The innovative Great Singapore Souvenirs

The launch of the Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS).

Have you ever wish you could know where to get innovative and meaningful Singapore souvenirs for your friends who are residing overseas?

I did.

Many years ago, I had wished that Singapore souvenirs could be more innovative. I felt bored to end up buying Singapore souvenirs with the ubiquitous images of the Merlion, the orchid and the Changi Airport. I was very sure that there could be more meaningful and iconic souvenirs that could better reflect Singapore's heritage, culture and the Singapore identity.

It was dream come true when I chanced upon an exhibition entitled GSS. The Exhibition. when I was visiting the National Museum of Singapore on the late evening of 7 Aug 2012.

GSS. The Exhibition.
This photograph was taken on 16 Aug 2012.

It was the Bak Chang Five Stones that had captured my attention. These five stones resemble the looks of the traditional Chinese dumpling made from glutinous rice and wrapped in reed leaves.

Bak Chang Five Stones. S$12 per set.
Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS).

The Bak Chang Five Stones immediately reminded me of the days during when I was a Primary School student. During those years, one of the common activities to occupy our time after the school's examinations was to play the traditional local game called 'five stones'. I was told that the game 'five stones' was originally played with real stones or pebbles. Subsequently, I suppose people improvised the game so that instead of using stones, five small triangular cloth bags that were filled with rice, sand or saga seeds were used. I thought that it was very innovative that the five stones have been repackaged to look like the traditional Chines dumplings.

I became curious to know more about the GSS. The Exhibition. It turned out that GSS is the acronym for Great Singapore Souvenirs! I am sorry if you had thought that GSS is the acronym for the Great Singapore Sales, an annual shopping season in Singapore, that many of the locals are familiar with.

Great Singapore Souvenirs is a collection of merchandise that celebrates Singapore through the exploration of local quirks and habits. I sensed that the designers who have designed this collection have a good sense of humour. The collection re-interprets the Singapore's quirks and habits into meaningful and iconic souvenirs that everyone can shop for and have fun with.

Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS).

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Here are some of the innovative souvenirs from the Great Singapore Souvenirs collection that I think may be tempting to buy as gifts:

Kan Cheong Spider Watch. S$36 each.
Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS).

The Kan Cheong Spider Watch appears to be one of the most popular souvenirs in the Great Singapore Souvenirs collection. Admittedly, I was straining my ears to listen out for what were the favourite souvenirs of the visitors. I could not appreciate it until I learnt that the colloquial term "kan cheong spider" is used in the local context to describe a person who is always anxious and constantly on their toes.

Please do not ask me why spiders are described to be "kan cheong" (anxious). Anyway, this watch can be a very apt gift for any friend or colleague who is literally chasing time and timelines. The recipient who receives the gift may feel very pleased that this fun timepiece will help ensure that he keeps up with the time and be reminded to be punctual for all the timelines!

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Choy Charm.
Leather Key Strap at S$10 each.
Key Chain at S$10 each.
Necklace at S$12 each.
Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS).

Have you shouted "Touchwood" or "Choy" to ward off a negative consequence but wished you had access to a block of wood to dispel and neutralize the unlucky omens or evil consequences? Choy Charm provides the perfect solution. It is very aware that some Singaporeans would shout "Choy" and/or "Touchwood" as a superstitious action to ward off bad luck after some recent action they have taken.

The Choy Charm is cleverly made from solid wood to provide omnipresent access to a block of wood to dispel and neutralize unlucky omens at any time. This is a thoughtful gift to signify that good luck shall go with the recipient anytime, any day and anywhere.

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National Day Tote Bag. S$23 each.
Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS)

August is the perfect time to launch the National Day Tote Bag. Did you observe that it is fairly common to see the people of Singapore carrying the official tote bags given out at National Day parades? The National Day Tote Bag pays tribute to this phenomenon by celebrating and reminding us the very day of Singapore's independence day on 9 Aug 1965. Did you know that 9 Aug 1965 fall on a Monday and was in the year of the Snake? I like the design which made reference to the iconic Chinese Almanac calendar.

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Fish Bone Bowl Notepad.
A5 notepad at S$6 each.
A4 notepad at S$9 each.
Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS).

For the price-conscious and practical people, the Fish Bone Bowl Notepad may be a feasible gift to get for friends and loved ones. This souvenir reminded me of the common practice for locals to fold a piece of scrap paper into an origami 'bowl' for discarding bones and scraps of food during meals at home. This notepad can be used for taking down notes. In addition, it is incorporated with folding instructions which will guide the recipient to create his very own origami fish bone bowl.

