Shop Stop: Things to Make and Do

We found our happy place in Bangkok and it's Things to Make and Do. Long time fans of their Instagram page, this store was on our must-finally-visit list while we were in town. Located a distance away from the city centre, it is recommended to set off early, around 10 or 11, to avoid any rush hour traffic.

Find many European designs for clean and minimalistic home goods here, mostly from Norway and Sweden. The products have a recurring theme of blacks, whites, wood, with an intermingling of some greys and graphic patterns. This very photogenic shop featuring many online favourites which you will be able to get your hands on. We spent quite abit of time here looking through every shelf and wall of pretty items, but I mean how often do we find ourselves in Bangkok. 

The store is just slightly over 2 years old and has a massive online following on both Facebook and Instagram.. undoubtedly from their daily postings of items everyone would want in their homes. 

Things to Make and Do is located at The Bloc, surrounded by an ice cream shop, cafe and restaurant - perfect location to shop and eat till your hearts (and tummy's) content. The store features a collection of items she personally enjoys.

.. Things to Make and Do 

Mama shelter Paris

How do you find a great place to stay in a great city like Paris? Word of mouth? That's how we'll do it. Our friend Anouk was in Paris last month for Playtime Paris and by the sounds of it, Mama Shelter is a good idea for place to rest your head after a day of travel. Just by the looks of it, we are pretty impressed! 

With a restaurant, shop and this guide to Paris, Mama is doing their patrons right. What can we say, Mama knows best.

Hop over to see the rest of the Paris hotspots to visit when you're in a time crunch..

Images via Mama Shelter

.. Mama Shelter
.. Anouk's Paris Hotspots to visit

Visit Taipei: The Town Crier

Our Taipei correspondent does it again! Adinda from Wolvestable always sends us the most beautiful images of spots of her current hometown and keeps us updated with the recent on goings over there. Keep reading as she introduces us to The Town Crier, the new kid in town.

Walking into The Town Crier makes you feel like you stepped into an old Western postoffice from a cowboy movie with Clint Eastwood, well at least that's how I experienced my first visit to this gem of a store.

The Town Crier is a recently opened shop in Taipei filled with lifestyle brands, all of them personally selected and personally visited by the two owners. That's right, the owners traveled all the way to the hometown's of the makers behind the products; from the US, several places in Europe till several cities in Asia. They wanted to meet the makers and see the factory or workplaces and hear the stories behind the brands. This results in me listening to many stories of products I found interesting in the store, which made the product even more desirable. - Adinda

The Town Crier is a real gem if you're looking for original gifts or (in my case) beautiful props. I found the most amazing cutlery, handmade by a young Japanese artist from Tokyo. Be warned if you're heading over to the store though, you might spend an hour or so talking to the friendly owner while listening to all the fascinating stories behind all his brands.

The Town Crier
No. 7, Lane 76, Siwei Road
Da’an District, Taipei City, 106 

.. Wolvestable

Hit the Sack: Tenface Bangkok

Continuing on from our post about our 24 hours in Bangkok .. After hearing many rave reviews about Tenface we decided to go ahead and book our accommodations.. we were definitely not disappointed. Friendly staff, clean hotel.. it had a really quirky vibe with hanging decor and animals along the hallways. 

The hotel has a lot of facilities for guests who like to spend their time lounging in the hotel.. you can use the gym, pool, there's even a bar area. It's not a big hotel but it's nice and cosy, perfect for travellers who appreciate design and for people looking for accommodation during a short stay.

You enter the hotel through the basement and have to take a lift to the first floor where you can check-it. It is the same floor where you can find all the amenities and it's also where you go in the morning for breakfast. Everything you need can be found on this floor of the hotel, which makes it incredibly convenient.

Tenface is located a distance away from the main road. You have to drive or walk a short distance through a back alley to get to the hotel, but the walk is an enjoyable one as you will pass restaurants and a gallery that had illustrations on its facade. Pretty interesting sights to stroll pass on your way back. Though the alley does get kind of dark in the night and we would suggest walking in pairs or taking transport back. Tuk tuk is always a great option - fast and affordable!

.. Tenface

24 hours in Bangkok

Recently Mei and Zara from the Bloesem Team headed to Bangkok for a super short trip and here's what they got up to.. there's so many things to do and see in Bangkok and so many must-do and must-visit places and things but here's what they got up to with just 24 hours to spare in the beautiful city of Bangkok.

9 AM - Wakey wakey

We spent the night at Tenface hotel. Beautiful interiors, friendly and helpful staff. You could not ask for more. Only thing is that if you plan on walking back to the hotel, it is abit away from the main road and gets pretty dark at night. Other than that, we had a perfect stay.

Head to the breakfast buffet to enjoy a continental breakfast, fill your tummies for a packed day ahead.

11.30 AM - Head to The Bloc

The Bloc is located more towards the suburbs so taxis and hotel staff would suggest you to head over early in the day rather than in the evening to avoid peak hour traffic. The Bloc is an isolated area with stores and cafes set in freight containers. You can find our favourite store (great for instagramming) Things to Make and Do there, as well as Simple Day Cafe, Think Cafe and a restaurant which we personally were to stuffed with sweet treats to try. 

