This store at the Kapo Factory Building in the Tai Seng district is all about showcasing local talent. Co-founders Goh Zhong Ming and Debbie Lee started Open Door as an offshoot of Konstrukt Laboratories, their silkscreen printing business which produces for a host of local brands and retailers. The focus and expertise here, aptly, is on printed matter: there are lots of T-shirts, apparel and art prints. But you’ll also find a range of zines, posters, totes and ceramics. Besides the focus on showcasing Singaporeans’ works, Goh describes his general approach to curation as undiscriminating.

For the founders, it is about the need for a space where customers can physically view and interact with the works of local artists and creatives. As opposed to, say, flat images on an online shop. There’s a scrappy DIY spirit at play here too. Most of the furniture at Open Door is built by hand by the owners. The highlights are the delightfully old-school mama shop storefront kiosks, which are also decorated with snacks, drinks, toys and knick-knacks that Goh sources from actual mama shops in his neighbourhood.

#01-16 Kapo Factory Building, 80 Playfair Road

Everton Park has long been a hotbed of cool. The new kid on the block is Around Gallery, founded by illustrators and designers Angeline Toh and Cheryl Kook as both a retail and gallery space to showcase creations by artists from across the world.

The curation is colourful and fun, leaning towards a penchant for Japanese anime and digital illustration styles. There are works by local and international artists, the latter of which Toh and Kook source from their travels to overseas art fairs and shows. There’s a strong selection of risograph works, and also collectibles like sticker sets, keychains, clips and washi tape that have a joyful bric-a-brac feel. It’s akin to what you’d find at art market events – but with a more curated eye and the upside of being readily available.

Around also hosts themed pop-ups – there’s been a show on risograph prints about space, a summer fever selection, and one with textile studio Yabai Yabai. The works move fast – so run, don’t walk.

#01-73, 3 Everton Park

In the back of multi-label boutique Nana & Bird, three brands have taken up residence for a year: Aaah House by cool designer couple Ella Zheng and Ryan Len, interior design shop Studio Yono by Kaia Nelk, and the jewellery label Trigger Happy by Zheng.

Though officially unnamed, this triumvirate brings together a kindred approach to art and design in Singapore. Studio Yono, which brings in affordable, mid-range European designer homeware that isn’t carried anywhere else in Singapore, came out of Nelk’s experience relocating here from the Netherlands and finding a dearth of such decorating options.

As for Zheng and Len, the desire to open and run a store had been on their minds for years. See Aaah House (named, according to Len, because of an earlier idea to open a store from their home) as an extension of their fun and quirky design sensibilities. There’s an in-house line dubbed Aaah Haus which does humorously cynical, remixes on everyday objects, as well as creations like zines, ceramics, T-shirts and fragrances from local brands and designers. There’s also Zheng’s jewellery brand Trigger Happy, where she creates intricately realised, one-of-a-kind beaded pieces.

1M Yong Siak Street

This hole-in-the-wall store at Golden Mile Tower is a reflection of founder Fern Lee’s approach to making things: self-taught, unpretentious, and full of curiosity. What used to be a family locksmith shop was transformed into a haven of art, zines, prints and assorted creations by independent artists. There’s a wide-ranging eye here too, with works from both local and international artists that Lee will gladly tell you about.

The vibe at Shrub is supremely relaxed and underground, and the works that Lee stocks tend toward youthful subversion and humour. Keep an eye out on their Instagram as well. There are always events like art shows, DJ sets, and guest curators planned that are as varied as they are interesting.

#01-28 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road