1.19.2009

fFurious over Art!

The best way to explore an unknown place is by walking.

Our first couple of days in the Lion City involved plenty of walking, sightseeing and talking. Shopping only came later. It was only when we conduct interviews with fellow Singaporean designers that we learned more about this beautiful place. We wanted something memorable to bring back with us so we made arrangements with some interesting people and let them decide on where to take us. Interestingly, we found ourselves sipping branded sparkling water at a cafe inside the National Art Museum with none other than Singapore's best export in the name of design, Phunk Studio's co-founder Jackson Tan. We also did climb up to Mount Sophia (a total of 160 steps) to visit this place called Old School - the new creative hub in Singapore City. Next to Old School is Trinity Gallery where we met with illustrator, Ben Qwek.

Ben Qwek aka MRB. More about this aspiring illustrator at BenQwek.com

And these are some of his artpieces exhibited at Trinity.

Oh, did we mention Little Ong, the fFurious guy? We dropped by his office too. He's quite a chap. Look at his personal toy collections ranging from the 1970's til now...



J+S: I see that you have something to show us.....
Little Ong (digging up whatever he can get from the box...): Yea, I like vintage stuff...old stuff. Toys especially. They give me a lot of fun, you know. Like when I was a kid, I had this very huge Godzilla dinosaur which had a mechanical arm that could swing a baseball. My grandfather gave it to me as a gift and I played fetch with it a lot. But I lost it when we were moving out to a new house.

Little's most favourite favourite, Jim Woodring's.

J+S: How crazy are you about toys?

Little Ong (putting out more toys...): I travelled to Japan 3 times. Obviously, they have one of the most characteristic toys that I cannot possibily find in Singapore. Well, these newts by Jim Woodring (above) are my favourites. I am more keen towards capsules or miniature figurines that come in loose sets. That way, I get to collect them all so that I don't get doubles.

Little's all-time favourites [from left to right]: Wally, Friends With You, Petter Bagge's toys, Jim Woodring's and the Hulla Girl

Little's collection also consists of antiques such as this space-themed toy gun.

J+S: What's with the double 'F' in fFurious?
Little Ong: I was young and 'angry' back then. Anger kept me moving forward and I couldn't find any other word better than 'furious' to describe the passion in me. Double 'F' simply means "very, very furious". It mirrored the creative process of getting involved in an issue and letting that energy work out ways to get it right, and this extends to everything right from the imagination to paper then to the computer.


J+S: Tell us a bit more this design enterprise, fFurious.
Little Ong: We started at the year end of 1999 with 3 people and now there are 7 of us. Some people think we do only certain things, like create cute characters or design websites, but that's not only that. We work across branding, illustration, motion graphics, interactive multimedia, print and a few more other things. We have done some great stuff for Esplanade and illustrated for Mogwai when they came to town, and recently worked on Twoface - a Santa Claus / Satan Lucas lenticular lightbox for Butter Factory Club (below).


J+S: What's coming up this year?

Little Ong (smiling, delighted): fFurious is designing the interior of an entire floor of a hotel in Singapore. It's a really interesting concept. There's going to be lots of illustrative work and small and huge human-sized be monsters and spaceships.

FYI: Fox Hotel's rooms are specially designed by renowned artists and Tokidoki's private room is favoured the most by the media press. Looks like we're gonna have an Asian version of Fox Hotel soon! More details at http://www.ffurious.com/


--
avi @ J+S

1.12.2009

Popeye the Sailorman, tu--too!

One of the things that makes Singapore an interesting place to visit is, well, the weather.
On second thought, it's the playground.

For kidults only


The festive celebration is magic.

I kissed a bubble.

Your eyes never get bored.

The National Geographic Expedition and Bazaar


And shopping is always a joy.

Some people would say there is nothing to do in Singapore than by shopping and sightseeing. My crew members beg to differ, at least. Singapore though small in the map is both economically influential and huge at heart. That's why we lurveee it here --

GOOD BUYS


SGD 5.00 each!

Gorilla crazy over banana - SGD 10.00 only

These ones are NEXT!

You see, great deals are hard to come by. And, when they're here, the wisest thing to do is Snap It Up and Go.

--

aki @ J+S

1.06.2009

Medicom, Kidrobot...Ozzo Collects!

Through this field trip, we learn that collecting stuff is not a matter of quantity but how the essence of childhood stays within the person and how far one can go to pursue this passion. This man in the picture below is a perfect example.

This is Mike.

Mike is the co-owner of Ozzo Collection which has a base set up in the premise of China Square. At a glance, you won't be able to find him in the picture, so being nice, I drew an arrow above his head and coloured it yellow. This toy-preneur (toy entrepreneur) was helpful to provide enough information about the place, the toy market and the elements of success of his business. Well, when we came touched on the side of business, Mike said it wasn't at all smooth as he and his partners thought. Due to the economy's tough time ("slump" is too heavy a word), shoppers tend to tighten their belts and go for less pricey items.
But how did he respond to this?
"Just by being where the right target market hangs out and be persistent," Mike said.

My kinky party planner, BearFlan, from the Cannibal Funfair family

Ozzo Collection sells a wide range of designer vinyl toys imported from the U.S.A. The popular ones are Tokidoki, Kidrobot, Bearbrick and the smaller versions of the same brands. Vintage toys like the Astro Boy and Tin Toys are also available, most of which are a friend's personal collection.

"I do allocate some space out for rental which is a good thing for toy re-sellers who need a smaller space to trade their toys," he said.

"I was operating the same toy business at one of the shopping malls but then moved in to this place (China Square) two years ago because of the successful toy market. Business was okay then but we improved gradually as more people learn about this activity through word of mouth," he added.

If you haven't yet known about Ozzo Collection, it's time you should.

The awesome trio that made into our Gallery of The Minis.

(From left: Kumano Gollo, F*Fortress Teddy Troops and Droplet)

That's about Ozzo Collection and our growing madness for designer toys.

I'm Aki! Reporting from Kuala Lumpur,

--

aki @ J+S

1.05.2009

Hikaru Utada 宇多田光--Boku wa Kuma

Here's a little folk song made popular by Japanese singer Utada Hikaru. Why is this video in here, you may wonder. Well, that cute little bear is worth watching at. So, enjoy!



Have a joyful Monday, buddies!

--
avi @ J+S

1.02.2009

Joujou heart Singapore!

9 + 1 cool things about the Lion City:
1 - New place, new friends
2 -- Super clean environment
3 --- Excellent transport system
4 ---- Hospitable people
5 ----- Toy R' Us fair at Plaza Singapura
6 ---- The creative art hub at Mount Sophia
7 --- Night & Day Bar @ Selegie Road
8 -- The scenic view of Clarke Quay
9 - Great product varieties from Japan sold at a very cheap price of $2 each at Daiso Store





... and finally No. 10: The awesome Sunday toy market at China Square


(highly recommended!)



We're finally here!


The awesome Sunday toy market at China Square
Every Sunday
9:00am - 6:00pm
All kinds of toys & collectibles available

Happy 2009!


A joyful 2009 to you! Wishing you a new year with great opportunities and joy in abundance!