At Tiong Bahru Market, A Shop For The Analog-Obsessed

Tiong Bahru market is known for its famous food and flower stalls, but a new entrant might be changing things up. Make your way to the ground floor and head to the side facing the residential blocks on Lim Liak Street and you’ll find Sideway, a select store opening this weekend that promises to be a little haven for craft lovers.

Given that it’s started by two potters - Yasha Lai, 26, and Keneth Tan, 32 - it’s not hard to see why they desired a physical space of their own to showcase their works; pottery is after all a medium best discovered in person.

Sideway is tiny at approximately 96 sq ft, but it’s big on heart. Here, you’ll find pieces by over a dozen makers from Singapore and all over the world, including emerging ceramic artist Hans Chew, indie local publication Mynah Magazine, Japanese jewellery label Barie, Yunnan-based textile dyer Ting Wang, and more; all people whose work they love and admire.

The shop joins a small but growing number of independent stores popping up at quotidian areas that aren’t your usual suspects like Haji Lane or the Orchard Road shopping belt, such as picture book shop Eliko at Chinatown Complex, and pottery space Studio S.F., located in a Bedok South void deck.

It was an intentional choice, says Lai, inspired by a friend who opened up Luli Roasts (a small coffee roastery) within Toa Payoh Lorong 1 wet market. “I didn’t realise you could create such (lifestyle) shops within an everyday space like a wet market, and it was so inspiring because we like the idea of having crafted things in places that people visit on a daily basis; it’s far more accessible than say, a gallery.”

The wet market location also means rent - a perpetual Damocles sword looming over most Singapore businesses’ heads - isn’t as soul-crushing as it usually is, and that the duo can keep things reasonably priced.

For instance, things start from $3 for bookmarks, and most items, including delicate brass jewellery, miniature paintings and functional ceramic tableware, ring in at well under $100. It makes the idea of owning something handmade feel like a reality, rather than a distant luxury.

Add their charming “Lost and Found” corner (which features items picked up during their travels), and the whole air is rather reminiscent of Japan’s zakka shops - a term that roughly translates to “miscellaneous things” and generally refer to a variety of lifestyle objects that delight the senses, be it through their careful selection, design, or careful crafting, and that which elevate one’s home, life, or outlook.

Currently, Lai and Tan intend to only open Sideway on the weekends; both hold day jobs as an office worker and potter respectively. For them, they see Sideway as more of an experimental platform to showcase a variety of crafts, especially to a wider audience beyond just those in the pottery scene or creative circles. But it’s not hard to imagine that their gamble will take off; after all, there’s been a clear and growing hunger for all things analogue.

“It’s very important to reach out to more people, as most might never have held a handmade pot before. I’m not saying that, for example, buying a $2 bowl from Daiso is bad, but if you have a piece made by a person (instead of being mass manufactured), it feels quite different. I’ve used a mug that I bought from an artist for two years now, and I still use it every day,” says Tan. If you’re looking for a reason to get off your screen and touch some grass (or in this case, clay), this little market stall is probably the best place to start.

Sideway opens January 3, 2pm - 6pm, and every weekend onwards from 11am - 4pm. It’s located at #01-85 Tiong Bahru Market, 30 Seng Poh Road