Update: The Goods Department moved to Pacific Place and is no longer at Plaza Indonesia. It is located on the 1st Floor of Pacific Place.
The GOODS DEPT opened on December 9, 2010 inside Plaza Indonesia, one of the major shopping malls in Jakarta, Indonesia. I went to check out the GOODS DEPT for the first time this past Monday. I fell in love with the store!! It has such a cool feel to it and I love that the store sells items from different local vendors that store owners find very cool. The interesting thing is that the founder of KOI Restaurant & Gallery, Amalia, and the wife of Chris, one of the co-owners of the GOODS DEPT are sisters. Her name is Cynthia and she is a manager at KOI Restaurant & Gallery.
When I visited, I saw Chris, so I walked up to him and introduced myself. Let me explain the background a little. Since 3 weeks ago, I have a column called “Project KOI” and I have posted photographs I’ve taken for the photo project with KOI Restaurant & Gallery. I figured out that I have a chance to work with KOI to take photos for the restaurant, which I love, because the photographer, Chris, who used to take photos for KOI Restaurant & Gallery was apparently too busy these days. One of the co-founders of the GOODS Dept, Chris, is the one who used to take photos for KOI. Thanks to him being super busy with the GOODS Dept, I received an opportunity to be involved with the photo project, so I had to thank him!
There are 7 cofounders of The GOODS Dept and Brightspot Market, which I will explain a bit later. Three of them are from the same family: Chris, Chris’ brother-in-law (brother of Cynthia and Amalia) and Cynthia, Chris’ wife. According to Chris, and following is his quote “Cynthia plays a very key role in the development of the concept and brand, and it wouldn’t be anything without her”. I find this very sweet that a husband is saying this about his wife.
The GOODS Dept derived from Brightspot Market , a unique flea market type of event organizer that has held markets several times a year. If you want to know about Brightspot Market, here is more details about them. Click here for their website.
If you are curious about the GOODS Dept, you can find more information about them here.
As you can probably tell from the photos that the GOODS Dept has a cafe as well, but when I went there, it wasn’t opened to the public yet. Apparently an Indonesian female chef, who worked in California for a while, is back in Indonesia and will be in charge of the cafe. Chris explained that all of the co-owners of the GOODS Dept lived in California at some point, so they all want to have a taste of California. I lived in California twice in my life, so I will love to experience some California through the GOODS Dept!
If you come to Jakarta, the GOODS Dept is one of the places you might want to check out along with KOI Restaurant & Gallery.
The GOODS DEPARTMENT
Please check the STORE LOCATOR on their website for their locations.
The GOODS DEPT elsewhere
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You canse see the post about Cayenne here and the tin boxes sold at Cayenne here.
Tjahjono says
I went there last week… such a cool place, my daughter love it so much. I almost buy myself an Indonesian made shoes, unfortunately they don’t have my size… :p
Kaho says
Isn’t it such a cool place? I love supporting the local vendors and that’s a great place for that. Plus, there are so many talented Indonesian artists and crafters. I’m constantly amazed. I didn’t know that you had a daughter!
Sweet Batik says
Great find & great photos as always, Kaho! Can’t wait to visit there now…
Dina @ http://blog.sweetbatik.com
southfeastasia says
This is going to be my first stop back in JKT! I went to the Brightspot Market when I had just arrived here and was sad it wasn’t permanent. This is my dream come true. I hope I don’t go completely broke there.
qamar waris says
we r manufacturer of many tipe gift handmade item. may i supply to u.
thanks