Of Cats & Dogs and Pastel Smocked Tops

Fluff's weekend at the Singapore River Bazaar started out so badly, we were beginning to regret being there.

Firstly, it was raining cats and dogs - not good when part of the fair's located outdoors. And secondly, Rhoda's hubby got into an accident with a taxi while driving out of the road in front of The Arts House after dropping her off - the damage was so bad that the entire driver's door needs to be replaced. But thank God the hubby is physically unscathed.

The crowds were slow in the early part of the day due, most definitely, to the rain. But as the day wore on, Fluff was thankful to God for little blessings. We were so glad we chose to be indoors. The rain was so bad many vendors in the outdoor marques had to abandon their stalls and seek refuge indoors.

The room in The Arts House that we were holed up in was gorgeous - it had big, tall windows (typical of colonials buildings) with curtains in a lovely shade of teal, fluffy off-white carpets (so fluffy that at least two groups of children threw themselves onto the carpets and frolicked in them the moment they entered the room) and some of the prettiest mini chandeliers we've ever seen. It's a pity those lights weren't turned on.

View from behind the Fluff stall.

The slow crowd meant we had a lot of time to nose around, window-shop and get to know fellow bazaar stall owners, many of whom design their own items. We drooled over Faith Frost's classy jewellery, contemplated on getting Petite Pois' very comfortable-looking cotton nighties and wowed at Aunty Alice K's self-designed, self-made smocked tube tops and dresses.

Hanging out with our lovely friend Wee Nee of Petite Pois who had informed us of the event. (Pity the photo's pretty blur 'cos we realised later it was set at ISO 800!)

In the end, Rhoda bought a lovely blue gingham dress as well as a navy-blue vintage chain belt with prints of a sexy sailor girl. Rose bought a yellow gingham tube top and a belt in the same print as Rhoda's belt. Estella picked a pink gingham tube top and customised a pastel kimono print dress.

We can't wait to visit Aunty Alice K's shop in China Town and we're still contemplating getting a cuff bracelet from her. She's truly amazingly creative. Do check out her Yahoo Auctions page.

The icing on the cake must have been being approached by an i-weekly reporter for her story on bazaars in Singapore. We were delighted to help Mei Wen and it was fun to answer her questions and pose with our designs.

We thought her two friends who accompanied her were so sweet to be spending their weekend visiting bazaars with her. Watch out for us in i-weekly any time between now and the next Singapore River Bazaar. *fingers crossed*

We also had a lot of eat in-between attending to customers. From Earshot Cafe at The Arts House: Mushroom pizza (rather nice), pasta (nice nice), hot chocolate (yums), coffee (quite strong - Rhoda, for one, felt rather faint & sick after drinking just a cup).

From the Singapore Cricket Club across the road: Smoked salmon with cheese sticks (good!), chicken curry and rice (spicy!), lamb masala toasties (great!). From Secret Recipe: good ol' delicious cakes. One thing we missed though is the C-Cup cupcakes sold downstairs. We must chiong for it the next time we come here. :)

All in all, we're glad to report that we had a great time. We sold quite a few pieces of accessories, talked to some very nice people who came by our stall, met some of our online customers in the flesh (yay!), added loads of Fluff babes to our mailing list and also received some orders for customisation that should keep us busy this week. A weekend well-spent!