Journey East

One of my favourite furniture shops in the Tan Boon Liat Building!
Journey East’s furniture is a mix of eco-​friendly, industrial, and vintage pieces with Asian accents. We recently bought a TV stand for our living area, and we love it so much that we thought we’d return to see if there are any other pieces that would interest us.
We were in the market for a desk for my office, but this time around we didn’t spot anything in our price range. However, we were thinking of getting a small side table and instead, found these awesome stackable crates by d-​Bohdi (same brand as our TV stand.) They are made of recycled teak and come in various sizes. The sales associate was very helpful in finding the best looking ones and stacking them for us so we could choose what combinations we liked. He also gave us some good tips on how to use them, for example: the large crate is good for magazines while the small crate can be used to serve drinks to guests if we are entertaining.
We ended up getting one each of the small, medium, and large crates. They look really lovely next to our couch! We appreciated how our sales associate and the rest of the staff were very welcoming, and I must admit I am quite smitten with their resident cat Ginger– if you see him wandering around, give him a pat on the head for me, will ya? :)

Singapore is one of the Best Places in the world to buy furniture, especially if you have an eye for South East Asian pieces. Journey East best personifies this by taking reclaimed teak wood from Java (Indonesia) to create beautiful individually crafted furnishings.
I, for one, had an eye on a TV Console hand-​crafted from wood originating from old Javanese fishing boats framed with strong black iron. The fading paint (of varying colours) of the wood just made this piece and others like it, a conversational piece.
The concept of taking wood that is destined to be scrapped or burned, but instead is used as raw material to create simply stunning furnishings is Awe-​inspiring!
What makes Journey East even more attractive for would-​be furniture shoppers is that it is surprisingly affordable. Forget about the ridiculous furniture prices at the Park Mall or the fan-​fare around the newly opened Crate And Barrel in Orchard Gateway. Journey East delivers equivalent furnishings at a fraction of the price. Not to mention, every dollar you spend goes to a local Singaporean business whose business model on Eco-​friendly furniture. This is what Unilocal is all about, after all, supporting local businesses!
Putting aside the Eco-​friendly aspect of Journey East, the d-​Bodhi branded furniture pieces are simply STUNNING!

Eco-​friendly furniture pieces
Starting off as a typical furniture store specialising in teak and Indonesian furniture, Journey East has «evolved» in their words to include sustainable practices. These include refurbishing vintage furniture as well as recycling wood from old buildings, fishing boats and railway sleepers into unique, desirable pieces of art that double as cupboards, benches and more. They also choose their furniture partners who demonstrate fair trade practices and encourage the reduction of carbon production.
Their showroom would make an environmentalist proud. There is a lot of fine craftsmanship on display, each one-​of-​a-​kind piece the result of its recycled use as well as the skill of the craftsman. My favourite is the d-​Bodhi brand, which uses the aforementioned recycled teak, Javanese fishing boats and galvanized iron pipes for a really unique finish and energy.
A friendly resident cat enlivens the surroundings, and does not mind a few pats and cuddles.