PERANAKAN WRAPPING PAPER

Peranakan tiles are renowned for their recognisable ornate motifs and distinct colours. Commonly used in the 50s as wall trimmings to decorate buildings and interior spaces, these iconic embellishments are now safeguarded by the strict conservancy guidelines of Singapore. The Peranakan tape attempts to take us back in time through a functional yet transient adornment to any wall that pays homage to these visual icons of Singapore.

“Bak Chang” is a traditional Chinese dumpling made from glutinous rice wrapped in reed leaves and eaten during the dragon boat festival. This set of “five stones”, a traditional local game, is a humorous take on “Bak Chang” as they are both similar in shape.

The concept questions the basic assumption of a ruler as an accurate measuring instrument for an object. In this case, it is a measurement of the designer’s futile attempts at precision and perfection. He wishes to bring back a greater tolerance for imperfection and soul as technology is pulling the other way with measuring precision of near infinite decimal points. There were a total of fifteen attempts in sketching the ruler as accurately as possible.

Mooncake is a type of Chinese pastry traditionally consumed during the mid-autumn festival. They are usually filled with sweet lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk which symbolises the full moon. The Chinese characters inscribed on the mooncakes are often celebratory sayings or descriptions of the fillings they contain.

Taking the form of real mooncakes, the ceramic paperweight is a delightful and useful piece of stationery that stays fresh forever.

Singlish has been and still is one of the most entertaining “languages” used and never fails to help visitors better understand our local culture. The Goldilocks Lah re-writing by Casey Chen, using Singlish to retell the classic stories. The Singlish titles by the author have been very well received. More than 10,000 copies sold locally since the first book was published in 2013.

The Goldilocks Lah, although is based on a children’s fairy tale, is “not suitable for children” due to its use of graphic language and broken English. The author exaggerated its use to show how funny Singlish can be. You can read about Goldilocks’ experiences with the 3 wolves in the book.

The Goldilocks Lah deviates slightly from the original story of the bears. Casey’s reason for using the wolves is a continuation of his first 2 titles. The Three Little Pigs Lah and The Red Riding Hood Lah have the same wolf “performing” and this time, you will find that the wolf is not the bad guy and also a chance to meet his family!