A small mystery in Singapore sent my print-mad heart on an Asian odyssey
Singapore
Residents and occasional visitors to the microstate might recall our little bureau/boutique/café operation in a modernist townhouse in Chip Bee Gardens. As far-flung outposts go, it still ranks as the best set-up we’ve ever had – solid, low-rise architecture, tonnes of greenery and a functional upstairs-downstairs division between editorial functions, retail and coffees on the front terrace. While in Singapore last week, I did a little spin around to see how the neighbourhood has developed since we left and was looking forward to visiting nearby Thambi’s to pick up some mags and papers. I asked the driver to pull up around the corner and grab a coffee while I toured Holland Village. As I rounded the food hall, I momentarily thought that I’d lost my bearings. Where was the Thambi awning? Was it one street over? Had they relocated to the fancy new Sekisui House development? This was definitely where I had last left it a few years ago and yet it had vanished.
I did a quick search on my phone to see where they’d moved and was greeted by an alarming story from 2024 about the Thambi Magazine Store shuttering after 80 years in business. How could it be? Where were Singaporeans and expats going to buy their FT Weekend, Le Monde diplomatique and sunburnt copies of Die Zeit? I returned to the car a bit deflated. I guess there’s always Books Kinokuniya for magazines and a clutch of specialist shops but Thambi’s was a proper little institution. Japan’s new PM is advocating for support to preserve local bookshops. Could it be time for magazine stores in Singapore and elsewhere to be granted some form of cultural protection and support? I say yes.
Hong Kong
Repulse Bay is one of those little enclaves where I like to play the “could I live here?” game. If you’ve not been to the other side of Hong Kong Island, Repulse Bay is a well-heeled community of villas and high-rises, beachy cafés and leathery locals living the good life on the South China Sea. I ventured over last Saturday morning to check on developments at The Repulse Bay Arcade – a vaguely colonial-inspired, open-air shopping and dining project. Set in a larger complex run by the Kadoorie family (owners of The Peninsula Hotels), the arcade is going through an overhaul that is turning it into a new destination for brands that want Hong Kong’s deep pockets mixed with sunshine and tropical breezes. While Curry Up and Human Made have landed from Tokyo, the management has thankfully kept Bookazine as an essential part of the local mix. I was happy to see a full line-up of our titles on display and residents lined up to buy their WSJ and SCMP. Maybe Bookazine needs to open a branch in Singapore’s Holland Village?
Tokyo
Magazine House does exactly what it says on the label – they make magazines. Very, very good magazines. Perhaps the best collection of titles in the world: Popeye, Brutus, Casa Brutus, Premium, Hanako and many more. The Japanese publisher is celebrating its 80th anniversary and just wrapped an exhibition in Tokyo’s Ginza district that mixed an amazing display of covers, a huge selection of back issues for purchase and lots of additional merch to mark the occasion. Just as Condé Nast and Hearst can be credited with defining a certain aesthetic in their fashion titles and championing journalism in their golden years, Magazine House has played a similar role on this side of the Pacific. If there’s one media player that keeps me on my toes and never ceases to inspire, it’s the talented crew of editors at this Tokyo publishing powerhouse. Congratulations from your fans at Monocle!
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