Rabbits, Power, and Quiet Resistance

by Arnaud | Dec 23, 2025 | Culture

5 min read

Rabbits, Power, and Quiet Resistance

I read Watership Down many years ago and recently found myself recommending it again, both to a friend and to my daughter. It is often described as a story about rabbits, which is accurate, but also misses the point.

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Written by Richard Adams and published in 1972, Watership Down follows a group of rabbits who leave their warren in search of a new home. What gives the book its lasting relevance is not the plot itself, but what it examines beneath the surface.

The novel explores power, leadership, and the trade offs societies make between safety and freedom. Adams built a complete culture for the rabbits, with their own language, mythology, and social structures. Through this, the book shows how systems can appear protective while quietly limiting choice and individuality.

What is striking is how understated the resistance is. There are no grand speeches or dramatic revolutions. The rebellion is quiet and persistent, expressed through memory, storytelling, cooperation, and the refusal to accept a life that feels fundamentally wrong.

A few days ago, while walking through the botanical gardens, I saw someone walking a rabbit on a leash. The image immediately brought the book back to mind. The irony was difficult to ignore. A rabbit, an animal defined by instinct and movement, carefully controlled in a place designed to celebrate nature.

That moment echoed one of the book’s central ideas. Control is often presented as care. Safety is often offered in exchange for freedom. Watership Down asks whether that exchange is ever truly neutral.

That is why I still recommend this book. It can be read at different ages and understood in different ways over time. It is calm, thoughtful, and quietly radical, and it continues to reflect back uncomfortable questions about power, choice, and the stories we tell ourselves about protection.

Ampang Has Its Own Font

by Arnaud | Dec 22, 2025 | Design

5 min read

Ampang Has Its Own Font

The entire Campus branding was designed by us, and it was never meant to be just a logo exercise. I love Ampang, and this is the school I graduated from, so working on The Campus felt deeply personal from the start. It was about history, place, memory, and giving something back to a neighbourhood that shaped me.

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From the beginning, we knew the branding had to go all the way. The Campus logo is built from a protractor, a quiet nod to education, strategy, sport, and learning how to navigate the world. Four protractors come together to form what we call the Ampang seal, or flower, depending on how you look at it. Geometry meets landscape. Structure meets play. Degrees become movement, from 0 to 180 and beyond.

Naturally, the logo evolved into an alphabet. For me, this is where branding becomes truly meaningful. My background is in advertising, and I have always believed that a brand should speak in its own voice, right down to its typography. Creating an alphabet is as personal as it gets. It is not decoration. It is identity. I have done this before for larger groups, and it remains one of the most intimate ways to express who you are and how you think.

This tote bag is a small but significant expression of that thinking. It carries the Campus alphabet, our protractor font, and the spirit of Ampang itself. It is a true collaboration between Nala and The Campus, rooted in place, design, and intention. We hope this is just the beginning, and that you will see much more of the Ampang Protractor Font in future bags, T-shirts, and objects that continue to tell this story.

The Ampang Protractor tote is yours to take home for free.
Available to the first 100 customers with a minimum spend of RM150 in two receipts.
Redeemable from 20 December to 31 January, only while stocks last.

Plein Air, No Wi-Fi

by Arnaud | Dec 21, 2025 | Culture, Travel

5 min read

Plein Air, No Wi-Fi

What I loved most about Impressionism is the idea of plein air.
Taking your paints outside. Standing in real light. Feeling the air, the greenery, the movement of the world around you. No screens. No shortcuts. Definitely no Wi-Fi. You carried your paints, your paper, and your patience. Light was not something you edited later. It was something you chased, usually while the clouds were doing whatever they pleased.

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What also stood out was how deliberately these artists worked against convention. Leaving the studio to paint outdoors went against academic tradition. Choosing everyday life, changing cities, and ordinary moments as subjects was a shift in how art related to the world. It was practical, observational, and at the time, quite unconventional.

They also touch on how these artists criticised each other. Degas, for example, was teased for making paintings that looked almost unfinished. Too airy, too soft, too sketch-like. As if he was painting with cotton wool. Which, of course, is exactly what makes his work so interesting now.

The exhibition at the National Gallery Singapore, Into the Modern: Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, explains all of this beautifully. It is exceptionally well curated and easy to follow. You see Monet, Manet, Degas, Pissarro and others responding to a world that was changing fast, and each of them finding their own way of looking at it.

All the works come from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and seeing so many of these classics together is quite something. There are also films and archival material, including footage of Monet painting outside in his own garden. Watching him stand there, brush in hand, surrounded by greenery and shifting light, feels almost unreal. Probably every artist’s dream. To take some paper, some paint, and just go outside.

We had a go at it too. I sketched from photographs taken at the Botanical Gardens. Not quite plein air in the pure sense, but close enough to feel the joy of slowing down and actually looking. It reminded me how playful drawing can be when you remove expectations and put the phone away.

The exhibition runs until March next year. The National Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 7 pm. And honestly, even if you are not nearby, it is next door enough. Taking a bus for roughly RM120 return just to see this show is completely worth it. You walk out inspired, calmer, and gently reminded of what outside actually looks like.

Sometimes all it takes is light, time, and putting the phone down.

20 Dec | Launch Ampang Bags at Campus

by Arnaud | Dec 19, 2025 | Events

5 min read

Launch Ampang Bags at Campus

This tote bag is a small but significant expression of that thinking.
It carries the Campus alphabet, our protractor font, and the spirit of Ampang itself.

LISETTE

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It is a true collaboration between Nala and The Campus, rooted in place, design, and intention. We hope this is just the beginning, and that you will see much more of the Ampang Protractor Font in future bags, T-shirts, and objects that continue to tell this story.

The Ampang Protractor tote is yours to take home for free.
Available to the first 100 customers with a minimum spend of RM150 in two receipts.
Redeemable from 20 December to 31 January, only while stocks last.

20 Dec | Nala Kasturi Krismas

by Arnaud | Dec 18, 2025 | Culture, Events

5 min read

A Christmas Day Made for Wandering, Listening, Tasting, and Staying a Little Longer

This Saturday, Kasturi turns into a place of music, stories, and slow Christmas joy.

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From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., we are hosting a full day Christmas gathering that is less about rushing and more about lingering. Think jazz drifting through the space, beautiful food, warm cups in your hands, and small surprises waiting to be discovered.

A live jazz singer will set the tone for the day, creating an atmosphere that feels intimate, relaxed, and quietly celebratory. There will be storytelling moments woven into the experience, because Christmas is, after all, about stories we carry with us.

Food plays a central role. Japanese bakers will be joining us with their beautiful creations, alongside Ghostbird, who will be serving special coffees made just for this weekend. Expect comforting Christmas cakes, thoughtful flavours, and the kind of treats that invite you to sit down and stay awhile. We will also be serving mulled wine to add a little warmth and cheer to the day.

For 3 hours, Lisette will be personally in store offering personalisation. It is a lovely opportunity to turn a gift into something truly personal, or to mark a moment in time with a name, a word, or a quiet message.

There will also be special Christmas deals available throughout the day, making it the perfect moment to find gifts that are thoughtful, useful, and full of meaning.

Event details
Saturday
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
NALA Kasturi

Parking tips
Parking is easy and stress free if you come at the right time.
Central Market has ample parking before 10 a.m.
Bumi offers parking throughout the entire day.

Come early, come late, come hungry, come curious.
This is a Christmas celebration designed to be felt, not rushed.

We look forward to welcoming you.