Three stalls run by youth entrepreneurs to check out at Artbox 2018
Many youths are flocking to the annual pop-up creative market to sell their goods, and here are a few you definitely shouldn't miss.
Artbox Singapore is back for its second run. Originating from Thailand, this 140,000 square foot pop-up creative market will be held at the Bayfront Event Space at Marina Bay spanning two weekends (May 25-27 and June 1-3).
90,000 thousand square feet larger than last year and with a plethora of about 400 food and retail stalls from here and abroad, you can expect many more Insta-worthy spots, cute trinkets and interesting food creations (if you can stand the heat and the crowd).
Here are three stalls run by local youth entrepreneurs that you should check out while you’re there:
1. Hush Candle
At Hush Candle, their emphasis is on creating an affordable product that does not compromise on quality. In fact, founders Nicole Su, 29, and Chelsea Low, 26, make all the candles at Chelsea’s house using natural soy wax and therapeutic grade essential oils.
Their business first began during the Christmas of 2014, when Chelsea gave her friend and business partner Nicole a handmade scented candle. Through that gift, Nicole got the idea of making a business out of selling candles.
Chelsea said: “We had been doing events management previously, but we realised it wasn’t really meant for us. So we were looking for a different business to do.”
With no background in aromatherapy, they had to take casual classes on it and do a lot of research. Realising that the market lacked high quality, natural and affordable candles, Chelsea and Nicole sought to bring these qualities to the table through Hush Candle.
Besides their candles, they will also be selling their essential oil roll-ons at Artbox, a line they recently launched in May.
2. Cakerholic
From Koko Krunch to Coconut Passionfruit flavoured cakes, Cakerholic’s boss Heidi Tay, 25, sure does let her creativity run wild when she bakes.
After graduating from university, Heidi started selling cakes online and eventually landed herself a job as a baking instructor at Baker’s Brew.
Two years later, she had learnt how to manage a business and took the opportunity to open up her own shop and be her own boss.
For Artbox this year, Heidi won’t be selling cakes, but rather her more adventurous creations, such as the ‘Bomb’, which is a cross between a doughnut and a cake.
“In a festival, you won’t really think of eating cakes. So it has to be bite-sized and interesting,” she shared.
What started out as a fun project soon became a business for 27-year-old fresh graduate Zac Chua.
Zac’s popcorn venture started while he was still studying business management in Singapore Management University. He and his friends crashed a tech event at his school and gave out popcorn samples and name cards.
Soon, the number of orders grew and they started making enough money to grow the business.
At present, The Kettle Gourmet bakes and distributes gourmet popcorn with localised flavours. Zac proudly described his brand as “more atas” (high class) supermarket snacks.
For this year’s Artbox, The Kettle Gourmet intends to go all out; Get ready to see local flavours such as bak kwa, chicken rice and teh tarik, on top of their core flavours like salted caramel.
