Shop by craft
Best of Singapore; search or filter for all 41
Singapore / Singapore
Operating since 1945, Kim Choo Kueh Chang sells its Nyonya rice dumplings and Peranakan snacks from its original Joo Chiat Place location as well as an East Coast Road branch near the Singapore Visitor Centre. The business also runs an online store and has publicly stated it does not distribute its products through supermarkets or hawker centres.
Best for Peranakan-food, kueh-chang, nyonya-cuisine
Singapore / Singapore
Tong Heng was founded in 1935 by Cantonese emigre Fong Chee Heng, who had sold snacks from a pushcart in Singapore's Chinatown before opening a shop on Smith Street. Now run by fourth-generation owner Ana Fong from South Bridge Road, the bakery still hand-bakes its trademarked diamond-shaped egg tarts daily.
Best for Trademarked diamond-shaped egg tarts, hand-baked since 1935
Tong Heng traces to the 1920s, when Cantonese emigre Fong Chee Heng arrived in Singapore from Guangdong and began selling drinks and snacks from a pushcart in Chinatown. In 1935 he opened a proper shop, Tong Heng Tea Room, at 33 Smith Street, introducing the bakery's signature egg tart and a traditional omelette toast.
When the Singapore government acquired Smith Street in the late 1970s, the bakery relocated to South Bridge Road, where its Chinatown shop still stands today. Its egg tarts have gone through several shapes over the decades and settled on the trademarked diamond form the bakery is now best known for, alongside other handmade Cantonese pastries, coconut and charcoal egg tarts, kaya, heritage cookies and mooncakes.
Tong Heng is now led by fourth-generation owner Ana Fong, who has worked to modernize the nearly century-old family bakery while keeping its hand-crafted production methods. The bakery operates two Singapore locations, in Chinatown and at Jurong Point, plus an online storefront on Shopee.
PRINTEMPS
TWG Tea launched in Singapore's Republic Plaza in 2008, founded by Manoj M. Murjani with tea sommelier Taha Bouqdib. Its Tea Salons pour 800+ teas from 46 regions, packed into the brand's signature yellow tins.
Best for 800-plus teas from 46 regions
TWG Tea was conceived in Singapore in 2008 by Manoj M. Murjani, working with French-Moroccan tea sommelier Taha Bouqdib and his wife Maranda Barnes Bouqdib, as a venture of The Wellbeing Group -- the initials behind the "TWG" name. The brand opened its first Tea Salon & Boutique at Republic Plaza that August, pairing a retail counter stocked with more than 800 teas sourced from 46 growing regions with a dining room serving tea-infused salads, quiches, soups, pastries and desserts. The logo's "1837" references the founding year of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, not the tea house itself, tying the brand to the city's trading-port history rather than claiming a two-century pedigree of its own. Loose-leaf blends and single-estate teas are packed into the brand's signature bright-yellow tins, sold both at the salon counter and shipped internationally. The concept scaled fast: within a decade TWG operated more than 70 salons and boutiques across roughly 19 to 23 countries, with product distribution reaching more than 40 markets, while keeping the same tin-and-salon format that debuted in Republic Plaza. A 2014 Hong Kong trademark ruling in favor of Tsit Wing Group, which had used the TWG initials since 1932, forced the Hong Kong outposts to rebrand locally as Tea WG -- a rare crack in an otherwise tightly controlled global identity built on one Singapore address.
Henderson
Supermama is a Singapore design store with a flagship at 213 Henderson Road and shops inside the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum. Its Singapore Blue porcelain prints the city's icons on plates and objects. The One Singapore 2026 Edition adds 22 new icons. The shop also carries Japanese craft such as 1616 / arita japan. A showroom operates in Kugayama, Tokyo, under the Supermama name.
Best for Locally commissioned porcelain and design objects from this Singapore gallery-shop since 2011
Supermama is a Singapore design store whose flagship occupies 213 Henderson Road, unit 01-01. Two further shops trade inside museums. One is at the Asian Civilisations Museum on Empress Place and one at the Peranakan Museum on Armenian Street, and both are open without an entry ticket. Its central line is Singapore Blue, porcelain plates and objects printed with the city's icons, from public housing blocks to the Merlion. The One Singapore 2026 Edition plate adds 22 new icons in standard and gold-rim versions. Collections have been made with the Peranakan Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum. Others were made with the restaurants Chatterbox and Candlenut. The shop also carries Japanese craft, including tableware by 1616 / arita japan, alongside design objects and an eco bag range. The Mandai collection and the Island Bloom collection extend the local imagery, as does the New Nanyang line. A showroom called Supermama mit Tobuhi operates in Kugayama, Tokyo. The company runs corporate gifting under the Singapore Blue name and a workshop experience for visitors. Self pick-up is available at the Henderson flagship from Monday to Saturday. Orders are dispatched twice a week, and local delivery covers the whole of Singapore.
Shenton Way
Onlewo is a Singapore design studio translating local architecture and culture into textiles and homeware.
Best for Singapore-patterned textiles, wallpaper and home objects
Onlewo is a Singapore design studio founded by surface designer Mike Tay, built from what he has described as a decade-long curiosity to explore storytelling through prints that began in textile pattern design and expanded into home decor, gifting, and broader lifestyle objects. The studio's work is organized around translating Singapore's own visual heritage, its housing-estate architecture, hawker-culture motifs, tropical botany, and neighborhood landmarks, into contemporary patterns and objects, rather than working from generic or imported design references. Tay was named among Singapore's 50 most influential designers in 2016, and Onlewo's design work has been commissioned by international luxury houses including Patek Philippe, Cartier, and Bulgari, an unusual crossover for a studio whose core identity is rooted in explicitly local, rather than international, storytelling. The brand opened a standalone retail space in September 2024 at OUE Downtown Gallery on Shenton Way in Singapore's Central Business District, its first dedicated storefront after years of operating primarily through wholesale, commissions, and online sales, marking a shift from a design-led studio practice toward direct retail presentation of its textiles, wallpaper, and homeware lines.
