BiG Scoop : January – March 2024

Written by Sarah Wong Jing Yuan

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GERARD LEE

An artist who makes portraits that look so realistic, they’re as good as photographs! Gerard”s drawing mediums include graphite and charcoal, and among his artworks, he enjoys making quick sketches of places he visited, like the Merlion; the official mascot of Singapore, and the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Even his quick sketches look like masterpieces! Besides that, his drawings include lifelike portraits of the Sultan of Brunei, as well as Darth Vader from Star Wars, and the late John Lennon. 

IG: @gerard747

NECTARINES GEMS

Crystal gems have never taste so yummy! Nectarines Gems makes their Kohakutou, a type of traditional Japanese sweet, in the shape of pretty crystals. One might never think that watermelon and apple could make such a convincing obsidian black but the proof is in the gems! The Pineapple Coconut Calcite is a shocking bright yellow and explosion of pineapple flavour when you bite into it. Each box from Nectarines Gems comes with four assorted crystal gems of different colours and flavours, making it a great treat for gifting. Who knew treasure could taste so good?

Be sure to be on the lookout for new flavour and colour combinations for their sweet treats.

IG: @nectarines.gems

NINETYTREE

You’ll never want plain, boring kitchen utensils again when you have Ninetytree’s decor masterpiece. This unique handicraft enterprise uses epoxy resin and live-edge wood in their many products. Each handiwork is painstakingly crafted to give you glossy and practical results, whether you want is as a souvenir, a birthday gift for your loved ones or a beautified kitchen appliance.

Ninetytree also holds regular River Board Workshops every month so customers can have hands-on experience making their own personalised charcuterie board. Speaking of gifts, Ninetytree also does Coaster Holder Gift Boxes!

IG: @ninetytree.bn

ZAGE STUDIO

This 3D, surrealists art studio is founded by Zahidi Bikir, has uncanny, yet strangely intriguing portraits of abstract concepts. Artworks by him included ‘Emotionally Detached’, a melancholic portrayal of emotions and ‘To Infinity and Begone’ which is a nostalgic callback to a familiar Disney film .

His works prove that art can be thought-provoking and interpretive. Besides portraits, one of Zage Studio’s developments uses Augmented Reality to make your greeting cards pop to life! All you have to do is scan the QR code of the card to see the magic. Pretty clever, eh?

IG: @zage.studio

WILKGAMES

Meet Wilson Siow, an indie game developer in Brunei. He established WilKGames in 2021, incorporating Bruneian culture elements into his games like ‘Kampong Battle’ and ‘Shiang-Ji’. Formerly a telecommunications engineer, he’s been passionate about gaming from a young age and started developing his own games in 2017.

Wilson Siow hopes that by making games inspired by Brunei’s culture, Brunei can become more internationally recognised. His upcoming game, ‘Tikus Tales’, is his first-ever 3D platformer game, featuring a cute little mouse, Tikur and his squirrel buddy, Too-pie. Help them make their way through various big and dangerous worlds to recover a stolen relic!

IG: @wilkgames

JESS BOUBIE CRAFTS

Established in 2018, Jess Boubie specialises in handcrafting traditional brass accessories. Before starting this business, Jess was an elite athlete in the world of ultra trail running. Sadly, a heart-wrenching experience at one of the biggest trail-running events in Asia left her feeling defeated and hopeless. A glimmer of hope appeared when she discovered the wonderful world of brass-making, which became “therapy” for her. As her brass making business bloomed, so did her heart.

Now, Jess continues to create beautiful brass pieces to honour her own tribe, the Dusun Tobilung, who often wear brass jewellery. Among her crafts are brass rings, anklets and bangles, according to customer requests. Jess’ story shows that past failures are no obstacle to doing something great in the world. 

