Yeung is also a self-taught interior designer). Good job in bringing the feel of Shanghai’s “The Bund” to Singapore. I love these East-West combis when done well. Worth a visit for a drink by the river – will be a more pleasant experience when the construction in the Marina area is completed.

New Angle, New Life

I love the diversity of perspectives. I love how that helps generate solutions to problems.

After a long while, Rachel and I finally had a chance to come together and create new hand made jewellery. I had a necklace I bought from Australia which I liked but it constantly annoyed me as the strings kept getting entangled. Casually, I showed it to Rachel and was amazed. She came up with an idea to braid it, twist the ropes and connect it with another silver ring – giving it new life.  The braided necklace can even be worn 2 ways!

Lesson learnt: when stuck with a problem, show it to a fresh pair of eyes. You may get a bigger better solution

Original. Truly

Adidas Orginals Football Tee

I thought this was very smart. It was as if someone took a football and stitched it onto the top. Love Adidas Originals for these brilliant ideas – edgy, street and still maintaining the “sports” heritage. And definitely original. One of my fav brands.

Lurve just peering into the shop on my way to the office…