 Thus, the seed for a great business idea was sown. Victor, an entrepreneur with an eye for detail and a healthy sense of history, sounded out his wife about the possibility of producing something similar to capture the beauty of Singapore's architectural heritage. It didn't take long for the idea to germinate. Weekends and evenings for the couple became 'house-hunting' expeditions as they spent time exploring the island in search of appropriate historical houses, identifying their styles of architecture and photographing them from all the necessary angles. Without any formal art training except a passion for their project, they managed to translate the photographs into sketches for the 3-D miniatures. After six months of research and experimentation with different types of clay and paints, the couple was ready to recruit artisans to follow Shirley's prototypes. This was the end of 1990, when The Little Island Enterprise finally became a reality. Looking back, Shirley says that it was perhaps due to her training as a dental surgeon that helped her with the making of the prototypes, having worked with dentures, crowns and such. As for Victor, he still feels very passionate about the whole project as he confesses, "… deep down, I love all the old buildings. They're so nostalgic and such colourful and telling reminders of our roots. I was sort of realising my own dream of preserving them." Artistically crafted and meticulously hand-painted, each Little Island miniature not only captures the charm and nostalgia of a bygone era but also offers a wealth of accurate detail. They are excellent reminders of how much pride our forefathers took in designing their homes and buildings. You can impress your customers and corporate VIPs with models from our collection. And as we are fully equipped to handle special and exclusive commissions, you can even engage our designers and craftsmen to capture your corporate building or any icon that is unique to you or your business! We're sure you'd agree that our designs make highly original and impressive gifts for those important occasions. In making conscious efforts to preserve Singapore's heritage, we have won the admiration and support of the Singapore government through actual grants and orders from the Trade Development Board, Singapore Tourism Board and various other ministries and statutory boards in Singapore. To keep alive the memory of our past for our present and future generations, we also distributed free Heritage Posters to schools, army camps, statutory boards and various government ministries to educate younger Singaporeans on our fascinating past. Magazine Ads Awards: Poster Ads Awards:
Ad Agency: Euro RSCG Ball Partnership (Singapore) 1993 The New York Festivals 1993 Creativity (Art Direction Magazine) 1996 The New York Festivals 37th Issue - 1996 Advertising Annual (Communication Arts)
1996 Australian writers and Art Directors  The Little Island Enterprise (A subsidiary of Kellicrafts Pte Ltd) 3791 Jalan Bukit Merah #05-21 e-Centre@redhill Singapore 159471 Tel: (65) 62766377 Fax: (65) 62718068 E-mail: folks@littleisland.com |
The idea for the creation of The Little Island originated
in 1990, when to celebrate Dr. Yap's completion of a postgraduate course
in prosthetic dentistry, our founders, dental surgeon Dr Shirley Yap
and her businessman husband Mr Victor Yeo were on holiday in England.
During this trip, Victor was captivated by the quaint miniature cottages
that were sold as souvenirs around the countryside. It reminded him of the
old buildings in Singapore, which were fast disappearing due to modernisation
and urban redevelopment.