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Chope! Umbrella.

The Chope! Umbrella is designed to celebrate the ingenuity of the local phehonmenon of using umbrellas and tissue packets to reserve tables at crowded coffeeshops or hawker centres. At the moment, only exhibition prototypes of the umbrella is available for viewing. If there is enough requests received for this item, it may be produced for retail.

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You can imagine a very delighted look on my face after I went through all the souvenirs on display at GSS. The Exhibition. Finally, I have found a place where I can get innovative and well-designed Singapore souvenirs to be given as gifts. 

Even if getting Singapore souvenirs is not your cup of tea, it can be an amusing and interesting experience visiting GSS. The Exhibition with your friends and family members as if you were going for an art exhibition. These innovative Great Singapore Souvenirs seem to have the power to engage its visitors and potential consumers to start interesting conversations related to the Singapore's culture and the Singaporean identity. If you do not believe me, please simply make your way to the exhibition with an open mind to put my observations to test.

GSS. The Exhibition.
National Museum of Singapore
93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897
8 Aug 2012 - 20 Aug 2012. At the Rotunda.
21 Aug 2012 - 9 Sep 2012. At the Gallery Theater Foyer. Basement.
Free admission.

The Great Singapore Souvenirs (GSS) is a collaboration between MUSEUM LABEL, SINGAPORE Souvenirs and FARMSTORE.

The novice's way to enjoy The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Family and friends who have an interest in wedding fashion will be delighted to learn about the latest exhibition, The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, held at the National Museum of Singapore from 8 Aug - 31 Oct 2012.

Before I begin this blog, I have a confession to make. I am quite a novice when it comes to appreciating fashion. How do I begin? What do I look out for?

Then again, perhaps one of the privileges of being a novice is that one can learn with an open mind?

If you should find it entertaining to read about how a novice like myself would approach The Wedding Dress exhibition, please continue to read on.

Identify the dresses that appeal to you

Good works of art will appeal to our senses. As a novice, one of my ways to approach an exhibition on wedding fashion was to browse through the entire exhibition and identify the ones that appeals to my senses. It is perfectly alright that my choices are different from those of my friends and other visitors. Afterall, everyone's life experiences, personality and preferences may differ.

Wedding dress designed by Christian Lacroix.

• The wedding dress designed by Christian Lacroix in 1992 attracted my attention with its bold and daring design. The materials that went into making the dress were pretty interesting too. These were silk net, lycra and silk satin, gold leaf, chenille embroidery, paste gems and costume jewellery. Take a closer look at this wedding dress and you will realize that this dress has an asymmetrical design.

Wedding gown designed by Norman Hartnell.

• Initially, I did not think much about the wedding gown that was designed by Norman Hartnell. This wedding gown was one of the centerpieces of the exhibition. It was worn by society beauty, Margaret Whigham, for her marriage to Charles Sweeny in 1933. However, when I looked at the train of the gown from the back of the gown, I could not help but be mesmerized by the beautifully embroidered patterns of stars on the 2.6 metres train. The materials used for this dress were silk satin and tulle, embroidered with glass beads.

Wedding gown designed by Norman Hartnell.

• The trouser suit designed by Ossie Clark caught my eyes with its unconventional design. The prints on the trouser designed by Celia Birtwell added a feminine touch to the suit. Would you wear a trouser suit for your wedding?

Left: Trouser suit designed by Ossie Clark.

Read the words on exhibition panels and find a story that touches your heart
In this exhibition, the curators have thoughtfully done extensive research on each of the wedding dresses and accessories that are put on display. While I do acknowledge that the wedding dresses are more visually appealing than the write-ups on the exhibition panels, it can be an enlightening experience to spend time reading through all the exhibition panels to find a story that touches one's heart.

• One of my favourite stories from The Wedding Dress exhibition was about a wartime dress made of curtain fabric. This dress was worn by the florist, Elizabeth King, on 6 Sep 1941 when she married Ralph Rowland Absalom. She had married in wartime and due to shortages in supplies, certain types of cloth were subjected to rationing. Being resourceful, Elizabeth King had her wedding dress made of lightweight upholstery material which was not subject to rationing.

