Further Progress

Moving along just fine. After a long weekend in Jakarta it was good to come back to obvious progress. Hard to match the trip I had but I have to admit that the store put a decent smirk on my face that lasted a whole lot longer than usual.

We started off the weekend with a whole lot of this:


Sunday came along. The whole family gathered to get a bite at this new joint near the house called "The Pancake House". The food wasn't too good but the company was just right. My family put it best when they said; "It's like white people food made by a bunch of Indonesians".



My flight got delayed out of Jakarta but that wasn't too much of an inconvenience since I met some dude that I knew of. We sat there and shot the shit for a few hours before they put us on an Emirates flight. Good call. Arabic stewardesses sure beat checking out Lufthansa Hags!

I got home to this:





I'm headed back to Jakarta this weekend for a buddy's wedding so that should be good fun. He's the first out of all of us boys to take the plunge so we'll be sure to show our support. Looking forward to it!

Store Progress

Right after I received the work schedule from the contractor today, I broke out into a wtf?! fit for a while. I then decided to call the guy and ask him again, wtf?! was going on.

As I recited my frustration, he cut me off halfway and then went on on a rant of his own. This then progressed into a full blown argument. So get this, according to the schedule now, work will be completed by the END OF NEXT MONTH. Those were his exact words. I am noting this down so that I can hold him responsible when shit isn't finished by the END OF NEXT MONTH. You all can get my back if he chooses to delay even further. When I reminded him of his promise that the project will be done by the end of March, he quickly denied making those claims. So now it's confirmed, END OF NEXT MONTH.

Remember, when working with a contractor, do not make the same mistakes I have. When you are signing your contract and paying them, make sure they identify the start and end dates. Do not simply ask how many days it will take. They usually speak in "working days". 1 "working month" usually means a lot more than just 1 month. It means 1 and a half months. So there you go. I'm sure you guys have learnt something valuable today.

I went to the store today and received the new sanitary items that need to be put in. Nothing exciting but I took a few more photographs.















Back soon.

More Singpost Art

See what I mean....



I definitely prefer this one to the last one I posted. That one was far too girly.
This one is right outside our office building in the CBD and really captures the feeling of that specific working environment. Something worthy to appreciate while doing the mail. I bet nobody in that neighbourhood gives a shit though.

Customs

Don't know if you guys have noticed this around town but Singpost seems to have caught the customization bug.



Several of the mailboxes I've come across throughout the city have different illustrations and artwork on them. I wonder if any of Singapore's urban artists have been commissioned to throw their work on a few of these mailboxes to add a different flair.

Store Update: Things are looking good in there. The place does really look different from the last photographs I posted on here. I will be getting more photographs of the place tomorrow. The cement screed work and steel work is almost near completion so it's going to be interesting to see the place this week. Like you all I wish I could see it when it's completely done rather than having to go monitor it step by step. It sort of stunts the excitement but I don't really have much of a choice.

See you soon.

Updates

It's good to get back into it and seeing work go on in the store. The renovations are moving along smoothly and apparently we are 1 day ahead of schedule. We should be fine getting done by the end of March.

I visit the store space at least twice a day. It's always good to see new things going on. On occasion, the space looks completely different on the day's second visit and that's a good feeling. This morning I went down and there was no sky light up on the roof. A couple of hours later I made the trip down and saw the sky light almost completely done and the music area cleaned up, cemented and plastered. These guys work quick.

I also got another shipment in today from Call of the Wild. I am waiting for my shipment from Obedient Sons as I write this. It's great fun opening up these boxes and looking through some of the good stuff in there. I'm hoping people don't buy a lot of stuff so I can keep most of this shit. Yes, the stuff is that good!

I also secured Perks and Mini. They used to be represented by Surrender down here but I'm not sure what happened. People have been anxious for P.A.M to get their stuff back into Singapore so I hope it works out for the store. I need to get PAID!

