Time, Savoured

Winnie Chan and James Quan have found an antidote to a frenetic, digitally driven life in their book-binding atelier – and made a business of it.

- Karen Tee

The scented candle on their bedroom balcony is lit. Their whiskies of choice – Lagavulin on the rocks for him and a Japanese highball for her – are in hand. Reclining comfortably in lounge chairs, Winnie Chan and James Quan are finally able to relax at the end of a long day.

This is a nightly ritual that the husband and wife, who are co-founders of custom bookbinding and leather-craft atelier Bynd Artisan, never miss. “After work, we have our whisky and talk on our balcony well into the night,” says Quan, 49.

Indulging in conversation, away from any digital screen, is their balm for an increasingly hectic work and travel schedule, brought on by the trend defying growth of their business since it launched in 2014. With the digitisation of Singapore’s economy and a wave of people migrating to digital tools, stationery shops and bookstores have been shuttering at an alarming pace. Who would have wagered that an atelier featuring septuagenarian craftsmen sewing and hot-stamping personalised, leather-bound notebooks would have the slightest chance of survival?

However, Bynd Artisan’s revenue to date has tripled from its first year of operations, having tapped into a surprising pent-up demand for analogue products that inspire nostalgia. While Quan declined to reveal revenue figures, he shared that a “significant part” of their revenue is derived from bespoke corporate orders, with a “typical order” pegged at “high six-figure numbers”.

APPEALING TO THE MILLENNIALS