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NASSIM SHOWCASE
57
November14
“When I stayed in Singapore for six months in the early 1980s, I lived on
a boat on Sembawang Harbour, part of a Malay
kampong
. I would row
the boat to shore, walk up the long dirt road, have chicken rice from my
friend Johari’s mother’s stall, then get on the bus and go down to Rank
Xerox on East Coast Parkway, where I worked.
“It’s very, very different now; in those days Singapore had just started
becoming what it is today. I don’t know how long Lee Kuan Yew had been
Prime Minister, but by then he had really laid the foundations. Little India
has still retained some of its flavour, though; the first Thaipusam I saw blew
me away – the passion, the belief, the way the Hindus express their faith.”
– it was a little challenging with Samuel
so small, but we worked it out.”
There followed moves to Houston in
the US, then to Caracas for eight years
where they experienced a political
coup and a national strike, three years
in Buenos Aires, then Sydney, Kuala
Lumpur and now Singapore.
Faultless Furniture
The family arrived here with very little
furniture, just the lounge set, rugs and
dining table. Sue’s realtor introduced
them to Origin Asia and some other
retailers, but Sue felt the style of Origin
Asia’s pieces would fit well with their
own aesthetics.
“Rebecca Mo was really easy to work
with; she was able to build pieces to fit,
and her furniture has a contemporary
style with a warm feeling. With all of this
greenery around I didn’t want it overly
contemporary, but the lines needed to
be clean and not too ornate.”
Sue was able to sit down with
Rebecca and design all of the furniture
to fit in the apartment. “She’s amazing
when it comes to that – so creative,”
says Sue.
In our conversation, Sue mentions
that she and Peter were extremely happy
to move to Kuala Lumpur. Given their
previous placements, I’m curious as to
why. “Because it brought us into Asia,
which is a step closer to New Zealand,
where we have always wanted to retire
to.” This subsequent move to Singapore
has brought them closer still, not only
to New Zealand but to their children;
seemingly, it’s one of their happiest
moves yet.
“As soon as we moved in, pretty much the first thing we did
was go to nurseries. We started up at Sembawang, but our
favourite one now is the last one on Cluny Road. The layers
of the trees and the plants work well in giving us privacy.
It’s nice being on the ground floor; it’s not at all busy here.
There are some lovely pools, and after school the kids
come out here to play, but it’s so quiet here, too.”