New Paris Saloon and Klinik Kasut Osman in Ipoh Garden, Ipoh, Perak (circa 2008).

Traditional shops everywhere are being phased out by changing trends and diminishing demand. The neighbourhood barber, the family-run grocer, the ‘hole-in-the-wall’ newspaper vendor, the medical hall, the roadside cobbler; to name a few.

Many such entities have already vanished silently, without a visual record. While we can’t stop change, we can do one thing. We can document the remaining ones for future generations.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” ~ Mahatma Gandhi