Spotlight: APRICOT

Draped in white cascading frou frou and lights, peering into APRICOT's booth is like a trip into a life-sized jewellery box. Twinkling accessories winking at you as you walk past; urging you to take a closer look. Come on in, it beckons. And you can't help but obey.

Founded one summer day in June of 2010, APRICOT is the brain child of one very lovely, very enterprising April Li. Hailing from Singapore Management University majoring in Business, she started APRICOT Accessories with a love for fashion and the bling. Sophisticated, fun, urban and feminine is what I'd describe APRICOT. Feeling a bit nostalgic? Try on the Lyla ring for a touch of class. Or go for gold with a necklace cuff. Yes, I'm attracted to shiny objects. Call it genteel steel. But it doesn't end here. It won't be long now before we'll be seeing a new side of APRICOT beyond accessories. APRICOT wants to dress you up. A new apparel line will be launched late this summer with pieces personally designed by April herself.

I am especially thankful towards the hospitality and patience that April and her team showed me. Me, rookie blogger with no name card and at that time, no proper name for this blog yet asking all sorts of questions. There I was mucking about the fashion fair with my trusty SGS II when I noticed a crowd gathered at APRICOT. It's no surprise why people are drawn towards it as there was an obvious lack of accessories in other booths. It's that strength in variety that makes APRICOT such a standout. Bear in mind that I am one of those people with their finger on their camera trigger who can't resist snapping at anything that remotely piques my interest and I have grown somewhat accustomed to the ugly looks of other vendors whenever my smartphone is out. But it was all smiles and niceness with APRICOT, so much so that I had to get up close and personal with the mastermind behind this accessories spread.

Here's what we talked about, April and I.

GGP: Where do you source most of your pieces?
April: Well, from Thailand and Korea, all my accessories are sourced abroad. I travel around looking for the ones with personality and charm so most of them are in limited quantity. Just 20 or so. It's get them now or never.

GGP: Why did you decide to expand into clothing?
April: I really like how you can create your own unique style by matching accessories together with apparels. So together they can really create a complete set of outfit. This is different from other shops possibly because they usually focus on clothing alone and they have less accessory choices. So for us, we want to combine APRICOT Accessories into ....
GGP: A one-stop shop?
April: (laughs) Yes, you can call us that. But we are very focused. For example the theme for our clothing is Cool Beauty.
GGP: Love the name.

April: We want to portray a strong and confident look but with the fabrics, we try to keep it feminine so that there's sort of a juxtaposition, a balance of like hard and soft. If you get what I mean.
GGP: I know, I understand. (nods) You want to look cool but still keep that flair.
April: Yes, because ladies want to balance both strength and gentleness. Which is why we feel that our accessories will help to complement our new clothing line.

There's a sincerity that I find endearing with APRICOT as it successfully manages to maintain its personality which is lost in so many other blogshops once they've reach that stage of popularity. Where prices are concerned, your wallet will have much to rejoice as dresses and tops will be around the $25 to $30 range. Handpicked necklaces go from $10 to $15 and shoes below $40. So you won't be smashing your dear piggy just for that open back dress.