Will Not Crack Under Pressure

As the daughter of glass artist Florence Ng, Sara Ang has made her mother’s dream and company her own, advancing both the medium and the business to creative new levels.

- CHARMIAN LEONG

There are many reasons why people choose to join the family business over personal ambitions. It could be a sense of duty, obligation or genuine interest from repeated exposure that steers one towards dreams of dynasty building. Sara Ang, director of Synergraphic—the glass and design studio founded by her mother—was motivated by love.

“When I was 9 or 10 years old, I remember going to the supermarket with my mother, and her credit card was declined at the checkout. We had to go through the stuff and pick out the things we needed most, all while people were waiting in line behind us,” Ang recalls. “Having watched mum suffer for her cause, I came to admire her spirit of hope and optimism, especially since I’m a glass-half-empty kind of person. It’s so unreal how strong and generous she has always been. Unconsciously, I took it upon myself to fulfill her dream.”