We will do another post with more details of what we ate and our reviews on them. (You've got to stay tuned!)

3 PM - Head back to the City

Grab a taxi on the main road and head back to the city. You can either take a cab all the way to your next location or simply take a taxi to the nearest BTS stop (their train system)...

5.30 PM - Make your way to Karmakamet Secret World

Definitely Mei's favourite place we visited, the place is filled with essential oils, candles, fragrances and other heavenly smelling things.. which comes to Zara's favourite part - the food (we'll share more about that in the following post). Breath-taking location, and just an overall great experience.

Have your dinner and dessert there, then spend some time walking around and perusing their products.

9 PM - Home sweet home

For us, we had to head to the airport really early so it was time to head back and pack up but we're sure there's much more to do at night in Bangkok too!

We have so much more to share about the trip so we'll be back soon with photos and all the deets of each spot we visited and the good and the bad of our time there. It was a really quick trip but Mei and I definitely enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. People there are so friendly and will give you a hand whenever you need.. there might be some language barrier but that's easily overcome when everyone is patience and nice.

Be back soon with more! - Zara

.. More shots from the trip on Mei and Zara's instagram

Trisha Travels: Around Berlin

Don't you like reading city guides? For us, city guides are a joy to flip through because even if it were a guide to a city we have lived in, we love seeing it from a different perspective and seeing how other people, whether tourists or locals, see the city. Here we have Trisha Toh, who hails from Malaysia, sharing with us a few spots she visited while she traveled around Europe.

Along with the two other cities Trisha visited, Berlin was another must-visit. We're sure this will whet your appetite for the city of Berlin. The next step is to book your tickets there but of course there is plenty of time for that after your go through the city guide. We are awestruck by the architecture, the cafes, the culture and of course much more that the city has to offer. 

Follow along with Trisha's European journey in the Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue". 

To read the other city guides in this series: London & Barcelona

More places you should visit while in Berlin after the cut..

Craving Caffeine  

Zeit fur Brot

There seems to be a revival of ordering sweet pastries when having coffee in Berlin and this place tops the chart for unbeatable cinnamon buns. Baked fresh daily, they come in different seasonal flavours such as almond-marzipan, cherry, walnut-maple, poppyseed, chocolate and white chocolate just to name a few. 

Alte Schönhauser Straße 4

The Barn Roastery 

Once made headlines for enforcing a ban on baby strollers, milk in coffee and sugar, The Barn is no ordinary café. With a strict passion for good coffee, this is one of Berlin’s best places to learn and taste amazing coffee.

Schönhauser Allee 8

Westberlin

Quietly situated right around the corner of Checkpoint Charlie, westberlin is a great place to run from tourists hogging up the streets of Friedrichstraße. Loved by locals for years, the café offers a beautiful setting for work and casual meet-ups over a good cup of coffee and independent magazines from around the world.

Friedrichstraße 215

Suicide Sue

In the northern part of Prenzlauer Berg lays a quaint little café with a moniker of a (fictional) fearsome Asian assassin who turned her hand to baking biscuits and making open-faced sandwiches, making Suicide Sue highly favourable during breakfast and lunch times. True story.

Dunckerstraße 2

Roamers

This timber and succulent-filled café draws customers from all over the city who come for comfort food basics lovingly prepared by truly attentive owners with a penchant for wholesome, balanced living. When it’s available, their homemade carrot cake is worth the calories.

Pannierstrasse 64

 Arts & Culture 

Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum

The University Library of Humboldt-Universität was designed by Berlin-based Swiss architect, Max Dudler. Inside, visitors will encounter a big reading hall which is illuminated by natural roof light and contains green desks and lamps with stone covers for 250 people.

Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 3

Tempodrom

A cultural and visionary arena that was once a small circus tent is one of Berlin’s most remarkable constructions of recent years.

Möckernstraße 10

Berlin Tempelhof Airport

The former Tempelhof airport is now a public park, much to the delight of the people of Berlin. Today, the area is used for various activities by families and visitors.

Shop Stops 

Silo Store

A concept store offering design products that are made by various designers in Spain.

Senefelderstraße 33

Paper & Tea

P & T is a specialty tea company founded in Berlin. It offers a multi-sensory experience in which customers can see, smell and taste dozens of varieties arranged in little bowls at the sleek and minimalistic gallery.

Alte Schönhauser Straße 50

Gestalten Space

Berlin’s leading design and architecture publisher has a flagship store offering the imprint’s own publications along with a well curated selection of book titles, toys and products by designer and artists around the world.

Sophienstraße 21

Festivals and Festivities

Fête de la Musique

Berliners celebrate the beginning of summer with an open air music festival originally founded in France. It is celebrated every year on the 21st of June.

Festival of Lights

Every year, Berlin’s world famous landmarks in the city centre become the canvas for spectacular light and video projections for a number of days. Art functions and events will also take place during the Festival.

Images courtesy of Trisha Toh.

.. Trisha Toh
.. Read the Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue"