This is Day 4! And… the place I’ll be scouting for shops would be Chinatown! I took ALOT on Day 4, so here are the shots!
The famous “cobbler square”, and some of them have been in the profession for about 30 years.
Cutie uncle wanted me to take a photo of him and his shop hahaha
Textile shops that has been around for at least 50 years. I’ve asked a few textile shops and it seems that most of them shifted it People’s Park Complex in the same year. As they said they were previously street vendors, just below People’s Park Complex, until the government started building the mall itself and all of them shifted.
She’s one of the main reasons on why I wanted to come to People’s Park Complex to shoot, and she’s the famous… knife sharpener in Singapore!! She has been sharpening knives for at least 40 years. This is what you call – craftsmanship at its finest.
(update* i can’t believe i forgot to put her in my publication -_-)
Such a kind and enthusiastic uncle! A little background story of him. He is 78 years old this year, and has been a tailor for 64 years! Do your math. So technically he started to learn when he was only 14 years old. Wow what was I doing when I was 14? Oh struggling with math. But anyway, his shop – David Fashion has been running for 45 years! Really dedicated man, which I feel is lacking among youngsters these days – including me.
A keysmith that started off as a street vendor. And has been running this shop since 1969. Apparently that rusty machine (pic on top), is said to be at least 100 years old!!
I was just casually looking around for shops and I found this really interesting store which seems to sell ALOT of things. Well I guess the amount of wigs got my attention. Anyway this is a 2-gen store, and has been here since the 1970s. Apparently the lady boss told me, they didn’t start off as selling accessories, and her family has changed their products many times! They started off as a spectacle shop, and it seems like its not really selling, thus they changed into a clothing shop and then now… an accessories shop.
Super adorable auntie and I had a 45 min conversation with her!! Also I’ve promised her that I’ll develop the photo of her and her shop, she’s so cute and nice. Anyhow, this store is her own and her late husband. She has been selling all this hair accessories since 1989. Crazy amount of childhood clips and hairbands there. Do visit her and check out her stuff! (is it low-key advertise)
THE CRAZIEST GEM I FOUND. Guess how old is this shop? This Teo Chew Book Store, goes waaaay back to 1937. I mean. 1 9 3 7, HOW AMAZING IS THAT? It’s 80 years old, which is almost 4 times my lifetime!! It’s even older than my grandma!!! They have the most vintage finds that you’ve never seen before. I mean c’mon, look at those old books.
Of course, how can I forget this shoe shop that I always frequent when I was young? You can’t really find them much in Singapore now, as it’s located mostly in the older neighbourhoods. This footwear store, goes way back to 1958, thats like… 50 years.
Found two of the same outlets in Chinatown and managed to get a better frontal shot. This store has been around since 1984. Selling all dem chinese herbs
Hm I’m not sure what should I call her. But I know that she’s called Ah Kat. She’s the famous umbrella flower lady, who sits outside the 4 Ma Lu Temple, and has been selling the bai bai flowers for 50 years! Also, she’s the 3rd gen because her mom and her grandmother had also sold flowers.
This fruit store is just a stone throw away from my estate and it has been here since foreverrrrrr. I still remembered in the past my Dad would always bring me here to get some fruits, but alas, now he gets them from NTUC hahaha. Sorry fruit stall uncle. But anyway, I am right! This store has been here since 1993, which is two years older than me hmm.
And just behind the fruit store, there’s this tiny candy shop which my Mom would only bring me there to get some candies after I’ve seen the doctor (the clinic is just opposite lol). So my Mom will only get me candies to cheer me up or in a sense, it’s a bribery to force me to eat my medicine? This store has also been here since 1993, about the same time as the fruit store.
And just right beside the fruit store, there’s this DVD rental (how long have i not use this term) place which has the oldestttttt drama you can ever find. They have also been in this business since 1993.
All in all, I enjoyed exploring the whole of Chinatown by myself as I get to meet really kind old people! Though it’s kind of scary to be moving around alone, and with my language barrier, I was really afraid that it would be tough for me to communicate with the people there. But apparently, about 50% of the elderly can speak fluent English!! Sorry I sound abit suaku as I expected to be struggling with my noobish mandarin. But anyhow, 98% were really nice and welcoming!! Sigh I love old people, they simply feel all warm and fuzzy.
