Breathing new life into an old family business

SINGAPORE — Started almost three years ago, leather and paper accessories shop Bynd Artisan allows customers to choose materials and watch as the craftsmen turn them into books and other stationery.

The company also conducts workshops on leather crafting and book binding. The concept not only breathed new life into an old family business, it also made work more interesting for long-time employees.

Master craftsman Chong Beng Cheng, 75, told TODAY: “It has been keeping me challenged. Every day, I encounter different types of customers, and have to sell our products to them and convince them. Last time, I did not have to interact with customers at all.”

Bynd Artisan initially started as a brand under Grandluxe, a 75-year-old company printing notebooks and stationery. It was highlighted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday during his speech at the May Day rally, as an example of a small and medium enterprise that has adapted and thrived despite changing times.

Ms Winnie Chan, owner of Bynd Artisan, is among the third generation running the family business, which her grandfather started as a bookbinding business in 1942.

In the 1970s, her father decided to reinvent the business, setting up a factory printing stationery and notebooks. Recalling how her company was started, she said Grandluxe’s sales were declining.

“These days, we have mobile phones and computer software like Excel, so no one really uses diaries or books to keep accounts anymore. We could not get many new customers,” she said.

She decided to experiment with a newfangled retail concept to draw in fresh segments of customers, such as millennials. The response was so overwhelming, she decided to focus on it as a separate business together with her husband, Mr James Quan.

“We thought that this experiential concept would attract (the millennials). They could come into the shop and engage our craftsmen working on their goods. In fact, many customers love to take pictures and videos of this process, and post it on their Instagram pages. These millennials also want instant gratification, so their goods are done on the spot, within 30 minutes,” said Ms Chan.

Customers can personalise leather notebooks, bags, wallets and other accessories by choosing the colours, materials and names to put on the goods. Bynd Artisan has three retail outlets at Holland Village, Tangs Orchard and Scotts Square, with a fourth coming up at Raffles City. Out of the firm’s 15 craftsmen, five are from the original family business.

One of them is Mr Chong, who has been working for the Chans for 37 years. Previously, he would manually bind books. Now, he gets to conduct workshops and develop new content for them. “I do enjoy my work,” he said.