Purveyor Of Good Taste

LELIAN CHEW has come a long way since launching her luxury wedding-planning business from her living room six years ago. She tells Denise Li why she doesn’t mind the personal sacrifices nor the grind of being in the busy business of love

- Lelian Chew

When you first speak to Lilian Chew, it’s impossible to tell that she’s perennially sleep-deprived. The founder of The Atelier & Co is fresh-faced and chatty, cheerfully offering coffee and baked goods to me and her staff at their newly unveiled global headquarters at Delta House, a 7,000sqft space that occupies the entire eighth floor of the industrial building at Alexandra.

“There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get things done,” she admits, “so sleep is often the first thing to go.” No surprise there, considering how many people are after a slice of the consummate entrepreneur’s time. The Atelier & Co encompasses The Wedding Atelier and The Floral Atelier: the former is the event-planning arm of the company, specializing in weddings, while the latter is an extension of the business, offering not only floral arrangements for weddings but also event styling, workshops, and subscriptions, with outlets in Orchard Road and Tiong Bahru.