Singapore Design Week

And we are back! 

After a whirlwind trip to Singapore

To experience the Singapore Design Week

At the invitation of Singapore Tourism Board

When so much, and so much good happens, you don't know where to start. In this case, I am overflowing with my experience with and immersion in good design, creative conversations, brilliant ideas and forms, immense talent, and some plain pure good aesthetics and the resultant products. It's a sheer pleasure to be surrounded by kindred creative folks and to talk to them about their inspiration and passion. Not to mention, truly beautiful products - I had to remind myself again and again that it's a B2B exhibition and that as much as I would like to, I can not shop and bring the oh-so-pretteh things home! I though did get a lot (A LOT) of photographs, insight into emerging design trends and memories of a week well spent.  

 

Singapore Design Week, organized by the DesignSingapore Council, is an annual conclave and exhibition of all that is good and promising in the world of design, and was held last week across different venues in Singapore. There were talks, discussions, exhibits, competitions, installations, awards, interactive forums for media and creatively inclined peeps, art works and fairs like the Maison & Objet Asia, International Furniture Fair and the multi-dimensional Singular Plural. It was heartening to see the support the entire event got from the local government and public agencies - goes to show how and why the design mindset permeates both public and private spaces at Singapore. The Design Week not only invited local designers, exhibitors and industry experts, but it also had a very good representation from South East Asian countries, along with other international designers.

As I walked and walked through miles of stalls and exhibits, I couldn't help but get drawn to the kind of design and style I prefer. But obvious that a large percentage of what I shot through the camera is something that you and I can together exclaim and sigh at. I could see the subtle influence of  the orient in some of the products designed by western designers and brands, as well as a contemporary bent in the products displayed by the South East Asian designers. A cause of joy was the omnipresent buzz of, and the visible conscious effort at sustainability. Reclaimed wood, recycled and upcycled products, organic fabric and materials ruled the roost. I also loved interacting with students and young designers - their designs had a sense of quirky, an element of humor, practicality without compromising the aesthetics and a feel good vibe. I could already envision many of them becoming well known in the industry in a matter of couple of years. It's good to know that the design future is in safe hands. 

[And right here is the place where I keep my walking cane by the side, and with trembling fingers type the last few sentences of this post. After placing 'the design future in safe hands', ofcourse! ;-)]

I can go on and on about the Design Week. From not knowing where to start the post to not knowing how to end the post! I think a good time for me to pull out the pictures and wave them in front of your face and say 'See see, my pictures from the Singapore Design Week'! Take a look at larger shots of images used in this post and some more right here. I had lofty plans of updating this album each day while I was there, but my loftiness would be so exhausted by the end of the very long day, that all we could do was cuddle in and sleep.  

And my favorite people, this is just Part Uno from Singapore! Tomorrow, I'll be back with tales of my sauntering through some lovely neighborhoods and cafes of Singapore. Stay tuned!

View all images and more here

[Images: All mine/An Indian Summer. Please credit and link back to this post if you use/share]

Other Links:

Singapore Design Week

DesignCouncil Singapore

Singapore Tourism Board

Hello Singapore!

This blog of mine and I have been invited

By the Singapore Tourism Board 

To attend the Singapore Design Week

And to explore the vibrant design landscape of Singapore

I am off today

To visit little cafes, iconic galleries, indie stores

To feel the pulse and life of Singapore and

To experience the best of contemporary design at the Design Week  

I'll be in touch via twitter and facebook

For I HAVE to share what I see and what I like with YOU

For you are my peeps

I'll be back on the blog in a week's time

With more stories 

Recommendations and pretteh pictures

Of all that caught my eye

In Singapore!

A big hello to my readers in and from Singapore

Let me know if you have any suggestions

On what not to miss :)

See you all soon!

Yaaay!

[Images: Vintage Singapore Tourism poster on left, and water color map of Singapore from here]

When the going gets tough

The tough travel!

Hello, my munchkins! How have you been?

I, after a rather public bashing of 2014, huffed and pouted, and packed my bags and went off on a trip with one of my favorite person, to a beautiful new lodge, run, by my favorite group of people. Yes, the Travel With An Indian Summer trip in the last week of February had to be postponed [didn't I tell you that 2014 has been a rouge year so far?] but after your fortifying comments and emails and all the love, I went ahead and spent a few blissful days at Pugdundee's Denwa Back Water Escape in the Satpura Wild Life sanctuary.   

And what a brilliant decision it turned out to be! A river in your backyard, a jungle you can walk into, miles and miles of mustard fields and golden wheat, birds and more birds where ever you look, stories of sloth bears and the thrill of spotting leopards, an early morning packed breakfast at the most pristine spot in the jungle, jeep safaris and bicycles rides, dinner under the stars, oh and, the luxury of your abode! Pugdundee Safaris has yet again surpassed itself when it comes to designing and building a lodge that is not only beautiful to look at, but also uber comfortable and it surprises and delights you at every step. Did I mention the meals? Oh, the meals! We ate and ate, marveled at the beautiful plating and the delicious desserts, all while taking in the wild surroundings just outside the window.

