Saturday, August 29, 2009

Flea n Fun !


Took a picture with a charming young lady who ran a stall






The entire Haji Lane was closed to traffic for the day for the Flea and Fun market which raises funds for the Sunshine Home, a place that houses hill tribe orphans just outside of Changmai, Thailand.

Though the weather today was extremely hot, it didn't deter the vendors who came out in full force. There was a great youthful vibe about the place, with an interesting array of goods including skateboards, branded sneakers to girly dresses and bags. Some were even brand new.

I had a couple of interesting buys. A 2nd hand Haw Flake T-shirt caught my eye from a distance. The Haw Flakes were laid out in the style of Andy Warhol's Campbell soup. Loved it! Haw Flakes has been around for as long as I can remember and their packaging has not changed one bit after all these years. It is not uncommon to eat large quantities of it as they were the cheapest snacks around. Ice-kachang, haw flakes, white rabbit candy... quinessential snacks during my growing up years.

Also bought a polka dotted fabric camera case that I saw displayed in a beautiful leather bag. I had to leave by 2pm but I heard that when the sky turned dark, fun activities were lined up including date auctions (how interesting), drink specials and fire dancers. Hmm…next time definitely. I love flea markets and I wish there were more in Singapore.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Happy Beetle



The original Volkswagen Beetle was such a happy car to look at. Design wise, it looked like it was smiling Dolphin which came with its own happy gurgling sound. My neighbour had one while I growing up and I used to wonder why my dad wouldn't get one instead of the car we had. My dad said it sounded like a motor boat because it was guzzling way too much gasoline.

Was surprised to see the Beetle toy van at a neighbourhood bookshop and it was really cute in red. Had to get it. Found a similar picture of the real thing too on the web in the exact colour.

Shinzi Katoh


Was at the Borders Book Sale at Expo over the National Day Holiday and chanced upon a little store within the exhibition hall selling the cutest range of goods, from canvas tote bags, plastic folders to water bottles and bento lunch boxes. The little drawings on them were unmistakeably Japanese in style. I could still resist them till I saw little Red Riding Hood, one of my all time favourite fairy tale characters second only to my all time favourite - the wolf in Grandma's nightgown and bonnet.

Red Riding Hood : "My, my, what big teeth you have!"
Big Bad Wolf : "The better to eat you with ! ”

Apparently, they were all part of a collection by Shinzi Katoh, one of Japan's most famous zakka artiste and designer.
www.shinzikatoh.com
There is also an on-line shop based in Singapore which carried some of the Shinzi Katoh range - TheLittleHappyshop.com

Monday, August 3, 2009

Simply simple





I bought a very interesting Japanese dress making book that explains the process of making dresses with a few basic cuts. Though simple, these dresses stand out in terms of style and beauty and this simplicity also extends to the way the pictures are illustrated.

It is by sheer coincidence after buying this book that I went into a Muji outlet in Japan and saw dresses that exemplify these basic cuts. Most of the clothes were also in white, greys and black, muted colours which form the very essence of Muji.