BANGKOK
A bag to brag about
Keanlis Boutique in downtown Bangkok specialises in made-to-order luggage.With the help of Tina Kelly of Two Blondes in Bangkok (TBIB),an outfit making life easier for visiting executives, handling concerns such as ground arrangements and shopping,we ordered a carry-on bag with pockets on the outside as well as our name embossed on it.
After we had selected the type and colour of the leather – we went for black with gold embossing – our order was rushed to Khun Nattida Ung of the Keanlis Boutique.
Suddenly,we thought of adding one last detail: a cushioned pouch inside to contain our laptop, which the shop accommodated without any fuss.We were then informed that our new accessory would be delivered within 24 hours for inspection and comment on whether we were happy with the quality of the workmanship.
Prices start from US$100 and can go up depending on the quality of the leather selected and dimensions. The gold embossing cost an extra US$40.
VERDICT: Our carry on bag was 110cm long by 50cm wide by 60cm high, which fulfilled the specifications required by most airlines. We were extremely delighted with the end result.
CONTACT: Two Blondes in Bangkok, tel 66 2632 1600 and Keanlis, 286 Silom Village, Silom Road, Bangkok, tel 66 2 635 6311.
Mark Armsden
HANOI
IDs in oil
Amidst the hype of activity in Hanoi’s old quarter are stores where locals sit low to the ground, paintbrush in hand, concentrating on their next work of art. The businesses, commonly referred to as “paint shops”, offer passing travellers a unique service performed by talented artists.
Foremost, these places specialise in copying the most well- known paintings in history, such as those by Van Gogh and Picasso, so don’t be surprised if you encounter a sea of Mona Lisas on your visit. Secondly and equally as popular, they paint any photograph that is given to them, from a Vietnamese holiday snap to wedding picture from back home and thirdly, they paint what they feel. Getting a painting made is a simple process. Go to the shop with a photo in hand, and choose the size and anywhere from two to four days depending on its size, collect it (or have it delivered to your hotel). Overseas deliveries are not recommended, however, as the postal system is less than efficient. Prices differ on the size but small paintings can cost as low as US$15, and over US$80 for the largest.Yet rates can change depending on what the “market” is doing, meaning what the store next door is charging, therefore the best idea is to get a quote from a number of nearby stores to find the best deal for you.
The painters are genuinely talented and have fine tuned their craft over many years. To score serious points with a spouse or significant other, have a favourite photograph transformed into a work of art.
VERDICT:High culture at low prices. Worth it!
CONTACT: A number of “paint shops” are located on Hang Trong Street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
Chris Canty
HONGKONG
Pretty paperworks
There’s a special occasion coming up.An important business launch or simply a company anniversary, perhaps. Or maybe, it’s Christmas or Lunar New Year, and you want to give your clients a gentle mental nudge every day for the next twelve-month. Bookworks’ bespoke notepad holders, diaries, photo albums, journals, guest books and the like are the acme of corporate gifties.
The company carries a range of off-theshelf items, beautifully crafted and bound in silk brocade.However, bespoke is Bookworks’ forte and customers can specify their own materials and customise them with logos and inscriptions.
From her eyrie high above the buzzing entertainment district of Lan Kwai Fong, Louise Garnaut (one of a triumvirate of celebrated business-savvy Australian-born sisters) oversees Bookworks’ day-to-day operations.Armed with a background in the paper business, she came to Hongkong 15 years ago and started off teaching bookbinding,which naturally lead on to her current trade. The company uses only high quality, acid-free paper,which can be written on and individually decorated without marking through, running or bleeding and the sturdy boxes which encase the books add a soupcon of style as well as solid storage. The accordion-style photo books are highly versatile as they expand with the items that are enclosed within them so can hold large amounts of material.
Custom-made items start at US$127. Of Bookworks’ regular stock, loose-leaf photo albums cost from US$54, accordion-style photo and signing books are priced at US$32 and above, while notebooks are the most inexpensive item at US$20.
VERDICT: Bookworks products lend themselves equally to personal life as much as corporate. They’re ideal one-off gifts.
