'There's a time for profit and there's a time for making a difference': How a mobile tailoring business turned mask provider
SINGAPORE: As the COVID-19 pandemic began to pitter-patter its way through Singapore, Kenneth Chia and Lyn Chan began to receive calls from fabric sellers in Chinatown.
"The aunties and uncles in Chinatown called us and they said: 'Oh, things are very quiet, exercise you demand whatever fabrics?' So we went down and it was like a dead city ... just nobody effectually," recalled Ms Chan, who forth with Mr Chia co-founded mobile tailoring company A Admirer's Tale vi years ago.
"They were saying that there were a few days where they didn't take any sales. Then we thought - let's buy the Chinatown fabrics that are interesting, and nosotros can brand shirts and then sell it to our customers."
Merely as Malaysia's movement control gild so Singapore's circuit-breaker kicked in, Mr Chia and Ms Chan realised that it was more than just the textile sellers that were being striking difficult.
"The seamstresses that we accept who come in and out (of Singapore) every day, they had to cull to either stay in Singapore, or go back to Malaysia and not have continuous income," said Ms Chan. "Then those that chose to stay in Singapore, when they heard Singapore was going to implement the circuit-breaker, (they) all panicked. Considering seamstresses around the world earn very low basic pay, they earn commission based on every detail that they brand."
With excess cloth on their hands, and the need for masks amidst Singaporeans, Ms Chan and Mr Chia decided to take matters into their own hands.
"(We asked ourselves) what we could practise for the people around u.s., basically the people in our industry, and so nosotros idea - allow'due south kickoff this initiative of doing masks," said Ms Chan.
The duo decided that they would proceed costs low and ensure that those they roped in to produce the masks would brand some money.
"At that indicate in time, it was very hard to get reusable masks in Singapore. Everybody was using disposable ones. If you could purchase reusable masks, it was priced very, very high. And I think there'due south a time for turn a profit and there'due south a time for making a difference," explained Ms Chan.
"We sold information technology at S$6 - not a turn a profit - and at the same fourth dimension we could employ fabrics that were from the Chinatown aunties and uncles. Our seamstresses, our cutters, and our drafters could also continue to earn a living."
This was also a small mode to give back to those who had helped them in the by, said Mr Chia and Ms Chan.
"(When we started our business, it was but) later on the Chinatown people, the uncles and aunties were supplying us fabrics, that's where the big brands of fabric suppliers started to come to the states. Put it this way, the Chinatown uncles and aunties did help u.s. in our initial phase when we started to go total time into tailoring," said Mr Chia.
"It was very much almost helping the people in our circle, in our community," added Ms Chan.
"We listened to what the people around us were going through, what they were dealing with and nosotros asked ourselves, what can we actually do to make a difference as individuals and as a business concern."
A LEARNING Process
But beginning, they would need to figure out how to make masks.
"We didn't know how to make masks, we are tailors for outfits," explained Mr Chia. "Lyn and myself did a lot of prototypes, cut a lot fabrics, to brand certain nosotros perfected the curvature to fit the mask.
The prototyping of the mask designs took nigh two weeks, recalled the duo. They roped in family members to assist, enlisting their mothers and godmothers to help with the sewing.
"Day and nighttime, nosotros just kept testing. We also had to test different shapes of faces, dissimilar sizes of faces. So we had this thought that maybe we had to look at kids and toddlers as well. We kept trying," recalled Ms Chan.
After perfecting the mask designs, Mr Chia and Ms Chan then enlisted seamstresses from a diverseness of businesses to help with the production.
"There are easier ways to make masks, like for example: you cutting the rectangle shape, and yous pinch the top and pinch the bottom," said Mr Chia. "But to usa, information technology is pretty ugly, and then the states being vain and liking to wearable this funky stuff, nosotros want to match the design, that's why it took a bit of work."
While the first few weeks of product were slow as information technology was a "learning bend", things eventually picked up, added Ms Chan.
Clients of the business even chipped in to help in their ain way, some by delivering the masks to customers, and others by giving them money to make the masks in lodge to "pay it forward" to others.
"We were very thankful and the experience ...(showed usa) people are actually wanting to do good," said Ms Chan. "There's a lot of community spirit, sometimes I call back you only have to ask."
While their business also was hitting hard during the pandemic, the duo managed to sustain themselves due to a "war breast" initially reserved for expansion plans.
"With proper planning that state of war chest came in very useful, we didn't use it for expansion, but we really used information technology to survive terminal year," said Ms Chan.
Called Starfish Project Love, the initiative is yet going strong today, almost a yr on. About 60,000 masks take been produced since April last year, with most 5,000 masks donated, 5000 masks paid forrad to others and 40,000 sold.
"Mask wearing is the norm now … Nosotros've had a lot of feedback from people that bought our masks, and then went to try the cheaper range. They came back to us and said (they chose us), (for) one because of our cloth, 2 of our pattern, and also three because of the price," said Ms Chan.
Through the initiative, the duo said it has opened new doors for them in their mobile tailoring business organisation.
"Every bit we were exploring doing the masks, ane of the things that nosotros asked was how we were going to sell the masks? So the first thing was that nosotros sold to our existing customers and secondly thing was nosotros actually did personal posts on Facebook," said Ms Chan.
"And so we thought let's try online ... And while we were doing that, what struck us was that we could actually fix an online shop for our make. And so aye, we were worried about retail business concern. Merely instead of focusing on this worry ... nosotros actually found a solution for our ain business concern."
Mr Chia and Ms Chan noted that the initiative was near doing their office for lodge.
"When people talk about Total Defence, people always call back nigh military about defending the country but I call up each Singaporean has a function and responsibleness to defend the land in different ways." said Ms Chan.
There are half dozen pillars to Full Defense force: armed services defence, civil defence, economic defence, social defence, digital defence and psychological defence.
Co-ordinate to the MINDEF website, social defence refers to Singaporeans making an effort to trust i some other and strengthening the bonds across the dissimilar ethnic groups, so that the land is strong and united, especially during times of national challenges.
Meanwhile, economic defence is partially about about keeping Singapore's economy strong and resilient, enabling it to conduct on and recover apace.
"The unabridged (concept of) Total Defence is similar a bicycle wheel. The spokes represent unlike different kind of defences. And for us, one of these means is beingness socially responsible, having masks made," she said.
"We funnel coin back into the economy in our small lilliputian mode. We make sure that everything is bought in Singapore ... and so that the money goes dorsum locally and people can notwithstanding go along doing what they're doing, just (to) keep the wheel going."
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/handmade-reusable-masks-helping-seamstresses-total-defence-184356
Post a Comment for "'There's a time for profit and there's a time for making a difference': How a mobile tailoring business turned mask provider"