Celebrating brand Singapore

THE parade may have to wait, but the sentiment behind National Day will still be at a high this weekend in the lead-up to Singapore's 56th birthday on Aug 9. In tomorrow's BTLifestyle, we celebrate a few things Singaporean, including home-grown lifestyle brands that remind us that passion and believing in one's abilities can result in quality products that can hold their own against anyone else's.

We meet the founders of some of these brands, including artisanal fragrance label Scent by Six, cult ice cream purveyor Creamier, premium bird's nest maker The Purest Co, and nail wrap maker Nodspark. They share their journeys of building a brand from scratch and the satisfaction of being "Made in Singapore".

Meanwhile, in the local arts scene, we check out the best Singapore books published in the last 12 months that celebrate the many facets of being Singaporean, such as Joseph Chiang's Chronicles of a Circuit Breaker. We also meet Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao, who will represent the nation at the next Venice Biennale.

And of course, how can you mention Singapore without talking about food? Since we can't eat out at the moment, here's a peek at some National Day-inspired creations by local chefs.