Something Old, Something New

Meet the champions of reinvention who are putting traditional trades and skills in a new light. Annabel Tan finds out how they are modernising the fields of Chinese tea, bird’s nest and ikebana.

KARA ARISSA TAN

Founder of Zhen Often when Kara Arissa Tan tells her peers that she sells bird’s nest for a living, they respond with, “Oh... can you make money doing that?”. The 28-year-old is working to change the perception that bird’s nest is only for the older generation or special occasions with her brand and e-commerce empire, Zhen (zhenintl.com). Having grown up in a family that has been in the bird’s nest supply and manufacturing business for over 30 years, Kara was always interested and involved in the entire process. As a child, she enjoyed the hands-on aspects of the trade like handpicking the nests and cleaning them. From the age of 15, she started taking over the liaising with clients over email and helping to develop the business, which she still does.

However, rather than just working for the family business, Kara decided to venture out on her own last year. “My family business only supplies the raw products to multinational corporations (MNCs) and we don’t get a say in how the final product is manufactured,” explains Kara. “I personally believe bird’s nest is very pristine and nothing should be added to it. That is what I’m trying to do with Zhen; I want people to enjoy bird’s nest the way I always have.”

EAT WELL, BE WELL