Synergraphics' 30-year glass act

THE Partners Monument at Taipei 101 and the Orion at the Seagate Design Centre in Singapore are just some of Florence Ng's vast portfolio of glass-themed art installations. This homegrown talent's journey, like many others, had humble beginnings.

"I first started with S$500, two people and a S$500 car, with one table under a zinc hut in a now demolished shophouse along Bartley Road," said Ms Ng.

Today, Synergraphic is a company of 30 and operates out of a landed terraced factory space. While overheads were much lower in the 1980s, her present achievements are not something she envisioned during those early days.

"What it boils down to is passion and to keep an open mind... I am learning every day and glass is my canvas."

This personal philosophy has enabled her to consistently pick up new skills in her field of making glass art.

As a glass artist, travelling and reading have greatly helped her hone her craft by giving her inspiration and helping to shape her vision.

"Back then we acquired knowledge through books, and it was also about taking in what others have done overseas."

Her travels took her to Seattle in the early 1990s, which was then the centre of glass art in the US and Dusseldorf in Germany, which she continues to visit yearly. Ms Ng credits her husband for organising and taking her on those trips which were eye-opening experiences.

"You travel to places and see how glass has also been used traditionally in those countries and also see how artists in different countries have used glass in a contemporary manner. We were inspired by them and started to add tools along the way."

Ms Ng's journey though, wasn't all smooth sailing.

During economic troughs, Ms Ng said that the demand for such goods were lesser and she had to work harder to find projects and materials.

She even travelled to Hong Kong and Guangzhou during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Though, in hindsight, she agreed that it might have been a risky decision but did not think much of it at the time.

Through her stewardship, Synergraphic has made a name for itself in art spaces in hotels and office buildings. A couple other exanples of her glass art that come to mind are her features at St Regis Singapore and the MGM Macau.

Ms Ng likens herself to wearing two hats: one as an artist and designer involved in the creation of new art pieces; and the other as a managing director of Synergraphic, who has to make tough business decisions. "It's about how we can do justice to art while remaining commercially viable and where it is sustainable," said Sara Ang, Ms Ng's daughter and executive director of Synergraphic.

Given the pragmatic nature of Singapore society, it might not be wise to survive on art alone. Hence, the crux of Synergraphic's ethos lies at the intersection of art and function.

Functional art

Ms Ang said: "We started to introduce art by combining it with function, adding it to lighting features, mirrors and glass partitions and will continue to blend it into other products."

"I think it is exciting as it involves not just business and the balancing of accounts but it also involves a lot of understanding of what people want and what value we can create for them."

Ms Ng is still very much an artist and is eager to share her knowledge with those who are keen to learn from her.

In the past, she has worked with the jewellery design school at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. She then revisited the idea of having workshops in glass art and most recently held such workshops at Chip Bee Gardens in the middle of December.

For her efforts, she has been recognised both locally and regionally. She attributes this to the ability to break boundaries.

"We never limited ourselves to the basic notion of glass art and we have always looked at what else we can do to bring or integrate glass into different applications," Ms Ang said.

"In that way we have contributed quite a lot to Singapore and Asia."

Like a true artist, Ms Ng explained: "We believe that when we are given a space to work on, we really want to do our best, and we make it a point to do justice to that space. That is the responsibility I take all the time."

For much of her career, Ms Ng did not envision having either one of her children joining her at Synergraphic. The same can be said for her daughter who was undecided over joining her mother.

"It all started when Sara first interned with me and I needed to do a presentation and she aided me in recalling my works and also helped us set benchmarks and looked deeper into what we do," Ms Ng said.

Ms Ang said: "I am motivated when I look at the effort she's made since I was growing up as those sacrifices meant something as she was and still is putting her whole life and soul into building something that genuinely enriches people's lives."

She also added: "My other objective is also to take over the business functions of Synergraphic so that she has more time to do her art."

An appreciation for art grew in the business graduate from Singapore Management University during her time at SMU and she eventually became the president of the art club.

"The art corner was at the end of the campus and in a low traffic area. I wanted to get the art in a more central space and eventually managed to get approval for the artists to put the artwork in those places," Ms Ang said.

Moving forward

Their working relationship has blossomed and it continues to develop. Ms Ng said: "I now have a wall to bounce ideas off and someone who is also able to give both my staff and me second opinions, which helps with the decision-making process."

One of the latest developments for the company is its recently released book titled Fluid: Florence Ng, Synergraphic 30 years.

Interestingly, the trigger event for conceiving the idea for her book was an unlikely office flood.

"So one day we had a flood and my daughter found all these old documents that I haven't seen and urged me to document them as they were a peek into the history of the company."

This led to a solo exhibition held for her in 2014, where she showcased her art work. These events formed the basis of her book.

"Though this book is about 30 years of Synergraphic, it is also very much a representation of my mother's creative journey," said Ms Ang.

Ms Ng's appreciation of her daughter's efforts couldn't be understated.

"We would not even have consolidated what the business has created or documented till today, if Sara did not urge me to recall them."

According to her, the book has helped to raise Ms Ng's profile, even among her existing clientele, with more knowing the full extent of her work.

Ms Ng said: "While this book serves the purpose of documenting my journey, it is really about the artistic talent in Singapore and raising awareness of the many artists and teams in Singapore.

"We want Singaporeans know that they have their own homegrown team of people who are specialists in glass art who can and have made beautiful works both in Singapore and in Asia."