Guardian Of Local Design

After six years as a pop-up, Keepers is now a permanent space at the National Design Centre where jewellery designer/ curator Carolyn Kan can continue to champion Singapore works.

- Carolyn Kan

The word keeper has a few meanings. Two of them inspired jewellery designer Carolyn Kan, 45, to give the name Keepers to her passion project.

“A keeper is a curator or protector of something,” says Kan. “People who support local designers are keepers, because they are supporting and preserving local crafts and craftsmanship.

“It has another meaning: Designers who are creating things of value are also keepers, because colloquially, a keeper means someone who is really valuable or worth keeping.”

Keepers is not new, although its first permanent location at the National Design Centre (NDC) is. It’s been a labour of love since November 2011, when it began as a one-day popup showcasing five local designers in a shophouse at Newton Circus, which also housed Kan’s own jewellery label, Carrie K.