Date: 14 & 15 September 2010

Time: The Hort Park, Singapore

Inspired Living – Design and Decor 2010

Features

The inaugral exhibition will feature hand picked selection of retail vendors selling stylish soft furnishing and accessories for the home as well as vendors marketing larger house hold furnishings and a selection of interior decorators and design experts showcsing their creativity through ‘virtual’ decorated spaces.

Designer: Ng Hong Kiang

Design: An Asian Family

Designer: Allan Toh

Design: Benche

Designer: George Goh

Design: Teng’

Discover the old and new Singapore with Mimi Somjee

(15 granite)

Bone Box Black Color

For almost two decades, Window to the Past has specialized in creating comfortable Stylish homes for expats in Singapore. The store provides quality furniture, accessories, interior decorating, custom made furnishing and flexible leasing programmes.

Window to the Past has grown over the years into a three-storey lifestyle store which continually presents distinctive and globally inspired furniture designs, Matched with special attention to detail

Window to the Past’s accessories and furnishings form cushions to curtains are crafted by dedicated experts. The skill of the interior design team will transform your living space and breathe life into your home.

Window to the Past offers various packages and options to suit all pockets and needs.

Story by Verne Maree, photography by Bud Hayman

Window to the Past – Mimi Somjee

What is your favorite antique in the store at the moment?

I love this old chest that we have turned into a bar. Because these chests come in different Sizes, they can be modified in different ways.

When you run a shop like mine, you are always looking for pieces with character, this is one of several that I sourced some time ago and kept until I could think of something creative to do with them. My approach is always to listen to my clients, and try to match with pieces that suit their personality and needs.

Where is it from and how old is it?

The base part of the bar is a Gujarati Indian chest, at least 150 years old. The original wheels indicate that it was a dowry chest, which the bride’s family entourage would have pushed to her new husband’s house on her wedding day.

What had to be done to achieve this result?

The chest was fitted with support and plinths and topped with a thick piece of glass.To make it more versatile, we installed special wheels to allow it to be moved around. They had to be strong enough to bear the weight of the bar loaded with bottles, they had  to be lockable for safety and we had to be able  to toggle them under for visibility. The front panel became an access door, and we had to strengthen the chest itself.

What do you like most about it?

Gujarat is where my own ancestors come from and this is a beautiful piece that I could see in my own home. The geometric design of its heavy embellishment means that it fits very well into a contemporary environment.

ABOUT WINDOW TO THE PAST

Window to the Past regards itself as a full service, one-stop Furniture Company.

Apart from displaying a full range of household furniture and accessories, both Antique and contemporary, it prides itself on creative customization to suit your particular needs.

You can also lease furniture from WTP.

3 Kung Chong Road

6235 2760

www.wtpstyle.com

Watching his aunt knead dough to make dumplings inspired student Ng Hong Kiang to design a series of floor chairs similar to zabuton, or Japanese traditional cushions.

It won him the top prize in the Window to the Past – National University of Singapore Young Designers competition, an inaugural contest co-organized by local furniture company WTP and NUS School of Design And Environment in search of innovative rest chairs with an Asian identity.

Mr. Ng, 23, a second-year industrial design student at NUS, said of his floor chairs resembling flattish pieces of dough: “It was near Chinese New Year when I was coming up with my concept and the sight of people coming together to make dumplings and pastries Left a strong picture in my head.

I wanted to bring a family together, so I created a series of chairs for them to sit down in. Also, it’s a very Asian thing to sit on the floor”.

For his design, called An Asian Family, he won $500. The second design and third prize of $400 and $200 went to Benche, a bench resembling those found in Singapore in the 1960’s by Mr. Allan Toh, and Teng, a stool inspired by those found in ancient teahouses by Mr. George Goh.

The three winning entries will be made into a prototype each to be auctioned for charity.

Mr. Patrick Chia, owner of furniture design company Squeeze Design and one of the judges, said the works were obviously the best designs in the competition, which received 20 entries.

He added: “The floor chairs are the type of design that can generate a lot of interest. They may not necessarily sell but will make the public ask questions because they are quirky and interesting.

Every furniture business needs furniture that creates a buzz and the bread-and-butter design that sell well.

The second-and third prize winner are examples of the latter, he said”.

Mr. Chia, whose customers include renowned designer Phillipe Starck, added: “The teahouse stool can fit into many environment and can serve as a small coffee table. The bench could also work though it is not as versatile as the stool”.

The competition is part of WTP’s effort to encourage innovation in young designers.

The furniture company, which started in 1992, hopes to make it a yearly affair with more local design schools participating. This year’s contest was open only to students from NUS School of Design and Environment.

WTP managing director Mimi Somjee, who was among the judges, was impressed by the high standards of the top three designs. “There was one design which all the judges could see the basis of a new line. We could see the potential in how it could be made even more beautiful and more suited to the market so that the idea can be sold to clients.”

She declined to say which design she was refereeing to but it could well be the Benche. This is because, in addition to his second prize win, Mr. Toh a forth year industrial design student, also clinched the People’s Choice Award, a $ 500 cash prize given based on the result of online voting by the public.

The double win made up for his not clinching the top prize. The 25 year old said: ”Not getting the first prize doesn’t make much of a difference to me. I’m happy about winning both prizes. I will be using the combined prize money to pay for my final year project and the graduation show at the end of this month.

Third place winner Mr. Goh is also pleased at the result. The 22 year old said: As a first year student. I have not learnt much about the software skills needed for this competition. But I was playing around with the software during the holiday and managed to come up with a design, so I decided to give it a shot.”