DesignSingapore returns to Boutiques: Meet the featured designers
This November, Boutiques is delighted to welcome four Singapore designers — Nathan Home, Melvin Ong, Sophia Chin, and Bewilder — for the first time to The Gifting Edition as part of States of Matter, our second showcase in collaboration with DesignSingapore Council. Curated by Edwin Low and designed by Supermama, States of Matter was sparked by a deeper curiosity about how matter itself behaves over time, and invites the designers to share their distinct explorations of material and matter with the Boutiques audience.
“Boutiques brings together an audience that is already attuned to the personal side of design. It is less about persuasion and more about perception, inviting people to see design as an evolving conversation between human hands and material nature.”
— Edwin Low
As the founder of Supermama, Edwin also had a hand in designing the exhibition space. Supermama is a veteran in Boutiques’ community of brands and designers, and the studio created two levels of experience to encourage the intimacy and conversations that are at the heart of Boutiques as part of the exhibition. On one level, products are displayed close to visitors’ line of sight; on another, a gentle curve within the layout invites visitors to pause and speak with the designers, and get to know materials as active participants in the design process. The exhibition has also repurposed materials such as steel, aluminium, felt, and textile from this year’s EMERGE @ FIND showcase at Singapore Design Week to reflect the refinement and rawness present in the designers’ works.
In Edwin’s words, each of the four designers “approaches material differently, yet together they form a cohesive reflection of what contemporary Singaporean design looks like today: sensitive, grounded, and quietly confident.” Join us in getting to know the designers before interacting with their work in person this November.
Nathan Home
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Nathan Home, founded by award-winning Singaporean designer Nathan Yong, is a furniture and lifestyle brand that embodies presence, intentionality, and natural beauty. The brand builds on Nathan’s illustrious design career and expansive portfolio, an approach to furniture and product design that is defined by functionality and honest materials. Images courtesy of Nathan Home.
Hi, Nathan! Your practice spans decades and multiple areas of expertise. How has your design philosophy evolved over the years?
Nathan: My design philosophy has gradually distilled over time. When I first started, I was more concerned about form and innovation creating something new for its own sake. But as I matured, I became more reflective about meaning and purpose. I realised that true design isn’t about impressing others but about communicating sincerely. The shift toward simplicity and honesty came when I started to see beauty in restraint, when I understood that good design serves quietly, allowing materials, space, and emotion to breathe. It’s not minimalism for aesthetic reasons, but an attitude of respect, for people, for materials, and for time.
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At Boutiques, Nathan will be showcasing a series of stainless steel floor and table lamps, including the Slant Floor Lamp (left) and the U Lamp (right). Nathan favours natural, lasting materials such as solid wood, stone, stainless steel, and leather, wanting his designs to age gracefully with homeowners to gather patina, memory, and meaning over time. Images courtesy of Nathan Home.
Tell us more about what makes a material “honest” to you.
Nathan: An honest material is one that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. I like to show the natural character of a material, the veins in wood, the roughness of stone, the coldness of metal. Each carries its own story and temperament. When I use materials truthfully, I try not to over-finish or disguise them. I let their imperfections remain visible because that’s where the soul lies. Honesty in materials, to me, also reflects honesty in life, it’s about acceptance, transparency, and allowing authenticity to take centre stage.
Where do you seek fresh inspiration from?
Nathan: I find inspiration in the everyday, in quiet observation. Walking through an old neighbourhood, watching how light falls on a wall, or noticing how people interact with objects. I’m also drawn to Asian vernacular traditions, humble crafts, rituals, and architecture that hold wisdom shaped by climate and culture. Beyond that, I often reflect on philosophy, art, and nature. These things remind me that design isn’t just about making objects, but about understanding our relationship with the world.
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Through an appreciation of craftsmanship, elegance, and heritage, pieces like the Cove Chair, Drum Stool, and Pie Table (left to right) are meant to integrate into daily rhythms, inspire calm and quiet confidence, and to be lived with, rather than just looked at or shown off. Images courtesy of Nathan Home.
What are you most excited for at Boutiques?
