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QUE
a project by KAAREM
Que is KAAREM's first brick-and-mortar, located down a hẻm in a refurbished home in Bình Thạnh, Sài Gòn. We invite you, our dear friends & family, to join us as we develop this space ♡.
Our team is slowly growing—we’re currently hiring! We’re looking for a store manager to oversee retail operations, sales, client relations, customer service and creative marketing.
Please send a cover letter/bio to share more about journey, along with your CV to work@kaarem.com.
Photo by Đạt Vũ at Que during the pre-event setup for the launch of ‘A Room of One’s Own’, a video by Thy and Trang for Kaarem.
The Que by Kaarem Residency is an initiative by Kaarem to celebrate designers, artists and makers rooted in craft. One of our founding principles is the notion of home. We invite the person-in-resident to come and make our space an extension of their home.
The space at Que serves as a platform for collaboration with other creatives, including this residency program whereby all programming and collaborations are curated and selected based on our shared core values of tradition, sustainability and community. It is an exchange of values and ideas between Kaarem and the person-in-resident, to collectively learn and share knowledge. This will be an ongoing dialogue about sustaining artisanal quality and design and connecting local and global communities to Vietnam and the beyond.
We are pleased to introduce our first resident, chef Bao La, to Que Upstairs, starting March 18, 2021 for the duration of six months. Bao will be present on-site, cooking and serving his thoughtful food every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In partnership with Bao, we look forward to developing systems that reduce waste, creating ‘good vibes’ and making tangible garments and objects as mementos.
Bao shared with us his inspiration and methodology at his family’s home in Đà Lạt, Vietnam. To learn more on his musings and how Que came together with Bao, read here.
Due to the current COVID-19 situation, we are limited in the amount of people that can be in our space at one time. To ensure everyone is safe, we are dividing the Opening Night into two seatings:
(A) 5:30pm — 7:30pm
(B) 8:00pm — 10:00pm
RSVP: Reservation Link for Opening Night 3/18
P*lease note, our space is not a formal restaurant therefore, there aren't pre-assigned seats. It's more of a sit where you please :). This reservation is to ensure we don't exceed capacity. We will do our best to accommodate you and your party!
Please note your spot will only be held for 30 minutes from the selected start time, if you are not present within that timeframe your spot will be given to the next walk-in.
Que Boutique
Thursday-Sunday, 12-7pm
or by appointment only
Que Upstairs
Thursday-Saturday, 5-10pm
118 Pham Viet Chanh
Phuong 19, Binh Thanh District
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
alo@quekaarem.com
Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter and following @quekaarem.
Instagram
Facebook
quekaarem.com
(coming soon)
If you're unable to visit the store physically
or prefer the comfort of shopping from home,
we'll walk you through our space virtually.
Send us a message to schedule a 1-on-1 video chat.
DM or FB @quekaarem or email alo@quekaarem.com.
Que's playlist I: "eeeoo"
Que's playlist II: "c u pstairs"
Que's playlist III: "celebration :-)"
'good vibes' sunday, thinking about summer & post-saturday evening eating and drinking festivities amongst friends ♡
Que's playlist IV: "NYE Playlist ‘Vui Vui 1.0’ ♡"
welcoming 2021!
Quê của bạn ởi đâu / Where is your hometown?
QUE is KAAREM’s cozy new home in Bình Thạnh, Sài Gòn. QUE (wɛ˧˧) serves as a physical place of meeting with the purpose of creating conversations and connections through craft, design and art. We hope that our designs, garments, and shared meals foster community and collaboration here in Vietnam and around the world.
KAAREM (kä·rəm) is a contemporary design brand rooted in Vietnamese tradition, including its signature use of a handcrafted áo dài blind stitch. Each piece is made with care in KAAREM’s design and production studio just three blocks down the road from QUE.
KAAREM’s name comes from the phonetic way our parents’ generation would pronounce crème -- an anachronistic way of saying ice cream in Vietnamese. With an accent, QUE can refer to hometown. With the accent removed, QUE can refer to a cone -- like an ice cream cone ;) Welcome.
We are pleased to introduce our first resident, chef Bao La, to Que Upstairs, starting March 18, 2021 for the duration of six months. Bao will be present on-site, cooking and serving his thoughtful food every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In partnership with Bao, we look forward to developing systems that reduce waste, creating ‘good vibes’ and making tangible garments and objects as mementos. Bao shared with us his inspiration and methodology at his family’s home in Đà Lạt, Vietnam. To learn more on his musings and how Que came together with Bao, read here.
