Shopkeeper Stories

A shophouse in the alley

Srey, determined to support her parents, made the courageous decision to leave her rural Cambodian village and move…

Making ends meat

Nas sells meat while her husband cruises the city streets in his tuk-tuk as a driver. I asked…

Juicy competition

Night after night, a familiar sight unfolds on the bustling street corner. The vendor’s cart takes centre stage,…

3 tips to flourish at a market

Thyda possesses remarkable expertise in distinguishing between freshwater lake fish and those raised in artificial farms. She explained…

A river of protein

A lady chills on a platform surrounded by plastic buckets of iced seafood in the humid market in…

Breakfast banter

Early one morning at the market, a few strangers huddled around a vendor who was cooking noodles called…

Hanging by a thread

While I was browsing the Night Market, Chamroeun invited me to explore her collection of clothes. I was…

Reaping Cash

Chenda used to work in the fields of Cambodia, but the harvest could not support her family, so…

The bookstore slows you down

Tucked along a vibrant row of shops flaunting kaleidoscopic carpets, bags, and trinkets, stands a shop adorned with…

Are you stationary?

The owner of Modern Book Store is Mr Tan. He has run the shop for the past 30…

Canvassing the city

I stumbled across a store stacked floor-to-ceiling with an incredible collection of paintings. The owner showed me around,…

Rice bowl

Rice is a staple food in Cambodia, and any crisis rapidly impacts Sokun*’s business. For example, during a…

Surviving from day to day

Conversations with men and women running small businesses in Siem Reap (Cambodia). Why did they go into business?…

Angry Birds don’t like advice

Angry Birds needs no introduction, and neither does Peter Vesterbacka, the creator of the massively popular game from the Finnish…

Not too chicken

“Hi sister! What do you want?” Lai Fun was sitting on a stool reading the newspapers. It was…

Capturing Hearts

Fai and his team have documented more than 300 weddings in Singapore and featured in two consecutive issues…

Timeless Gems

Marilyn Tan was a seasoned family lawyer when she decided to quit her job to spend more time…

Junk

“The market is very dirty,” Terence says, tugging gently at his singlet to show the grime. “Dirty and…

Intellectual Property

Murgiana Haq started her own law firm in 1997 and was later joined by her daughters, Tasneem and…

Taking Stock

“I used to work in an electronics factory and it was exhausting. We had to stand all day…

Keeping it real

Walking into this shop, you will be delighted with the calming aura of a tropical forest, as though…

Books Actually

Passion is not enough. You need commitment. “Business is not just about passion: passion only brings you along…

Many Jars

Little shops express a sense of home where people spend their days and their lives. The shop is…

Provision Shop

“People in the older generation still buy all the individual ingredients to make soups and curries— they know…

Spice of life

Poonam runs a provision shop selling Indian ingredients in a market cluster where you can find hawkers selling…

Snack Shop

“This is my mother’s shop. I’m helping her out.” “She’s lucky to have you.” “I’m lucky to have…

Fast Lane

Shirley stood out in bright pink while working amidst motorcycles and vehicle equipment. How did she enter this…

Fruits of labour

Say hey to May! May and her brother work together selling fruits at the Clementi West market. “My…

The sole of business

In a culture where it is common to buy and throw things away at an increasing rate—phones, friends,…

What’s your beef?

“I started helping my father in primary school. At first it was only during school holidays, but then…

Bogotá, Colombia

Shopkeeper Stories is a project that celebrates small business owners around the world, and it is an honour…

Sweet Stalker

In Singapore, you can find refreshing cold sugarcane juice at the local markets. The juice is made from…

Staying with the story

Chrissy Lim is no stranger to starting and steering quality businesses. She is the founder of Paperplane, a visual storytelling studio,…

Working in a Virtual Reality

The award-winning book and documentary “Guns, Germs, and Steel” introduced the gripping theory that the fate of human…

Carpet Trade

A mother-and-daughter team from Iran are bringing the rich tradition of carpets to Singapore. Iran is known for…

Dry Season

Ah Xin began working in the provision shop as a sprightly 10-year-old, enthusiastically helping her parents. Fast forward fifty…

Temple of Knowledge

Little Prayer Shop August is the month of the 7th month of the lunar calendar for Buddhists and Taoists.…

Housework

“This shop was started by my father-in-law. When I got married, I started working here with my husband.…

Intense & Intimate

I don’t always get a chance to chat with the traders. For instance, just as I took this…

Little Red Dot

Get ready for Singapore! An island, a city, a state, a nation. When the nation was mocked for…

It never hurts to ask

It never hurts to ask! When Lou Flemming was a 17-year-old teenager in Baltimore, he spotted the owner…

Everyday is a new day

Nova is a shopkeeper at Lexington Market in Baltimore. He shares his advice for dealing with the vagaries…

Food Stamps

Many stalls at Lexington Market (Baltimore, USA) display bright signs declaring that they accept “Food Stamps” (or the “Independence…

First Steps

I like asking business owners how they got started because it usually tells a story of confronting change…

Getting Fresh

When I asked Leo whether I could take his photograph, he glared at me: “You trying to get…

Bringing home the bacon

A butcher shop at Lexington Market in Baltimore (USA) Microbusinesses typically offer a pathway of upward mobility for…

Underground Music

The streets can be a fierce world for buskers who are exposed to the mercy of city police.…

Bucket Man

Larry Hunt – the “Bucket Man” – has risen as a cultural icon of San Francisco by playing…

Smokin’ Hot Ideas

Lauren and Ryan knew that they wanted to start a business together, but they didn’t know exactly what…

His-Story of the USA

Christian is a walking Wikipedia! He can narrate the historical context for everything in his shop like a…

Windows of Opportunity

Rich Trager travels around the world to take photographs for his business. Travelling to disrupt an established sense of…

Mandala Maker

Zb.Doros grew up in Poland and currently lives in San Francisco where he devotes himself to the art…

A Twist on Vintage

How do you start a business selling jewelry? We chat with Linda La Touche in California who describes her journey.…

Kopi-ng with change

Singapore has been ranked the most expensive city in the world, yet there are few modern cities left…

Shop-key-per

Katy started her locksmith business in San Francisco in 1969, and describes how she took a long-distance course……

Come along for the journey!

Shopkeeper Stories is all about people who bring their creative energy to our cities with their small businesses!…

Magic Lamps

You will meet Ali at a shop that sells carpets and lamps along Arab Street in Singapore. These…

Mud & Metal

When you’ve been in the art and jewelry business in Baltimore for almost 20 years like Carol, you…

Eggs-posure

How to store eggs You don’t have to refrigerate eggs that you get from the farmer’s market, they…

Sea Jewels

“When I was young, my grandfather used to take me to the California coast, and whenever we were…

Spinning Tales

“People have told me that this shop should be a TV sitcom. We’ve had very spirited conversations on all sorts…

Boutique Bus-iness

While chatting with Stacey Chambers, it was priceless to see people’s expressions as they boarded her bus. Their eyes invariably…

Like eating with family

“What’s the secret to making good pasta?” All the pasta at Daniela’s is homemade. “The secret…”, Daniela ponders on this…

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