Nathan: I’m looking forward to sharing the story of Nathan Home in a more personal and tactile way, for people to touch, feel, and understand what we mean by “honest materiality.” Boutiques brings together a community that values craftsmanship and authenticity, and I think it’s a meaningful platform for dialogue. In a digital world, we value physical presence — the ability to experience textures, observe light on surfaces, and discuss design. I’m excited to meet people who resonate with our philosophy of quiet luxury and grounded living and to exchange ideas about how design can enrich everyday life.
Melvin Ong
Melvin Ong is the founder of Desinere, a design studio built on the idea of shaping moments that invite reflection and reconnection through touch, experimentation, and craft. His design career began in London, but Melvin returned to Singapore to create work that was more tactile and personal. Image courtesy of Melvin Ong.
Hi, Melvin! Your practice is built on stillness and patience — where do you gain inspiration from?
Melvin: I find stillness when I’m making, sketching ideas, sanding a surface, or watching the 3D printer at work. Those repetitive moments help me think clearly. I often find inspiration in challenging preconceived notions and looking at everyday things through a different lens, finding beauty or meaning in what we might usually overlook. Sometimes, taking a short walk or a quiet sip of coffee helps to clear my mind and let those thoughts settle more naturally.
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At Boutiques, Melvin will be showcasing Threads of Becoming (left), a project with designer Shervon Ong and lacquer-threading artist Andy Yeo, and which exhibited at EMERGE @ FIND 2025. Featuring 3D-printed forms with detailed hand-threaded lacquer detailing, each piece creates a dialogue between digital precision and traditional handmade craft. Also made for EMERGE @ FIND 2025 is Mosu (right), a suspended textile screen made in collaboration with the women-led LO’UD Design Collective from Timor-Leste. The textile features the suto kavai (gecko) motif, a symbol of welcome and coexistence with nature in the collective’s weaving traditions. Images courtesy of Melvin Ong.
Can you tell us more about the materials you work with, and how your choice of material shapes your creations?
Melvin: I work with a mix of traditional and modern materials like wood, metal, and 3D-printed composites. I enjoy discovering how each material behaves and letting that guide the design rather than forcing it into form. Each project becomes a kind of material study, sometimes the texture or constraint of a material sparks an idea; other times the idea leads me to experiment with a new process.
Collaboration plays a big role in this too. Working with people like Shervon Ong and artisan Andy Yeo has helped me see materials through different eyes. These exchanges often uncover new ways of working and deepen my understanding of how making can evolve. That’s why I value collaboration so much — it keeps the process alive, curious, and constantly changing.
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Melvin’s attention to the quiet details extends to collections like 029 Door Numbers, designed to hint at the character of a home and the people who reside in it. These playfully-shaped numbers are formed using a custom typeface and available in a range of vibrant colours. Images courtesy of Melvin Ong.
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Melvin Ong's Ki invites a sense of play and tactility through intuitively-designed objects like accessory trays (left), pencil trays (right), and incense holders (not pictured). Both Ki and 029 Door Numbers will be showcased at Boutiques. Images courtesy of Melvin Ong.
What are you most excited for at Boutiques?
Melvin: I’m really looking forward to meeting people in person, hearing their thoughts, and seeing how they respond to the pieces. It’s always nice when something that’s been living in the studio finally meets the public. I hope people feel a sense of ease, that my work blends naturally into their daily lives. My goal is to create objects that feel familiar yet have a small twist that makes people smile or take a second look. Whether it’s a playful cat table or a lamp made from leftover metal, I want my pieces to bring warmth and a touch of curiosity into the home.
I’m also excited to catch up with other designers and makers, and to see what everyone has been working on. There’s always something new to learn and be inspired by at events like this.
Sophia Chin
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Industrial designer Sophia Chin’s current work centres around ceramics and glaze research, pushing the boundaries of materials, and expressing them as thoughtful, quietly provocative objects. Realising that many of the organic materials she works with had to be imported, she sources and experiments with alternative materials from her local environment. Images courtesy of Sophia Chin.
Hi, Sophia! What sparks your interest in a new material, and how does this experimentation influence your design process?
Sophia: What draws me to a new material is often its composition: what it is made of and what it has the potential to become. I’m fascinated by the science behind materials. Understanding their chemical makeup reveals why certain textures, colours, or reactions occur. Yet, what excites me most is that this discovery does not have to happen through traditional scientific methods. It can emerge through hands-on, creative experimentation. This balance between logic and intuition shapes how I design, where each process becomes both an investigation and an act of making.
