Back to Asian roots

AN INTERNSHIP in Shanghai some seven years ago sparked Singaporeans Jessica Wong and Pamela Ting's interest in their Asian culture and roots. Fast forward to today, the duo have turned that interest into Scene Shang, a newly launched furniture and homeware range, which has influences from traditional Chinese and Art Deco styles. "Being in Shanghai expanded our view of who we are," says Ms Ting, a former vice-president with an American bank. Even after completing their internship, the two women, who are both 30, returned annually to the country for holidays. Two years ago, they tossed up the idea of creating a furniture range of their own. "Sure, it would have been easy to simply import pieces that we like back to Singapore, but that was not enough for us," says Ms Wong, the former co-founder of Oats, a graphic and interior design firm. "We wanted to add our own touches."

Scene Shang is the result of this. The Shanghai-based duo say that the name is a play on words. Scene sounds like xin (meaning new in Mandarin), and is also the same character for Xin Jia Po (Singapore in Mandarin)," says Ms Wong. "While Shang can be short for Shanghai, and it is also the character for appreciation in Mandarin."

The two, who first knew each other when they were Raffles Junior College schoolmates, left their day jobs last April to concentrate on Scene Shang. Last May, they embarked on a two-month-long backpacking trip to Guangxi and Yunnan provinces to uncover forgotten crafts. Since August, they have been based in Shanghai so as to work closely with the Chinese craftsmen to build the pieces. Part of the job requires them to visit factories where the pieces are made. "We chose to work with craftsmen from the lesser-known regions, such as Anhui province, as they are more willing to produce smaller quantities," says Ms Ting. They chose to work with Chinese craftsmen, "because you can no longer find such craftsmen in Singapore", says Ms Wong.