Happy New Year

Ribbon and Roses in Antipodean, Holland Village.

We are so excited to have a pop up stall in the pretty store, Antipodean in Holland Village, Singapore for the next few months.  Please pop down to the shop to see the latest from Ribbon and Roses.

 

We put some questions to Cynthia from Antipodean for some inside info!

 

How long has Antipodean been open and who are your main customers.
- Antipodean has been around since 2004 and we have a good mix of locals and expatriates who come to us because they prefer to shop comfortably in a private environment that feels akin to home, taking their time to meander through the shelves of "gems".
What inspired you to open Antipodean and what was your USP?
- Antipodean basically stands for Australia and New Zealand. The shop focuses on bringing in Australian labels that are unique to Singapore. Striving to depart from the commercial items sold along Orchard.

Antipodean is also a term used to describe parts of the earth that are diametrically opposite. A term distinctly in line with the boutique’s vision and concept, it manifests right through to its bold choice of location, tucked away on a second level Holland Village walk-up.
Antipodean – a space where contradiction reigns and individualism begins.

 

How do you find your designers for the shop?
- Apart from scouting for new labels at the Australian Fashion Week, Antipodean is also a supporter of local labels. We work very closely with local designers to feature their collection at the boutique. We have brands such as Al + Alicia, Alice McCall through to pretty jewellery by Tree + Bee.

 

What do you consider the top 5 staple items for a woman's wardrobe?
1. A pair of boot cut dark washed jeans
2. A nicely cut white button down dress shirt
3. A little black dress
4. A classic fit blazer/jacket
5. A pair of classic black pumps
 

 

We are thrilled to be doing a pop up shop with you, how do you think Ribbon and Roses sits amongst your other brands you hold.

- Ribbon and Roses collection is very versatile and is aligned with our customers' taste. We have held Ribbon and Roses homeware for nearly 3 years now which had a great response so now anticipate that there will be good response to the clothing. Working in small quantities, you better hurry to the shop before pieces are snapped up!

 

 

If you had an unlimited budget to spend on one item, what would it be?
- A classic black leather Chanel handbag

As you’re an “old timer” there, tell us a secret about Holland village, Lorong Mambong!
(Don’t know of any secret but here is a little bit of Holland Village history)
- In the early years, Holland Village was occupied by plantations and nurseries on both the Jalan Merah Saga and Lorong Mambong sides.

As her name suggests, it was the Dutch, who was the first community to settle in the Holland area.
Later, members of the British army made their homes in the semi-detached and terrace houses here, now known as Chip Bee Gardens (the Jalan Merah Saga side). You could almost visualize English kids playing on the front porch while daddy drives home from Dempsey Camp in his Ford Consul!
In the beginning, the Village catered to the essential needs of these foreigners. As time passed, the Holland district attracted a greater number of expatriate families.
The district‘s reputation as an exclusive residential area also attracted local developers who quickly saw the potential to build bungalows and semi-detached houses for the local elite. Consequently, a variety of trades began to flourish in Holland Village, which catered to the well-heeled.
This was the place where shops sold imported, expensive gourmet products and international school uniforms.

Any exciting news or events happening at Antipodean soon?
- There will be lots of new arrivals streaming in for Christmas, not forgetting mark downs for the festive season. We hold lots of smaller home ware items and children’s gifts alongside the fashion… hopefully a one stop shop for your Christmas shopping list.
 

Where can people find you:
Address: 27a Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, Singapore 277 686

Parking: Public Car Parking available

Opening Hours: 11am to 9pm daily

Tel: 6463 7336

  

Happy Shopping!

Lots of love

Ribbon and Roses xx

Here are some pics from the lovely Antipodean girls

Tunic dress

pink maxi

pink maxi

Ikat tea dress

Tunic dress

Orange silk blouse and star print shorts

Orange silk blouse and star print shorts

 

  

 

 

What’s in My Bag – Emily Cheetham, Designer, Cheet London tells us all.

