Presh • 프레쉬

“PRESH is a designer brand launched in Seoul in 2013 with the motto of ‘freshness’.

We think that ‘freshness’ means that the quality of the product, the novelty, and the unique design should make you feel new. We are a lifestyle, fashion and living brand that releases 2-4 of these series every year. We make valuable objects and pursue valuable consumption regardless of the season.”

— Presh Website

My first visit to the Presh (프레쉬) showroom was a memorable one. First of all, I was not expecting to find the store in the middle of Seoul’s quiet residential area. The store was on the second floor and surrounded by what I believe were apartments building with no other commercial stores in sight. When we entered the space, we were greeted by neatly organized shelves, racks, and tables displaying their well-designed products.

If you like to browse around design or knick knack shops around Seoul, you probably have seen their products at some point. It’s kind of hard to miss those silver tin containers with colorful labels wrapped around them. Presh sells a variety of products including candles (which is their product that I most often see in other shops), t-shirts, aprons, tote bags, pouch, and phone cases. Each of them are stored in silver tin containers which I thought was pretty cool. Presh has two types of containers, one that has a detachable top lid and the other one is the tin can version where the top lid open like those food tin cans. I thought that’s a pretty neat idea for a packaging.

Second of all, not only did I meet the owner (maybe one of the owners, not sure how many people own this brand) but I also met the graphic designer who was responsible for all the graphics and packaging for Presh. They were very nice and welcoming. They showed us around the store while explaining their products here and there and answered all the questions that I have for them. I always like chatting with the store owners and get to know their products more. It makes the whole shopping experience more fun and I got to find out interesting tidbits about the brand that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. In this instance, one of the thing that made it more fun was because the graphic designer speaks English so sometimes when I don’t understand something in Korean, she translated it for me immediately.

Anyway, my cousin and I ended up buying a couple of candles (they have great selection of scents) and an apron to gift to our friend and they gave us free soap samples and stickers for our purchase. If you’re looking for candles or gift ideas, I definitely recommend to check out their brand.

*These photos were taken in 2017. Since then, their showroom has been renewed in the same location.

Presh • 프레쉬

Address: 서울 마포구 성지3길 60 진원빌딩
Telephone: 02-707-0052
Hours: 13:00 - 19:-00 Daily

Instagram: @getpresh

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Egg Dang • 에그당

I visited Egg Dang (에그당) when I was exploring Hapjeong (합정) area. When lunch time came around, I passed by this place and took a look at their menu board to find that they actually serve pasta here. So in I went and I found myself in a small restaurant with an open kitchen next to my left and small tables on my right. There were only three tables and bar seatings on the main area of the restaurant, but I later found out that they have more seats at the back.

I look over their menu and decided to order their signature dish, which is the Poached Egg Pasta (수란 파스타) which costs ₩14,900. It is essentially a spicy linguini pasta with Egg Dang’s special cream sauce topped with chives, garlic, red pepper powder, bits of bacon and poached egg. I was actually craving for a creamy pasta so this was perfect for me. The portion was generous, the pasta was well cooked, and it tasted good. The cream sauce wasn’t too overwhelming. Maybe the spiciness from the sauce cut the creaminess of the overall dish, at least that was my guess. And the egg was perfectly poached as the yellow yolk oozed to the pasta after I cut into it, which I appreciate. The bacon bits might be a little bit on the salty side for some people, but I like food on the saltier side so it wasn’t a problem for me.

Overall, I quite enjoy Egg Dang’s Poached Egg Pasta and I probably come back to this place again the next time I have a creamy pasta craving.

Egg Dang • 에그당

Address: 서울시 마포구 서교동 396-4
Telephone: 02-3144-3170
Hours: 11:30 - 21:30 | Closed on Mondays

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Maison de Sculp • 메종드스컬프

Maison de Sculp (메종드스컬프) is a cafe that is located on the quieter side of Hapjeong (합정). The cafe itself shared a two story building that resembles a house with its store section called Musée de Sculp (뮤제 드 스컬프) which sells curated high-end products. You can find foreign brands like Aesop, Maison Kitsune, AALTO, as well as local brands like one of their own, MUSÉD, in their shop.

