The timeless appeal of the handmade

SINGAPORE — While it may seem like we are increasingly glued to the screens of our computers and smartphones, there is also a growing movement towards embracing a slower pace of life, and rediscovering the beauty and appeal of working with our hands. The past two years have seen a burst of workshops springing up for everything handmade — from floral arrangement classes to leather-making sessions. And a new wave of Singaporeans is also finding that working in crafts could go beyond just a hobby to become 
viable businesses.

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

For Winnie Chan, founder and CEO of Bynd Artisan, building a business in the printing and binding notebooks industry was never a scary decision. After all, she has the pedigree and chops. She is the third generation of homegrown paper company Grandluxe, which started as a small bindery workshop in 1942, and now produces notebooks and supplies diaries. Moreover, she has spent 22 years working in her family business and played an instrumental role in doubling sales revenue in what most people would say is a sunset industry.

While the family business provides functional paper products, Chan’s brainchild, Bynd Artisan, is a different beast. At its store in Holland Village, it is all about having the individual experience and being part of the artistry and craftsmanship that go into the creation and design of a notebook. There, you can fully customise your paper notebook, where it will be hand-bound by craftsmen. You can also take part in workshops and learn traditional bookbinding and leather crafting from artisans with more than 40 years of experience.

To make such an old craft accessible to a modern audience, Chan has two key strategies. The first is to have products that cannot be found elsewhere, and the company achieves this by focusing on design and quality. “Our product design is simple, yet it is this simplicity that accentuates the product’s elegance,” Chan shared. The paper and leather products are sourced from Europe and processed in quality-certified mills and tanneries using state-of-the-art technology.

Bynd Artisan also pushes the design-focus of the brand by collaborating with local artistic talent to produce designer capsule collections, the most recent one being with fashion designer Ong Shunmugam.

The other strategy is to create an experience for the person who enters the store, one that provides the warmth and interaction that online shopping lacks. “I think the biggest challenge today is to divert the audience’s attention away from their phones. We address this issue by involving our customers in the process of creating their customised item and gift. Personalisation has become an avenue for consumers to feel a sense of identity with and ownership to their tangible things in this digital world.”

The focused direction of Bynd Artisan seems to be working. Chan says while the workshops were initially targeted at young working adults, the brand has seen people from ages 13 to 70. Some workshop participants even book one-on-one sessions with its master craftsman BC Chong. The most encouraging sign, though, Chan revealed, would be seeing young primary school children asking their parents for a customised notebook as a reward for having worked hard for a test.

Bynd Artisan (www.byndartisan.com) #01-54, 44 Jalan Merah Saga. Tel: 6475 1680

Different strokes for different folks

Just when you think you have left calligraphy lessons behind for good in primary school, the art form has made a comeback among the young in recent years. It is led by the likes of Letter J Supply, a store offering calligraphy works and customised gifts. Its founder Joanne Lim, 34, was a graphic designer for more than 10 years before she decided to swap her laptop for a pen. Her love for the craft started on a trip to New York three years ago, where she attended a calligraphy talk. She was immediately hooked and spent the rest of her month-long holiday attending private calligraphy classes.

“When I came back to Singapore, I felt like the computer was very cold in comparison to the feeling I had with the nib and ink,” Lim shared. She continued to hone her skill through watching videos on social-media platforms, and eventually, she took the plunge and started her business six months later.

Lim thinks the revival of calligraphy in Singapore started with young working adults about two to three years ago. She recalls her first event where she transformed a small shop space with plants from floor to ceiling, and sold customised “message in a bottle” gifts, where each message was done in calligraphy. Even back then, people were intrigued and curious about the craft.

One reason Lim thinks more young people are gaining interest in calligraphy is that people are constantly using gadgets and miss working with their hands. From the calligraphy workshops she organises, she notices that once people get the hang of using the pen and nib, it is hard to get them to stop.

“They love the feeling of writing again. I would describe it as connecting to your soul in a very familiar way. There’s a warm feeling that evokes memories of the time we were learning to write our A, B, Cs in school, but this time, through a new tool (nib) so there’s a mix of nostalgia and freshness,” said Ng who added that the workshops she conducts are usually sold out, or 90 per cent full.