CONTACT: Room F, 8th Floor,Ho Lee Commercial Building, 38-44 D’Aguilar Street, Central,Hongkong, tel 852 2559 0175, www.bookworks.com.hk
Ed Peters
MANILA
Rhapsodies in rattan
You may not know it, but it’s highly likely that the stunning rattan furniture that appears regularly in well known international lifestyle and design magazines are made in the Philippines.
For centuries, Filipinos have been weaving baskets and hammocks from the rattan vines that grow abundantly in their archipelago’s lush forests. But it was American entrepreneurs, arriving in the late 1800s, (along with the colonial administrators), who helped them take their skills further and expose their skills to a wider market. Since then, local companies such as Luzon Rattan Industries have made their mark abroad, making Filipino-made rattan furniture synonymous with quality and innovation. Company president Toni C Lo says that rattan attracts the foreign market because it is sturdy, yet lightweight and malleable enough to follow intricate designs. It also evokes a feel of the tropics so desirable to residents of colder climates.
The Philippines used to dominate this market sector up until the early 1990s when Indonesia joined the game, beating it in the low- to medium-price range due to the abundance of supply. Since Filipino companies could not compete on quantity, they wisely focused on innovation.Designers experimented with different materials, producing a new line of furniture that incorporates the equally warm feel of wood, leather and other types of vines into the basic rattan element.“We had to become more creative because of competition,”Lo says,“so we concentrated on design.”Helping Filipino manufacturers source for buyers and opportunities are the government-run Design Center of the Philippines and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions. The proof is on display at the LRI Business Plaza, along Reposo Street in Makati City, and in several other export-oriented outlets dotting the neighbourhood which is becoming known as a design precinct. Some visitors browse, intending to copy but the businessfolk here have learned to live with this, simply generating new and better concepts. VERDICT: If you want furniture that’s not your regular garden variety, this is it. Prices range from US$196 for a single lounge chair to US$980 for a set.
CONTACT: LRI Business Plaza, 210 N Garcia Street (Reposo), Bel-Air II,Makati City, tel 632 895 1772, [email protected]
Tina Arce-Dumlao
SHANGHAI
Smart threads
Shanghai is famous for its bespoke tailoring, and for good reason: the variety is tremendous, the prices are good, and the quality is,well, variable, but more on that later. Because Shanghai offers so many tailor experiences,we have chosen two, one from the high end, and one from the low.
First, Phonepha Custom Tailor. This charming little store in the heart of the French concession caters to the world of patent leather shoes and high thread counts. The proprietor,Guillaume Rousseau, is a careful craftsman with avant-garde European tastes. For example, he suggested that we add red or purple interior lining to the wool trousers ordered.“That’s the place to have some fun,” he says. (We opted for gray.) Guillaume favours patterned sport coats in classic, eye-catching colours, and suits that are subtly different from the ordinary, but he was nonetheless happy to cut me a beautiful suit in traditional navy blue.
Phonepha – named after Guillaume’s charming Laotian wife – specialises in sharply tailored suits, which hug the waist and highlight the wearer’s outlines. These suits are ideal for slender builds; they are definitely not American-style tent-and-awning affairs that hang like drapes and can hide a 25kg spare tire. Phonepha is a place of careful measurements and many questions, ranging from colour and style to pockets, buttons, linings, and collars.Guillaume offers sound fashion advice to go with the high-quality suits and shirts. Depending upon the quality of wool, a two-piece suit will cost from US$480 Phonepha delivers in Shanghai and overseas. A suit from Phonepha will definitely get you noticed. Once, just for fun,we wore our new navy-blue suit out for a night on the town. It was a very rewarding experience, filled with window seats and respectful replies and attentive service.We were never called “sir” so many times in one night.
At the other end of the spectrum – that is, at the cheap-and-cheerful end – is South Bund Fabric Market, the new address of a popular landmark – the Dongjiadulu fabric market. The environment may have improved with air conditioning but the vast warren of stalls is only for the brave and adventurous, people who can venture into the hawker stalls and emerge with inexpensive custom-made suits and jackets and dresses and trousers. The cloth is from China, not Europe, but it feels pretty good.Customers need a good “hand” so they can feel the quality of the cloth.
