Walking on air
The couple who plays together, stays together. It's a mantra that has kept investment consultant Mohamed Rahmed and his girlfriend together for the past three years and counting.
'We are both very sporty,' says Mr Rahmed. 'We play tennis, swim and cycle together.'
From their shared love of sporting activities, he came up with the idea of customising a pair of shoes for their first Valentine's Day together 'because we do a lot of activities together and I wanted a personalised gift for her', he recalls.
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Making use of Adidas' customisation service - called mi adidas - Mr Rahmed managed to surprise his girlfriend with a pair of tennis shoes in her favourite light purple colour.
'I also made them stitch our names on the shoes - her name on one side and my name on the other,' he reveals with a laugh. 'I know it sounds a bit cheesy but I think it was quite sweet and she was pleasantly surprised!'
He and his girlfriend usually eschew the Valentine's day given of dinner, flowers and chocolates because vendors and retailers tend to jack up prices too much.
'We feel that it is an exploitation of consumers,' he concludes. 'I'd rather do something special with my own bare hands and pass it to her because it is more meaningful and comes from the heart. She appreciates something like that more than me spending a lot of money on flowers.'
Recreate this gift
The mi (my individual) adidas service lets consumers personalise their shoes in four key sports categories: football, running, tennis and basketball. It is available by appointment only at the adidas Sports Performance Concept Stores at The Cathay (Tel: 6887-5632) and costs from $159 for a pair of mi Pro Model basketball shoes to $379 for a pair of mi Predator X football shoes. Delivery takes approximately three weeks.
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For those looking for casual options Timberland offers the BYOH (Build Your Own Handsewn) service where men and women can customise moccasins. Prices range from $229 to $339. The service is available at Raffles City's Timberland outlet (#01-30) and takes about three to four weeks.
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Alternatively, the Tod's Pashmy Stripe bag for men ($1,580 for a travel bag and $1,150 for a shopping bag) can also be customised in terms of shape, base material and colour for those who prefer bags to shoes.
Patience above all
Patience has never been Nickson Cheng's virtue, but one look at the bottle of 1,000 paper cranes that he had painstakingly folded for a girlfriend makes you think otherwise.
'It was for Valentine's Day many years ago,' says the director of Lingua Tech.
'I had already bought her all that I thought that she wanted so I was really cracking my brain over what present to get her. I was looking around for ideas and I ended up with this romantic notion of folding 1,000 tiny paper cranes. I didn't want to make the big ones because they were too easy.'
The cranes, reveals Mr Cheng, were made out of tiny pieces of origami paper in a variety of colours, each colour representing a different aspect of Mr Cheng's life and personality because 'I wanted to show her that my love was all encompassing,' he says.
The project took him at least a month and many sleepless nights to complete.
'I first had to practice making the cranes with big pieces of paper, before progressing to the small ones that I wanted to use. It took a lot of effort because guys don't have tiny fingers so the small cranes really tested my patience,' he recalls. 'Now that I think back, it sounds a bit silly, but at that time I thought it was really romantic.'
It all paid off: his surprised girlfriend was really impressed by the thoughtful gesture. 'She was very touched because she was expecting me to just buy something as I'm neither a patient nor artistically inclined person,' says Mr Cheng. 'I've tried making other things, but this was one present that I will remember forever.'
Recreate this gift
www.origami-fun.com/origami-crane.html gives crane folding instructions. Origami paper is readily available at bookstores and artshops islandwide although a good place to start would be Daiso (Plaza Singapura) that sells it at $2 for a pack of 56 sheets.
Letters from abroad
Some years ago, when Avalyn Lim was on an exchange programme in Canada, she was torn as to what to give her then-boyfriend (now-husband)who was thousands of miles away in Singapore.
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Mood Boost Box, with L'Occitane Relaxing Candle made with essential oils of lavender, tea tree and geranium, L'Occitane Lavender Incense Sticks, Gamma Meditation System CD developed by Dr Jeffrey Thompson, an expert in sound healing, Clipper Organic Detox Tea and HealthyMate Organic Apple Cider. Retail price: $130. From www.gardenpixies.com
'I had no idea what to get him and Valentine's Day was coming up,' recalls Ms Lim, a director of skincare label Skin Inc.
'And then a friend of mine suggested that I put things together that will remind him of me. I sent over a care package comprising of pictures, a jigsaw puzzle card, a maple leaf and maple syrup so that he could share in my Canadian experience.
'It really had special meaning because I was so far away. It was the first and only time that we had spent so much time apart.'
She adds that the present was really memorable because they are a very practical couple, presents-wise.
'He once bought me a set of tables,' she laughs. 'We're not really for romantic presents so I guess this really stood out.'
Recreate this gift
Online florist Garden Pixies (www.gardenpixies.com) has just launched a gift concierge service where bespoke packages can be created for your loved ones. Prices for the Fleuriage service start from only $30 plus the cost of item.
Touch the heart
While training as a watch expert with Antiquorum - the world's biggest watch auction house in Switzerland - three years ago, Dominic Khoo had the opportunity to visit a plethora of watch factories and saw first hand, how a number of watch houses could customise watches for their customers.
'There are many ways you can customise a watch,' says Mr Khoo. 'You can engrave on the watch, customise the dial or you can even enamel a picture onto the back of a watch.'
Inspired by his experience, Mr Khoo borrowed the equipment from one of the watch houses to customise a series of swirls in a shape of a heart on a base plate of a watch (without the watch) as a gift.
'The base plate to me, is all the way inside a watch and is the hardest place to reach. It is the most guarded area of a watch, which to me represented a place where romance should be,' explains Mr Khoo on his choice of present.
A present like this, he says, is special because it comes from deep within.
'It's not really about the money,' he insists. 'It's about the effort that goes into making something like that and the fact that you can't get it anywhere else. Even if it wasn't as well made as what a professional watchmaker would have done, there can be beauty in imperfection. And as long as the person realises that, I think it's good enough.'
Recreate this gift
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Without the requisite facilities it isn't easy to customise the base plate of a watch by yourself. However, there are other watch customising services available. Jaeger Le-Coultre for example, offers an enamelling service that allows customers to choose a picture to be enamelled onto the back of its Reverso watches. Price upon request.
Scent of love
Sharon Mendoza likes to give her husband personalised gifts. So when she passed by Skin Pharmacy a few weeks ago and found out that she could customise soaps, she immediately made a special Valentine's Day order for her husband.
'I approached the staff in the shop and asked if they could blend my husband's favourite cologne, CK one, into a natural shower gel and they said that it was possible,' says the production supervisor. 'I came back two days later, brought along the perfume and in about 10 minutes it was done. They even made it in his favourite blue colour.'
She feels particularly pleased about her gift choice not simply because it is unique but also because it is a thoughtful one.
'My husband can't buy fragranced soaps off the rack as he has sensitive skin but because this is a shower gel using natural ingredients, adding his favourite scent into it gives him the best of both worlds.'
Recreate this gift
Skin Pharmacy (#01-22 City Square Mall) can customise shower gels from $15.90 for 230ml and $22.90 for 360ml and an extra $2 to $5 to add a colour and/or fragrance.
Lemongrass House (#B2-14, 313@Somerset) can similarly custom make any range of products including soaps, body scrubs, body masks, massage oils and even milk baths. For orders please visit the shop or contact Sarafina Pavia Tel: 6834-4797.
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This article was first published in The Business Times.