City Hall
Singapore bookbinding and leather atelier founded in October 2014 by Winnie Chan and James Quan, building on Chan's family bindery dating to 1942. Offers personalized notebooks, leather goods and bookbinding workshops across multiple Singapore ateliers, and won the President's Design Award's Design of the Year in 2016.
Best for Personalized notebooks and leather bookbinding, Singapore atelier since 2014
Bynd Artisan was founded in October 2014 by Winnie Chan and James Quan, but its roots go back to 1942, when Chan's grandfather, Chan Koon Song, opened a small bindery workshop in Singapore. That business grew into the Goy Liang Book-Making Company, based at a Mohamed Sultan Road shophouse from 1947, and Winnie Chan joined the family trade as its third generation in 1994.
Chan and Quan began developing a new retail concept in 2012 and opened Bynd Artisan's first atelier two years later -- inside the Chan family's own factory in Boon Lay, after the founders were unable to secure retail space in a mall. The brand's flagship atelier followed at Holland Village in 2015, and the concept expanded to five Singapore stores by 2020, offering personalized and monogrammed notebooks, leather goods, travel accessories and bookbinding workshops built around traditional hand-binding techniques.
The brand has since collected local recognition, including the President's Design Award's Design of the Year in 2016 and the Singapore Tourism Board's "Best Shopping Experience" award in 2017, and in 2022 launched reBynd, an eco-conscious offshoot. Chan and Quan were also named Singapore Tourism Board 'Passion Made Possible' ambassadors in 2019.
Jurong
A family pottery business centered on one of Singapore’s surviving dragon kilns.Established 1965.
Best for Pottery centered on one of Singapore's surviving dragon kilns, since 1965
Singapore
Run by master tailor Thomas Wong, a former chairman of the Singapore Master Tailor Association; his earlier shop spent 13 years at Shaw Centre until its 2012 closure for renovation, before this Boat Quay studio opened, training successors through a tailoring course he founded at LASALLE.
Best for Bespoke suits and jackets
The Prestigious Bespoke is run by Thomas Wong, a Singapore master tailor who has served as chairman of the Singapore Master Tailor Association and president of the Federation of Asian Master Tailors. The shop's own materials date its lineage to 1966; a 2016 profile in The Peak Magazine, written when Wong was 69, noted he had by then spent five decades in tailoring, consistent with a mid-1960s start, though the profile itself doesn't independently confirm that exact year. His earlier shop operated out of Shaw Centre for 13 years before the mall closed for major renovation in 2012, after which the business relocated to its current studio at Boat Quay. All bespoke garments are made in-house by a small team — around six tailors and apprentices — with no outsourcing, a point Wong makes of distinguishing the shop from more common industry practice. Around 2012, Wong established a menswear tailoring course at LASALLE College of the Arts, where he lectures, and most of his current team are graduates of that program; his stated succession plan is to hand work to trained protégés rather than close the business when he steps back.
River Valley
A Singapore menswear store blending Japanese, European and tropical tailoring. Established 2013.
Best for Tropical tailoring, Japanese jackets and made-to-measure trousers
Tiong Bahru
Singapore design label and store at 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru, selling locally designed nostalgia-themed goods - enamel mugs, tote bags, kopitiam-inspired homeware and stationery.
Best for Singapore stationery, prints and illustrated gifts
Wheniwasfour (also styled with its Chinese name, 小时候) is a Singapore-based design label and retail store located at 9 Yong Siak Street in Tiong Bahru. The shop sells locally designed lifestyle products built around Singaporean nostalgia and vernacular culture - items referencing kopitiam culture, Singlish phrases and everyday local objects reimagined as home goods, including enamel mugs, tote bags, aprons, rugs and oversized replicas of the plastic bags used for takeaway kopitiam drinks. It has been covered by Singapore lifestyle press as one of the city's recognizable design-led souvenir and homeware stores. It maintains both the physical Tiong Bahru storefront and an online shop.
Kampong Glam / Online
Loka Made is an illustration-led Malaysian brand whose paper goods depict local attractions and heritage buildings. Postcards and pop-up cards feature among its paper goods alongside stickers and other small illustrated gifts. The Malaysian cultural focus should not be mistaken for proof that the goods were designed around Singapore or manufactured there.
Best for Malaysia-themed illustrated postcards and paper gifts
Loka Made was founded in 2015 as a Malaysian creative brand devoted to rediscovering and reimagining local culture. Its catalogue turns familiar places and food into paper goods. Daily scenes become small objects or wearable keepsakes. The Malaysia Series includes shaped and panoramic postcards, while the Pop Up Heritage Cards focus on local eateries. Other named lines include Lokapedia, Collecting Malaysia, Nyonya's Memoir and Loka Travel. The approach is consistent across formats: postcards become layered constructions; city motifs move onto stamps and notebooks alongside folders; illustrated characters appear on pins and patches alongside keychains. Home pieces extend the same visual language to coasters and mugs, with wall art and desk objects completing the home range. This breadth gives the brand a clear role beyond conventional souvenir retail. It treats a travel memory as source material for contemporary illustration and product design, allowing the same cultural reference to be carried as a card, used at a desk or worn on clothing. The official story describes the method as adding fantasy and creative imagination to the beauty of everyday moments.
