Vintage Online Shop

Vintage lovers in Singapore are simply growing. Many young people who are setting up their first home are turning to vintage furniture and housewares such as clocks, drinking glasses, candy trays to make a statement. Retro designs are classic and the quality of those products which have lasted the last 30, 40, 50 years are proof that they are well-made and have stood the test of time.
Ipreloved Reloved is a cool online vintage shop that my partner-in-grime, K and I have set up together since mid March this year. We also have a Facebook page where we aim to have a gathering of the like-minded especially in Singapore. We stock vintage wares that are in good condition, sometimes even mint condition as we get new old stock and items which have probably been sitting proudly in a display cabinet and never been used by the owners because they "couldn't bear" to use them like this half dozen 1950s drinking glasses with gold/gilt rim and printed purple and black floral design from Sydney.

Another popular vintage category of beauties we offer is retro handbags. Why pay $80 or more for a vinyl handbag which is available at all the departmental stores? Why not spend the same amount (or less) on a well-made and uniquely designed bag which will definitely get you compliments and a demand to know where you got it. If you are selfless and kind, you will tell them you got it at Ipreloved Reloved, a cool virtual shop in Singapore!

Yan Kit Swimming Pool/ Duxton Plain Hill

Yan Kit swimming pool is the first public pool to be opened in Singaopre. It is on Yan Kit road, a little hillock where Duxton Park is, behind Cantonment Road, near to the Pinnacles, the tallest HDB blocks in Singapore. So I guess it is in the area of superlatives - the first, the tallest etc!

Yan Kit is after Look Yan Kit, a wealthy and popular Cantonese dentist who migrated from Hong Kong to Singapore in 1877.

The art deco pool may have been disused and closed for years, but it still brings back lots of childhood memories for me. I used to visit the pool every once in a while, I was about 4 years old and still remember the snack of a rice dumpling with sweet sauce mum used to buy on the way home after a swim as we walk through the unique walkway tunnel that runs under Neil Road. I can smell in the vestiges of my mind, the tobacco leaves as they undergo processing in the nearby factory, where plumes of white smoke would be pumped up through the chimney and we would be able to see if from the pool. Perhaps that accounts for why I actually like the smell of tobacco leaves in a cigarette although I hate the smell of cigarette smoke!

Go check out the architecture of the old pool before the authorities decide to pull it down for yet another condominium development in this prime district. The area where the pool is situated, Duxton Plain Park is a lovely place to have a wander. There are big old mature trees and benches to rest when you get tired. Heritage shophouses back into the park so you can admire the old spiral staircases and other architectural features.

This makes for a nice little walk around a heritage area, end your walk with a cold drink at one of the old coffeeshops nearby.

Furniture With Character

Folks who are setting up home in Singapore and looking for cool furniture, read on.

For people who:-

1. do not want a whole house decked out in Ikea or Courts

2. have a love for nostalgia

3. are looking for furniture pieces with a bit of character

4. do not have a huge budget to blow

5. want friendly service and a free beer when furniture shopping

you need to check out Likethatone. You will probably need a map or a GPS to get there as it is tucked in the boonies amongst HDB (housing development board) flats and in a light flatted factory area, but it is not difficult to get there on the PIE (I think) and parking is plentiful and free on the weekend.

The stuff is way cool, with mostly Mid-century local pieces, some of which have had a creative twist added to them by the proprietors. There are so many pieces that are just calling out to me to give them a place in my home but unfortunately, there is the real life issue of space constraints (and of course budget). The folks at Likethatone have a great eye for fabrics and the new upholstery on the armchairs, wing chairs, sofas and stools are often enough of a motivation to want to make those pieces a part of your home.

They have also inspired me to get a move on to restore my own 2 1960s teak armchairs. My family couldn't quite believe how these babies now look as compared to the last thirty plus years we remember them in their old and horrid state sitting forlornly at my mum's house.

A little inspiration, a little imagination, research and effort will get you far. Check out this shop and be prepared to want to bring a lot of gorgeous furniture home.

A Slice Of Bohemia

Haji Lane in the Arab area is way cool. It is bohemian, chill-out cool.

Murals such as this and other street art/graffiti adorn the ways of the buildings in the alleyways. Photographers (usually young people) with colourful Lomo cameras prowl the laneways for a good shot. Not difficult at all to find an interesting composition in this area. Photo shoots take place each time I have visited - from wedding videos to blogshop fashion shoots.

The low shophouses are architecturally very interesting, the things sold are unique - clothes by young local designers (although the pre-pubescent sizes leave me disappointed), collectibles, knick knacks, retro-style furniture, handmade jewellery and all sorts of bits and bobs to attract the shopper who has wearied of the same-old, same-old ubiquitous shopping malls in Singapore.

Stop for a coffee, a teh-halia, a beer or a smoke of the shisha pipe. There is even earl gray and fig ice-cream. What more can you ask for?