I have thought about the merchandising and layed it all out in my head. I have pictured the clothing sitting in store and it's looking real good. The P.A.M and Call of the Wild is going to look good next to the Obedient Sons merchandise.

I have been real excited about this whole project. The folks were down here this weekend and they went through the space and they were impressed. I've had a lot to think about and sometimes the 'rents catch me daydreaming. My mother just backhands me upside the head and then I wake up almost instantly ...by the way, the Obedient Sons shipment just got in and all of us gathered around the boxes like little girls to look through the stuff. The stuff is real quality!

Yeah so I have had a lot to think about and it's not going to stop so I better just appreciate it and get on with it.

More photographs of updates.











Back soon.

More photographs of the Sole Obsession event right here.

Enjoy the weekend.

Sole Obsession

Last Sunday White Room down on Haji Lane hosted the Sole Obsession sneaker meet. The event was organized by the peeps from White Room, Leftfoot and was sponsored by New Balance and Tiger Beer.

This was the first independent sneaker meet of it's kind. A couple of people chipped in and displayed some of their finest shit but majority of the emphasis was on New Balance. Good to see one of the sneaker brands actually working directly with the consumers and getting involved. This is what makes New Balance one of the best brands out there and I will be pushing it in store. Their non-corporate approach to getting the word out is commendable.

T-shirts were printed out for the event and I'm actually wearing mine as I write this. The booze was also flowing pretty easily which made for a real good day out. There was even a line formed outside White Room which still baffles me till today. I don't think there was anything for sale except for the t-shirts so I don't really understand what the deal was with the line. I guess the hypebeasts were out in full force that day.

I got to meet some fine people at the event and also managed to get the word out about the store as well. I don't think some of the competitors were too happy but that's how it goes.

Enjoy the photographs.

Mailing List

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Thank You.

I will be back with the Sole Obsession event recap as well as store interior updates.

Singapore Zoo

After a long week of looking at clothing, shoes and bills, a trip to the Zoo to celebrate Ekta's bruddah's birthday was much needed. I needed to be outdoors to appreciate all that's good out there.

So I got up Saturday morning and we headed out to the Zoo at about 10 A.M with the Hathi siblings. This place was unreal. Seeing all those animals relaxing and doing their thing made me envious. Those guys looked like they didn't have a worry in the world and I wish I could live a life like that. They looked like they were having as much fun as we were.

We saw Tigers, Lions and the rest of em. I especially liked watching the Polar Bears swim and do their thing. Those guys looked like they were having the most fun. Watching em glide through the water and doing laps was peaceful. I'm sure we could have watched them all day. We then hit up the reptile section. Those crocs and snakes were far too tame for my liking. Scary animals nonetheless.









A great day and definitely the best way to get your mind off anything. Wouldn't have been as good a day trip without the Hathis. Those people have been kind to me since day one and have included me in everything. For that I am grateful. Oh and, Ekta ain't so bad either.

Today has been a good day.

Not only was it productive getting some shipments in but I have more good news. I recently made an offer to someone to come and work for me. I don't want to get into great detail but this person is someone I deem fit to come and work for the store. Not only does he have good retail experience, he is also part of the Haji Lane family in that he has been around the neighbourhood working for another store for a while. Since he was doing it for fun, I have offered him the chance to come and work for us full time. Today he got back at me and took the job. I am excited because him and I both see eye to eye in many ways in that we have similar ideas, goals and directions. This always makes for a successful partnership and I look forward to working with the dude.

Something to think about people; don't hire someone just because they can sell shit for you. Anyone can do that! Hire them also because of their ideas and long term goals. In a competitive retail environment, it's always good to afford your employees some creative responsibility as well. You can't get all the ideas on your own. Allowing your employee to grow with the business usually makes for a successful hire. Build that family and the business will eventually take off.

On a more fun note. This guy also hooked me up with some sweet shit. Check these bad boys out. Jap exclusives.