Bras Basah
Design bookshop in Singapore's Bras Basah Complex, started in 1985 by Basheer Ahamed as a traveling book salesman and given a permanent storefront in 1991; still family-run by his son Abdul Nasser.
Best for Architecture, illustration and graphic-design books
Hong Kong Street, Singapore
Singapore speakeasy-style cocktail bar on Hong Kong Street, opened 2011; won the inaugural Asia's 50 Best Bars title in 2016 and has repeated on the World's 50 Best Bars list since 2012.
Best for Craft cocktails and spirits
28 HongKong Street opened in 2011 in Singapore and quickly built a reputation within Asia's cocktail scene, headed by American bartender Logan Demmy. It won the inaugural Asia's 50 Best Bars award and has continued to place highly in subsequent years, and it has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars list every year since 2012. In 2014 it was named Best International Cocktail Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in New Orleans. Current listings show it operating Monday-Thursday 6pm-2am and Friday-Saturday 6pm-3am, closed Sundays.
Joo Chiat, Singapore
A Vintage Tale stocks archival clothing and accessories from the 1950s through 1990s, including pieces from Dior, Chanel, Gucci, and Versace. Its Joo Chiat shop also pours drinks at an in-house bar.
Best for Archival Dior, Chanel, Gucci and Versace vintage
A Vintage Tale traces back to a plan its founder first sketched out while living in Milan in 2015, before bringing it to life in Singapore in 2018, according to the boutique's own account of its history. The shop, tucked into Joo Chiat Road, deals in archival clothing and accessories from the 1950s through the 1990s, with pieces the store attributes to Dior, Chanel, Gucci, and Versace, plus vintage jewelry from houses like Trifari, Fendi, and Prada.
The interior leans into the theatrical — colourful wallpaper and vintage furniture set the scene for what the shop calls 'everything feminine.' A Vintage Tale has also built out a sit-down element unusual for a vintage store: 'Carolina Bar,' a corner added specifically so customers can 'sip and shop' rather than just browse racks. It's a shopping format the boutique markets as a point of difference from Singapore's other secondhand and vintage stores.
Singapore / Singapore
Audio Atelier operates two showrooms at The Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street, Singapore — its main showroom at Unit 01-10, opened in October 2025, and a dedicated Gold Note boutique at Unit 03-38.
Best for An appointment-friendly Singapore boutique built around exclusive analogue-focused brands like
Audio Atelier operates two showrooms at The Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street, Singapore — its main showroom at Unit 01-10, opened in October 2025, and a dedicated Gold Note boutique at Unit 03-38. Singapore's own business registry (UEN) shows the company established in 2019, giving a verifiable founding year rather than an unhedged marketing claim.
The shop's own description frames it as "a specialist audio boutique representing brands that have been carefully curated," emphasizing artisanal, hand-built equipment over mass production. It carries more than a dozen brands exclusively in Singapore, including Ypsilon Electronics, Kaiser Acoustics, Lyra, Brinkmann Audio, Gold Note, Thrax Audio, and Loricraft Audio, plus Vicoustic acoustic treatment and Caig Deoxit contact cleaner as ancillary lines — a roster built around cartridges, tonearms, and amplification for serious analogue playback rather than lifestyle electronics.
Demo culture here is deliberately informal: the site invites customers to "come by for a coffee, enjoy some music and have a chat," and to bring their own material to audition in the showroom. The business also runs a pre-owned/trade-in section and a Carousell storefront covering Singapore and Malaysia, with appointments available outside its Monday-to-Saturday, 11am-7pm hours via separate Singapore and Malaysia contact numbers, and it publishes its own product reviews rather than relying solely on manufacturer copy.
Tiong Bahru
Independent gift and design shop established 2008 with a second location in Joo Chiat; known for its resident shop cats alongside books, paper goods and vintage bric-a-brac.
Best for Books, paper goods, and design objects since 2008
Cat Socrates opened in 2008 and has grown to two locations in Singapore: the original Tiong Bahru shop at 78 Yong Siak Street and a second store at 448 Joo Chiat Road. The shop sells books and paper goods, home decor, kitchenware, fabric and sewing supplies, plants, bags and accessories, and vintage bric-a-brac, an eclectic mix rather than a single specialty category. Both locations are known locally for resident shop cats that wander among the merchandise; at the Joo Chiat store in particular, a cat named Zoozoo is often found waiting by the door to greet customers or asleep on a stack of books. The combination of an independent, deliberately mismatched design-and-gift inventory with live shop cats has made the stores a recognizable stop within Tiong Bahru's cluster of independent retail, a neighbourhood built around Singapore's oldest public housing estate.
Kampong Glam, Singapore
Independent record shop on the second floor of a North Bridge Road shophouse in Kampong Glam, Singapore, open since 2014; a hand-picked new-and-used selection spanning indie rock, funk, soul, film soundtracks and vintage rarities.
Best for Wide-ranging, carefully curated vinyl catalog
Curated Records opened in 2014 in Singapore's Kampong Glam district, tucked on the second floor of a shophouse at 766A North Bridge Road, next to a 7-Eleven. Despite the low-key entrance, it has built a dedicated following for a hand-picked selection spanning new and used vinyl - from contemporary indie rock through 80s funk and soul to vintage rarities and film soundtracks, with stock including artists like Bjork, Radiohead and MF Doom. The shop is run with a focus on curation over volume, and staff are noted by visiting customers for being knowledgeable and willing to talk through recommendations.
Outram
Founded in 1995 by writer and Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon, this Chinese-language independent bookstore originally traded opposite the National Library before relocating in November 2014 to Bukit Pasoh Road; Yeng passed ownership in 2015 to Lim Jen Erh, Lim Yeong Shin and Lim Wooi Tee.
Best for Independent Chinese-language books and cultural space, since 1995.
Grassroots Book Room was founded in 1995 by Yeng Pway Ngon, a former journalist and Chinese-language poet and novelist later honored with Singapore's Cultural Medallion. The store began at the Qiaobei Centre, across from the National Library, as an outlet for Chinese-language literature, history, philosophy and art at a time when such independent stock was scarce in Singapore. In November 2014 it relocated to its current premises on Bukit Pasoh Road in the Chinatown/Outram area, close to Exit H of Outram Park MRT station. In 2015, Yeng passed the business on to three successors: Lim Jen Erh, a former journalist and dramatist; Lim Yeong Shin, who runs day-to-day operations; and Lim Wooi Tee, a medical doctor. Under their stewardship the shop has kept its core categories — Chinese and Western philosophy, Chinese modern literature, translated Japanese and Western literature, art and film — while adding newer sections such as picture books, food writing and lifestyle titles, maintaining its role as one of Singapore's few dedicated Chinese-language independent bookstores.
Bencoolen
Singapore vinyl record shop (since 2013) at Burlington Square, Bencoolen—new and pre-loved LPs with strong jazz and Japanese pressing selections.
Best for New and used vinyl
Hear Records opened in Singapore in 2013, founded by Nick Tan as what he calls a "music lifestyle shop" rather than a straightforward record store. The Bencoolen Street shop stocks more than four thousand records — new and used, spanning hip-hop (GZA's Liquid Swords), minimalist composition (Steve Reich's Four Organs), and film scores (the Oldboy soundtrack) — with fresh shipments arriving monthly from the United States, Europe, and the rest of Asia.
Tan runs the shop personally: he posts photos of new import sleeves on Facebook, sends email updates to regulars, and takes special-order requests directly from customers. Alongside vinyl, Hear Records sells turntables, electronics, accessories, and display units for building out a collection. As Tan told The Vinyl Factory, which profiled the shop in its "world's best record shops" series: "People don't just come to the store to buy records. They meet other music fans as well and we all end up talking about music."
The shop emerged as part of a small wave of new Singapore vinyl retailers that filled the gap left when chains like Gramophone and HMV closed their doors in the city.
Queenstown
Mother-and-son secondhand and streetwear shop at Queensway Shopping Centre, Singapore (Queenstown planning area) - vintage denim, cargo pants, graphic tees and curated thrift, run by 'Mama Hon' and her son.
Best for Mother-and-son curated vintage clothing
Rochor
Risograph print, publishing and gallery studio founded 2014 in Singapore; now based at 261 Waterloo Street (Waterloo Centre), not Rochor. Sells riso-printed zines and art prints and offers riso-printing services.
Best for Risograph prints, zines, and graphic art
Knuckles and Notch is a Singapore risograph publishing and printing studio, founded in 2014. It doubles as a retail shop and small gallery, selling art books, prints, and riso-printed merchandise while also offering riso-printing services and workshops. Risograph printing uses a high-speed stencil-duplicator process with soy- or rice-based inks. Knuckles and Notch currently operates from 261 Waterloo Street, on an HDB block that is also home to the Waterloo Centre creative community, with modest afternoon hours.
Tanjong Pagar
Independent bookshop opened in 2014 in a conservation shophouse at 20 Duxton Road near Tanjong Pagar, Singapore, curating literary fiction, crime, sci-fi/fantasy, travel writing and children's titles rather than bestseller-driven stock.
Best for General books in a two-storey conservation shophouse, since 2014
Littered with Books opened in 2014 in a two-storey conservation shophouse at 20 Duxton Road, close to Tanjong Pagar MRT station in Singapore's Duxton Hill / Chinatown conservation district. Shophouses of this kind - narrow street frontages opening into long, deep interiors - are a protected building type from Singapore's early-20th-century mixed-use architecture, and the shop's layout follows that footprint, with shelving running back through the building rather than spread across a wide frontage. Rather than trying to be a general-interest retailer, the shop curates a comparatively narrow list across literary fiction, crime and thrillers, science fiction and fantasy, travel writing, and award-winning children's books, aiming for depth within genres rather than breadth across every category a chain bookstore would carry. It has been repeatedly included in local roundups of Singapore's independent bookshops, alongside houses such as BooksActually, as one of the city's smaller literary-fiction specialists rather than a general bestseller retailer.
Singapore / Online
Little Nyonya Batik is a Singapore business selling hand-drawn and stamp-batik Peranakan sarongs, kebaya and Baba shirts alongside Nyonya accessories, porcelain and home decor. It markets itself as one of Singapore's leading online sources for Peranakan fashion, with each handmade piece varying slightly from the next.
Best for Peranakan batik, sarong kebaya, hand-drawn textiles, Nyonya fashion
Geylang
Singapore vintage-furniture dealer run by Lorgan Wong, sourcing 1930s-40s mid-century pieces from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway plus local finds; based near Geylang/Paya Lebar.
Best for Retro furniture, lighting, and decorative objects
Lorgan's the Retro Store is a Singapore vintage-furniture and decor business run by its namesake owner, Lorgan Wong, who began restoring colonial furniture alongside his father as a child. The store specializes in mid-century pieces, with much of its stock - original furniture and household objects dating to the 1930s and 1940s - imported from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, supplemented by finds sourced within Singapore. Alongside original vintage pieces, the store also carries reproductions of Danish furniture designs. It has been covered repeatedly in Singapore lifestyle and shopping guides. Listings place the current location at Orion @Paya Lebar, 160 Paya Lebar Road, open Wednesday through Sunday.
