SingaPlural makes a splash with collaborations and pop-up store

SINGAPORE — SingaPlural, the anchor event at Singapore Design Week, will be hosting a pop-up store for the first time. There, wares — from chairs to purses and porcelain items from homegrown artists, and collaborations between local and international firms — launched exclusively at SingaPlural will be on offer.

Mr Mark Yong, president of Singapore Furniture Industries Council and chairman of SingaPlural, said that the pop-up store features reputed local brands in a bid to champion and celebrate homegrown talent.

Design has an important role to play in Singapore’s future as it is part of the creative economy and will help generate new jobs and opportunities, said Mr Yong. New ideas and concepts, as well as the stories behind them, will contribute to “adding punch to the soft power of a city”, he said. Singapore Design Week opens tomorrow, while SingaPlural begins its run on March 7.

At its pop-up, even artisan tea can be found in a unique space.

Singapore’s Ette Tea, for instance, will present a new tea, No. 835, Seri Kaya. Ette Tea tea maker Victor Koh was teamed up with Singapore-born, London-trained designer Tan Zi Xi, who goes by the moniker MessyMsxi. She will be using fallen twigs to create an installation in a space for visitors to relax in, and sample the tea.

Mr Koh said the collaboration takes his craft to the next level. “Our booth will be a physical embodiment of our brand,” he said, adding that drinking tea is a chance to stop and take stock of your state of mind. “People take for granted the food that they no longer taste, the beautiful environment that they do not see, or how special someone is.”

He hopes that the space and the tea will give people the chance to experience a still, beautiful moment.

Other collaborations include eyewear brand Mystic Eyewear, which was paired with sneaker customiser Mark Ong, founder of SBTG. The eyewear brand will offer sunglasses, spectacle cases and chains inspired by SBTG’s design elements. SBTG, a streetwear brand that has worked with the likes of Nike and DC Shoes, has typically been inspired by punk, rock and roll and skate cultures.

Bone-like designs in “a twist” on the frames of Mystic sunglasses, for instance, were the result of the collaboration.

Mr Jason Tong, co-founder of Mystic Eyewear, is excited to be given the opportunity to be part of the pop-up. It is good branding, for one, he said. But it is also a chance to exchange stories of design with the public.

“Most of the time, we put items in-store and we are not there to share the details that go into works,” he said, adding that “buying a new brand its all about education”, and that when one knows what goes into the design, one appreciates the product more.

Do not miss a capsule collection of Singapore-inspired clutches by lifestyle brands Ling Wu and Onlewo, or a dining chair series by Fliq:Bubba with Onlewo fabrics.

Collaborations in design abound in other areas of the SingaPlural showcase, where visitors will also be able to see works that focussed on children from Asylum, the award-winning Singapore design studio.

Its collaboration is a powerhouse offering — Singapore names such as Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell, founders of Woha Architects, as well as Ministry of Design’s design director Colin Seah, teamed up with Japanese craft makers from the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry. The result is a project titled Kyo, which features design products such as a water-repellent picnic mat and children’s paulownia wood play set.

The anchor event of the Singapore Design Week since 2015, SingaPlural has been organised by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council since 2012.

SingaPlural 2017 runs from March 7 to 12, 11am to 10pm at F1 Pit Building Level 3 (1 Republic Blvd). Tickets are $10 each, to be purchased at the venue (cash payments only). Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 12 years and below, or 60 years and up, as well as Singaporean students, can enter for free. Visit www.singaplural.com