Tech- and designled, Smeg flexes its prowess with award-winning kitchen aids.
How do you modernise your kitchen help? Ask Italy’s Deep Design Studio’s Matteo Bazzicalupo (far left) and Raffaella Mangiarotti.
THE TOASTER, THE KETTLE, THE BLENDER AND THE STAND MIXER
Tech- and designled, Smeg flexes its prowess with award-winning kitchen aids.
How did this 68-year-old brand from Guastalla, a small town in northern Italy, become so attuned to the needs of the kitchen? Well, for starters, it takes its motto “technology with style” very, very seriously. Every new innovation is put through a rigorous two years of testing to ensure that it passes the quality criteria for durability, safety and flexibility.
Then there are the collaborations with likeminded architects and designers to create iconic pieces that will stand out in any home. Big names over the years include Italian Guido Canali (he worked on the National Gallery in Parma and Museum of the Duomo in Milan) and Australian Marc Newson (he’s collaborated with everyone from Vuitton to Pentax).
The latest four-piece range in black, red, cream, pistachio, pastel blue and bubblegum pink could have gone the way of kitsch ’50s style, but under the direction of Deep Design Studio’s Matteo Bazzicalupo and Raffaella Mangiarotti, it’s retro chic meets midcentury. The Stand Mixer and Toaster have already been lauded by Germany’s iF International Design Award and Australia’s Good Design Award.
Good looks aside, each appliance is also enamel-coated “to protect the stainless steel surface, prevent rust and provide durability”, says David Tan from APS Lifestyle, which retails Smeg here. “Its classy gloss finish also makes cleaning easier.” CEO Vittorio Bertazzoni sums up what Smeg does best to set its products apart from those of its competitors: “You have to keep using them and looking at them without getting bored. This is what makes Smeg unique.” – TMY.
For Smeg’s retail partners, call 6233-0593.
“You have to keep using them and looking at them without getting bored. This is what makes Smeg unique.” – CEO Vittorio Bertazzoni.
The Toaster ($228) has a Bagel Function that browns one side of the bread without toasting the other.
The 1.7L Kettle ($228) features a 360-degree swivel base, allowing it to be plugged in from any direction– an unexpected convenience.
The Blender ($338) has four speed settings and works at 18,000 rotations a minute to ensure that food is blended to the best consistency. Its blades and heat-resistant plastic jug are dishwasherfriendly.
The Stand Mixer $798 has a drive motor of 800W, and a Smooth Start function that prevents splattering. Optional accessories, like the Pasta Rollers set, are sold separately.
THE COOLEST OFF-THERACK READING GLASSES + EYE PROTECTION
Paris’ See Concept debuts at Robinsons The Heeren.
The French have a knack of seeing things differently, and making the most mundane into something of-the-moment, desirable, and what everyone wants. See Concept by three Gen-Y childhood friends, Charles Brun, Quentin Couturier and Xavier Aguera is exactly that – right now.
What started in 2010 as “reading glasses” on a stand (technically magnifying glasses with eye frames) for their soon-tobe- longsighted parents has evolved into a global brand for on-trend, off -the-rack glasses that men, women and even children want to wear (as opposed to need to wear). People want to be seen wearing them, and are collecting them.
Why? The frames are simple yet modern, come in fashion colours and textures as well as in lightweight polycarbonate, and are $49-$69 a pair. The ranges have expanded too: Limited Editions, Mirrored, Sun, Junior, Snow, and the latest, Screen, with lenses that filter out 40 per cent of the blue light emitted by our 24/7 devices – mobiles, tablets, laptops.
Being accessible doesn’t mean the brand is readily available. The three guys knew when they expanded three years ago that if you want your brand to look good and be aligned with the right image, it needs to be niche and sold only at ultra-select stores. In Paris, it retails at Colette, Le Bon Marche and Merci. In London, it’s Harrods and Selfridges. In New York, it’s Bloomingdale’s, Dover Street Market and MOMA. In Tokyo, it’s at Isetan Shinjuku. – SW.
Screen kings, from above left: See Concept’s Xavier Aguera, Quentin Couturier and Charles Brun, all 31.
The Screen range has three styles and seven colours. Four of the latter come with prescriptions (from +1 to +3; the higher the number, the stronger the magnifying power).
THE GAME CHANGER: PERFUME FILTERS
Inspired by Instagram, Maison Margiela’s latest two additions to its Replica fragrance range are designed to either soften or perk up any scent.
Instagram has 23 filters to give every picture you take a different effect. Maison Margiela’s Filters are the perfume versions of the social-media app. One is Blur, the other, Glow ($89 each from Tangs at Tang Plaza). Both are dry perfume oils. The former, with notes of jasmine, musk and aldehydes, smells powdery and soapy – it’s the softener meant to take things down a few notches.
The latter has neroli, grapefruit and bergamot – zesty, classic men’s cologne ingredients for that fresh citrus kick. They were created to allow users to customise/tweak any of the French brand’s 14 Replica fragrances, including its latest Dancing on the Moon EDP.