Orchard Road
Mandarin Gallery is a shopping centre at 333A Orchard Road in Singapore, with separate retail and dining tenants. Its current directory includes fashion shops such as BIMBA Y LOLA and Victoria's Secret, alongside other lifestyle businesses. Check the relevant tenant listing for a visit rather than assuming the gallery operates as one shop with a shared product range.
Best for Fashion and dining tenants on Singapore’s Orchard Road
Mandarin Gallery is the shopping mall attached to what opened in 1971 as the Mandarin Hotel on Orchard Road, with a second hotel wing completed in 1973. After a S$200 million renovation, the mall reopened in January 2010 as a four-storey retail complex with a glass curtain façade and floor-to-ceiling glass flagship duplex units, distinct from the original hotel-podium retail it replaced. The adjoining hotel has since been rebranded as Hilton Singapore Orchard. The mall's identity is tied directly to that renovation date and hotel pairing — it isn't a standalone shopping centre but a retail component built into a hotel redevelopment, which shaped both its layout (four levels wrapped around the hotel tower) and its positioning toward higher-end fashion tenants such as Michael Kors and Max Mara. That hotel-anchored structure is common along this stretch of Orchard Road, where several malls were built as retail podiums beneath hotel towers rather than as freestanding centres.
Multiple
Singapore's largest supermarket chain, a co-operative under the National Trades Union Congress founded 1973 as NTUC Welcome; over 100 supermarkets and 570+ retail touchpoints island-wide, member-owned via share subscription.
Best for Singapore's largest grocer.
NTUC FairPrice began on 22 July 1973 as NTUC Welcome Consumers' Co-operative, opening with a single store in Toa Payoh. In May 1983 NTUC Welcome merged with the Singapore Employees Co-operative to form NTUC FairPrice Co-Operative Limited. It has since grown into Singapore's largest retailer, serving more than half a million shoppers daily through over 100 supermarkets plus more than 160 Cheers convenience stores. As a co-operative, it is member-owned: eligible individuals buy a minimum of 20 shares at S$1 each plus a S$3 entrance fee, giving them dividends, rebates and voting rights.
251 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058800 / Singapore / Singapore
2 finite named city door row(s) represented; 1 cleared exact-door GEO.
Best for Regional craft with a named maker.
Buona Vista
Singapore specialty coffee roaster founded 2009, named for Francisco de Melo Palheta, the Brazilian officer credited with smuggling coffee seedlings out of French Guiana. Opened the Chye Seng Huat Hardware cafe in 2012; rebranded as PPP Coffee in 2019.
Best for Specialty coffee — independent roaster, multiple café brands
Papa Palheta began in 2009 as, in the company's own words, a small-batch specialty coffee roaster "living off tips collected from strangers-turned-friends in a humble hideout at Hooper Road" — the name Papa Palheta came from that original site. In 2019 the business rebranded to PPP Coffee, a change the company announces directly on its site under the heading "Papa Palheta is now PPP Coffee." Its stated sourcing approach rests on three principles — honesty, traceability, and sustainability — with every batch described as sustainably sourced and roasted in small batches to bring out each lot's specific flavor profile while, in the company's phrasing, "doing justice to the farm and its farmers." Current retail locations operate under the PPP Coffee name: PPP Coffee at New Bahru, PPP Coffee at Funan, and The Annex at Chye Seng Huat Hardware, the company's conserved Art Deco shophouse headquarters in the Jalan Besar district. The rebrand itself is the distinguishing fact worth flagging to a visitor: a store still known informally as Papa Palheta now trades and signs as PPP Coffee, so the original name persists mainly as heritage rather than as the current shopfront identity.
Chinatown
Gallery-shop on Pagoda Street specializing in handcrafted Peranakan tiles using Italian technology and traditional screening techniques since 2009.
Best for Salvaged and reproduction Peranakan tiles
Aster By Kyra's Peranakan Tiles Gallery, established in 2009, operates from 37 Pagoda Street in Singapore's Chinatown. The gallery produces handcrafted Peranakan tiles combining advanced Italian tile-manufacturing technology with traditional handmade screening techniques. Production uses a distinctive thrice-fired method that creates metallic and chromatic effects. All tiles meet ISO 13006 Standard quality requirements. The company operates as a subsidiary of PT Aster Decorindo Abadi, an Indonesian manufacturing firm. Services include local delivery in the Donostialdea area and international shipping.
200 Victoria Street, #L1-KIO-06 Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021 / Singapore / Singapore
Scent by SIX is a Singapore fragrance brand offering perfumes alongside products for scenting the home. Its collection includes reed diffusers and pillow mists, and its Singapore shops include a Bugis Junction location.
Best for Perfumes and home fragrance
Singapore / Online
Shermay's Singapore Fine Food sells heirloom Peranakan recipes reworked into shelf-stable keropok, sambals, and cookbooks by chef-owner Shermay Lee, granddaughter of the cookbook author Mrs Lee. The brand sells directly through its own online shop and lists physical stockists across Singapore.
Best for Food & Confections, Peranakan Cuisine, Keropok
Kampong Glam
An independent perfumery blending bespoke and house fragrances in Kampong Glam. Established 2010.
Best for Bespoke perfume, incense and Singapore-made scent
River Valley
Singapore plant-design retailer that began online before opening physical shops, including a Thomson outlet and a New Bahru flagship in River Valley designed by studio Silo; sells curated indoor plants and handmade ceramic planters and runs workshops.
