Live the Island Life!
Travel may be tricky right now, but the resort-feel pieces from this Singapore store can take you to places, no passport required.
No travel? No problem! Bring the holiday vibe to your home, thanks to Island Living by Cocoon. Close your eyes and cosy up on the brand’s Aliki Daybed and you could be forgiven for thinking you’re horizontal under the hot sun in the Gili Islands. Kick back in the Bungalow Armchair and the feel is not dissimilar to taking time out on a balcony in Nusa Dua. (Just don’t get sunscreen on the cushions!)
Island Living is a one-stop-shop in Singapore for tropical and elegant pieces with that bohemian and beachy aesthetic so many of us are missing right now. As well as stand-out signature furniture, you’ll find sustainable rattan and teak wood, hardcarved artefacts, whitewashed surfaces, luxurious textiles and darling finishing touches that prompt the question, “Oooh, where did you find that?”
Laid-back rustic looks
It was the difficulty of sourcing unique homeware that led Australian expats Karin Rysgaard and Denise Vrontas to launch Island Living in February 2019. “There were a lot of mass-produced, super-expensive and lovely but sleek home goods that were not really our style,” explains Denise, who moved to Singapore seven years ago. “We felt there was a gap in the market for affordable pieces offering organic textures, natural lines and a laid-back rustic look that suits where we live geographically.”
Setting out to create a brand that is affordable, on-trend, ever-changing and accessible, the duo looked to vacay destinations such as Indonesia and Vietnam for inspiration and stock. “Pretty much all of our merchandise is handmade, so no two products are the same, from our Canggu pottery vases, to the Byron Bay baskets, and the wooden Kenyan bowls and spoons,” adds Karin, an expat here for 16 years.
The pair were introduced by a mutual friend who had heard them both fantasising about launching a homeware company. Karin’s background in interior design and styling and Denise’s experience in PR and digital marketing made for a dream team. What began two years ago as a small e-commerce website and an 800-square-foot store is today a stylish online shop and stunning showroom of 2,500 square feet (plus much more for storage for new items that arrive on a continual basis).
Community spirit
While COVID-19 caused disruption everywhere, it gave Island Living the opportunity to become even more community-driven. “We were lucky to make great contacts with suppliers around the globe prior to the pandemic, so we continued working together throughout 2020 despite not being able to travel,” Karin says. “Our larger suppliers introduced us to small local enterprises who were suffering, so now we support them, too. It makes our merchandise even more eclectic and creates a wonderful sense of community spirit.”
The company has also thrived thanks to the new trend for home redecoration and stay-at-home projects. “People are definitely investing in making their homes more comfortable and enjoyable,” shares Denise. Island Living’s Havana Bed in teak and rattan is a hot-cake right now, along with decorative features such as trays, lanterns, vases and candles. “Updating your home with details like a linen palm tree tea towel provides an instant pick-me-up.”
Unable to source for products directly, Karin and Denise currently look to international brands, Instagram and Pinterest to keep their fingers on the pulse. Clearly loving the journey together, when they’re not in their showroom or working behind the scenes, you’ll find them at Luke’s or Butcher Boy, perhaps with a glass of fizz in hand, discussing ideas and planning prospective escapes to Bali and Hanoi.
Until we can all dust off our passports, you know where to go …
People are definitely investing in making their homes more comfortable and enjoyable.
If the pandemic has got you channelling all your stylish creativity into your own four walls rather than your own (sad) wardrobe, you’ll want to know about the home décor trend of boneinlay and mother-of-pearl furniture. Boho, intricate and ever-so-chic, it’s an interior look that’s experiencing a renaissance right now. The best part? It never goes out of fashion (unlike those heels you bought in an online shopping frenzy after Christmas…).
Originating from India, bone-inlay and mother-of-pearl inlay are ancient decorative techniques that involve embedding delicate fragments of bone or shell onto furniture and home accessories. Josephine Blunck has been obsessed with it since she was a little girl growing up in Australia. “Every year, my family would go to Palm Beach in Sydney and visit a store with black leaf-pattered bone-inlay furniture,” she recalls. “I was transfixed by the beauty; the iridescent sheen of the finish, the silkiness of the touch. It made me feel happy inside.”
So happy, in fact, that when Josephine moved to Singapore 13 years ago, she started her own company, Hacienda Blue, selling exquisite bone-inlay and motherof-pearl pieces. “Back then it was a very niche market,” she says, “no one else was selling such items here. I spent my time travelling to small, family-owned workshops in Rajasthan, commissioning meticulously designed furniture and objects d’art to local artisans.”
Creating a masterpiece
A decade on, Hacienda Blue consists of one retail store on Woking Road and an e-commerce website, and Josephine is the original trailblazer for the bone-inlay trade here on the Red Dot. She continues to work with the same families in Rajasthan and is more passionate than ever about supporting the art and local communities.
“The traditional craftsmanship involved in bone-inlay and mother-of-pearl furniture is painstaking,” she says. “It begins with cutting and delicately shaping bone or shell fragments, filling the space between each fragment with a coloured resin, and then sanding and waxing for a smooth finish. On average, it takes a month to produce a masterpiece.”
When you manage to get your hands on one of these masterpieces, it’s unlikely you’ll ever let it go. “Due to the artisanal process, every item produced is completely unique with its own colour and pattern,” Josephine continues. “It becomes the ultimate home showstopper and covetable keepsake; something you’ll want to stay with you forever, no matter where you live.”
Ideal for the Singapore environment, bone-inlay and mother-of-pearl pieces come with a gorgeously exotic and somewhat avant-garde quality that perfectly suits our tropical surroundings. Practical storage options like a tallboy and sideboards add dimension and texture to a room, while using it on décor such as mirrors or picture frames delivers a touch of class.
April sale
Being at the forefront of the trend, every April, Hacienda Blue carries out a month-long “Annual Pre-Order Custommade Furniture Sale” with a 20 percent discount on bone-inlay and mother-ofpearl items. “It’s a time for us to introduce the style to new customers and give our cherished existing clients the chance to add to their collections. While inlay furniture is available through other stores, many return for our high quality of workmanship in the inlay designs and functionality. And, while we update stock regularly, it also provides us with the opportunity to reveal new interior ideas through our merchandise,” explains Josephine.
Furniture can be custom-made, and no shape, dimension or design is out of the question. This year, Josephine reveals that “earthy and neutral tones such as sage greens and soulful blues” are proving popular. She also suggests we’ll be seeing more “modern geometric or leaf styles”.
No matter whether you go big or small, your bone-inlay piece will become indisputably special. We’ll see you in the queue.
Hacienda Blue is located at 17 Woking Road, #02-04 (opposite Tanglin Trust School). It’s open Monday to Friday from 10am to 2pm and weekends by appointment (9866 1024). Discover more about the annual April sale at haciendablue.com.