Being female, I am prone to the common malaise of having too much in your handbag.  However, as my (many!) bags are pretty much in constant rotation, I’ve also worked out how to shift from one bag to another in quick time – and generally its just a bit of loose change or a hairclip that are the casualties stranded in the previous bag.  Using different bags is really important as it means I can road-test new designs to see if they function right - which is of equal importance to them just looking pretty.  

 

Bag - I’m using our Fitzgerald satchel bag in cobalt blue at the moment – the calf leather is so soft it really moulds to your body and I love this bright blue pop it brings to any outfit.  It’s concertina shape with multiple pockets meaning I can easily find ‘stuff’ and its long strap means I’m hands-free to carry my six-month old baby!  It’s a great bag to use to advertise my brand as it has one of my signature hand-worked knots on the front which grab people’s attention – I’ve also attached one of the Bunty giant tassels, something to both make it look cute and also for my daughter to fiddle with!

 

Inside you will find:

Wallets & Purses – my regular wallet (Eros wallet) is a zip around purse in a washed bright cherry red colour and will fit a ton of cards, cash, receipts, coins – even a passport.  I also carry a second smaller purse, the Bunty in yellow ostrich – I often take this out on it’s own as it will fit your phone, a card, cash, even car keys if you’re off to the pool or park.  As you never know who you are going to meet, I carry a snakeskin business card holder– it's a sample of something I’m working on for next season.

 

Make up – inside the centre pocket I will stash a few bits of make up.  I really like a lip balm I bought in England last month.  It’s just a Boots No 7 but it helps prevent and disguise the dark lines you can get on your lips from too much sun.  An eyeliner and mascara from Edward Bess – its from New York and is hypo-allergenic as I seem to have sensitive eyes.  A travel size bottle of Jo Malone perfume – it’s so hot here its nice to have a refreshing squirt if it all gets too steamy – all crammed into a teeny Cath Kidston make up bag that detaches from a roll-up wash bag my MIL gave me for Xmas!

 

Sunglasses – you can’t go anywhere without sunglasses…I got these ones from a fellow exhibitor in Paris, they are brilliant and amazingly don’t seem to scratch despite me throwing them around the place. 

Baby wipes, plasters and a rattle – we have a six month old baby and a 3 year old son.  I’m normally travelling with a separate nappy bag for Elyse but always have a rattle or something in my bag for her too.  Rufus, my son, is a keen cycler and scooter, seems to get many a bump and scrape (an “ouchy ouchy”) so a few Mr. Men plasters and some wet wipes are on hand too.

Phone – my phone screen is totally cracked but until it stops working I’m hanging onto it! Phones are so much more than phones now – mini computers, cameras etc I would be lost without a smart-phone.

Notebook – never without something to scribble down a thought, sketch, exhibition to note or anything useful. I am using a zebra pony skin pad from Papuro. 

For all Cheet London bags and accessories, visit www.cheetlondon.com Cheet will be at the Under One Roof sale on Pender Road, Singapore next Tuesday and Wednesday.  See flyer below.

 

Emily’s top three things in life:

1) Unconditional love from my children and husband

2) The satisfaction from realising a creative urge - be that a new design or making a tarte aux citrons from scratch

3) A large flat white (current favourite from Dutch Colony Coffee Co, Parsabella)

 

Let’s get nosey….

Brave Jo, from Katie and Jo boutique in London is willing to let us rifle through her bag!! Here are her key items she can’t leave home without.

 

 

Currently I am using a black Python Lucinda bag from Sarah Forsyth.

 

 

 

1. Laboratory Perfumes has just unveiled its third fragrance and it smells totally amazing. The scent is clean, natural and highly addictive and I can’t stop spraying it! £45.00 http://www.katieandjo.com/samphire-perfume.

2. Scarves make for good layering pieces throughout Autumn and are easy to carry around. I love this eye catching snakeskin print scarf by Ashiana.

£150.00 coming soon to Katie and Jo.