Best for Sculptural greenery and design-led homeware
Soilboy is a Singapore plant retailer that began online selling indoor houseplants and gardening essentials before opening physical stores. Its first outlet was in the Thomson area. In 2024 it moved into a flagship at 46 Kim Yam Road in New Bahru, designed by the studio Silo. Time Out Singapore described the new store as five times bigger than the former Sin Ming space and among the more carefully designed stores in the cluster. The shop stocks a chosen range of low-maintenance houseplants and handmade pots from Korea, plus merchandise made with local illustrators such as Oak & Bindi. A potting station doubles as a plant clinic for ailing plants. A dedicated workshop space hosts plant care sessions and bonsai styling classes as well as ikebana activities. A Sculpt & Plant workshop with Rhombus Lab lets visitors make a pot and repot a plant. The same Korean maker produces the Soilboy modular plant stands with perforated panels and a built-in drainage tray. The company says its mission is to inspire curiosity for the greener things in life. Each plant goes home with a guide and care instructions, with labels attached. Yellowtrace covered the Silo interior in 2024, noting multiple retail zones within a minimalist scheme.
391 Orchard Road, #03-09B Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Singapore 238872 / Singapore / Singapore
State Property's boutique on the third floor of Takashimaya Shopping Centre carries fine jewellery and bridal collections. Its bridal selection includes engagement rings and wedding bands, while the wider collection also extends to earrings.
Best for Fine jewellery and bridal jewellery
Kallang
Bespoke atelier founded in Kallang in 2018 by designer Hu Ruixian, specializing in modern cheongsam/qipao and bridalwear with details like mother-of-pearl buttons and tweed or suede trim; lead times run four to eight months.
Best for Made-to-measure tailoring
Studio HHFZ was established in Kallang in July 2018 by designer Hu Ruixian, who set out to modernize the cheongsam (qipao) and make it wearable as everyday clothing rather than an occasion-only garment. The studio makes bespoke pieces to individual order — gowns, modern cheongsams, and bridalwear shaped by Singapore's mixed cultural identity — with construction details like mother-of-pearl buttons and trims in suede or tweed alongside traditional silk, and prints and embroidery, some developed with local Singaporean graphic designers. Lead times run around four months for simpler designs and up to eight months for wedding gowns involving lace or appliqué work, reflecting the studio's fully made-to-order, one-client-at-a-time model rather than a ready-to-wear production line. Hu has been profiled for her approach to preserving qipao construction techniques while updating silhouettes and fabric choices for contemporary wear, positioning the studio within a small field of Singapore ateliers working to keep the cheongsam in everyday rotation rather than treating it purely as heritage costume.
Bukit Timah, Singapore
A homegrown children’s shop selling clothing, festive wear, shoes, nursery essentials, gifts, and toys. Its first retail location opened at Cluny Court in 2012, according to the source.
Best for Children's clothing, festive wear, nursery essentials
Orchard
Custom mechanical-keyboard and desk-gear store in Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, Singapore, opened August 2024 by the Reformd Group as what it bills as the country's largest keyboard-customization space (2,600 sq ft), stocking Akko, Gateron, Keychron, Monsgeek, Nuphy and Wooting parts.
Best for Custom mechanical keyboards and desk equipment
The Laboratory by Reformd opened on 2 August 2024 inside Cathay Cineleisure Orchard on Grange Road, billed as Singapore's largest keyboard-customization store at roughly 2,600 square feet. It's run by the Reformd Group, whose other ventures include fitness businesses - a somewhat unusual pairing with mechanical-keyboard retail. The store is organized around three stations covering different stages of building a custom keyboard, aimed at both hobbyists and newcomers, and stocks parts and finished boards from brands including Akko, Gateron, Keychron, Monsgeek, Nuphy and Wooting.
Tanjong Pagar
Singapore Tanjong Pagar antiques shop — densely stocked family collectibles, secondhand furniture and handcrafted pieces.
Best for A densely stocked family antiques and secondhand shop
Tong Mern Sern is a family-run antiques and arts & crafts establishment located in Singapore's Tanjong Pagar neighborhood. The shop specializes in a densely curated collection of collectible items, secondhand furniture, vintage goods and handcrafted pieces. Operating primarily through social media platforms, the shop serves collectors and customers seeking unique, pre-owned decorative objects and functional antique furnishings. The business reflects the neighborhood's character as a historic district with established antiques trading and secondhand retail activity.
Kampong Glam
Wardah Books is an English-language Islamic bookshop founded in 2002 by Ibrahim Tahir in Singapore's Kampong Gelam. Its subjects also include regional history and literature, with children's reading among the wider selection. Book clubs and author sessions form part of its community work, continuing the area's bookselling tradition without making the modern business as old as its premises.
Best for English-language Islamic books and regional literature
Wardah Books is a Kampong Gelam bookshop specialising in English-language books on Islam, founded by Ibrahim Tahir in 2002. Its selection also reaches into literature and regional history, giving readers several ways into the subjects it covers. The shop occupies part of Bussorah Street's longer history of printing and bookselling in Singapore.
The National Heritage Board's account connects its premises with Chief Kadi Haji Ali, who previously lived and worked at the address. That earlier history belongs to the building and neighbourhood, rather than making Wardah itself a nineteenth-century business. The current bookshop's founding responded to a gap between the English Islamic texts readers wanted and what local shops offered.
Wardah supports reading through book clubs and author sessions, alongside the ordinary work of selecting and selling books. Begin with the subject or level of reading you want rather than assuming that every Islamic title serves the same purpose. Literature for children and a work of philosophy require different choices, even when both appear within the same shop's selection.
