SEPTEMBER 2019 FEATURE:

With flash dance mobs and models strutting their stuff at an Orchard road junction on opening day, GSS: Experience Singapore sure know how to make an impression.

GSS has established itself as a highly anticipated national sale event as well as being a tourist magnet for 25 years.

Come sometime in the middle of the year, local consumers go on a shopping spree nudged by the many too-good-to-be-true deals. With online shopping gaining traction worldwide over the years, the retail landscape has largely evolved, dampening the shine of sale events like GSS.

To re-ignite the excitement in physical shopping, the 2019 edition of GSS has been rebranded, putting customer experience at the forefront. Locals and tourists alike are encouraged to take home a slice of Singapore — to Shop, Dine, Play, Explore & Live It Up.

For the first time, SFIC has partnered with the Singapore Retailers’ Association (organiser of GSS) and Robinsons The Heeren, to curate a Great Singapore Furniture Showcase.

Featuring six of SFIC’s best design cluster members, the collections presented are mostly exclusive pieces produced for GSS in limited quantities.

For five weeks from 21 June, the pop-up at the fifth level of Robinsons The Heeren is the place where you can bring home highly collectible pieces by some of our top local furniture designers.

Among the cohort, two faces stand out – ModuDesigners, an Italian design duo based in Singapore, have only joined SFIC as a member this year. Eleonora Massaccesi and Emiliana Scarpino has also decided against a name for their GSS collection as the items are drawn from multiple collections on their catalogue.

The pastel-hued mini rockers are hard to miss and would not look out of place in a posh childcare centre. Their flat-packed shelving system that comes in plastic or wood versions are also stylish companions to a living or study room setting. The price tag? A modest $258 for a single tier, assembled using a side-slit system without the need for any screws or tools.

For architect Poon Yew Wai from OON, designing furniture pieces is a hobby and his everyday-object inspired items designed exclusively for GSS, is a testament that creative disciplines can and often do overlap. His “Occupy” collection sends the message that mundane objects deserve a second look – things literally become different when viewed from a different angle.

Design studio 11H’s “Objects for the Entrance Way” casts a spotlight on the doorway — an entry as well as exit point for its occupants. Offering useful (and covetable) items that people will use, such as mirror or umbrella stand, when they go in or out of the home, 11H’s magnetic tissue box had been one of the best sellers at the showcase. Founder Kenny Hong has also recently designed smart office furniture for Benel as part of his SingaPlural 2018 exhibit.

Creativeans’ METAL MATTER collection dazzles with its elegant lifestyle and stationery pieces. Metal-inspired, METAL MATTER is not only a collection of lifestyle and stationery products, but an embodiment of positivity and balance. With its rustic, minimalist charm, the products add a classic yet modern touch to our lifestyle and living spaces.

Lending a softer touch to otherwise cold steel, Fraction Design’s Overlay tables had been inspired by petal aestivation in botany. The table legs overlap and nest within its enclave and users can pull out the side table and reposition it for use. Handmade in Singapore by local stainless steel specialist EERD Enterprise, it’s easy to picture the exquisite pieces taking pride of space at a luxurious hotel lobby.

With its seamless reinforced fibre mono body fitted with hand-crafted walnut wooden horse head, handlebar and seat, you know you are not looking at an ordinary rocking horse. Nextofkin Creatives’ Nok Nok Rocking Horse series is designed by its founder Mr Rodney Loh, who took inspiration from his childhood memories of playing with rocking horses and pretending to be a cowboy and super hero. Coming in a few colours, there is only one piece of each material and colour combination in the series.

For the participating designers, the Great Singapore Furniture Showcase has been an incredible experience, a view shared by SFIC President Mark Yong:

“GSS: Experience Singapore has been a fruitful experience for SFIC and participating industry players overall. We are very pleased with our Great Singapore Furniture showcase at Robinsons The Heeren, which has received numerous compliments. The invaluable opportunity has enabled both Singaporeans and tourists to get up close with the high quality products of our design cluster members. We look forward to collaborate with fellow trade associations and other partners in the near future and would like to thank Singapore Retailers’ Association and Robinsons for the success of the showcase.”

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