We had the pleasure of documenting and spending 48 hours with chef Bao La in Đà Lạt, Vietnam, in the form of a visual journal with snapshots taken by Chuong Pham and Karen Thao La.
Say hello to the newest addition to our denim family. Introducing Mũ Nụ / Unstructured Denim Bud Hat. The form is based on the shape of a ‘bud’; the sewn lines follow the curves, mimicking the petals of a flower. It is a light everyday hat that is a bit stretchy and a lot mysterious, with a deep crown and two elastic straps on the inner band for extra comfort and to ensure it doesn’t blow away. The denim hat is a part of our growing unisex collection—created with borderless intention and can be worn to protect us from the sun or to keep warm. 100% cotton - it is made from deadstock remnant fabric and is perfect for everyday wear because IT IS ALWAYS HAT WEATHER.
SAIGON--QUE *Friendly* Chess Night—Saturday, January 16th! Round Robin. For f-u-n only!
For Lunar New Year, we are excited to introduce the Tết Collection, featuring reusable Bao Lì Xì / Lucky Lì Xì Silk Envelope Pouches and Dây Câu Chúc / Hand-Embroidered Lunar New Year Wish Trinkets, which symbolize peace and goodness.
Introducing KAAREM Denim. We looked backwards to move forward. 💙 An exploration into utilitarian, everyday fabric, reinterpreted our way.
SAIGON - Join us this Sunday, December 20th at Que for a special ‘Open Air Holiday Market with Bakes’.
We spent a day with Nguyễn Thùy Dương (TyhD) at Que, photographing the collection in the home which houses Kaarem’s garments and the ceramics that inspired this collection.
Photography series of Que by Kaarem's pre-opening, our brick-and-mortar in Saigon, documented by Đạt Vũ in 2019.
Through a shared love for breadmaking, Chuong Pham (Kaarem) and Youssef El Hamdaouy (Habibà Kitchen), found each other through a field of IG posts. Several DM’s later, they discovered their common appreciation for ‘bold bakes’ and making things from scratch. Alas, we have the fruits of these initial conversations and are excited to bring Habibà to Que this weekend!
One Night Only! Bao La x Que pop-up this Saturday, November 14, 2020 from 5 to 10pm. Chef Bao La is flying solo in our home-style kitchen with a plant-based menu. We couldn't be more excited to share the fresh & tasty offerings Bao has come up with. Ingredients are inspired by the numerous places Bao has lived and as much as possible, ingredients are locally sourced. With an emphasis on accessibility, the menu was created with the atmosphere in mind—eating delicious, nourishing food, whilst sipping natural wine and listening to good tunes (in the case, a comprehensive dad rock playlist, care of Bao himself).
Introducing Áo Tuý, a relaxed button-up unisex shirt with a slightly cropped sleeve and a square collar. Features front placket and handsewn hidden button panels, and a front side seam pocket. A growing collection of people #wearingkaarem Sot shirt.
For Fall/Winter 2020, we found inspiration from clay indigenous to three distinct provinces in Vietnam: Bình Hòa - White Clay, Lâm Đồng - Red Clay, and Vĩnh Long - Black Clay.
Long time supporter of Que and Kaarem, Moon (Heewon), is a the maker behind Eatery 108's healthy delicious vegan treats. We are so excited to announce that 108 is coming to our space this weekend.
Local favorite Cù Rú Bar is coming down from Đà Lạt this Thursday, October 1st for a special one evening only Pop-Up at Que Upstairs in Saigon from 5 to 11pm. They’re bringing their signature rice wines & installing a lantern installation for Têt Trung Thu.
We are delighted to introduce KAAREM KIDS—Chị Chị Em Em is a miniature version of our bestselling Ease / Nhiên pants and An top. This everyday set, Chị Chị Em Em, embodies the spirit of care, protection, joy and love. Chị Chị Em Em is a three-piece unisex kids set and includes the Ease / Nhiên pant, An top and Gemini / Song Tử bag, designed and produced with care by our Saigon studio team.