Joo Chiat
Illustrated-book and children's bookstore founded 2009 in Tiong Bahru; that flagship closed in 2024 after 11 years, with a Katong branch at 206 East Coast Road (opened 2023) now the main storefront.
Best for Illustrated books and children's titles since 2009
Singapore / Online
Singapore atelier known for its signature one-piece collar — cited by Gentleman's Gazette as the reference for the style; verify production origin per order.
Best for The signature high-roll one-piece collar.
Neighbourhood walks
Area names come from each shop’s published address record; ORBIS does not invent neighbourhoods.
ORBIS city intelligence
Singapore’s design strength lies in translation. Tropical climate, regional materials, migrant histories, global production and precise retail systems meet in objects that may be designed, made, edited and sold in different places. A defensible purchase keeps those movements explicit.
Climate is one of those stages. Heat, humidity, sudden rain, severe air-conditioning and compact homes alter comfort, packing and maintenance. Singapore shopping becomes distinctive when visual intelligence, portability and tropical use are resolved together rather than left to compete after the sale.
Look for design-led tableware, patterned textiles and wallcoverings, personalised paper goods, contemporary souvenirs with named authorship, ceramics connected to the city’s surviving dragon-kiln history, and clothing or tailoring chosen for tropical movement rather than ceremonial fantasy.
Supermama is a central reference because it makes collaboration visible. Its Singapore-designed porcelain has been developed through relationships with Japanese makers, including Arita production, while the imagery and cultural editing come from Singapore. The object is not less local because skills cross borders; the collaboration is the point.
Onlewo translates Singapore places and memory into patterns used across textiles, wallpaper and tableware. Bynd Artisan brings paper, bookbinding and personalisation into a retail experience that can be tested in real time. Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle offers a different scale: an active pottery business around one of Singapore’s remaining dragon kilns, where the kiln is heritage and infrastructure rather than a guaranteed daily spectacle.
As a port, manufacturing hub, financial centre and intensely planned city, Singapore is skilled at assembling international production, regional materials and local design into objects that travel well. That fluency can also yield polished anonymity. The buyer should locate the real Singapore decision: the pattern, commission, collaboration, adaptation, binding, fit or service that changes the result.
“Designed in Singapore” matters when the design work is named; it is not a synonym for local manufacture. A retailer may be an important editor without being the maker, and a bespoke shop may measure locally while production happens elsewhere. The city becomes more interesting when those roles are allowed to remain distinct.
The civic centre and downtown form the most efficient design route. Bynd Artisan at Raffles City brings personalisation into a central shopping day. Onlewo at OUE Downtown Gallery connects pattern to the commercial city. Supermama’s museum-store presence at the Asian Civilisations Museum and Peranakan Museum provides a compact introduction to Singapore design, though the flagship at 213 Henderson Road offers a fuller company context and keeps different hours.
Henderson and the surrounding southern city should be treated as a planned design stop rather than a casual detour. The Supermama flagship is closed on Sunday, which makes the museum stores the more practical weekend alternative. Jurong and the western edge belong to another itinerary entirely: Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle at 85 Lorong Tawas requires time, transport and respect for a working site.
Tailoring is appointment-led. The Prestigious Bespoke and Colony Clothing should be approached through current appointment, fitting, cloth, production and delivery arrangements. Do not insert a bespoke order between museum visits and expect the result to be serious.
Graphic gift shops such as Wheniwasfour and Loka Made belong to the same test. Look beyond a recognisable local image to the named designer, base material, production country and usefulness of the finished object. Wit is not a substitute for authorship.
At Supermama, ask who designed the pattern, where the porcelain body was made, how decoration was applied and what care the rim or surface requires. Some fine-bone-china pieces with metallic detail call for hand washing; the product page should settle the exact instruction. Collaboration and production country are part of the object’s authorship, not details to hide.
Inspect the foot, rim and printed or painted surface. For a set, compare variation and stackability. Consider whether replacements will be available and whether the form fits the drinks or food you actually serve. A compact cup used every week is a stronger Singapore purchase than a large decorative service chosen for symbolism.
Onlewo’s value lies in pattern as cultural interpretation. Identify the place, building type, plant or visual memory behind the design, then ask how it has been translated into the specific product. A wallpaper, cushion, scarf and plate may share an image but require different materials and manufacturing.
For upholstery or wallcovering, obtain repeat size, width, composition, rub or use guidance, cleaning, batch information and the quantity needed for the project. For portable textiles, check fibre, colourfastness and humidity-sensitive storage. A local pattern does not exempt the material from technical questions.
At Bynd Artisan, choose format and paper before personalisation. Consider writing instrument, binding, page count, opening behaviour and whether refills or repairs are possible. The company’s use of leather offcuts in selected products adds a material story, but the exact piece should identify what is being reused and how it will age.
Personalisation should clarify ownership, not compensate for a poor object. Confirm spelling, placement and return conditions before the work begins. A notebook becomes a useful Singapore purchase when its paper and binding suit the owner’s daily practice.
Thow Kwang is important because the site keeps a rare kiln landscape, pottery practice and public learning connected. The dragon kiln is not fired continuously, and a normal visit should not be described as witnessing a firing. Check current events, workshops and access before travelling.
When buying ceramics, ask whether the piece was made onsite, by whom, with what clay and firing method. A shop at a heritage kiln can also sell work made through other processes or sourced elsewhere. The relationship between object and site should be stated, not assumed.
Singapore’s climate makes cloth and construction decisive. Ask about fibre, weave, weight, lining, canvas, seam allowance, pressing and how the garment will behave moving between heat and heavy air-conditioning. Establish who cuts, who makes, where production occurs and how many fittings are included.
