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You know, in the past, Singapore still had its tropical island charms, with a lot of undeveloped areas and beaches. The economy then took hold and what was once forest and sea now became concrete and reclaimed land! So fast forward to the 2000s and it seems we hanker for quieter ideals.

The shopping scene in Singapore has evolved and you see a variety of shops opting out of shopping centres and hence city centres and going to little known alleys, previously home to old shophouses and where few venture. Yet now, they seem to be a hive of activity for the cool cats who prowl along Haji Lane, Club Street and the like.

Now when it comes to chilling out, more people are heading away from the urban areas for a change. It about going to dark, hidden places previously devoid of life. Away with air conditioning and bring on the mosquitoes.

Places like Little Bali have sprouted up. Located somewhat near IKEA, its tucked away from the traffic and set in the midst of trees and foliage. First impressions when I went there recently were good, as they imported lots of stuff from Bali and really tried to make it look Bali-esque, at least my girlfriend thinks so. She would know since she's been to Bali before doing architectural research stuff! In any case, once I stepped in, things went downhill. For a start, they had a Shisha counter and I know its really in to be smoking that shit now but I thought this was little Bali. Then the waiters started to serve and ignorance of the wait staff aside (I put it down to their youth) they were also togged in clothes they pulled out their own drawers. The uniform seemed to be any white top, beige bottom and sandals/slippers. I get it... laidback feel kinda thing, although I felt they seemed more like they worked next to a swimming pool. The menu didn't raise spirits either, with a paltry offering of Indonesian food amongst local fare. At least it tasted pretty ok. What really killed me in the end, was the stickytape they used to stick some decorative wallpaper round a few columns.

But fear not, there's also places for winenuts to go. Wine Network and The Wine Company are two places in the Dempsey road area, off Holland road, where they make good use of the old colonial style houses and offer a good range of wine and some light food as well. Here, the atmosphere isn't as contrived but kind of laid back, yet sophisticated. The wine isn't overly expensive compared to restaurants and they hold wine meetings often.

Located very nearby and almost always fully booked, is PS Cafe. I haven't actually got a place yet cos I'm too lazy to keep calling to see when they have a free spot. Just book in advance if you intend to go to this place, which is touted and bandied about by many people. The food isn't bad either. I'll dump a review when I do get there.

PUMA has been getting quite a few people to work with them in releasing Sport Fashion collections. Alexander McQueen, Neil Barrett, Christy Turlington, Yasuhiro Mihara and Phillipe Starck each have a special collection and some have worked with PUMA for a while now. You can actually find some of these collections in Singapore, with VENUE being the place. They've got 2 locations, one at trendy Club Street and another at posh Palais Rennaisance.

Josh Spear reports on Thom Yorke's upcoming LP The eraser. The site pops up with some scary, almost Japanese funeral sounding thing, with illustrations by Stanley Donwood. The album is produced by Nigel Godrich and will be released on XL recordings. And true to form, the site is mysterious and kooky, offering some links to a series of PDFs which you can read if so inclined, among links to a mailing list and Stanley's artwork.

Core77 via Inhabitat talk about Brent Comber's Shattered wood furniture. He chops up pieces of reclaimed wood to reform them into various pieces of furniture and this piece in particular is certainly drifting with the times.

Something has to be going right when you check out cool brands and find they have someone stocking in Singapore. First Freitag and now A.P.C? Yes. You too can be the proud owner of a pair of denim from the French label, which has got long long posts on superfuture. In the world of denim, I think today, the more savvy amongst us have traded in their pre washed, faded and distressed jeans for unwashed, raw denim. So they can do the distressing themselves and make the jeans unique unto them. So its not like blank, plain jeans are in but its the ideology behind the humble piece of clothing. Anyway, in case you want them really dark blue and unadorned, Atelier de Production et Creation's offerings are an excellent choice.

So anyway, Front Row, is yet another in a series of burgeoning small shops in old areas of town selling cool stuff. Located at 5 Ann Siang, its 3 storeys high and the bottom floor is a DEAN & DELUCA's.

Check out Klaus Aalto's hilarious storage cabinet! Take Out is composed of a cabinet with 9 slots into which you can place a suitcase. To access your underwear, just pull out the suitcase. No time to pack? Do it days in advance and bring the drawer with you! Klaus is part of Imu Design, which represents young Finnish design. By the looks of the site, there's lots of talent up there. Klaus also designed a piece called Stereo, which works as a table on the one hand, and if you tuck the legs away, a painting. Also check out Hook by Marko Nenonen, a simple light with a hook!

Found this off MoCo Loco. 

Austrian crystal purveyors Swarovski have been busy getting themselves noticed in recent times. Retail installations at places like MOSS and Bergdoff Goodman in New York to collaborations with B&B Italia and Stella McCartney, and holding frequent exhibitions at many big funiture and design fairs. Getting big names to reinvent the chandelier with their crystals certainly helps too. Luminaries in the design world like Tord Boontje, Hella Jongerius, Tom Dixon, The Campana brothers, Vincent Van Duysen, Marcel Wanders, Ron Arad, Yves Behar, Matali Crasset, Ingo Maurer, Karim Rashid, Tokujin Yoshioka, Gaetano Pesce, Tobias Wong, Jurgen Bey, Naoto Fukasawa, Ross Lovegrove and surprisingly, Lenny Kravitz. Yes the musician. Phew, and that's just the more familiar ones I recognise.

Its the sheer number of names and the relatively short timespan that's shocking. Most furniture companies come up with new pieces each season, maybe twice in a year. Swarovski is putting new chandeliers out like every few months. Sure, some of the exhibitions recycle previous works and designers but still, the output is phenomenal. And with all these big names involved, you're getting an intense amount of quality as well.

Swarovski Sparkles.

Tokujin Yoshioka's Stardust, arguably the most famous of all the collaborations is pictured above.

MOOKS is opening a new store at Heeren. Around a decade back, the Aussie brand was THE hot label and was sold at this tiny shop at Pacific Plaza. Its the highly graphic and not so loud alternative to Mambo. Very few people knew anything about MOOKS, in contrast to its rival, which in the late 90s was a label every other kid in town had owing to the fact that its easy to find. In fact, one of its founders, who has departed since, worked with Mambo before, Richard Allan. Fast forward to today and MOOKS is more or less still the same, understated cool.

This table was seen off MoCo Loco, 7dv and then teejay's backsplash, last of which this photo was stolen. Its apparently a student piece from Emily Carr, an art, design and media institute and exhibited at the DV Urban Living Expo this year in Vancouver. Regardless, its a wonderful table and I only worry if it will undergo any warping. Anyway, you could apply this beautiful concept across a variety of materials.

Hehe, again from 7dv, we find Konzuk, who make these powder coated rings like above, among an assortment of jewellery. Whilst I find their stuff a little bit jarring and the colors too ultrabrite, its really along the lines of what I'm think jewellery needs, a dash of colour and personality.