Interviews

Mr Kay Ching Boh is a street cobbler situated at cobblers square, outside People's Park Complex in ChinaTown. He shares with us how he has to use many different tools, such as hammers, nails and scissors, to mend others' shoes. He says that working as a cobbler is tough, even it is scorching hot or raining heavily, he still has to work. Furthermore, he works for 10 hours everyday. As a cobbler, he shares that it is his responsibility to ensure that his customers' shoes are properly repaired and not damaged. He collects around 5 dollars for a simple shoe repair job. Despite his efforts, modernisation has greatly affected his business. He says that is earnings have halved. Nowadays, Mr Kay only receives 2 to 3 customers a day, meaning that he only earns around 10 dollars a day. However, he looks to the bright side, saying that that is all he needs to have 3 meals a day. We hope that through this interview, you have learnt more about the life of street cobblers and to all cobblers out there, all the best!

Mr Chen Foon Kee is the owner of Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture, selling beautiful rattan crafts and products. Beside Alexandra Village Food Centre, is his shophouse, with a long history of more than 60 years! Mr Chen shares with us how he actually started learning rattan weaving from his father at the young age of 14 by observing and implementing the skills. Eventually, at the age of 19, he took over the store when his father died unexpectedly. According to Mr Chen, learning the art of rattan making requires dedication and time. He puts in a lot of effort into creating one piece of rattan furniture, thinking about how the customer would feel about the product. Rattan making is hard work. Mr Chen personally works from 9.30 in the morning to 9.30 at night, only rest days a few times a year. There are no limits to learning how to create rattan products and in fact, he is still constantly improving because it is a matter of craftsmanship. He shares that the process of making rattan furniture is laborious. Rattan would have to be extracted from trees in tropical rainforests and shipped to Singapore. They then buy the raw materials from suppliers, thereafter shaping and cutting the rattan for use. With the help of tools such as hammers and chisels (a long-bladed hand tool with a bevelled cutting edge and a handle which is struck with a hammer or mallet, used to cut or shape wood, stone, or metal), rattan would then be woven into beautiful furniture pieces such as baskets, chairs, tables and many more! To add some colours, he even paints them personally. Mr Chen shares how rattan making was a booming industry in the 1970s and 1980s, where he even shipped his products to parts of Europe! However, ever since Singapore underwent rapid modernisation, rental and material costs all went up, while the demand for rattan products also decreased. Despite the difficulties, Mr Chen says that rattan making is still his passion, something beyond just making a living. He is happy when people appreciate work and delighted uphold this unique Singaporean heritage. He says that it is also heart-warming to see how people keep rattan furniture pieces as family heirlooms, passing them down generations. Mr Chen would continue to make rattan pieces until the day he loses the ability to do so. We hope that you have got a more in-depth experience with rattan making through this interview and to all rattan makers out there, Jiayou!

Fun fact: The Mediacorp show, Soul Old Yet Soul Young (心里住着老灵魂）, airing on Channel 8 was filmed at Chun Mee Lee Rattan Furniture! Catch it on: https://www.mewatch.sg/season/Soul-Old-Yet-So-Young-220911