At The Prestigious Bespoke or Colony Clothing, confirm appointment and completion time before committing. A first fitting is not evidence that a finished garment can be delivered before departure. Leave room for correction and clarify alterations after you return home.
The easiest mistake is buying “Singapore-inspired” imagery before identifying the designer or production route. Collaboration is then mistaken for diluted authorship, when the exchange may be the object’s central intelligence. Climate produces another blind spot: paper, leather, metal finishes, textiles and food all acquire different risks in humidity.
Geography is the practical correction. Henderson, Raffles City, Shenton Way and Jurong do not form one leisurely walk, however efficient the trains and taxis feel. The central design edit, the western kiln and a tailoring order require different time structures.
Begin with a small object whose roles are easy to name—designer, maker, production country, retailer and care. Let it teach the city’s method. Only then decide whether pattern, personalisation, ceramic heritage or tropical clothing merits a deeper journey.
Singapore’s strongest purchase is not a sealed local essence. It is a lucid translation: precise about what travelled, what changed here and why the finished object belongs in the life waiting for it.
Singapore imagery appears in several different forms here: Supermama's porcelain plates, Onlewo's patterned homewares and books about the city at Basheer Graphic Books357. Choose the medium you will actually use rather than buying the same motif several times. Bynd Artisan adds notebooks and leather accessories, while Kim Choo Kueh Chang offers a food purchase with different carrying requirements19.
The addresses are spread across the city, so these are choices rather than a single walking circuit. A museum-store visit can suit one itinerary; a trip to Henderson Road answers another. Start with the object you want and check the relevant branch before leaving, especially when a particular edition or personalised item is the reason for going.
Bynd Artisan lists customised notebooks alongside leather gifts such as card holders and passport wallets. Its published range also includes laptop sleeves and luggage tags1. The store directory identifies a Raffles City atelier at 252 North Bridge Road, unit 03-24, and an ION Orchard location at 2 Orchard Turn, unit 04-112.
Begin with the format you expect to use. For a notebook, compare the page size and binding with how you write or sketch. For a card holder, check the capacity against what you actually carry rather than choosing only by colour. A gift becomes more useful when those practical decisions come before the lettering.
Personalisation is advertised, but confirm what can be done to the selected product and when it can be collected1. Check the spelling and placement before agreeing to a name or initials. Workshops are a separate offering, not something automatically included in a retail visit. Keep any booking enquiry distinct from buying an item you hope to take away that day.
Supermama offers porcelain plates with Singapore imagery, including its One Singapore collection and designs referring to local architecture. The catalogue also includes smaller objects such as magnets and postcards3. Its flagship is at 213 Henderson Road, unit 01-01. Museum stores are separately listed at the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum4.
Choose the branch that fits your plans rather than assuming every location is an identical shop. Supermama states that its two museum stores can be visited without an entry ticket4. That statement concerns the stores; it should not be read as admission to museum exhibitions. Confirm a particular product with the chosen location before making a separate journey for it.
For a plate, decide between display and everyday use before choosing its size. Ask about the care instructions for the actual finish, especially when a decorative rim is part of the design. Consider how the box will fit in your luggage. A smaller object may carry the image you want without creating the same packing problem.
Onlewo describes designs by founder Mike Tay drawing on Singapore's architecture and everyday surroundings. Its range includes fabrics and porcelain ware, with wallpaper among the larger home projects6. The catalogue shows a kingfisher motif on a mug, a silk scarf and a cushion cover5. Its boutique is at OUE Downtown Gallery, 6A Shenton Way, unit 01-486.
Looking at one design in several formats helps separate liking the image from needing the object. A scarf has to work with clothing you already own; a cushion cover needs to suit an existing room. Compare the dimensions and material before deciding which version makes sense. For a gift, consider the recipient's colours rather than treating a recognisable Singapore theme as sufficient.
Wallpaper and upholstery fabric need a different enquiry from a small finished gift. Bring measurements and ask about the specifications relevant to the intended use. Onlewo's website says more than seventy per cent of its products are made in Singapore5. That is not a claim about every item, so check the selected product's origin when local manufacture matters to you.
Basheer Graphic Books lists its shop at Bras Basah Complex, 231 Bain Street, unit 04-19. Its catalogue covers architecture and graphic design alongside photography and other visual subjects. Singapore-related titles include books on modernism and tropical houses, while magazines form a separate part of the range7.
Start with the subject rather than the cover. An architecture book can focus on drawings, photographs or a written argument, and those formats suit different readers. Check the contents and language before choosing a gift. A large illustrated volume is worth carrying only if it offers something the recipient wants to return to.
Ask about the actual edition when a particular title matters. A pre-order listed online is different from a copy available during your visit7. With a magazine, confirm the issue rather than relying on the publication name alone. Allow space for the purchase in your bag so a book chosen for its visual detail does not arrive home with damaged corners.
Kim Choo Kueh Chang lists physical stores at 60 Joo Chiat Place and 111 East Coast Road. Its own website distinguishes the business from similarly named dumpling sellers8. The linked online shop offers Nyonya Chang with pork or chicken, a vegetarian version and several other rice-dumpling varieties9.
Use the business's own address and name rather than assuming any similar sign identifies the same producer. Choose the filling for the person who will eat it, then check the ingredient information for that product. A vegetarian label is not a substitute for checking a specific allergy or dietary requirement. Ask how the chosen dumplings should be handled during the journey.
Decide whether this is food for the visit or something you intend to carry farther. Those plans can require different quantities and packaging. Collection arrangements and delivery slots shown online should be checked separately, particularly for an advance order. A shop visit does not require turning the purchase into a workshop or heritage-tour booking, which the main site advertises as separate activities8.
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