As for the cafe itself, it’s obviously not as big as the store area. Although they do have an additional outdoor seatings if you wish to enjoy the weather outside. The interior is nicely decorated with prominently monotone colors and marble tables and it was pretty quiet when we were there. I went there with my cousin in the late afternoon and we decided to order a milk tea and a dessert to share so we don’t spoil our appetite for dinner. They were pretty good. After we’re done, we returned our tray to the counter and headed out to look for dinner.

Maison de Sculp • 메종드스컬프

Address: 서울 마포구 토정로3안길 17
Telephone: 070-8865-3017
Hours: 11:30 - 20:30 Tuesday - Sunday | Closed on Mondays

Instagram: @museedesculp

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I Hate Monday • 아이헤이트먼데이

If you have visited enough shops that sells local brands in Seoul, you’ll probably notice this one socks brand that keeps making appearances over and over again in different stores and locations. I Hate Monday (아이헤이트먼데이) is a popular Korean socks brand that was started with the main goal is to beat the Monday Blues.

The founder of the brand, sock designer Hong Jung Mi started this business because she used to hate going back to work on Monday after the weekend. "When you think of going to work on Monday, you often start to get nervous from Sunday evening onwards. So I decided to make something fun, creative and unique to help make people feel a bit more comfortable on their way to work," she said on an interview with The Chosunilbo. This sentiment clearly resonates with a lot of people since after started selling her socks on a vending machine in Sinsa-dong, it became really really popular and the business has only became a bigger and more popular until these days.

The brand has now expanded their socks line as well as working with other brands for collaboration projects. Their latest collaboration project includes working together with Innocean Worldwide to make braille socks for visually impaired (read the article here).

When I visited the store, I ended up talking with the person who was manning the store for a bit and she did told me about the story of her boss quitting her corporate job to start this brand because she really hated Mondays. Now that she owns this successful brand, I don’t think she hates Monday as much as she used to ;)

I Hate Monday • 아이헤이트먼데이

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 합정동 363-30
Telephone: 070-4028-1867
Hours: 11:30 - 19:00 (Weekdays. Lunch Break: 12:30 - 14:00) | 13:00 - 18:00 (Saturdays) | Closed on Sundays.

Website: I Hate Monday
Instagram: @ihatemondaysocks

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Beliefcoffee Roasters • 빌리프커피 로스터스

I've been spending time back home these past few months and after 1.5 months of hiatus from this blog, I'm back with new updates. I'm currently back in Seoul and gonna stay here for a bit, so hopefully I got more stuff to share these up coming weeks. Spent my first day back in the city being reminded on why I picked summer as my least favorite season in South Korea. It's pretty hot and humid around here, although since I just came from Jakarta, it wasn't a rude awakening, but still... I'm pretty sure I can say the summer weather is in full swing right now with the temperature in 30°C range, high humidity in the air, and cloudy sky followed by occasional rains throughout the day. 

I ended up spending my afternoon at Beliefcoffee Roasters (빌리프커피 로스터스) in Hapjeong (합정) drinking ice green tea latte and catching up with Soo Zee. We stayed there for a good couple of hours with the rest of the crowd that filled the place even though it's only Tuesday. Soo Zee said they're probably escaping the heat in their houses and opted for the cool air-con in the cafe. With the weather outside, I could totally understand that. The cafe is pretty spacious. They have 2 floors, 1st floor and an underground floor. Plenty of tables available available on the first floor and you can find more seatings on the underground floor that has a very interesting interior. If you are looking for a place with cool air-cons to escape the summer heat, this place is definitely worth a visit.

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Beliefcoffee Roasters (빌리프커피 로스터스)

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 양화로11길 50
Tel: 02-322-3100
Hours: 09:30 - 23:30

Instagram: @beliefcoffee_roasters

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