Sophia’s material experiments led her to create Incinerated Ware, which began as Sophia’s final year thesis project in design school, and exhibited at EMERGE @ FIND 2025. Working with 30kg of ash from Singapore’s incineration plants, Sophia reimagines a by-product of industrial waste disposal into ceramic glazes on a set of dining ware — everyday objects that reflect on consumption. Images courtesy of Sophia Chin.
Can you tell us more about Incinerated Ware?
Sophia: I was drawn to ceramic glaze for its complexity, a material that is technically elusive and rarely taught to make. Inspired by potters in resource-rich countries who source their own ceramic materials from their surroundings, I began searching for a local alternative that could colour glaze. This led me to incinerator ash, a byproduct containing high levels of metal oxides capable of producing natural hues. Through refinement, I transformed this ash into a glaze material that not only colours ceramics but also reflects Singapore’s identity as an urban landscape, one that continually produces and redefines waste.
What do you hope people will feel or experience after engaging with this collection?
Sophia: I hope people will experience a shift in perspective after learning what my glazes are coloured with. I enjoy the moment of surprise when they realise that the pieces are made using incinerated ash. The material that doesn’t immediately reveal its origins, yet hints at them through specks of blue and green emerging from discarded porcelain and glass. Ultimately, I hope the work fosters a deeper appreciation for the potential of the “unwanted of the unwanted” waste.
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At Boutiques, take a closer look at the incinerated material that colours Incinerated Ware. Beyond this project, Sophia plans to further investigate unconventional glaze materials, and other media such as blown glass and lost-wax cast metal for their process-driven and transformative qualities. Images courtesy of Sophia Chin.
What are you most excited for at Boutiques?
Sophia: I have always attended Boutiques as a visitor, so being part of it this time as a maker is something I’m genuinely excited about. Beyond showcasing my work, I’m looking forward to meeting other designers and creatives who share a passion for craft and entrepreneurship. It’s a great opportunity to connect with like-minded people and contribute to the growing creative community in Singapore.
Bewilder
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Mycological design studio Bewilder was founded by Ng Sze Kiat, a pioneer in Singapore’s mycological scene who began by exploring the possibilities of growing one’s own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in Singapore. Since 2020, Sze Kiat has discovered various novel mushroom growing methods, and explored the use of mushrooms as sustainable and circular design materials in innovative products and artwork. Images courtesy of Bewilder.
Hi, Sze Kiat! How did your practice evolve from growing mushrooms to also designing mushrooms?
Sze Kiat: There is a certain intimacy in my cultivation process, and this close relationship has always been deeply rooted in creative expression. Bewilder is modelled after the way mushrooms grow — predictable yet unpredictable at the same time. Growing mushrooms and designing with mushrooms inform one another, and are not mutually exclusive. Our works are slowly moving more into fungal engineering and art, and we look forward to more exciting projects coming our way.
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Created for EMERGE @ FIND 2025, Weight of Nothingness emerged as an idea a few years ago. Letting the mushroom fruit bodies serve a design function, the table features Lingzhi (or Reishi) mushrooms holding up a glass tabletop. Images courtesy of Bewilder.
What do you find most exciting about working with mushrooms as a design material?
Sze Kiat: Even though there is a lot of planning and scheduling in our work, we still leave a lot of the final design to the mushrooms themselves. Mycelium is relatively fast-growing, but these organisms simply require time and space to fully express themselves. This finishing part of the process is always an unexpected surprise, and I think this is the most exciting thing about working with mushrooms as a design material.
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Working with living organisms, each of Bewilder’s design pieces is one of a kind, including their designer mycelium lamps like the ones pictured. At Boutiques, discover all-new table lamps and pendant lamps that are in the midst of growing. Images courtesy of Bewilder.
What are you most excited for at Boutiques?
Sze Kiat: We look forward to meeting everyone, and to unveil our latest works at Boutiques! We hope that people will feel a sense of awe when they come into contact with our work.
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Bewilder will also be bringing Fungariums (pictured left) and Mushroom Grow Kits (not pictured) for growing mushrooms at home, as well as all-new jewellery pieces that are currently being grown for the showcase. Images courtesy of Bewilder.
