OCTOBER ISSUE - FINCRAFTEDGOODS

FINCRAFTEDGOODS

Name: Erliana (Left), Fahmy (Right)
Occupation: Makers/Menders 
Industry: Fashion/Retail

Canvas Vol. 1 brings you to a little design studio at the far ends of Bishan, where we met up with a husband and wife duo who's design philosophy and vision lead them to run a business that revolves around sustainability and producing consciously created products.

We love their ancient method of mending and repairing old/torn garments to prolong its use - creating garments one piece at a time. We are eager to see what’s next, So here’s to creating.

Meet Fahmy and Erliana, menders and makers of the old and new. Hell bent on lessening our contribution to the landfills by mending your loved garments one piece at a time, with a business ethos that is centred around 'mottainai', wasting nothing. Specialising in the art of mending denim and up-cycling old garments, FinCraftedGoods produces aprons and bags that are influenced by experiences and the people they meet.

The Goal: strive to make all products with minimal waste by re-using fabric offcuts.

"It's not about having a few people being perfectly sustainable. It's about everyone being sustainable imperfectly." - Fahmy Ishak

What inspired you to start off a business with the notion of upcycling products?

We never started the business with upcycling in our sights. However we saw the amount of waste created and decided that the only way forward is to be more creative in using our resources and by doing so unconsciously we were upcycling and recycling everything thus creating very little waste.

How can upcycling of products help reduce impact on the environment? Some examples of materials that can be used to upcycle?

Upcycling essentially allows you to creatively reinvent new ways to reuse certain item or material in the hope of not throwing these items away. The more you upcycle the lesser items end up in the landfill. We love upcycling denim as manufacturing denim uses plenty of water and to simply dispose of it is a real waste of resources. Denim is a hardy material and can be remade into a lot of different products like base material for repairs, remaking it into other products like table mat or norens (Japanese curtain).

What's your favourite thing to work on?

We love making boro(patchwork) throws. It’s time consuming but the end result is extremely rewarding. It’s very versatile as it be used in different ways like as in a rug, a curtain divider or as artwork. And it last a Long time too!

Best thing about owning a business with the freedom to express your values/speech through clothings and accessories?

We can do whatever we want, we can use it as a platform to champion our
Beliefs and use our space and time to create physical examples to educate our customers that upcycle products is not only ethical but both cool and aesthetically pleasing.

How do you keep your creative mojo flowing?

Visit bookstores often. Read daily. Spent time with nature. Enjoy art and a variety of music. And spent time with likeminded people.

Do you have any advice for folks out there wanting to break into sustainabiltiy and taking action for a better world?

Buy less, buy better. Wear it longer. Repair often. Buy secondhand gear if you must.

This is our story. This is CANVAS.

 

Look out for their Teh-Tarik Night