Sigh! You know now why I keep heading back to the jungle with Pugdundee Safaris. It's like wine for the soul. [yeah, not in the mood for chicken soup just yet]. And yes, I will announcing another trip soon where you can join me! It will be shorter trip than the last time, yet still full of unique experiences and adventures. Wait a week, and I'll let you know all the details! :)

I had a field time clicking pictures...these are some of my favorite shots from the trip. 

There's another very exciting news I have to share with you

Look out for the next post

Coming up in a few hours!

[All Images: Mine/An Indian Summer]

I don't like you, yet.

'2014'

I am talking about you!

2014 and I haven't started right. We haven't hit it off yet, so to say. 2014 has been poking me, surprising me, pulling the rug from under my feet, messing my hair on good hair days and generally being an ill-mannered brute.

I typically like New Years. And they like me. End of December, we get ourselves a hot cuppa each, and chirp and get happy about fresh beginnings, end of winters, advent of spring, possibilities, hopes, fun plans and more. 2014 and I did the same; or so I thought. I could have been speaking Greek and the nincompoop 2014, French! 

Frustrating it is, I tell you. And no less upsetting. Ask my boy cat. He understands, for from time to time, he licks his front paw, keeps it on my knee and looks up at me wistfully. For what it is worth, behind that wistful look, he must be abusing 2014 on my behalf. He is a good boy cat like that. I can't really say what I want to say to 2014 on this blog, as this blog is safe for work and safe for home. It has pretteh pictures and some moms and I am sure atleast a few dads, are showing these pretteh pictures to their kids. So no, I can't say bad words here, howsoever tempted I might be. I'll let my furball do that for me. Go Jui, go!

So you may ask, why am I sharing my tirade here and now?

Well, for one, who else do I share it with if not you? Aren't you my favorite folks? You ARE. Like it or not.

Secondly, given all this rug pulling business, I need to recoup. reassemble. regenerate. refocus. recycle. [well, not really recycle, but what the heck - let's put an eco-conscious message in there while we are at it]. 

 And while I hit the Refresh button this month, two things shall happen:

One, I'll continue to update my other pretteh blog - An Indian Summer Likes. So if you haven't checked it out yet [Oh my God, how could you have not!], please to do so on a daily basis. It has inspiration and prettiness and niceness and decor and fashion and mountains and witticism and cats and illustrations and sigh, all things that I like. You will like them too. All pics in this post are from there.

Second, a task for you, my dear spread-all-over-the-world friends. Kindly tell 2014 to behave itself for I am losing my patience, and am just about to put on my ninja gear and give one tight slap to the bully and ask it to go stand in a corner. Right after I beat the shi cra [this safe for home and work thing, man!] After I beat it up badly. Ok!

Remember An Indian Summer Likes is where the action will be, for sometime. Bookmark it.

And while we are talking about things that are making me mad, this Mark Zuckerberg chap - what, just what does he want! You lovely people show my little blog such love and like An Indian Summer's facebook page, and then Mark goes and changes things around! And then you can't see what I share on the page in your news feed. Highly disconcerting this.

So if you are connected to An Indian Summer on facebook [if not, Oh my God, why not!], please do the following:

1. Click here and go to the page
2. Like it if not liked yet! Erm ok, pretty please, do so if you may wish? [Before you think that I am getting influenced by the badly behaved 2014]
3. Just hover the mouse cursor over 'Liked' button and click on 'Get Notifications'. You can also check mark the 'Add to Interests Lists' if you wish. That's it. You'll not miss a single dose of goodness from this blog henceforth.

Lookie! Here's how:

 

 

Auf wiedersehn for now. See you on the other side, folks. Be good and be happy!

  Catch you on An Indian Summer Likes

Will be back here soonish

Drop me a hello here, here or there anytime!

 [Please find credits and/or source of images used in the post here]

   

Roads Well Traveled

Wanderlust, travel, roads, bazaar, unique finds, indigenous crafts, beautiful objects, preservation of craft traditions - all these descriptive phrases, make a recurrent appearance on my blog. And anytime that I find another person, a group, a store, or a project sharing my passion for above, I can not wait to share my delight with you. RoadsWellTraveled, conceptualized and run by Minu Chawla and Sebastin Sager, is one such store that offers not just hand picked products, but also invites you to explore and discover little nooks and corners of the world. An online destination for the nomadic-at-heart connoisseur of world culture, artefacts and objects, RoadsWellTraveled takes pride not just in it's curated collection but also in the mission of doing its bit to preserve dying art and craft in different parts of the world.