Forget about the brides' dresses and look at what the bridegrooms would wear
During the opening reception of the exhibition, The Wedding Dress, I thought it was rather apt that Ms Lee Chor Lin, Director of the National Museum of Singapore, acknowledged the contributions of the bridegrooms in her welcome address. While most people will find it enticing to look at the wedding dresses worn by the brides, it can be quite a refreshing experience to focus our attention to what the bridegrooms would wear.

Left: Wedding kilt and shoes designed by Vivienne West

• I was immediately drawn to the Wedding kilt and shoes designed by Vivienne Westwood. This was commissioned by William Sheehy for his wedding. I learnt that many bridegrooms of Scottish and Irish ancestry wear kilts for their wedding.

Discover one thing new to you

There may be times when neither the dresses nor the personal stories behind the wedding dresses appeal to us. If this were to be the case, simply ask yourself if you could find at least one thing that is new to you from the exhibition. Learning something new can be a pleasure.

• I have had no clue what the objects below were until I read and learnt that these are garters. Garters are narrow bands of fabric that are fastened about the leg to keep stockings from slipping. I learnt that in the 19th and 20th centuries, wedding garters were worn as tokens of good fortune.

There will be free guided tours to this exhibition starting as early as 21 Aug. In addition, from 8 - 31 Aug 2012, there will be a discount in the admission charges to this exhibition. For more information on The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, please visit http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/ExhibitionDetail.aspx?id=71&cat=2.

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The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum

National Museum of Singapore

From 8 Aug - 31 Oct 2012.

93 Stamford Road

Singapore 178897

http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/ExhibitionDetail.aspx?id=71&cat=2

Nearest MRT stations: Dhoby Ghaut and Bras Basah.

The Ramadan Trails at Sultan Mosque

On 8 Aug 2012, I took part in one of the Ramadan Trails organized by the Sultan Mosque, Singapore. Please find out more about my experiences of the Ramadan Trail here: The Ramadan Trails at Sultan Mosque.

Emily of Emerald Hill comes alive at the Peranakan Museum

Margaret Chan's performance of Emily of Emerald Hill.
Image courtesy of Peranakan Museum.
Copyright 2012 © Jack Yam.

In the intimate spaces of the Peranakan Museum, Margaret Chan's powerful performance in Emily of Emerald Hill makes the one-woman play come alive!

Emily of Emerald Hill is a one-woman play that tells the story of a Peranakan woman, Emily Gan, as she evolves from a young bride to a typically strong matriarch in the Peranakan enclave of Emerald Hill in Singapore. This play was written by local playwright, Stella Kon, in 1982. In conjunction with the exhibition, Emily of Emerald Hill: Singapore Identity on Stage, a performance of this play will be staged at the Peranakan Museum on 7 July 2012, at 7.30 p.m. starring Margaret Chan.

Emily of Emerald Hill. Starring Margaret Chan.
Image courtesy of Peranakan Museum.
Copyright 2012 © Jack Yam

Mysteriously, the performance of Emily of Emerald Hill within the exhibition spaces of the Peranakan Museum has made the performance become an object of contemplation. I started to ask questions in my mind. What kind of challenges did women of the 1950s face? What has made horse-racing one of the favourite past-times of some of the people in that era? What was life like for a Peranakan lady in the 1950s?  The boundaries started becoming rather unclear. Was I simply watching a performance of Emily of Emerald Hill or was I viewing an interactive snapshot of Singapore's past coming alive at the museum? 

The stage. Peranakan Museum.

Although I have no definite conclusion as to whether I was simply watching a one-woman play or whether I was viewing a museum-exhibition of an iconic play that expresses a strong Singaporean identity, it is definite that I was moved by Margaret Chan's excellent performance in Emily of Emerald Hill.

Thanks to the invitation of Jeremiah Choy of Orangedot Productions Pte Ltd, which I had received through the referral from one of my friends, Ms Belinda Tan, I had the privilege to watch Margaret Chan's performance of Emily of Emerald Hill at the Peranakan Museum during the technical rehearsal on 5 July 2012 .

Emily of Emerald Hill. Taken during the technical rehearsal.

Transforming the exhibition spaces of the Peranakan Museum into a stage can proved to be a technical challenge. Nevertheless the production team has overcame these technical challenges and has magically transformed an exhibition venue into a theatre. Maybe I was wrong. Somehow, I felt that the museum spaces became alive. The museum was no longer exhibiting stationary objects, it was exhibiting an interactive theatrical performance!

This photograph was taken on 28 Jun 2012 before the exhibition spaces was transformed into a theatre that could sit about 80 people.

