Maturity tends to bring about change, especially when it comes to one’s lifestyle. Polished and elegantly decorated, Art & Science’s (stylised as Art&Science) new offline store at Ashta District 8 reflects that sentiment.
Where the lifestyle retailer’s old home at Grand Indonesia had a whimsical aura to it, this new one is regal and modern. Gone are the muted grey walls and overflowing compilation of vividly-hued curios, replaced by sleek, bold black walls and warm wood patterns with splashes of potted greeneries and gold trimmings.
The switch in character is to be expected; as the company enters its eighth year, its regulars too have matured. Placed right at the heart of the metropole’s bustling business district, Art & Science hosts a steady flow of neatly-dressed office workers on the weekdays and families on the weekends, many amongst them scouring for the shop’s best selling section: books and knick-knacks.
If the display comes off as sparse, that’s because the curation is tighter this time around, with the store being the exclusive stockist in the city for many of its items. Inside, self-help books and card games from The School of Life, witty notepads from Knock Knock, art books by Taschen and ABADI Records’ selection of classic vinyl adorn the shelves and tables.
The same rules apply to the store’s collection of fashion items, supplied by its sister company, urban-fashion retailer 707. From head to toe, items come from affluent international and homegrown brands like Michigan’s Carhartt, Los Angeles-based HUF as well as Jakarta-based DOMINATE and Placyf. The curation also includes local brand Paradise Youth Club’s collections that are usually only available for the international market.
Yet even with fewer wares, visitors needn’t worry about running out of things to check out at the store. Art & Science aims to continually partner with others in the lifestyle industry (including brands, media, artists and musicians) to enrich the store’s retail experience through collaborations and pop-ups. Indeed, as befits its name, there’s much to be discovered from Art & Science.