Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Ale Et Ange: 37C Orchard Street - Basement

during the summer of 2009 my friend fasil recommended his friends store that is situated in the l.e.s right across the street from the store project no.8. so after walking around orchard street in search of this store i gave him a call and he said to look at the basement. thats when i spotted a tiny painted sign that read 'ale et ange' with flowers placed on both sides, next to the sign sat oshrea chilling out on a beach chair. stepping down the narrow basement staircase i was pleasantly surprised by the interior of the store. a lot of character, thought and effort had gone into the store. one of the best details that shot out at me was all the salvaged furniture and trinkets you can find around the city at garage sales or 2nd hand dealers. the hangers on the racks were ancient, oshrea had said they were old dry cleaner hangers he found in the trash. there's a shelf in the back with vintage toiletries packaged in the same charming way they've always been. bars of soap, toothpaste, lotion all looked like they were out of another era. i almost felt impelled to buy some of the products for my own use.

after talking with oshrea he shed some light on the manufacturing base of the company, pants are from the same factory that produces for engineered garments. the shirts are made from a more interesting location, an apron factory in china town. oshrea had taught the machinist in the apron factory how to sew basic button up shirts and tshirts, a decent job for an apron factory. fabrics that make up some of their products are 15 to 20 some odd years old sourced from back stocked factory storage warehouses out and around the northeast as well as japan.

upon leaving the store (with a shirt and pants), the overall feeling that i felt was that the shop was very much an extension of their own home; an extension of cultural elements from the city. a lot of effort, a lot of personal belongings and scavenged items that completed the interior.


ny-bos-sum09 (10 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (11 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (12 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (13 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (14 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (17 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (18 of 25)

ny-bos-sum09 (19 of 25)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

our first shoot in our new home

as promised here are some photos from our new space at tan boon liat just off outram road. we're splitting the space with primary studios and another company. the space is quite a change from our old 400sqft work area on haji lane, we're now able to stretch out to a comfortable 1300sqft. indoor futsal, skating and huge screen projections are now available to us while at work. the lifts also come with operators, they remember your floor numbers and are a vast pool of insider information for what's happening within the 15 levls of tan boon liat.

the images below we're taken while doing our first shoot for the sifr webstore.

tbl first photoshoot (8 of 8)

tbl first photoshoot (6 of 8)

tbl first photoshoot (3 of 8)

tbl first photoshoot (7 of 8)

tbl first photoshoot (1 of 8)

sincerely,
sifr

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Charles Trees - Mahjongg

We mentioned 'The Dream' ep a few weeks ago put out by Charles Trees on the Musique Large label. Here's his own track off the EP called Mahjongg. Follow this link for a free download off XLR8R.
Mahjongg

Thursday, June 17, 2010

We've Moved Out

we moved out of haji lane a few weeks back, and by we i mean the upstairs office that was residence to the sifr and kin paper pushers(us). the store is still intact at number 51, the upstairs is vacant, and we're still trying to figure out the best course of action for space that once sold shoes, housed artwork and roofed a couple of people working together.

touching base on the team of individuals that slowly took over the upstairs space. the evolution of the office space took place over a span of 13 months. from the team being scattered across the two floors (we were measuring clothes on the main counter, conducting meetings on the couch surrounded by shoes, typing out letters on the vintage upholstered chairs). we started to congregate in the upstairs region of the shophouse. next thing we knew shoes went downstairs and there was this huge ping ping table in the middle of the room providing desk space for 3 people.

it's almost been about three months since we've moved into our new residences at tan boon liat building, i think it's about time i throw the move out photos up.

*note my leg is busted that's why i am not helping out with the move

haji move (1 of 9)

haji move (2 of 9)

haji move (3 of 9)

haji move (5 of 9)

haji move (6 of 9)

haji move (8 of 9)

haji move (7 of 9)

haji move (9 of 9)

haji move (4 of 9)

a lot of people have not seen our new working environment, photos will be up in due time.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Summer Session: NYC - BOS

so it's been a whole year since i fully packed up and shipped out all my belonging from boston back to singapore. here are some photos that encapsulated my last summer state side 2009 (chi-bos-nyc) with the majority of time spent in boston and new york. the brevity of it all makes one wonder how fast the hands of time run. i don't usually clue in personal posts on d.e.a.r. time, but i think i'm going to change that up starting from this one.

ny-bos-sum09 (1 of 25)
setup in boston

ny-bos-sum09 (4 of 25)
abandoned restaurant in southend

ny-bos-sum09 (6 of 25)
wedding in chicago

ny-bos-sum09 (7 of 25)
cubs vs nationals

ny-bos-sum09 (5 of 25)
hedgerow driveway in capecod

ny-bos-sum09 (9 of 25)
public soccer turf by china town, nyc

ny-bos-sum09 (15 of 25)
off bowery

ny-bos-sum09 (16 of 25)
le labo, great concept

ny-bos-sum09 (21 of 25)
favorite vintage shop, bobbys

in the next post i'll be revisiting a store that had me more than impressed last summer.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Moscot Vilda - Coming soon


Moscot Vilda coming in soon at KIN and other fine retailers.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture | Video on TED.com

It's been awhile since I've shared anything from TED.com. The talk below is something worth sharing especially if you're in any sort of industry that requires creativity. A worthy 15 minutes to spend watching something that may bring up some questions on the way you, your team, your company, your industry operates.

Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture | Video on TED.com

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Drifters + Sifr



We are pleased to announce our collaborative effort with our great friends at Drifters. 1 colorway in 2 styles. Both Brando (Uneck) and Steve McQueen (Vneck) are 100% pima cotton and extra lightweight. Tee it up and let it fly! They are now available at Whiteroom down the street.

K.I.N

GSS Sale - 1st June to 30th June


In conjunction with the GSS, we'll be having our weekly special sale.

This time around, the sale goes on for an entire month!!!
1st - 7th June _ Julian Red, WoodWood, Maiden Noir, Nakkna 50% off
8th - 15th June _ Gitman Brothers Vintage, Makr, Garni, Pointer Footwear 30-40% off
16th - 22nd June _ sifr, Engineered Garments, Moscot, Wrath Arcane 25% off
23rd - 30th June _ Clearance for past seasons items 70% off.

We'll see you then.

K.I.N

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

SYNDICATE 06 this SATURDAY

Photobucket


syndicate obey nobody

singapore’s revolutionary transmitter of beats & visual culture is playing host to its los angeles counterpart with low end theory resident, dj nobody.

come saturday 5 june 2010, syndicate celebrates its half a year in existence with a resident of the world’s most forward thinking night, low end theory. dj nobody is one of the main beat purveyors on the los angeles scene alongside flying lotus, daedelus & nosaj thing. the eccentric dj/producer helmed the now infamous low end theory wednesdays back in la together with daddy kev, gaslamp killer & d-styles.

a personality who sits admirably on the fence between the global electronic & indie-rock community, his musical involvements span various collaborations which include names such as prefuse 73 and members of the mars volta. nobody’s dj sets are known for their fresh blend of hip hop, dubstep and electronica. and as the low end theory flagship suggests, expect some serious bass with off-kilter rhythmic patters plus the staple rock motifs & psychedelic sampledelia.

joining dj nobody will be the syndicate residents who share the same musical vision; kiat, darren dubwise & max lane. meanwhile on the controls of the night’s cutting edge visuals are brandon tay & cherry chan.

for this special installment, syndicate is partnering with the most iconic name in street culture, obey. known for their camaraderie with the low end theory crew in los angeles, obey sustains its radical ideas by supporting syndicate’s revolutionary movement here in singapore.

syndicate 06

dj nobody (low end theory, la)
max lane
kiat
darren dubwise

visuals by: brandon tay & cherry chan

date: 5th june 2010, saturday
time: 9:30pm – 4:00am
venue: home club
20 upp circular road, the riverwalk
admission: $15 (with 1 drink)
free entry with event flyer



dj nobody – biography

nobody is one elvin esela who was been releasing records since 2000's la underground opus soulmates (ubiquity) which featured his moody production along with la mc's medusa, 2mex, freestyle fellowship, abstract rude and aceyalone. with time spent immersed at los angeles college radio station kxlu, nobody took his love for 90's indie rock and 60's psychedelia into a creative shift for his 2003 release pacific drift (ubiquity). this time the beats hinted at a more electronic edge and featured vocalists rather than mc's which include chris gunst (beachwood sparks), languis, paul larson and jimmy tamborello (dntel/postal service).

nobody and gunst's cover of the monkees' "porpoise song" sowed the seeds for their full length collaboration, nobody & the mystic chords of memory tree colored see (mush) in 2005. 2006's and everything else (alpha pup) saw a combination of both aesthetics into a more beat heavy approach that featured guest singers as well as mc's including mia doi todd, xololanxinco (omd) and prefuse 73. delving right into a full length collaboration with singer niki randa, nobody created his most cohesive work to date in blank blue: western water music vol. 2.

2010 sees nobody taking all the reigns himself with his latest release one for all without hesitation (alpha pup), which finds nobody in singer songwriter mode, gracing his own productions with his own autotuned laced vocals. nobody has also been part of the low end theory club that brings the freshest beats to the la scene every week. his dj sets are known to transport listeners to los angeles, ranging from unreleased bangers from la locals to rare 60's psychedelia from nobody's vault.


nbc interview:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/around-town/events/nbc_musicraw_los_angeles.html