I vividly remember various sections from Margaret Chan's performance of Emily of Emerald Hill. As I watched the protagonist, Emily Gan, sharing the story of her life on stage, I felt as if she was confiding to us, the members of the audience, as a friend. When Emily was using the antique telephone to make phone calls, I felt she was revealing to us her multifaceted and complex character. One moment, she would speak in the most courteous manner to a respectable person while on another moment, she would speak in a harsh commanding voice to make her request be known to a subordinate.

There were humourous moments when the audience would be entertained by Emily showing off her skills at cooking the babi buah keluak (i.e. minced pork ribs stuffed into pangium edule seeds) and by the comical mannerisms of Emily reprimanding her servants in an unique language that sounded like Malay mixed with a bit of Hokkien.

Emily of Emerald Hill. Starring Margaret Chan.
Image courtesy of Peranakan Museum.
Copyright 2012 © Jack Yam.

While watching the play, I was reminded of the antique telephone from the exhibition.
Peranakan Museum. 

One of the most heart-breaking moments of the play was when Emily learnt about the news that her eldest son, Richard, had died overseas. He was suspected to have killed himself.

Emily learnt about the news of her eldest son's death.
Image by Peranakan Museum.
Copyright 2012 © Jack Yam.

The complexity of Emily's character was gradually revealed as the play progressed. Margaret Chan's rendition of Emily also vividly brought out Emily's complex relationship with her eldest son, Richard. By the end of play, I felt a sense of compassion for Emily. She seemed to be doing her best to survive in a world with harsh realities. This is a fascinating and moving play to watch. I strongly recommend that all residents of Singapore watch this play at least once in their lifetime.

The public performance of this play will be staged at the Peranakan Museum stage on 7 July 2012 (Sat), at 7.30 p.m. This special performance will be jointly produced by Stella Kon Pte Ltd and Orangedot Productions Pte Ltd, and co-directed by Margaret Chan and Jeremiah Choy. For more details, please visit http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg/exhibitions/eventdetail.asp?eventid=292.

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Tips and suggestions:

These are a few suggestions to enhance your positive experience of watching Emily of Emerald Hill performed by Margaret Chan:

1) Please set aside some time to visit the exhibition Emily of Emerald Hill: Singapore Identity on Stage. Do not miss the section of the exhibition that examines the origins of the play and its performance history.

2) Please do visit the section of the exhibition that highlights Margaret Chan as one of the major performers of Emily. You may wish to know that Margaret Chan was the first Singaporean who performed the role of Emily Gan in Stella Kon's play, Emily of Emerald Hill. She represented Singapore in the Commonwealth Arts Festival 1986 with a performance in the role of Emily Gan.

3) The performance venue felt as if the air-conditioner was set at a temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius. You may wish to wear warm clothing to keep yourself warm.

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Emerald of Emerald Hill 
Special performance by Margaret Chan at the Peranakan Museum stage
7 Jul 2012, Saturday, 7.30 p.m.
Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian Street
Duration of play: 2 hours 30 minutes
$60 per person, includes free admission to the museum
http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg/exhibitions/eventdetail.asp?eventid=292

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"Emily of Emerald Hill": Singapore Identity on Stage
The exhibition.
1 Jun 2012 - 17 Feb 2013 7 Apr 2013
Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian Street
Opening Hours:
Monday: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday to Sunday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (to 9 p.m. on Fridays)
http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg/exhibitions/eventdetail.asp?eventid=285

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Acknowledgements:

Special thanks to

• Jeremiah Choy of Orangedot Productions Pte Ltd for the invitation to the technical rehearsals,
• Belinda Tan for referring me to Jeremiah Choy and the permission to use her photographs,
• Margaret Chan for her wonderful performance
• The Peranakan Museum for the hospitality and for providing photographs from the technical rehearsals,
• The National Heritage Board,
• I Love Museums.

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References and some online pages that are related to this topic: 

• Singapore Arts Fest! The original Little Nyonya! Emily over the Hill? by Mayo Martin
• http://www.mysmu.edu/staff/margaretchan/documents/MARGARET_CHAN_-_actress.pdf, ©
2009
Margaret 
Chan.
• The special after-hours Curator Tour with Stella Kon, at the Peranakan Museum
• Emily of Emerald Hill, facebook photo album, by Peranakan Museum Singapore

Backstage.
Margaret Chan preparing for her role of Emily Gan.
Image by Belinda Tan.

The attention to details.
Image by Belinda Tan.