Anaita Thakkar is the Founder, Director and Chief Designer of Lustre Jewellery. Since she was a little girl, she has had a love for semi-precious gemstones and all the beauty they impart to modern contemporary jewellery.
Originally from Bombay, she moved from Hong Kong to Singapore, where she noticed a distinct lack of affordable semi-precious jewellery.
She decided to carve a niche in the market and has realised the lack of high quality, one of a kind, stylish yet affordable jewellery for all collections.
Anaita sources her stone, both the common place to the more exotic, from India, the gem capital of the world, but realises her designs through artisans in ateliers dotted around the globe.
Passionate about her brand, and involved in every aspect of her business, from designing, sourcing, marketing and finally selling the priciest is what drives Thakkar. Having control over quality makes her confident about showing off these amazing pieces, and is reflected in the loyalty she gets from her customers. This business is truly her baby, and she does a marvellous job in etching out a story for each piece she sells, with creativity and confidence.
From Bestseller, to the latest gadgets, and sometimes even groceries, there is no denying that the internet makes it easy to do comparison shipping.
However, with over 40 million businesses being “self employed”, and with more than 50 percent of new jobs being created from these 40 million, there is no better time to shop local.
From your favourite coffee shops, local boutiques, veterinarian clinics, it is impressive to think about the amount of time, commitment and labour, these owner contribute to make sure that their businesses both come to life, and stay alive.
Small businesses are often overlooked too often for all the wrong reasons.
Here’s why you should be shopping local.
Your spending boosts the local economy
More that 50 percent of every dollar spent, stays in the local economy, compared to only 40 percent with larger businesses.
Ethical Choice
For every purchase you make online that comes from halfway around the world, your eco credentials get lowered, and your carbon footprint, larger. A smaller footprint also comes with the benefits of less packaging and waste.
Quirky One- Offs
Independent boutiques and designers stock items, which are often hand crafted and unique. This means that there is little chance of you turning up at the office Christmas party wearing the same out or accessory as someone else. Very often, you get the meet the designer, artisan or owner of the business yourself. Thereby completely changing your perspective on the item you bought, and enriching the sales experience for you both.
Supporting Local Entrepreneurs
Artisan markets help to foster talents for the next generations of designers and retailers in your local community. They are often the hotbeds of innovation and there is a contestant turnover of new products. Sellers get direct feedback from the customer’s demands, thereby creating a tailor made experience for the local shopper. Think durian ice-cream, and you will understand what I am talking about.
Some of my favourite local labels in Singapore include:
COLLATE
A newcomer on the local scene, I happen to love this brand. Helmed by local social media icon Velda Tan, the label brings adorable luxury, sharp looks that are timeless and elegant to today’s savvy set.
AIJEK
By the self taught designer Danielle Woo, Aijek has everything you want from fun bright colours in clean minimalist looks, to a more floaty ethereal look. With generous sizing that goes up to a US size 14, they have real clothes, for real bodes. Am particularly in love with their lace skirts - perfect for those hot summer nights.
BAKER & COOK
It really can’t get more local than this for me. Located a short stroll from my back gate, perfect for those lazy Sunday mornings. The kids play in the park, we stock up on fabulous bread for the week and indulge (far more than I should) on yummy baked goods. Helmed by one of the most respected bakers on the plant, but brought about very locally, this bakery can very often have standing room only.
NAIISE
Pronounced similar to the word “NICE,” this quirky shop has all Singapore made products across art, kitchen, homeware, fashion and tech.
Located conveniently around the corner from Lustre @ Amoy, I love surfing their website and trawling their store. Favourite lines they carry are Scene Shang for traditional lamps with a twist, and House Doctor for their apothecary jars.
Brought To You By Expat Choice