In Stall No 82 is Jason, a smiling man who speaks little English, but stocks an enormous supply of wool and cashmere. I had a good experience with him.After some discussion about batting and buttons and the like, I ordered a full-length cashmere winter jacket. It turned out to be a good fit and nice material, and it was a bargain for just CNY750 (US$90). I have not bought a suit or sport coat at this place yet, but I talked to people who did, and they seemed pleased, and many were repeat customers. I saw an Italian man trying on a freshly made suite.Man, he looked sharp. Some stalls specialise in cashmere,while others sell wool, linen, cotton, silk, and so on, and on, even including corduroy.Yes, that’s right: you can still get yourself a tailored corduroy jacket here. Just bring a picture from a 1970s catalog, and a week later, it’s yours. Verdict: Phonepha: Beautiful clothes, excellent service and reasonable price tag;
Fabric Market: A genuine bargain and experience.
CONTACT: Phonepha: 7 Dong Ping Road, tel 86 21 5465 2468, email [email protected], www.phonepha.com; South Bund Fabric Market (the former Dongjiadulu fabric market), 39 Lu Jia Bang Road, Stall No 82 (Jason Lee), tel 1391 768 7709.
Brent Hannon
SINGAPORE
Affordable elegance
Homeowners,who want every piece in their abode to reflect their unique taste,will appreciate the services of BULB which fashions customised chandeliers and carries a range of vintage lighting.
Owners Adam Han and Sid Ho, lighting enthusiasts themselves,will walk clients through the display before sitting down to discuss their preferred colours and style as well as intended budgets. The order takes three weeks to produce, after which, the proprietors personally deliver the item and supervise installation to ensure everything is to the customer’s satisfaction.At press time, the shop still did not offer shipping services, but can bring the chandelier to one’s hotel.
It’s BULB’s philosophy that everyone can have a touch of elegance in their homes without having to fork a fortune, thus, their glassworks are priced below market rates. Rates range from US$216 for a table chandelier to US$6,227 for a grand multi-tier production.
VERDICT: The quality, design, price and service package is unbelievable.
CONTACT: The White Room, 37 Haji Lane, Singapore 189230, tell 65 9822 3490 or log onto www.bulb.com.sg
Lucinda Law
SYDNEY
Model footwear
Andrew McDonald’s famous clients include supermodel Linda Evangelista.His handcrafted footwear certainly isn’t for the downat-heel. Prices? Try US$600 to US$1,125 for women’s sandals or US$1125 to US$2,250 for boots; men’s shoes or boots cost US$1,200 to US$3,000.
The 43-year-old celebrity shoemaker works with three skilled staff from his small workshop off Sydney’s Oxford Street haute couture strip. Clients go there for
measurements. A former fashion photographer,McDonald was assigned to shoot pictures of London shoemaker and fashion designer Paul Harnden. The two became friends,with Harnden supplying McDonald’s inspiration to switch to shoes. Back in Australia, shoemaking courses culminated in a one-year scholarship to work at John Lobb, celebrated London bootmakers with clients including the British Royal Family. McDonald’s business has thrived for 14 years. Output is 55% women’s shoes, 45% is men’s.
He says: “We adapt for clients on short visits,” he explains.“Locals have three fittings of 20 minutes each,with shoes ready in three to six weeks.With visitors,we squeeze these fittings into a few days and courier finished shoes to them within a few weeks.”
Clients choose from several dozen designs in McDonald’s catalogue and have these made specially, perhaps with adaptations. Or, they describe what they want as McDonald sketches.Otherwise, customers bring – or mail ahead – a pair of favourite old shoes as a prototype.
Tips from the Maestro: don’t skimp on shoe trees (moisture-absorbing cedar is best), using them to keep footwear in shape. Shine with good-quality polish at least weekly.Wipe off excess moisture. It would also be advisable to have a well-regarded repairer examine heels and soles every six months or so (depending on wear).
Or send them to McDonald for inspection and repair.“My tailored shoes last an average of seven to 10 years,” says McDonald.“It depends on wear.“Key requirements are using only the best leather and quality stitching and ensuring a great fit specifically for the individual foot.”
Verdict: Soft, supple, sturdy and fashionable, these shoes look expensive. But even brief examination reveals they’re a world removed from mass-produced cheapies.Men’s loafers and women’s slingbacks are justly sought by foreign clients.
Contact: 58 William Street, Paddington,New South Wales 2021,Australia, tel 61 2 9358 6793, www.andrewmcdonald.com.au
Chris Pritchard
