There is a distinct weight to an object built before the era of the disposable. It occupies a room differently, offering a stubborn resistance to the churn of modern trends. Finding the surviving examples of this standard—the heavy-gauge hardware, the uncompromising joinery, the glass blown with actual intent—requires a relentless filter. It is a filter maintained by a specific class of editors and makers; people who reject the throwaway nature of modernity and still understand exactly how things were meant to be made.
This April, the Journey East showroom at the Tan Boon Liat Building hands its floor over to a collective of these independent dealers and makers. The Vintage Fair 2026 brings together a group of uncompromising editors of the material world, each operating with a strict set of criteria before bringing their offerings to the floor.
"Failure would mean the entire piece would be effectively destroyed..."
For Rachel and Raga of AltNeu, securing these items often involves calculated logistical challenges. Their recent acquisition, a Post-Modernist Bulb Lamp, highlights the difficulty of transporting significant forms to Singapore intact. "Because so much of the piece was made up of delicate glass, a lot of planning went into ensuring it survived," they note, driven by a refusal to let these pieces be destroyed in transit. "Failure would mean the entire piece would be effectively destroyed and we would be unable to give it the home it deserves."
"I value the balance between...story and sensation."
A few steps away, Imran Ismail of Suma General Store operates as an "urban forager." His curation relies heavily on how an object occupies a room, prioritizing geometry, materiality, and patina. "Collecting is a personal and often quiet act—one that feels close to a form of authorship," he explains. He values the balance between a piece's provenance and its immediate, tactile sensation—the simple form and weight of an item held in the hand. "I value the balance between these two ways of seeing: story and sensation. Collecting does not always have to have a profound ethos."
This demand for structural integrity is just as evident when examining a wardrobe. Farahdian Aziz of Wicked Wants leads a quiet pushback against performative luxury by prioritizing construction over logos. When assessing a vintage designer bag, the focus lands strictly on the seams, the hardware, and the joints. "Some designers were clearly more willing to invest in better design, quality materials, and smarter construction," she observes. She notes that this historical foresight makes repairs possible, giving the leather a new lease on life.
"...these pieces possess a generosity of material that modern counterparts rarely replicate"
Curating jewellery from the 1890s through the 1970s, Jennifer Banse and Precilia Wong of Eye of the Cat x Peony Jade look for a specific physical weight. They frequently observe a visceral reaction from clients experiencing the substantial build of older eras. "What often surprises clients most is the level of craftsmanship and how effortlessly timeless they feel," they note. Pre-dating mass mechanization, these pieces possess a generosity of material that modern counterparts rarely replicate, leaving clients with "a piece with history, character, and the enduring quality to stand the test of time."
The preservation of timepieces requires a different kind of scrutiny. Focused on the watchmaking of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, JY of Herra Vintage views the visual appeal of a vintage Givenchy or Seiko as secondary to its mechanical dependability. "The most difficult part is ensuring that pieces are not only visually well maintained but mechanically dependable after decades of use and storage," she explains. Her operation relies on a strict system of sourcing and internal quality control, ensuring that a forty-year-old movement is genuinely ready for the daily rhythm of a modern wrist.
"The repetition calms my restless mind..."
The makers anchoring the fair operate with a similar reverence for deliberate, manual processes. Wendy Limery of Late For School approaches her crochet work without templates, allowing the form of her utilitarian bags to emerge through a physical, hours-long conversation with the yarn. "The process is inherently repetitive and physically demanding," she shares. "But I return to this method because it grounds me. The repetition calms my restless mind, and counting stitches brings me fully into the present moment."
This insistence on getting the fundamentals right dictates the pace at the espresso bar. Jasmine Kum and Royston Cheong at Pick Me Up Coffee begin every morning by meticulously dialling in the grind. "At a busy event, it's tempting to just go with yesterday's settings, but you can tell when it's off," they explain. "So if it's off, we stop and re-dial. No point serving something we're not happy with."
Further into the space, Bao and GPS from The Amphora Project bring this exact philosophy to the glass. Pouring low-intervention wines from Central Europe, they regularly challenge expectations with unpredictable, small-batch bottles like a Slovenian Gordia Pét-Nat. "We’ve had bottles unexpectedly foam over," they share, noting that once the live, in-bottle fermentation process is explained, drinkers begin to appreciate the wine's raw energy and texture. By the end of a pour, the mindset often shifts entirely—moving from viewing the wine as flawed to recognizing it as fully expressive.
The Vintage Fair 2026
Saturday & Sunday, 11 & 12 April 2026, 12pm – 6pm
Journey East Showroom, Tan Boon Liat Building