Deep Dive in Design with Kelley Cheng: I Will Survive!

Cosentino City Singapore () and Studio SML (www.studiosml.net) brings to you another session of designers' talk as part of the series "Deep Dive in Design with Kelley Cheng".

With rising manpower and operation costs, difficulty in getting S-passes with a high local-to-foreigner quota, a change in manpower policy for flexible work arrangements, the changing mindset towards work of the young generation - how do small design studios navigate this to survive? Hear from founders of interior design firms Open Studio and UPSTRS_ about their secret survival tactics in this sharing session, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Studio SML founder Kelley Cheng.

Speakers:

Open Studio 

OPEN STUDIO is a local spatial design studio co-founded in 2016 by husband & wife team Lam Jun Nan & Jax Tan. The studio works on interior projects of varying scale, and has built up a portfolio of equal quantum in residential and commercial projects. OPEN – an abbreviation for Of Possibilities ENdless, is a dictum on the open-minded approach to every project. 

UPSTRS_

Founded and led by Dennis Cheok, with Mark Mah being roped in subsequently as the Project Director, UPSTRS_ is a design studio that prides itself on making inventive, evocative and liveable environments. Their design is narrative-driven and realised through a myriad of platforms including  branding, products, spaces, buildings and installations. 

Moderator:

Kelley Cheng

Kelley Cheng is a modern day polymath who has immersed herself in the diverse realms of creativity. Trained as an architect, she is the founder and creative director of The Press Room, an interdisciplinary studio with an interest in conceptual and theoretical design. She is also the brains behind non-profit initiative Studio SML, an online archive and documentary of Singapore creatives. An active educator, she is a Visiting Professor at Hangzhou Academy of Art, China, an External Examiner for the Master of Architecture course at the National University of Singapore, and a senior lecturer at the Interior Design department of LaSalle College of the Arts. In 2021 she was conferred the SkillsFuture Fellowship 2021 for her achievements in the industry, and the President’s Design Award “Designer of the Year 2020”, Singapore’s highest accolade in design.