estampe (French) n. print, engrave
I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The source of my out-of-body experience was a visit to Estampe, a recently established emporium on Street 174, situated right next door to the equally heavenly Romdeng restaurant. Estampe pays homage to what its owner, Lien Bouvet, calls “Vintage Asia”, with originals and reproductions of maps, books, posters, magazines and assorted miscellany from the region’s Indochinese past.
Experience wise, Lien and her husband are no novices when it comes to capturing the essence of this period. In the mid-2000s they transformed an old colonial house in Battambang into the city’s premier boutique accommodation option, La Villa. Along with other projects, the Bouvets have amassed an impressive collection of antiques, which now serves as the base for Estampe’s collection.
Lien is quick to point out they are not selling their collection, they simply wish to share it: “Over the last ten years we have moved eight times! Each time we have had to pack everything up. It has become quite tiring. We also came to realise that we had several copies of different things, so it makes sense to sell these now. For the things we have only one copy of, we can make reproductions.”
Of the original items in the store it is the enormous range of maps that makes an immediate impression on entering the store. The breath of the collection is striking – as are some of the prices – and as a map aficionado myself I can’t help being envious of some of the editions the Bouvets have acquired.
One map, from the late 1800s, features Siem Reap and Battambang firmly ensconced in ‘Siam’ (‘Thailand’). Another map depicts the three separate sub-states that once comprised French-administered Vietnam.
Lien, quite rightly, is coy about where they have sourced their collection but remarks that it includes contributions, not only from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, but from further afield in France and the United States. “But it is getting harder to find things, and they are becoming more expensive.”
Still there are bargains to be had. A stylish vintage-inspired (as opposed to straight ‘vintage’, just to be clear) fridge magnet will set you back a mere $2, while a range of elegant period-enthused notebooks are equally economically priced at $7. But the merchandise is only half the reason for making the journey to Estampe.
The shop itself has been artfully renovated and outfitted to suit the mood of its collateral. Exposed bricks, fine-grained wooden window frames and a set of ceiling fans, rescued from an old Saigon cinema, create an ambiance that merges the stylish with the ‘feel’ of the store’s merchandise. This creates an impression of a retail space that is ‘curated’ rather than ‘stocked’.
And there is yet more to come, promises Lien. “We have more books, movie posters and postcard collections, which we plan to stock in the coming weeks.”
So if you are more of a Chinese House than a Public House sort of guy, and less a Sofitel and more a Raffles kind of girl, and you wouldn’t be seen dead in a late-model BMW but crave a 1930s Citroën TA, well then Estampe could well be your heaven, too.
Estampe, #72c Street 174; 012 826186 (open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 7pm)