Interior Artist is an interior design firm specializing in designing distinctive, superlative, and safe spaces with a mission to” transform imagination into reality” across commercial, landed and residential in Singapore.
Interior Artist is more than just a design company. Through a single point of contact, there are project, time and budget management.
Through the company’s name—Interior Artist, Leong Jingwei (pictured left) —founder and Tan Hui Min (pictured right) —co-founder hope to send a message that is short and clear—that their ideas will be creative, original, and unapologetically themselves.
Jingwei and Hui Min pride themselves on the “free and easy” workspace they have created for their team of interior designers. When asked about how the company had gotten to where it is now, “Everyone is their own boss,” Jingwei laughed, “It’s all thanks to our team of designers, we are very big on treating everybody equally. That’s why we don’t micromanage and there are no restrictions in the office as long as all the work is done.”
We have a pool table in the office too and during off-peak, anyone in the team is allowed to bring their friends to come down for a small gathering which makes the team “more of a family instead of just a working relationship”, Hui Min added.
Being a kid, Jingwei used to look up interior designs on the internet and think about how he would add his personal touch to those designs. He had always dreamed about starting a business even since his secondary school days. Although his grades were not excellent, Jingwei was particularly good in art and D&T (Design & Technology). “I always knew that I’m a creative person,” Jingwei thought back in his younger days, “After National Service, a friend of mine introduced me to the world of interior design, and that’s how the story started.”
Jingwei recalled being unhappy in his first job with the way the company managed its talents. That further reinforced his dream of starting his own company, “but I needed money and experience, so I tried to learn whatever I can from the company, and once I had the experience required and budget saved up, I started my own venture – Interior Artist.”
One of the challenges faced during the initial setup was sourcing for the right place with the mindset “Accessible for future customer”. Jingwei and Hui Min took months to source for the right location. Setting up during the pandemic require agile planning such as material and labour cost uncertainty. The need to strike the balance between having a unique design and competitive prices for our showroom. “These experiences certainly play a part in helping us navigate through the pandemic,” the duo reflected.
“Currently we have five sales designers, we are split into two teams mainly, one led by me, and one led by Jingwei,” said Hui Min. “Our differentiating point is that We provide a seamless and transparent process to our customers right from the start. From the initial meetup, the design for the dream house is already prepared, removing the need to visualize the outcome. Customers only need to state what they like and we will amend accordingly.”
“Maintaining a good relationship with customers is key,” Hui Min remarked, “we would always follow up with customers even after project completion to check if they are satisfied with the service; Once we even gift furniture for a customer’s housewarming party!” “And this show we cherish the relationship form during the project,” Jingwei finished off with an assured smile.
Besides building a good relationship with the customers, Jingwei also attributed the company’s success to his team of designers. “That is a big reason why I always emphasize that everyone is their own boss in this company, and they are given the freedom to put on their creative hats and practise their crafts without being held back by all the corporate talks,” Jingwei emphasized again.
“One of my proudest moments would definitely be the fact that the company break-even within 3 months of its operation,” Jingwei stated, “also the fact that our designers believe in us, that they left their old jobs to join the company. That’s really very heart-warming.”
Starting a company is definitely not an easy task, let alone during a worldwide pandemic, “I actually tested positive for Covid-19 during the early stages of the company’s operation, so Jingwei had to cover a lot of work for me when I was sick,” said Hui Min, patting Jingwei on his shoulder.
“I cannot let my designers down,” Jingwei said when asked about his motivation, “they have faith in the company and that is what keeps me going every day.” “Of course, money is a big motivator too!” Hui Min added, and they both burst out laughing.
“Currently we are looking to further expand the company and to bring Interior Artist across to Malaysia to set up a branch there.” Jingwei smiled with a sense of hope.
