Retro shopping in Singapore
Item 1: Bamboo carrier
Gim Joo Trading
During the 1970s, the rattan business was booming, and business was good at Simon Tay’s shop. Things are a lot quieter these days. Mr Tay is one of two merchants selling bamboo blinds (S$19-S$33), rattan chairs, baskets for fetching sand, walking sticks and bamboo mats for drying salted fish. The shop located along a heritage street also sells pretty picnic baskets and tiffin carriers.
Price: S$25
Gim Joo Trading, 16 Baghdad Street. Tel +65 6293 5638
Item 2: Swatch watch
House Of Time
Run by a son, mother and father team, this store has one of the most interesting, diverse and affordable ranges of watches on the island. Running for more than 20 years, they sell everything from heart monitors made by Polar to limited edition jelly watches by Swatch. Owner Albert knows his nuts and bolts when it comes to brands like Luminox, Citizen, Tumi, Suunto and Coinwatch, so hit him up with queries.
Prices: S$90
House Of Time, #B1-125 Lucky Plaza, 304 Orchard Road. Tel +65 6734 1096
Item 3: Hexagon mortar and pestle
The Heritage Shop
The Phoas, a husband and wife team who run The Heritage Shop, have runners around the world who help source the one-off bric-a-bracs. Recently they let go of a Ming-Era incense burner for S$500, but speculate that it could have fetched between S$20,000-S$30,000 if sold at an auction. This is one of their more affordable items, an old style pestal and mortar with a modern twist.
Price: S$200
The Heritage Shop, 93 Jalan Sultan. Tel +65 6223 7982
Item 4: Laura Biagiotti women’s sunglasses
New China Opticians
Tony Lim's sunglasses store, started in 1925 by his father, has customers as young as 10 and as old as 80. “I get also get a lot of students from LaSalle or NAFA who want a pair that sticks out,” says Lim who oves his Rodenstocks, Silhouettes from Austria and Ray-Bans man. Prices start at a reasonable $100 and go up to $350 for a pair of 1970s Christian Doir sunshades.
Price: S$280
New China Opticians, #B1-12A Peninsula Hotel, 3 Coleman Street. Tel +65 6337 8441
Item 5: Leica camera
Ron’s Cameras
Go on any online forum for camera enthusiasts and you’ll see Ron Chan’s name mentioned. Most of his clients are foreigners who troll the Internet for vintage camera specialists. Chan operates by appointment only -- he's usually fishing when he isn’t at the shop -- and currently, a few hundred cameras fill up the store, the oldest being a 1932 Minolta. None of the cameras in his store boasts a price tag; this is because the ex-photographic director knows, by heart, the cost of each and every one of his coveted pieces.
Prices: S$200-S$34,000
Ron’s Cameras, #B1-31, 1 Coleman Street. Tel +65 6338 7131
Item 6: Handmade cotton batik
Basharahil Bros House of Batik
A provider of beautiful and intricate batik designs since 1939, Dalilah Basharahil’s great-great-grandfather came as a trader to Singapore from Yemen to start a business. Specializing in batik, the store has machine-made table cloths and sarongs (from S$8 onwards) to handmade silk vintage pieces (S$1,000 onwards) tucked away at the back.
Price: S$580
Basharahil Bros House Of Batik, 101 Arab Street. Tel +65 6296 0432