Arlette Quỳnh-Anh Trần assumes many roles—increasingly on the quest to obtain indefinability in her output; she moves fluidly between artist, academic-researcher, curator, collective member, and catalyst. At her new home: Mài Apartment, we talk circles, global references, borderless style and dust phobias. The apartment design, led by Arlette, is a culmination of three years of effort, intersecting schools of thought and many individuals—Mài, meaning to hone or to polish.
In Photo Dialogue: a new visual series inviting friends to converse with us through images — ours, formally documented and theirs, informal snapshots. In this series, we exchange images with visual artist Ngô Đình Bảo Châu. We had the opportunity to document her solo show: Towards Realist Socialization / trông thật khác, nhìn thực giống, during her week of install. Curated by Arlette Quỳnh-Anh Trần at Galerie Quynh.
‘A Room of One’s Own’ by Thy Trần + Trang Đoàn featuring Chân Mày was both filmed and screened in the same room at Que Upstairs in Saigon. Images captured by Đạt Vu from an offline screening of Kaarem’s SS20 video on July 15th.
A video by Thy Tran and Trang Doan. ‘A Room of One’s Own’ creates space to engage in dialogue with oneself—a necessary space of reflection. To be able to call a corner of the world one’s own, even if it may be just a small section of a room; to arrange things to one’s liking, which only becomes disorderly by one’s own doing is a pleasure. In this space, Chân Mày sits with their favorite things: a glass of wine, a green pomelo, a taro colored outfit and a white terrazzo bench. The room itself becomes a physical representation of one’s dreams; a quiet and safe space to sit in contemplation; enjoying the simplicity of singular gestures and the passing of time.
A glimpse into Cát Tiên’s sphere, perched away from the noise of the city. Cát Tiên spends a day at home in thoughtful movements.
Kaarem's creative director Chuong Pham, makes bread at Que by Kaarem’s café-bar-kitchen, Que Upstairs, a space of experimentation and gathering. Chuong began making bread based on his interest in fermentation and enduring desire to transform raw materials into something that can be enjoyed by and shared with others.
A photo story featuring Si and Uyen in the unisex tạp dề / apron. This apron was initially designed for the team at Kaarem studio and Kaarem’s café-bar-kitchen in Saigon, Que Upstairs.
Inspired by the initial growth of mushrooms found under cây Tùng Thơm at Que’s garden; Kaarem’s studio director and tender of plants set out to create a hat that evokes the mushroom’s spirit and to help shield us from UV rays whilst keeping us cool. The result is a lightweight, foldable and reversible hat with seams kept to a minimum that can take the wearer into any activity they embark upon. Below is documentation of some friends in Saigon wearing the Mushroom Bucket Hat in different contexts.
We visited Nhung, one half of 6A collective, at her home in a historic building on Nguyễn Trãi. Her apartment was formerly 6A’s studio-office space—the name 6A stems from the six-floor walkup you have to embark on to be rewarded with the bright and airy space, adjacent from a park with sweeping views of downtown Sài Gòn.
We made a tutorial (with a downloadable pattern) on how you can make your own mask without a sewing machine, using commonly found fabric in your home.
We hope that you are doing as well as possible during this time and finding ways to take care of your families, communities and yourselves. Thank you for being a part of our community. We look forward to the future together.
We’re so grateful that friends near and far have joined us in warming our space so far. The store is ~ 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 ~ and the upstairs café is closed until further notice. We will keep you informed as things change.
Que Upstairs is proud to invite Hết Sẩy, a wife and husband duo from San Jose, California. Duy An and Hieu focuses on the food and vibes from East Side San Jose (ESSJ) and the Mekong Delta. Join us this Friday, March 13th, 5-10pm, at Hết Sẩy's Pop-up in our Bình Thạnh space.
Que by KAAREM's upstairs space is opening for the first time this Friday and Saturday. We'll be serving cozy drinks and bread by Chuong. Rice wine cocktails, organic wines and homemade sourdough bread will be available for purchase.
For our fifth anniversary, we collaborated with Marou Chocolate, Vietnam’s premier pod-to-bar chocolate maker, to create a limited chocolate bar that brings together incredible flavors from Vietnam. Marou developed a custom chocolate highlighting in-season tamarind. Rice Creative, Marou’s long-time design partner, developed a packaging design that represents the collaboration: exquisite handcraft, layering, draping, and pure forms.
Official Grand Opening is postponed until further notice. Stay safe everyone!