But we thought: Why stop there? We wanted to see if the Filters could improve not-so-good scents – turn something overwhelming into something more socially acceptable, and something saccharine into something less cloying. Amazingly, both did the job: A sickly floral became a subtle, musky floral after Blur, and the same number was citrusy-floral after Glow. – CK.
HOW TO USE FILTER
• Spray onto skin.
• Massage it in until you can’t feel it any more, and all you see of it is a light sheen.
• Apply your perfume.
• Reapply Filter whenever the scent fades.
THE PLACE FOR GENUINE PRE-LOVED BIRKINS AND KELLYS
Gallery Rare’s staff will also teach you how to spot a dud.
To get a brand-new Birkin or Kelly, you need to have a relationship with Hermes. A relationship that starts with you purchasing a substantial amount from the luxury house, which doesn’t include its bags. Not all at once, of course, but progressively, until its staff off er to put you on the “most-wanted list”.
For pre-loved Kellys and Birkins, all you need: around $21Gs, and product knowledge so that you won’t be duped (according to Hermes, there are a lot of good fakes). This is where Gallery Rare comes in. Founded in 1979 by Shinichi Ota, it’s a chain of Japanese stores (there are eight in Japan) that specialises in used luxury goods – specifically Hermes’ bags.
And Ota has brought his expertise, along with hard-to-secure Bs and Ks, to the chain’s first outside-of-Japan outpost at Mandarin Gallery (#02-22). Question is, what distinguishes Gallery Rare from others cashing in on pre-loved goods (yes, even local pawnbroker Moneymax)?
One: “Assurance of quality and authenticity,” says Yoshihiro Sugiyama, the Singapore store’s managing director. “We don’t look for sellers; they come to us – and they are all Japanese Hermes VIPs, people whom we have had three decades of strong, long-term relationships with.
“The other thing that sets us apart: Every one of our evaluators is required to have a minimum of 10 years of experience.” That’s almost as long as it takes to become a medical doctor. “In our 37 years, we have never once acquired a fake or sold one.” Rarity is another: Japan has a way longer history with Hermes than Singapore does. This translates to a bigger and not-so-common selection of Bs and Ks. A vintage Birkin from 1990 in black croco? Gallery Rare has it. For styles that it doesn’t have, it will source them for you. – SW. www.herworldplus.com.
The brand’s logo is engraved onto its inner back pocket zipper tag.
There should be two inner front pockets. Fakes usually have only one.
Under the flap: Hermes’ logo stamp on the front should read “Hermes Paris Made in France”. The logo should be properly centred.
There are two stamps on the right sangle (yes, that’s the name for the front interlocking strap). They are numerical and alphabetical codes for where and when the bag was made.
The leather shouldn’t be too soft, flimsy or stiff .
THE APPLE OF MINERAL WATER: CANO WATER
Because sustainability + smart design = a product we can drink to.
Fact: People can’t stop buying bottled water – even when they have access to clean drinking water. Fact: Most of it is in plastic because it’s lightweight, less breakable and can be recapped. But aluminium is clearly more eco than plastic. It’s recycled more; it’s among the lightest beverage packaging to transport, thus reducing its carbon footprint; and it’s the only packaging that more than covers its recycling costs, helping to finance the collection and recycling of other materials such as glass and plastic.
Yet, only a handful of brands (like San Pellegrino and Dasani) offer their drinking water in cans, and Noah’s Water from the US (unavailable here) is the only one whose aluminium bottles have a cap. Then why aren’t cans catching on? Well, they generally can’t be resealed. So this seemingly too-outof- the-box conundrum for many became “the gap in the market to plug” for three chaps in the UK.
In January 2016, Ariel, 24, Josh, 26, and Perry, 29 (they prefer not to use their last names) – introduced Cano Water, the first canned drinking water from Austria, with a resealable tab. “With approximately eight million tons of plastic ending up in the ocean each year, Cano offers a highly recyclable alternative,” says Ariel. – JE.
WHY CANO ROCKS
• The water is filtered through the foothills of the Austrian Alps, collecting vital minerals and electrolytes as it makes its way through the ground to Cano Water’s spring, where it’s collected.
• It’s alkaline – with a high pH level of 7.9 – which is said to be healthier for us.
• The white cans hold still water; the black ones, sparkling.
• The innovative, resealable tab is tailored to the progressively mobile. It’s less than one-fifth the total weight of the can, and gets absorbed into the recycling process without a hitch.
• Distributed here by Propaganda Goods Pte Ltd, and currently only available for home/office orders. Each case of 24 330ml cans costs $48 (no price difference between sparkling/still). Delivery is on weekends only, and is free if you order four cases and above. Otherwise, add $15. Contact goods@ welovepropaganda.com.
From far left: Before they started Cano, Josh ran an events company, Perry was a graphic designer, and Ariel was a headhunter for hedge funds and banks.
How to work the resealable tab: Lift the catch, slide the tab out to open, and in to close.
