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Founded in 2015, the two owners originally ran this shop as a shoe showroom. But over time, it started accumulating little things the owners liked such as records, clothes, and props, eventually turning it into select shop and boutique carrying a wide selection of fashionable products. It’s also the reason why this shop is called Pairs, aptly named after the term used for counting shoes.

Looking around the shop, it’s evident that the owner has a taste for vintage. The first thing to capture the eye is her records. Having great interest in African American music of the 70s to 90s, the owner took great effort in acquiring items relating to that period. She would find LP, cassette tapes, and even 8-track tapes through American and Japanese sellers. On top of that, she would find brands and designs that applied to that time period, getting her hands on vintage Levi’s jeans, marble notebooks, jewelries, and other vintage things.

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8-track tape & vintage Levi’s jean  

Although the owner continues to enjoy listening to music through her CD player, there are customers who specifically come into Pairs looking to buy relics like the 8-track tapes to add to their collection. Levi’s is still a pretty big brand even today, making its past designs even more significant. Apparently, the fabric, button, rivets on Vintage Levi’s jean are vastly different from the modern designs today. 

Already saturated with people and shops spilling over to its nearby neighborhoods of Sangsu-dong, Mangwon-dong, and Seongsan-dong, it’s hard to associate Hongdae with the word “quiet”. However, that’s the word you would describe Oval, the store located on the 3rd floor of a building in the narrow alleyway in Seogyo-dong. 

Having first opened its doors in 2008, Oval is a stationery store that sells Japanese and European brand products like Postalco and Papier Labo. There’s so much to see and look through that an hour or two simply isn't enough time. On top of that, this place doesn't feel cluttered at all. In fact, each small item is purposely laid out in an almost whimsical pattern. When the sunlight comes in through the windows, this places holds an almost ethereal quality.

Having loved to draw since a young age, the owner fell in love and developed a great interest in stationery products. She showcases all of her vintage stationery products like pencils, letter openers, bookmarks, paperweight, and supplies through her store and Instagram site.

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Vintage pencils  

Oval strongly believes in the act of finding and discovering a product as a type of play. Carefully taking into account the pencil’s shape, design, etched print, and color, they believe the quality of a tool can only be truly realized after use. Additionally, production dates and factory names are etched onto the pencils, making it easy for newcomers to take note of which brands work well for them as they slowly expand their growing collection of stationery products.