Shiva Designs

Rima Srivastava first opened her homeware shop in the Canterbury suburb of Melbourne, where she would track down emerging designers like Samantha Robinson and Sharon Meur to stock in her store. Her husband's overseas posting to Singapore put an end to that chapter, but she is now back in the game here in the Little Red Dot.

‘I could go retail [set up a physical store], but I don’t want to do that,' says the effervescent Srivastava, a Bombay-born Australian designer herself, who now sells from an apartment with a gorgeous view of downtown Singapore. 'I like the experience of having people over, having a chat over coffee in my living room and making a friend. I think Singapore’s ready for shopping in a place like mine, and I haven’t found it hard.’

She still travels frequently to Australia and India to seek out new designers, though she is also approached directly by other suppliers. ‘I still love the thrill of finding a designer myself,’ she says, as she tells us the stories behind the porcelain rings with intricate illustrations by Melbourne’s Angus and Celeste, Bonny & Neil fabrics, as well as the acid-hued eel-skin clutches by Sydney-based Prattan, and the cuffs, clutches and cushions she designed for her Shiva Designs Bespoke label.

When asked whether she feels safe about having random strangers over at her house to shop, Srivastava says, ‘This is the only city in the world I can imagine opening this kind of store in – it’s so multi-cultural and safe. I love it!’ Natasha Hong