Le Souq has been in Kemang, Jakarta since 2011 in the same center as KOI Restaurant & Gallery, in the heart of Kemang, the hip and trendy part of Jakarta in my opinion. Le Souq is one of the stores that I have seen all the time as I drove by, but I never made the time to stop to look until recently as I was always going straight to my destination and back. Life with a baby does that to you.
The person who motivated me to go to Le Souq was Padmajas of njoyeveryday. She’s been coming to my blog for a while and left me comments. She’s an Indian origin, living in Malaysia, and travels quite often and has come to Jakarta as well. One day she emailed me and said that she walked into Le Souq and thought of telling me about it. She also mentioned DYRT (Do You Recycle Too) in the same email, which is a store that sells products made of recycled toothpaste cases and its store is directly above Le Souq. I hope to feature DYRT on my blog if I hear from DYRT and get permission to take photos.
Le Souq means “Market” in Arabic that sells many things . The owner of Le Souq, Mira Noordhoek Hegt, is originally from Holland, but her father is Egyptian. Her store Le Souq was named in his honor. I imagine that “le Souq” would be translated into “zakka” in Japanese, which is a word referring to all the items that you need for daily life which include items to decorate home and use in kitchen, but not food or clothes. The word, zakka, has been used in English-speaking world more and more in the recent past.
I asked Mira what was her former profession before she moved to Jakarta. I expected her answer to be an interior designer just seeing her breathtaking store. To my surprise, she said she was a lawyer. Design has been something that she has been passionate about, but it was never her career until she came to Jakarta and now she enjoys it very much. Her store has been covered by many magazines, which comes to show how talented people get under the spotlight. I admire her talent. She’s super friendly, too and I was so glad to have met her.
If you are curious and want to learn more about Le Souq, here (article on Jakarta Expat written by Angela Richardson) is a good read.
Can you guess where her fabric is from? I noticed that many cool fabric you find in Jakarta is from Australia, so I thought her case would be the same. To my another surprise, she said her textiles are imported from South Africa! She uses fabric from South Africa because she lived there for a long time and she loves their fabric. However, all the products are all made in Indonesia by the local craftsmen. Now that she told me about the origin of her fabric, I can see the African kick in her design. I lived in Senegal, West Africa, for 2 years, so seeing her products made me a bit nostalgic, too.
If you go to Le Souq, I hope you’ll check out the basement as well. There are more furniture pieces she sells in the basement. It’s a wonderland. I love her style and like she says in this article, her philosophy “your home should be the place that puts a smile on your face” is translated into her store, Le Souq. Indeed, I walked away with a smile on my face.
Le Souq
Kemang Raya 72K
Kemang, Jakarta Selatan
TEL: +62 21 719 5672
Kaho, I love this store. I’ve been several times and always find something to purchase! Thanks for sharing. The pics are great. Anne 🙂
Thanks!! I am in love with this store, too!!
What a cool store…modern but eclectic, I love it! I am always so impressed by Indonesian interior design and styling. Thanks for sharing, Kaho!
It is a cool store. You’re going to love it! I agree. I think that the Indonesians have a great sense of aesthetic.
Kaho , I love this store and trust i dint know they had a basement store. When i went to this store the store keeper was busy with some expat shoppers so i dint want to disturb them. then i went to the second floor DYRT store. I am flattered by the way you have mentioned that i have motivated to make a post on this store. What i have done is nothing to what you have done on your blog. I keep repeating this often that You have made my jakarta trips really worthy by writing about your finds and favoruite stores. I have covered almost all the zakka stores on your blog.
My family is like wow you know jakarta very well haha 🙂 that’s funny. Keep going dear and looking forward for more finds from you.
Thank you for telling me about the store because sometimes I just need that little push from someone. 🙂 Thanks for following my blog!!
Wow I love this store. Whoever owns it clearly has great taste. I love the lamp shades, cushions and candles. Sooooo nice!
Thanks!! I want to live in this store!!
I really want to visit Kemang area one day. It seem so many cool shop over there. The last time I visited Kemang is like 15 years ago 🙂
Happy New Year Kaho…
Thanks!! There are so many cool shops in Kemang and I love that area. Only if the traffic can be alleviated… Happy New Year!
Definitely know where I am going when I visit . Would love to join my hubby on one of his many business trips there – now all the more reason !!!! And so happy to see South Africa featuring there too !! My home country !!
Lucky you to be from South Africa! What a beautiful country! Thanks for visiting!