Elephant Parade 2011

The Elephant Parade is the 'IN' thing now. Our crew head on the streets to give you the latest happenings and some scoops on what the RMT students are up to!:D

There may be tonnes of exhibitions that you feel not worth attending; but you cannot afford to miss the Elephant Parade. The Elephant Parade is held for the sole purpose of raising funds to help the Asian Elephants.

It started with a visit to Chiang Mai’s elephant hospital where Marc and Mike Spits saw Mosha. Mosha, the baby elephant, lost her limb after accidentally stepping on a landmine. It was a very miserable sight. This sparked the father and son team to start the project to create the awareness of the pain that the elephants are going through.

In 2007, the first ever Elephant Parade was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Over the years, the parade toured 10 cities and this year it’s Singapore’s turn. To date, a herd of 162 baby elephants marched the shores of Singapore and they are placed at various venues. These life size fiberglass sculptures are decorated and hand-painted by local artists like Tina Tan Leo, owner of alldressedup and Dick Lee. Renowned artisans around the world including Paul Smith and Marc Quinn also paint these elephants.

To prove that we also have a flair for painting, our RMT students joined the painting workshop conducted by Tangs held on 5 December 2011.

The elephant replicas are available at the 1^st Avenue kiosk and they come with signatures of the artists. You can also paint your own personalized elephant by purchasing the art box set. If you’ve got the talent and finesse, submit your entries to enter the best-decorated elephant contest! If your elephant is chosen, it will be mass-produced and you too, can get instantly famous! (Who knows you may emerge victorious out of the hundreds of hopefuls?)

All the 162 elephants will be displayed in The Singapore Botanical Gardens from 8-11 January 2012. Entrance would be free of charge, so hop on and join the herd!

Hairloom and Caramel

Tired of the same boring café setting that has chestnut brown tables, audible churning sound of the coffee machine and hellishly long queues that frustrates you? There is in fact, a quiet place to just enjoy a cuppa or a palatable plate of comfort food – Hairloom and Caramel.

Left: Carrot Cake, Right (Clockwise from left) Ham and Cheese Baked Penne, Salmon Spaghetti in Pink Sauce, Black pepper smoked duck Sandwich with Dijon Mustard.

Mind you, Caramel is NOT just a café; it has an adjoining salon and a small space that sells the owner’s very own art creations and some other vintage trinkets (Handmade cards and notebooks, vintage glass and tea set and handbags). The place itself is pretty hard to locate as it is hidden in the Beach Rd precinct – a place where youngsters rarely go. The western food that they offer is by far the most delectable and affordable (considering that GST is waived, while service is charged at 5% and that the most expensive main course is $14.50).

It has been quite a while since I have known this place where I spent most of my fondest memories. The birdcage, the greens, a replica of the flamingo and the Victorian designed chair is placed as the window display that creates a homey feeling to it all. Inside, the exquisite tables, chairs, retro sofas, old school portraits, the airplanes and birds that are suspended from the ceiling bring back memories of an unforgettable childhood. For me, it was the place where I used to celebrate my birthdays, my bad days, my good days and other momentous events.

The food is served on colourful vintage porcelain plates and bowls that add a unique touch to the whole dining experience. Not mentioning the cakes that are hard to resist especially when you are sitting near the glass refrigerator. If you can’t get enough of the place, you could probably mingle around the shelves to get some antique finds from the 80s. Otherwise, Hairloom, led by Elle magazine well-known hairdresser, Calvin, can impress you with one of his highly acclaimed cutting techniques. On rainy days, it would be perfect to tuck yourself in with a book on the sofa, clearly, the owner would not mind.

Unfortunately, they have closed their doors on the 5th November 2011. If you still yearn for their food and cakes however, you can still drop them an email for private orders and catering. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, it would still be the place that makes the whole dining and shopping experience worthwhile. There is another way to preserve the place though an intervention, aye? :D

 For Catering and Cake Orders:

http://ifeellikebaking.blogspot.com/