Another interesting aspect of of RoadsWellTraveled is their emphasis on art and not just the artisan. As Minu described in her email to me:

"There are enough NGOs and fair-trade organizations trying to provide the artisans with a sustainable livelihood. However not enough encourage them to do so by practicing the craft that they learnt from the forefathers. In the quest of making more functional, more marketable products, the original art/craft practice is rapidly dying. Through RoadsWellTraveled, we hope to honour the artisan traditions in their truest forms."

The Museum is an integral and growing section of RoadsWellTraveled website, and this is the place where Minu and Sebastin document the history, tradition and stories behind the crafts they curate. The aim is to build awareness and preserve that what is original.

 

Both Minu and Sebastin come from a corporate background, and they gave up their jobs to follow their heart. Combining their love for travel, indigenous crafts and entrepreneurship, they founded RoadsWellTraveled in Berlin, a city that's home to both of them.   

Step into the world of RoadsWellTraveled, and shop the bazaars Mesoamerica, Indus, Kalinga and Ceylon. They have exciting travel plans, and I can't wait to see what new treasures they find in the bylanes of the world.

Connect with RoadsWellTraveled on facebook and get inspired by their beautiful boards on Pinterest.

[All images: RoadsWellTraveled. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

In the mood for

Some music tonight

Listen to what I am listening to right now

As you step into these beautiful rooms with me

In a sentimental mood - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane

Unrequited Love: Lykee Li

At Dawning: Coleman Hawkins

Hey You: Pink Flyod

I'm a cat: Desa

Sigh. 

Sometimes music is all you want and you that all need

 Some room candy by the side doesn't hurt either :)

[Images from: Here, Here and Here. Second image from here]

Oh, and are you traveling with me this February? Make sure to check out this splendid itinerary, and join me!

All that is beautiful and original

With Craftisan

When I first saw Craftisan, I was drawn in by their collection of beautiful textiles and crafts from different regions of India. I was happy to see that they are not only bringing one-of-its kind products from established craft NGOs like Dastkari Haat Samiti, The Rehwa Society, Kilmora to name a few, but also helping eliminate the middleman, and providing a platform for e-commerce to the craftspeople directly. Hearing the team behind Craftisan talk about their passion and the vision with which they have started this online venture, I knew that I had to share Craftisan with you! 

Craftisan recognizes and celebrates the existential philosophy behind crafts. It acknowledges the need for beauty and creativity that urges human society to create, and also recognizes the value of the act of creating craft as an utilitarian task, that reflects the way and means of a particular region, society or a certain social environment. Craft is utility, decoration, ornamentation, meditation and aesthetics all rolled into a single product. 

Craftisan aims to offer an ethical architecture for India's creative manufacturing sector and be a curated art and craft collective for connoisseurs of original, hand crafted products. Replicating a traditional 'haat' (marketplace) online, Craftisan will bring to us handpicked products straight from individual craftspeople, various craft clusters and also craft ngos. Having a positive impact on the livelihoods of craft communities, as well as supporting preservation and promotion of dying crafts are Craftisan's driving values. 

 

Apart from the lovely products on show on Craftisan's site, do not miss the specially commissioned and curated exhibition and sale by Dastkari Haat Samiti, called Akshara. Akshara (crafting Indian scripts) encompasses the attempt to combine literacy, artistic sensibilities and marketable museum quality crafts so that the craftspeople value education as a necessary part for their economic and social uplift. The initiative has produced some beautiful works of art - on textiles, pottery, wood, paper and metal. Craftisan plans to bring more such specially created collections in the coming months.

Buy from Craftisan right here. Register on the site and instantly get credit worth INR 1000/$20!
Remain updated with their latest offerings by connecting on facebook.

  Happy Shopping, folks!
Have a great weekend
I'll see you all next week!

[All images: Craftisan. Creative Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

Travel with me!

Yes!

You and I 

Will travel together!

I couldn't have found a better way to kickstart the new year. A journey designed and created, especially for An Indian Summer and my readers! Do you remember the fabulous trip I had with Pugdundee Safaris last Oct? I had such a great experience overall - the beautiful long drive between the two forest reserves, the stunning luxury lodges, wildlife safaris, photography, village walks and interaction with craftsmen, shopping at local bazaars, discovering tribal art and craft at the lodges and the stories behind their origin, excellent food and service, and the many brilliant conversations. And now, I have the opportunity to experience all of this and more, with you! 

You are invited to join me on a journey of discovery, adventure and luxury, to Satpura National Park and Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. Designed to include many interesting experiences, beyond just wildlife safaris, it's the perfect itinerary for you and me. Click on the image below to get an overview of this upcoming journey:   

You can find the details of the itinerary right here

The good folks at Pugdundee Safaris will be able to assist you in whatever way you desire to help you plan and book your trip

Write to them if you have any questions or need any support with the logistics

And drop in an email to me if you would like to chat with me about this trip :)

Do decide quickly though

To keep the entire experience memorable, the group size will be quite small

Make sure you are not late in joining me on this incredible journey!
Book here!

[All images: An Indian Summer. See more pictures from my last trip here]