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July14
Work and play
Both are now investing time in their company, Victor
York, which offers casual and formal tailoring,
primarily for men; they’re looking at branching
out into women’s wear, too. “When we invested
in it, Victor York was very old-school, with lots of
manual processes,” says Harry. “We now have a
full e-commerce offering, plus a boutique shop in
Boat Quay.”
Customers’ measurements are stored for life,
so it’s easy to reorder items, either in the store
or online. Their clients are loyal, says Harry, and
sometimes order up to ten shirts in one go – “a
very male buying habit,” he laughs.
Chatting to the smartly dressed couple (they’re
wearing Victor York, of course), I find out that
they like to work hard and play hard too. The
conversation turns from diet (they’re following
the paleo diet – mainly proteins and no refined
foods) to brewing beer for the weekend, and
Harry’s first meetings with Veronika’s family in
Slovakia. Her family is involved in alcohol brand
St Nicolaus, which produces all the most popular
traditional spirits, including slivovitz. “It’s almost like
a schnapps, and you don’t mix it with anything,”
explains Harry. “When I first met everyone, they
wanted to give me shots to welcome me, so I was
drinking about 20 a day. Luckily it’s calmed down
since then!”
They love to host parties at home, citing Harry’s
cooking skills as a big draw. “We entertain at least
once a week, and our friends love coming here as
they always know they’re going to be well fed,” says
Veronika. “We have well-stocked wine fridges and
our beer-making machine, and at the end of the
night the slivovitz comes out.”
When Harry met Veronika
Harry and Veronika arrived separately in
Singapore in early 2012. Their companies
shared office space and, says Harry, it was
lucky that they met. “It took about three weeks
of ‘eye meeting’; we didn’t really talk to each
other, but then we bumped into each other in
a nightclub and that was it!”
Veronika lived in a condo in River Valley;
Harry was staying at the St. Regis. They first
moved into The Sail, before relocating to their
current home in the Marina Bay Residences
two months later.
I’ve had the congas for
about ten years, and
they’ve been to lots of
different countries.”
– Harry