Capturing the beauty of everyday things in the quest for a heartwarming ‘Singapore design’

LONG before the now-iconic Pinnacle@Duxton was built, the site was home to a far more modest-looking Housing Board development, Block 1 Cantonment Road.

It was along those corridors that some of Singaporean designer Mike Tay’s earliest memories were formed in the 1970s: marvelling at the Chingay parade making its rounds, playing with other kids and salivating at the scent of “love letter” biscuits cooking ahead of Chinese New Year.

Block 1 is gone for good, but the memory of it is immortalised on a cushion cover by design studio Onlewo, co-founded by Tay. The striking geometric pattern is abstract at first glance, but discerning eyes will recognise the blocky symmetrical design of older flats.

“Things come and go, and our life is a flash. A lot of things are beautiful, and that moment itself – I’m trying to capture that moment and then put it somewhere,” Tay told The Business Times.

It is mostly this spirit that informs Tay’s designs, with strong storytelling elements beyond simply capturing the animals, plants and sights of Singapore.

For example, his “Tiong Bahru” print features not just the neighbourhood’s market and iconic pre-war buildings, but also community cat Bob, which brought residents together.

Honouring personal memories is central to creating a truly “Singapore” design, Tay’s partner and co-founder Eugene Yip said.

“To us, ‘Singapore motif’ means things that matter to us, our life journey and home,” said Yip. “We always want our designs to be something that’s heartwarming, something that touches a chord in the heart.”

This desire is encapsulated in the company’s name, derived from the Cantonese term for “peaceful, happy nest”.

Explained Tay: “We wanted a brand that just lets people find things that can beautify their homes and build a warm nest.”

Tay creates all of Onlewo’s designs, which adorn a variety of products from wallpapers and upholstery, to table runners, lamp shades, shirts and ties.

Aside from consumer retail products, the company has created interior furnishings for the Singapore offices of BlackRock, Spotify and Standard Chartered, as well as corporate gifts for the likes of Patek Philippe, Cartier and Temasek.

Over half its products are made in Singapore, although it also has suppliers in Europe, Malaysia and China.

Working with local partners can be more costly, but saves time and improves quality assurance, said Tay.

“The trade-off is that with local producers that can support you, you actually save a lot of time than working with someone very far away, because sometimes there are rejects and errors, and you can’t rectify quickly when you’re working with an overseas supplier.”

The duo founded Onlewo in 2015 almost serendipitously. Tay, who worked in sales and marketing at a TV station, was dabbling in photography and photo editing during a career break.

When friends also liked what he designed, he explored ways to do more with his artwork, such as printing them as wallpaper. He submitted these to a design festival in London – and, when they were accepted, flew there to attend the show.

The experience gave him a new-found identity as a designer and made him feel “very alive”, recalled Tay.

Upon returning to Singapore, he set up booths at local events with his wallpapers and product prototypes, such as cushion covers and upholstered stools.

Eventually, he and Yip – an interior designer – decided to take the plunge to set up the company using their savings.

Said Tay: “My approach to life and also to work is that you start from here, now, this point where you are, rather than looking at the end game and where you want to hit, because a lot of things are beyond our control,” he said.

That mindset has guided the duo in managing their business and maintaining a healthy cash flow: start small, look for suppliers with a reasonable minimum order quantity and minimise wastage.

Yip said they generally avoid “unnecessary risk”, whether in holding inventory – with small production runs and wallpapers printed on demand – or choosing a shop space, to avoid rent becoming a burden.

Added Tay: “We are not into like, ‘Let’s dump this (design) and then hope that this will become a hit, and then we can make a lot out of it’.”

Rather than being ambitious, Yip thinks of themselves as being “hungry creatively” – wanting to find different media for Tay’s designs, but not at all costs.

“This whole thing is really about our own happiness too, and we don’t want to make that secondary to business goals,” he said.

He concedes that this world view presents an inherent challenge: “How do we grow and expand our customer base, become bigger, without sacrificing our holidays and time for ourselves?”

Investors have come knocking, over the years, but Yip said they have not met one that is aligned with their vision for the business.

After all, remaining free-spirited is arguably critical to a design studio. Tay said focusing on figures and the bottom line would “taint” the design side of him, and possibly upset the mental peace and balance he needs in order to feel inspired.

The duo have a shop in Joo Chiat and intend to move to Downtown OUE in September, to be closer to their corporate clients. But they have no interest in opening multiple retail outlets, lest they lose the personal connection with their customers.

Nonetheless, they are open to expanding overseas, particularly Japan or Asean, if the right partners or opportunities come along.

“The partners that we always value would be partners that are design-led rather than just market-led, meaning they have an emphasis on design and heritage and culture,” Yip said. “That kind of match would be wonderful.”

Onlewo is not new to defying market norms. Tay’s very first product was wallpaper, something that Yip initially tried to discourage as there was little market for it in Singapore.

“You will feel, how can this be sustainable? But looking back, I mean, I feel sorry that I tried to discourage him,” Yip said with a sheepish laugh.

“Because wallpaper has now taken off, and it allows us to celebrate Singapore designs in big offices, with international companies and brands.”