3. Metallic fabrics are big news for Autumn/Winter 13 so this silver Becksondergaard purse is the perfect way to update my bag. £65.00 http://www.katieandjo.com/e-money-for-nothing-clean-silver.html

 

4.  I never leave the house without my MAC Face & Body foundation £21.50

 

and Bobbi Brown blusher. £19 

 

 

5. Most importantly…. a padlock for my bike!

 

 

Lots of love

Jo xx

 

Top three things in life:

Love

Laughter

The changing seasons

 

For more information on Katie and Jo: www.katieandjo.com

 

 

 

Tab it

So I’m not going to lie… this isn’t one of our most ground braking blogs but I keep being asked how I keep jewellery from tarnishing. Ribbon and Roses or other. We live here in Singapore in 98% humidity, which is 100% a bad hair day daily along with the pain that everything tarnishing or going damp.

I have found a solution… thanks to my fellow jewellery pal.

Jewellery tabs…. You can find them all over from E bay to Amazon but in Singapore they are sold in Beads etc, Orchard Central. Tel: 67346136.

Pop one of these tabs inside your jewellery box, or give your tarnished goods a good Aladdin rub and they should shine like new!

We are going to be putting them from now on in our jewellery bags.

Lots of love

Ribbon and Roses xx

The busy girls from Honeycombers have been in touch.

Here's a little catch up with the Honeycombers team xx

For those who haven’t come across Honeycombers yet… please give a little summery of what you’re all about and what gave you the inspiration to set it up.

Honeycombers is an online lifestyle magazine for women in Singapore.  We created it 4.5 years ago because we felt there was a gap in the market.  There was no publication in Singapore that young women could relate to and trust as a go-to guide for shopping, nightlife, restaurants and things to do in Singapore.

What makes a positive constructive day in the life of Honeycombers?

We love uncovering great finds in Singapore and Bali (we just recently launched Honeycombers Bali).  The best bit about this job is finding new places, shops and experiences, and sharing them with our readers.

Best ever fashion purchase and why?

Tough question! This month I would have to say my Marc by Marc Jacobs florescent yellow handbag – it goes with everything and is so bright and cheerful!

 

Tell us your best beauty secret.

Easy. Dry Shampoo. With two kids, and working from home, I don’t get time to shampoo my hair as often as I would like.  Especially in this climate, Dry Shampoo gives you that fresh look in seconds!  Particularly if you have bangs.

 Clothing wise, what could you not live without?

Simple day dresses, perfect for meetings to running around with kids.

How do you reward yourself at the end of a busy day?

A big glass of wine and a debrief with my husband.

What is your Favourite (fashion)Online Shop?

I love vamastyle.com – the designer Kaitie has a great eye for colour and designs her range for our climate and lifestyle.  Closely followed by shopbop.com.

What’s your Guilty pleasure?

Wine & chocolate

Shoes or Bags?

Both.


How would you characterise your own fashion style? 

Casual, colourful and easy-wearing.

Do you shop on the high street, if so where? 

Right now I am loving Zara, their summer range is so bright and happy!  If you go in, check out their cute printed skirts and bright block coloured heels.

Tell us your top boutique/shop (fashion) secret you have discovered here in Singapore and why you love it.

I love Willow& Huxley – those girls have a great eye and they bring in some awesome labels from around the world.  I never walk out of the store with just one piece.

 

What would your ideal Saturday consist of? 

Sleep ins (a rarity in our house), followed by catching up with friends over lunch or dinner and an afternoon with the kids. 

What exciting updates and news do the Honeycombers team have in store this year?

We recently launched Honeycombers Bali, which has been a lot of fun.  In fact, I am typing this from a Villa in Bali which I am reviewing for the site, (take a look at @honeycombers on instagram and you can get a sneek peek).  Its jobs like theses that are really tough ; )

Next month we are launching Honeycombers Jakarta. There are some amazing things to do, see and shop in what is affectionately known as ‘ The Big Durian’, so I am really excited about this new edition and can’t wait for it to go live!

And finally what's the best bit of advice you’ve been given? 

Believe in yourself and follow your dream.  Oh, and don’t be afraid of hard work!  If you love what you do, it won’t feel like work.

Lots of love
Chris, Honeycombers xx

Chris’s three top things:

 

My little family

Holidaying with friends 

A good Sav Blanc