NEW STORE OPENINGS
A slew of furniture and lifestyle retail stores have opened recently.
HomesToLife (65 Mohamed Sultan Road) has opened a four-storey flagship, with each level taking up about 1,000 sq m. It is opening in phases and all levels are slated to be ready by September.
Home owners can browse more than 20 in-house brands and foreign labels, which carry everything from furniture to bedding. The ground floor is already open and has home furnishings, chairs and carpets. There is also a Tasting Bar - shoppers get a free cup of coffee and workshops will be held there.
American brand Crate & Barrel opens a temporary outlet in Orchard Road today. The store is at Peranakan Place Complex (178A Orchard Road), the former premises of Crate & Barrel's sister brand CB2, which closed last month.
The outlet is expected to stay open until the end of July. Expect discounts of up to 60 per cent on furniture and accessories, with stocks replenished every two days.
Home-grown lifestyle retailer Naiise opens its biggest store at The Cathay (2 Handy Road, B1-08). The 8,500 sq ft store - its sixth - has products from more than 300 Singapore and international brands. There is also a workshop space that can accommodate up to 30 people - book-binding workshops are planned - and a do-it-yourself corner for shoppers to personalise their buys.
Online retailer Ethnicraft Online opened a showroom in Tan Boon Liat Building (315 Outram Road, 02-01) earlier this month. Half the size of its other showroom in Eunos, it carries the brand's most popular products. Belgian brand Ethnicraft is known for its range of sleek teak and oak furnishings, which it has been producing for almost 20 years.
HELLO 2016 - CREATIVE SESSION
Get inspired by creative minds at the inaugural edition of Hello 2016, a design conference organised by multi-disciplinary creative consultancy Fable.
Theseus Chan, creative director of creative consultancy Work and a Designer of the Year winner at the 2006 President's Design Award, and Pann Lim, co-founder and creative director of Kinetic Singapore, will take part.
Ms Veronica Fuerte, founder of Barcelona-based Hey Studio, will share the work of the nine-year-old outfit, which ranges from brandidentity projects and editorial design to illustration work.
There will be a question-and- answer session after the presentations.
Where: The Matrix Auditorium @ Biopolis, 30 Biopolis Street, Level 2
When: June 11, 7pm
Admission: $45 for a ticket or $160 for four tickets
Info: E-mail virus@fable.sg or call 6742-0920
COLIN SEAH PICKED AS INFLUENCER FOR HOTEL DESIGNS
Hospitality superbrand Design Hotels has named the founder of Ministry of Design, Mr Colin Seah, as one of 10 "trailblazing architects and designers" for its Influencers List 2016.
Part of The Design Hotels Book 2016, the list also includes Ms Kit Kemp, co-owner and design director for Firmdale Hotels, and multi-disciplinary design studio Space Copenhagen, which did the interior of one of the world's best restaurants, Noma.
Mr Claus Sendlinger, founder and chief executive of Design Hotels, says influencers were picked based on how their "dynamic ways of thinking capture the feel of the land and the emotionality of a destination".
Seah is behind the interiors of properties such as the New Majestic Hotel in Chinatown, which won him a President's Design Award in 2006.
A recent hotel project is Loke Thye Kee Residences in Penang, where Ministry of Design worked on five pre-war shophouses, dressed in a traditional-meetscontemporary style.
Aside from features on the chosen influencers, this year's book features 289 hotels across 181 destinations. Released last month, it costs €55.98 (S$86.05) at www.designhotels.cc/shop/book-2016
THE MARKET HOP
Multi-label furniture retailer Dream and high-end kitchen appliance store APS Lifestyle have teamed up to organise The Market Hop, a weekend bazaar featuring food, furniture and lifestyle wares.
Next weekend, more than 50 food-and-beverage and lifestyle brands will be spread out over the two stores in Muthuraman Chetty Road and River Valley Road.
Restaurants taking part include Vatos Urban Tacos; Soi 55, which sells Thai street snacks; and Naughty Nuri's, which is famous for its ribs.
You can also snag one-off designer furniture pieces from brands such as Cassina, Cappellini and Matthew Hilton at up to 70 per cent off at the newly launched Garage by Dream on the first floor of its River Valley Road showroom.
Where: APS Lifestyle Gallery, 9 Muthuraman Chetty Road; and Dream, 456 River Valley Road
When: June 4 and 5, 11am to 7pm
•If you have an event or new store opening you would like featured, e-mail the details to stlife@sph.com.sg with the header Design News.
