Located in the heart of Singapore’s shopping belt, local homeware and furniture store Atomi, along with its partner brand ACTUS Häuse, have everything you need to achieve the cosy Japanese look at home, and more.
Walk into Atomi’s compact 92 sqm store at Mandarin Gallery, and you’ll find yourself faced with a specially curated selection of homewares, from warm copper tumbler sets to soft cotton shirts, and even dining plates made out of malleable tin.
Further into the retail space, Japanese designer furniture with simple, yet distinctive forms await, such as the Maruni Hiroshima armchair and Bruno sofa.
Customisation is possible for the majority of these contemporary pieces, which are manufactured using traditional techniques – with at least one brand (Nissin) offering daring fabric colours such as orange, yellow, and even purple.
Most of the items in Atomi’s unique inventory are sourced by owner Andrew Tan and his Tokyo-born wife Mitsuko Murano, who decided to set up shop in Singapore as a way of introducing interesting Japanese shopping finds to the local market.
“For Atomi, our core is purely made-in-Japan products,” says Andrew who personally flies over four to twelve times a year to handle business operations. “Other than our 4 main furniture brands, Hiromatsu, Hoshina, Maruni, and Nissin, we also carry (products from) more than 30 makers from different prefectures across Japan at Atomi.”
On the other hand, ACTUS Häuse – which occupies its own store space along the same shopping stretch – features a more Western-centric aesthetic; albeit one that caters to Japanese tastes.
“Although ACTUS was started last year, it’s not the first time that the brand has been out in Japan,” says Andrew. “It was in Singapore 30 years ago, and the reason we’ve brought it back now and kept it separate (from Atomi) is because of the opportunity for diversification."
“I would estimate that forty percent of ACTUS’s products are made in Japan, whereas the rest are sourced from other countries for locals. Because of that, ACTUS allows us to have a broader perspective of non-Japanese products from the eyes of the Japanese, while differentiating it from other furniture stores," he says.
As unique as ACTUS’s concept is the store itself. Divided into a standard retail space and two bedroom-sized galleries on the inside, walking through ACTUS feels as though one has entered an apartment complete with personal spaces.
Each of the inner sections features its own selection of homey furniture, arranged in the imagined settings of a living room and a study respectively. Meanwhile, a variety of home accessories scattered throughout – such as wooden alarm clocks and nature-inspired ornaments – help convey the friendly, kinfolk-like aesthetic of ACTUS’s offerings.
All things considered, Atomi and ACTUS Häuse are definitely worth a visit, especially for fans of genuine Japan-made home products and furniture. And even if you aren’t one, chances are, you’ll appreciate the effort put into making the shopping experience at both stores a special one.
Atomi
333A Orchard Road, #04-26/27 Mandarin Gallery, Singapore 238897
ACTUS häuse
333A Orchard Road, #04-28 Mandarin Gallery, Singapore 238897
