Cool shops in Kemang: Jakarta, Indonesia

By Wombat | August 15th, 2006 | 3 Comments »

Looking for hip clothes from the U.K, Japan, Italy, the U.S or Australia? Where can you buy Turkish ceramics? Or Indian souvenirs? They all can be found in Kemang, South Jakarta — so let’s go on a tour:

Little India

With Indian pop music blaring, a warm welcome and shelves well stocked with colorful merchandise in various sizes and shapes — you would be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere in India. Little India offers a wide variety of merchandise from India, like CDs, sandals, glassware with brass embedding, jewelry, perfume, bedcovers — you name it. A by-appointment-only Indian tattoo service is also available. However, foodstuff is not on offer. Interestingly, Indonesians make up 95 percent of its customers.

The goods come from various parts of India. Silver comes from Jaypur, while pashmina shawls are imported all the way from Kashmir. Jazz up your wardrobe with beautiful pashmina shawls (between Rp 700,000 and Rp 1 million). Make the trip over to Little India’s sister shop in Kemang “Kashmir Galleria” for a wider selection of pashmina.
Viscose shawls start from Rp 30,000.

Be dazzled by the colorful clothing section — among the offers are Indian lucknowie (from Rp 325,000 to Rp 550,000), kurti, choli as well as ready-to-wear saris from Benares. As for the price, a pretty, purple embroidered skirt goes for Rp 175,000, while an Indian bridal dress with intricate embroidery costs Rp 2 million. Boho girls should also check out their groovy long skirts.

Little India is an Aladdin’s cave for those who love everything Indian: massage oils, herbal soaps, Rajasthani dolls, colorful Indian ribbons for your clothes, wooden figurines, handmade ornaments, patchwork cushion covers — you name it.

Istanbul Ceramics Gallery & Turkish Tea House

This shop is a feast for the eyes with vibrant, colorful and distinctively beautiful hand-painted Turkish ceramics on display, which come in a wide range of colors and designs. Many of the goods on offer are Turkish ceramics based on traditional Ottoman designs and patterns, such as tulips. Although popularized by Holland, actually tulips arrived in the Netherlands from Turkey.

Geometric decorations, Islamic inscriptions, floral motifs, animal and human figures are also painted beautifully on the ceramics. The merchandise are imported from Kutahya in Turkey. Kutahya has been renowned for the art of ceramics since the 15th century. The ceramic plates range in price from Rp 80,000 to Rp 1.3 million.

When you find something that you love, buy it right away. They only make one piece for each design — sorry no copies. Anggraeni Nugroho, the owner, guarantees that you will not find any identical twin of each item. And, you can design your own ceramics too.

In addition to ceramic plates, the shop also sells ceramic clocks, tiles (including customized tiles), silk prayer rugs (from Rp 375,000 to Rp 750,000) as well as Turkish bookmarks (Rp 20,000) among other goods. Ceramic vases also join the ranks — a beautiful blue-and-white vase goes for Rp 400,000.

This small shop-cum-tea house offers Turkish coffee as well as Turkish tea. A cup of coffee is Rp 12,000 and tea costs Rp 10,000 per Turkish teapot. Any question about Turkish art or the language? The owners will answer your questions happily — and that is the icing on the cake, learning by shopping!

Pour Le Mieux

The young and fashionable should drop by this small yet stylish boutique, where they can find groovy clubbing tops, shorts, cocktail dresses, shoes and accessories.

“We are the first and only Japanese fashion retailer from Japan and every month we have new arrivals,” says Yuki Dehira, the marketing director of Pour Le Mieux or “For the Best” in English.

Trans-career fashion brands from Japan, like Lui Chantant, are also on offer — ranging from formal to casual, from stylish jackets to cute tops. Trans-career, chic clothes for working women, is the specialty of Pour Le Mieux — they are rather formal yet groovy enough to wear when you hit the club in the evening. Most Trans-career items go for between Rp 800,000 and Rp 2 million.

Indonesian working women are its main customers — yet goods for younger girls, like cute tops and shorts from Show Me Love, are also available (Rp 500,000 per item is about average).

Samantha Thavasa bags (between Rp 1 million and Rp 3 million) are favorites too. The Japan-based company recruits celebrities like Nicky Hilton and Victoria Beckham as their models-cum-bag designers.

The boutique carries 42 brands in total, sourced from Japan and U.S, such as Premiere, Chiyuki and Red Pepper. Starting August, Karl Lagerfeld will join the ranks as well.

The average price for skirts at Pour Le Mieux is between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1.5 million while tops are mostly priced between 300,000 and Rp 1.2 million.

“With customer’s interest in mind, we are aiming to lower the price of our merchandise in the future. If our business does well, we can purchase more goods, so the prices can be reduced,” says Dehira. This is, of course good news for shopaholics — fingers crossed!

Sevenohseven

The ultra-trendy 707, one of the hippest urban boutiques in Jakarta, offers an eclectic mix of fashionable imported items, mainly from the U.K, Australia, the United States and Italy. 707 is the right spot to get goods from the coolest brands and limited edition items that you won’t or rarely see anywhere else.

Rogan NYC, Surface 2 Air, Maharishi, YMC (You Must Create), Edun and Adidas are among the brands on offer. In order to keep things exclusive, each model comes in limited quantities (usually two or three items only — five at the maximum). Cool T-shirts are priced from Rp 300,000. Trovata, a favorite brand, is priced from Rp 595,000 (for T-shirts) to Rp 4.1 million (for a coat). 707 also offer snow pants from Maharishi, starting at Rp 1.36 million.

Rare and limited edition footwear is also on display. Puma Special Edition by Alexander McQueen is priced from Rp 2.4 million to Rp 2.8 million. Oh-so-cute ballet flats from French Sole go for Rp 990,000.

Pop into the small pink room behind the glass wall — it’s the girl’s section. Need a fashion fix? Groovy Trovata T-shirts (Rp 595,000), Super Fine skinny jeans for super skinny fashionista, hip jackets, fashionable bags, accessories — the choice is yours. Check out the cool and sexy lingerie collection from Italy, France and the U.S, priced between Rp 170,000 and Rp 830,000.

Be tempted by the colorful toys and collectible items on display — they are so cute, especially the little Mongers which are Rp 55,000 each.

Happy shopping!

Addresses:

Little India
Plaza Adorama 3rd floor # 301
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 17
Tel: (62 21) 718 1113 Fax: (62 21) 719 1114
www.littleindia-jkt.com

Kashmir Galleria
Kemang Duty Free
Jl. Bangka Raya No. 8A, Kemang
Tel / fax: (62 21) 7179 1253
www.kashmirgalleria.com

Istanbul Ceramics Gallery and Tea House
Jl. Kemang I no. 72 / B3
Tel / fax: (62 21) 7180 831
E-mail: istanbulceramics@cbn.net.id

Pour Le Mieux
Kemang Icon, Shop # 5, G/F
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 1
Tel / fax (62 21) 719 2757
E-mail: yukid@ddinternational.co.id

Sevenohseven
Kemang Icon, units 2.6 - 2.9
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 1
Tel: (62 21) 7194 817 Fax: (62 21) 719 7014
www.sevenohseven.com

Susanna Tjokro, Jakarta, s_tjokro@yahoo.com