IG: @jessboubie_craft

CHIA CRAFT

If you’re a fan of resin and bead crafts, you’ll be delighted by the work of Chia Craft. A self-taught creative, Chia likes to join pop-up events to showcase her talents with nothing but random sparks of inspiration to create her products. These handmade beauties are custom made, from beaded bracelets to resin hexagon blocks for preserving flowers. 

The name “Chia” stands for the chia seed – a small seed which represents her independent business. Perhaps a small seed like this, with hard work, dedication and love, can grow into a beautiful tree of inspiration.

IG: @shopchiacraft

YEE I-LANN & COLLABORATORS

When you have a talent and you can’t just keep it inside, you gotta share it to the world! That’s what Yee I-Lann has been doing with her art; holding exhibition like the Borneo Heart in 2021 and 2023 to showcase traditional and contemporary masterpieces to feature the cultural side of Borneo.

Notable pieces of art include the “Mansau-Ansau” (to keep journeying without knowing where you are headed ), featuring a tikar (woven mat) in such a way that symbolises her artistic journey with her community of weavers since 2017. This work was also made as a tribute to a dreamtime space haunted by Yee I-Lann’s grandmother, and eventually led to other works like the Tukad Kad  Sequence. The “Mansau-Ansau” is currently on display in the Tate Modern Gallery for all to enjoy. 

IG: @yeeilann , @kota_k.studio , @borneoheart.exhibition

FEAST & FURIOUS CAFE

Looking for something different from your usual cafes? The Feast & Furious is the place for you! Stepping inside the cafe is like stepping into memory lane. Inside the race-themed cafe you’ll find yourself surrounded by models of vintage cars and motorcycles. Race trophies and plaques adorn the bookshelves, and sports jerseys and a collection of old international dollar notes are put on display on the walls.

Feast & Furious gives a rather retro vibe reminiscent of the heyday of sports car racing. Not to mention, they serve the best of both Western and local cuisines like crunchy Chicken Chops and Furious Fried Rice, YUM!

IG: @feast_furious_cafe

KOZIE

Kozie is a custom handmade tech accessories store that seeks to redefine casing designs so not only is the latest smartphone protected, it looks fabulous too! You’ll never look at phone casing the same way again. They use resin, stickers and glitter; simple ingredients for any design made to order.

On 16th October 2023, Kozie joined a bazaar at Plaza Merdeka Kuching to showcase their Do-It-Yourself phone casings in all their simplistic charm, and for customers to pick and choose between various cartoon designs and motifs. 

IG: @kozie_ideas

MEOW MEOW CAT CAFE

Founded by Janet in 2014, Meow Meow follows in the footsteps of other cat-themed cafes in countries like Taiwan and Japan; a place to chill, sip coffee and play with cats. Janet and her daughter Sherra had spent 13 years working with pets in The Pet Zone before opening up this cafe, and each cat is carefully chosen based on their behaviour, friendliness being a main factor.

Of course, you can’t call it a cafe without them serving coffee, so the cafe has been on their toes looking for the best English-European food and drinks to add to the menu. Fancy some homemade cheesecake? Oh, don’t forget your favourite coffee even as you hang around in the Cat Zone with your favourite feline ‘stars’. You’ll need all that energy to keep up with them!

FB : Meow Meow Cafe

RANEE ARTISAN GALLERY

This curation of handicrafts from the rural communities of Sarawak was founded by Rosemarie Wong, to collaborate with local artisans to raise appreciation of local crafts and heritage. Notable works include the Ranee’s collaborations with Ling Wu (a leather bags company) to produce have-woven bags made of bemban (a plant similar to bamboo) strips. The result is a classy combination of traditional mat-weaving by the Dayak Ibans and the modern leather handbag. 

Besides that, the Ranee was awarded as Winner of the Best Innovative Plaiting Category by Yayasan Hasanah, an impact-driven foundation in Malaysia. Looking at the various colours and motifs on the Iban padi baskets by the Ranee, it’s not hard to see why. They’re absolutely beautiful!

IG: @raneeartisangallery