Despite growing interest, there is no denying it is still a niche one. To grow calligraphy’s reach, Lim works with different venue partners who understand the craft. Each venue partner has its own unique following, and they help to market her classes to reach a wider audience. While she thinks the scene is vibrant now, with an active online community of calligraphy enthusiasts, she hopes to see interest in this therapeutic and inexpensive hobby spread to children and older people in future.

Letter J Supply (http://www.theletterjsupply.com). 30A Seah Street. By appointment only.

Spreading the word

More than just a hobby or a retail store, book binding can prove to have a positive social effect, as shown by The Thistle Bindery’s Ian Tan. Tan first picked it up as a personal pursuit when he was studying in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and he had old books that he used for research that needed to be repaired. A trip to the bindery opposite his apartment turned into an apprenticeship. Even when he returned to Singapore and took on a full-time job as a civil servant, he continued to practise bookbinding stitching patterns and read up on book conservation.

From the responses to his Facebook posts on the books he made by hand, Tan began to realise there was a real interest here. So he started The Thistle Bindery in 2012, a social enterprise to spread awareness of bookbinding in Singapore through workshops and classes, with part of the proceeds donated to its chosen charity beneficiary Loving Heart Multi-Service Centre.

Workshops are the core of The Thistle Bindery’s ethos. While they might be a relatively slow way to spread the craft of bookbinding, Tan believes they are the most effective way to engage people. “Nothing can replace a live demonstration and close supervision. It is direct and very personalised. Participants see the process and they can ask questions.”

Unlike scrapbooking, which focuses on the decorative layout of each page, Tan pointed out that bookbinding is more about the technical aspects of putting a book together. There is also a dizzying array of binding styles from all around the world and across time.

“The participants need to be attentive and focused for hours on end,” he said. To make this detailed and technical craft accessible, his workshops have no more than 10 people to ensure he is able to give everyone the attention and guidance they need.

In efforts to sustain interest in the craft, he also encourages the participants to enjoy the making process, instead of focusing solely on precision and accuracy. That way, they do not get discouraged and are more likely to practise and hone their skills after the workshop.

Tan runs about three workshops a month, but his bindery in Chinatown also hosts other bookbinders’ and book artists’ workshops on a regular basis. In March this year, he established the Book Arts Society (Singapore) with a group of bookbinding enthusiasts to consolidate resources and efforts to create more outreach activities.

Tan is certain the interest in bookbinding will grow. “I think the young, particularly Gen-Y and millennials, who had not or hardly experienced a non-digital work environment, are keen to rediscover traditional art forms and tactile skills. This is probably why workshops offering traditional skills — for example, carpentry, calligraphy and even gardening — are popular.”

The Thistle Bindery (http://thethistlebindery.wordpress.com). 531 Upper Cross Street, #03-71.

Upcoming workshops for you to pick up an old-school craft

Single Alternate Needle Coptic Binding Workshop by The Thistle Bindery

In this four-hour workshop, participants will decorate a cover board with block printed hand-made papers and learn how to sew sections of papers onto the covers using different variants of Coptic binding to create a hard-bound book.

When: Sunday, July 31, 2pm. Where: The Thistle Bindery & Co, #03-57 Hong Lim Complex, 531 Upper Cross Street. Cost: S$80.

To register and for more information, visit https://thethistlebindery.wordpress.com/a-bookbinding-cause/upcoming-workshops/

Brush Writing Workshop by The Letter J Supply

Learn the basics of letter forms and how to create your own expressions of words with water colour paint. Materials will be provided in this three-and-a-half-hour workshop.

When: Saturday, July 30, 10am. Where: Shop Wonderland, 37 Haji Lane. Cost: S$150.

To register: http://www.shop-wonderland.com/collections/2016-classes/products/calligraphy-class-brush-writing-with-the-letter-j-supply-31-jul.

For more information on brush writing workshops: http://www.theletterjsupply.com/pages/
brush-writing-workshop.

Basic Leather Notebook Making Workshop by The Bynd Artisan

In this three-hour workshop, participants will get to pick a natural grained leather and sewing thread of his or her choice of colour and learn basic notebook-stitching techniques. They can even put their initials on their masterpiece.

When: Tuesday, August 16, 2pm. Where: Ateliar @ Holland Village, #01-54 44 Jalan Merah Sega. Cost: S$78.

To register and for more information, visit http://www.byndartisan.com/workshops/