OK, this is a bit late for a Christmas gift idea post, but this morning as I was charging my Braun Series 7 Shaver, I tried to recall when it was that mrbrown and myself received these Uncle Gifts from Braun’s then PR company.
It was April 2008. That’s almost 8 years ago, and we’re both still using the damned thing. It’s probably also lasted longer than the PR company that represented Braun then. So if you’re looking for some appliance that lasts, this is one of them. The model we have – Braun Series 7 (790 cc Type 5671) has been discontinued, but you can find the new Series 7s here.
Thank goodness the refills for the cleaning liquid and blades are still compatible.
And now for the second part of The Last Minute Shopping Guide:
Macheroux Photography
Know someone who takes bad pictures? Save us all from having them in our social media feed and give them a course at Macheroux Photography.
Either that, or buy them a couple of prints like this one:
Little Red Art
Little Red Art’s idea is simple – LRA connects artists and buyers, and educates would be buyers that art doesn’t need to be prohibitively expensive, and that you don’t need to ‘study art’ to appreciate it. Know anyone who’s just bought/rented/renovated a home? Then make LRA one of your stops to shop at:
TOO DARN HOT Fine Art Photographic Print | by Vanessa Ho
Kilts to Sarongs: Scottish Pioneers of Singapore by Graham Berry
If there’s a book to be bought this Christmas, this would be it. You’d be interested to know just how much of this wee city was built, way before August 1965, by Scots like James MacRitchie, John Crawford, and other familiar names like Napier, Fullerton, Thomson, Cavanagh, and of course, who can forget Farquhar.
Just a small sample of the street names in Singapore based on Scots and places in Scotland – read abut these and more in Kilts to Sarongs
My friends at Temasek Clothings combine great word play with snazzy design on quality t-shirts that will be conversation starters. I’m very happy that their t-shirts are now carried at Naiise, Isetan and Megafash. Another mark of their success is the fact that there are several wannabe fellas who’ve copied their designs and phrases wholesale. Assholes!
Xiao Ming Goes To ACS
Freshly Pressed
Some more on wearables – socks that will rock your socks off! I’m going to get some of these myself, because they are just so nice! And in case you doubt me, there are imitations out there already. Assholes!
That’s it, it’s the last weekend before Christmas, and if you haven’t completed your gift-shopping, here are a few leads to help you along.
That’s it, it’s the last weekend before Christmas, and if you haven’t completed your gift-shopping, here are a few leads to help you along.
I’m always going to be biased in favour of Naomi’s business, so let’s get that out of the way:
Minejima & Co. – Playfully Useful Things
RuMe Everyday Tote – Medium – Moss
Minejima & Co. is the sole distributor and stocks the latest patterns and variants from Colorado-based brand RuMe – so if you’re looking for really useful stocking stuffers – check out RuMe’s range of bags, luggage, key, and pet tags.
This is Red Infernious. He’s a Handlebar Hero.
If you know any kid (or adult) with a bicycle, kick scooter or electric scooter, you have to get them a Handlebar Hero. They’re $34.90 each for the large ones, and $14.90 for the tiny ones, which have been seen in a variety of uses – bag accessory, pony-tail tie, and bracelet.
Goodbyn Bynto Lunch Box
What no child wants to hear: School will be back in soon after Christmas – and you may want to get ready with a Goodbyn Bynto lunch box – ours come with a water bottle and two sheets of stickers – for $36.
Minejima & Co. has also recently stocked the fabulous toy store Playhao with our range of award-winning Quut Beach Toys, so you can head down there and grab a set while shopping for other toys. Playhao is located in Forum The Shopping Mall on Orchard Road.
Delivery (free for purchases over $60) usually takes under two days, so you have time to order your stuff at minejima.co now!
It Takes Balls – Join The Maker Revolution
Cast Away Scarf Kit (No Needles)
To bastardize an old saying: give someone a sweater and s/he has a sweater. teach someone to knit and…. you get the picture. Our good friends It Takes Balls not only has a great business name, they also sell these great knitting kits from another business with a great name, Wool And The Gang.
Join the Maker Revolution: Buy a kit and sign up for an It Takes Balls Knit Party. Email hello@ittakesballs.sg to find out more.
EP Crafters – Upcycled Glassware & Art
Grey Goose Tumbler
My friend Steve struck on a great idea last year – upcycling drink bottles and turning them into glasses, plates and lamps. It’s been a hit so far, and he’s now looking to produce more to meet demand.
Pick from vodka, whisky and other alcohol branded bottles which have been expertly cut and sanded into collectors’ item glassware. You could also collect an entire set of Grey Goose flavoured vodka glasses.
Playhao
Märklin Starter Set
I mention them again because they carry one of my childhood favourites – Märklin train sets, which I hadn’t seen in Singapore for at least 20 years. If you want to give your kid a proper train set – this is the one to start with. It has real metal tracks which carry the electricity to that powers the trains. A good starter kit can be had for $143.
I’m very happy to announce that Naomi’s new business ‘Minejima & Co.’ will be ensconced at Block 71, Loewen Road, Dempsey Hill, from now till 16th December. Please come by to say hi, and do some of your Christmas shopping here. It’s a great Christmas Market that the folks at Dempsey Hill have put up. It’s far from the madding regular mall crowds even if it’s just 5 minutes from Orchard Road.
I’m very happy to announce that Naomi’s new business ‘Minejima & Co.‘ will be ensconced at Block 71, Loewen Road, Dempsey Hill, from now till 16th December. Please come by to say hi, and do some of your Christmas shopping here. It’s a great Christmas Market that the folks at Dempsey Hill have put up. It’s far from the madding regular mall crowds even if it’s just 5 minutes from Orchard Road.
Plus, if you’re a history buff like myself, you’d appreciate being in the area, once known as Tanglin Camp, and remembered by those my age as where we went for our pre-NS medicals and where our parents dropped us off on Enlistment Day (more precisely we reported to Block 15 Dempsey Road, and the old three-tonners came to the parade square to take us away after we swore allegiance to the SAF). The area has a much longer history than I can remember, of course, and you might be interested in looking at who Dempsey, Ridout, Loewen, Harding and the other roads are named after.
Anyway, back to Naomi’s Minejima & Co.. A few people have asked why we sell the stuff we do – and that’s been easy to answer. We want other people to enjoy the same stuff we use at home, whether they’re toys that we like Kai playing with, or reusable shopping bags that are durable and don’t look ugly. Our business philosophy is simple: We’ll sell something only if we like it.
It’s also been really encouraging so far, that people have enjoyed the products we’re exclusive distributors for: Quut from Belgium, RuMe from the US and Handlebar Heroes from the UK. We did have a bit of difficulty classifying the ‘type’ of shop we were going to be, whether it was an eco-product shop or a kids’ stuff shop or a homeware shop. But eventually, we settled on being sellers of ‘Playfully Useful Things’.
We’ll continue to sell online at minejima.co while we work on supplying retailers with our products. In the meantime, do come by Loewen Road this fortnight for your Christmas shopping, and have fun with our now-famous interactive sand display. Our only rule is, please keep the sand within the box or our pop-up hosts will be very upset!
Thank you all who’ve supported the business so far, and don’t forget to follow us:
